Banshee Music Player
Through the recommendation of my brother, I’ve installed Banshee Music Player on my Ubuntu PC in my long running effort to find the *perfect* Ubuntu media player. Installation was as easy as installing most other software items. Simply go to the Add/Remove Programs option on your Applications menu and search for Banshee in the “All available applications” option. Click on the check box and apply.
After installing, I set it up to recognize my library and waited patiently. It took a good 30-45 mins for it to load my 120+ GB music library, so no details as of yet on its actual usefulness.
Looking over the product tour, it looks as though they manage to cover all the bases. It has the capability to import songs to MP3 format, burn CDs and sync your iPod all built in so that you don’t have to hunt down a ridiculous pile of codecs (like Amarok or Rhythmbox). It also seems to have the features that an iTunes convert is looking for like drag-and-drop playlist and smart playlist support, play counters and ratings. The only thing I haven’t seen so far is Artist/Album filters to sort my music, although there is a search box available so you can type your search information in there.
Later on we’ll have some details on its functionality.