I got really into Songbird a few months ago but it started to feel bloated and slow. The one benefit of iTunes is that its relatively quick and simple.
The blog integration is its best selling point though.
Edit: I tried 1.0rc1 on OSX and I can confirm the above is still an issue, I actually think its gotten worse.
I agree with you. I too gave Songbird a try but it just felt too bloated. Your comment on iTunes reminded me of this Steve Jobs quote:
"Wait wait - put your hands down. Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes could have. So do we. But we don’t want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It’s about saying NO to all but the most crucial features."
It was exciting back, what, in 2006? Back when iTunes was much simpler and a bit slower and its new slew of features seemed marvelous. Back then, I'd kinda hoped that its problems - poor design, ugly theme - were beta bugs, things that would disappear by launch. Unfortunately, they seem to have gone the other way: added more instead of refining.
I really want to like Songbird, and have even praised it several times in various places but sometimes it just lets my down. I tried the 1.0 RC but it could never get past "Updating Library" which is a dialog that just sits there before Songbird actually opens.
Granted I have a large one but I've left it on over night for two nights straight with no luck, so I'm giving up until 1.0 is fully out.
Until then, I'm just using Banshee. It seems to do the trick but it's not my optimal choice :/
I've had a quick download and play with it. I'm on a Mac, so if an application closes when you press the close button it's really annoying. Songbird does this. There is no equalizer control either.
Is it meant to look like Firefox with a different skin under the covers? (because the menus and the preferences point to it)
Yeah. The rule for Macs, I think, is that your app only should close if the window is inextricably linked to the function. iPhoto, for instance, where the window lets you look at pictures and modify photos, and that stuff happens instantly when you're looking at the window. When you close it, it means you're done using it.
With a music player, you should be able to close the window and still have the music play: the app is linked to the music, in other words, and not the window. Similarly, if I stop the music and close the window, it shouldn't close, because music being stopped is just as much a function of a music player as is music being played.
The blog integration is its best selling point though.
Edit: I tried 1.0rc1 on OSX and I can confirm the above is still an issue, I actually think its gotten worse.