INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => Media Center 16 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: Zardoz2293 on October 13, 2011, 05:52:47 pm
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I've use MC for perhaps 98% for audio only. I'm expanding to the cool new capabilities and features. I've used it since v7. I am a hardcore software developer, an ace of aces in my field of expertise, but acknowledge myself as a bit above a neophyte in MC. I'm the casual user. It clearly has robust capabilities in many areas. Here are two items, for me, and hopefully many others would have significant value added to their MC experience:
- In all views when the 'image small thumbnail' is displayed, it will change to a playing symbol/graphic when the track is actually playing (slick). It would be slicker to have in addition the thumbnail changed to some symbol/graphic if the track is in the 'Playing Now' queue. It's just a visual UI feature polishing the product. I've used the product since v7, now nine versions later, it would be nice if it existed. Currently I have a UDF called "Now?" with the formula = FormatBoolean(IsInPlayingNow(),Yes,). It's not pretty, but functionally resolves my requirement. I'd pay the upgrade fee just for this feature alone.
::) :-\ ;D
- Honestly, I don't get all the complexity of the whole multi-album /set organization paradigms people try to implement in an attempt to get it to work (as it should). I have seen only implementations that achieve some capability but with a significant amount of effort. MC should have this capability as a basic and effortless feature. I'm pretty smart, but I feel like an idiot and I've spent way too much time over the years trying to get the visual connections in the views to achieve what I'd call a basic functionality of any media management product working with albums (which must include sets). Could be anything that has sets and each album or component has a different title or the same title. I'm not claiming that providing the capability is easy to develop and implement, but in my mind I'm vexed as to why it doesn't exist, ready made or why I'm the only one who isn't able to implement it. I just see the never ending chasing of 'new' technology improvements in MC when this one's is just as basic as it comes. I'm not ragging on the MC team I accept if this is an ID-10-T problem with me. I know the product is powerful, but some things require too much tinkering to achieve. Yes, I've read much of the discussions regarding the album set solutions. I just feel this is like some of the 'features/defects' that Microsoft has in there development tools where each developer spends an astronomical amount of time creating a 'workaround' resulting in a huge number of wasted human work hours on effectively nothing when a significantly smaller number of resources at the source would result in a great solution. We would all cheer at their wisdom knowing we would have extra time to spend with our children. I'd pay the upgrade fee just for this feature alone.
::) :-\ ;D
I'm a guy who works to solve solutions for extremely complex problems and I've always succeeded. I'm not expecting either of the above to be resolved. I'd be elated but I understand the economic/marketing model and solving them doesn't expand the target population for the product. I'd like to be able to provide some wisdom that would excite Jim and the MC team as a whole so these things and more could be achieved. At the end of the day, I'm just one voice, as you are reading this you have to ask yourself are you the 100th monkey?
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Honestly, I don't get all the complexity of the whole multi-album /set organization paradigms people try to implement in an attempt to get it to work (as it should).
Just out of curiosity, how should this work (or what is broken with the way multi-album sets are handled now)? The only time I've felt a need to create some sort of work around is in order to be compatible with a portable player that couldn't handle mutli-album sets. It wasn't a ton of work either (for what I decided to do).
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...as you are reading this you have to ask yourself are you the 100th monkey?
We're not there yet. As the 75th monkey, I'm just wondering what a "multi-album set" is, and why I should care. ;D