Hi Madcow;
I agree with you totally.
MC is, & always has been a player for the Nerd, computer geek or power user, but not for the casual user that only wants to listen to some music without having to first go through a steep learning curve.
EXAMPLE: My first try at MJ was 7.1 (I think it was). I basically liked it but was totally overwhelmed so I went back to RealPlayer / RealOne / Siren which were all very easy to use right out of the box (more simple & much faster to set up & get playing). Plus, there was not an endless string of bug fixes. Once RealPlayer, RealOne, or Siren was introduced, it would be at least two years before any updates became available. The bottom line is that the user did not have to constantly worry about fixes or, do I have the latest version.
Microsoft is the same way with Windows Media Player... once you get it, that's usually it for a year or two.
Yes, MC can be pretty intimidating to the new user.
As far as endless bug fixes go, I only hope they can keep it up as 9.1 was less then great in my humble opnion.
We've all heard it before that "Microsoft Win 98 was the program that Win 95 should have been" & that "Win XP is the program that Win ME should have been". Well, MC 10 is the program that MC 9.1 should have been (in my mind).
MC 10 is a wonderful product, feature rich & seems to be very stable. Just the kind of product that a power user (or Nerd or Geek) like myself likes.
The only problem I have had about the high price is that I was told when I bought MC 9 that the registration would also cover MC 10... it did not as JRiver changed the upgrade rules after MC 10 was in development. I did not say anything about this at the time but it did irritate me more then a little in light of the closeness of the timing between MC 9 & MC 10. Yes, it was only $10 (at that time) but I was previously told that MC 10 would be a free upgrade.
Yes, there are some free media players out there but you get what you pay for. Many media players are not really free. Many have a "free" version but will try to get you to upgrade (at a price) or buy one or more of their services such as Real Networks players.
Yes, MC is a lot harder to get used to then other players. But, isn't it wonderful when you stumble across features you never knew were there, or find a new way to achieve something, or discover that yes, there is a way to do that. None of the many other players that I have used could do that as they were more simple in design & use... in other words they were designed for the casual user & not the power user like us.
I was always looking for a more flexible player then ones such RealPlayer, RealOne, or Siren. When I tried MJ 8 I was hooked.
Can MC be more simplified for the casual user, defiantly yes, if JRiver wants to.
There have been many threads on this subject in the past. Some users, such as myself, would like it if MC had a Basic, Normal, & Advanced mode of setup to make MC more friendly to all users. A new user would start in Basic mode & move up the ladder as he/she gained experience with MC. This is a great way to learn a product without becoming overwhelmed (and turned off as I was with 7.1).
I believe one of the best examples of software that is usable by both the novice & the power user alike is ACDSee. It can be made to look very complex or extremely simple.
The product that really put ACDSee on the map was the very popular version 2.1 (a very long time ago). They are now up to v 6 yet it can be made to look like 2.1 which they call the Classic view. ACDSee allows the user to change every aspect of the layout including where you want all the screens to appear (left, right, top, bottom, etc.). Any element can be turned on or off & placed in any location. This allows you to really make ACDSee "yours" as you customize it to your liking.
ACDSee uses a Tools / Customize Layout screen with Four tabs (Panel, Toolbars, Viewer, & Window Layout) with many items on each tab to make all the changes to how ACDSee looks; very slick indeed.
I would LOVE to see MC have the Tools / Customize Layout screen feature. It would put the "icing on the cake" so to speak.
I agree with you, there is no turning back. After trying a lot of media players over the years (including earlier versions of MJ) I see no reason to look elsewhere. Now, if the whole world only knew that.
How do you sell something to people who don't even know they need it? That's really a tough one. I don't know if JRiver has a full time marketing team or not (Jim H is that you?). I do know that MC is not "out there" as much as other media players. I don't see references to it nearly as much as others. Maybe a full time marketing team is in order to really get the message out there.
By the way Madcow, WHERE did you get that name ?