The iTunes helper application has become a very popular class of application to develop for. Most developers, like the people behind CoverSutra and Bowtie, have been very successful in their attempts. But unfortunately it was only inevitable that a not so well designed one came along. I’m talking about SweetFM from choco moko.
SweetFM is a mash up of sorts, mixing Last.fm streaming with your average iTunes helper app. Like all other iTunes helper apps, SweetFM displays the album artwork of the song your currently listening to and that functionality also works with music you stream from Last.fm. It also has an indescript spot where you are suppose to enter what you want to listen to on Last.fm and an arbitrary arrow button next to it. One would think you could just enter an artist name into the box and get Last.fm to play it but this is not the case. Instead you have to press this arrow button to display a group of addition buttons labeled “Artist”, “Tags”, and etc. You then have to hit one of those buttons and enter further information into the box. For example, if I wanted to listen to Pink Floyd on Last.fm, I would have to open up SweetFM, click the arrow, click artist, and then enter “Pink Floyd” in the box.
In reality all they are really doing with this convoluted process is adding a little tag behind the information you enter into the box. You would think they could automate this or have a little bit of magic happen behind the scenes, but unfortunately that is not the case.
Aside from that the application feels more like a beta than a final release, I’ve encountered multiple bugs in the few days that I’ve been playing with it. The first of which is that what the application shows as playing and what is actually playing in iTunes don’t match from time to time, even though SweetFM says the right info in it’s menu in the menu bar. Also, the progress indicator, which allows you to scrub through songs, occasionally does not work.
But the most disappointing part of this application is it’s user interface. Even though they are touting the fact that you can design skins for this app using HTML and CSS, a well built one should still come bundled with the app. Fibre, the included skin, is an overly glossy, distracting waste of desktop space. Personally, I like my iTunes helpers to be pinned to the desktop and just meld with everything else their but Fibre is just not capable of doing that (the melding at least). Silly things like having the horizontal volume slider bumped right up to the “Scrobbling” button for Last.fm makes it seem as though the slider has something to do with “Scrobbling” when in fact it does not. The semi-transparent background in particular is my least favorite part, why does it need to be there? Take a page from the designers doing skins for Bowtie and just get rid of the app background all together, it works so much better with the desktop. Luckily choco moko has a skins directory on their website but at the moment it only has one additional theme, which seems only like a slight redesign to Fibre and nothing more.
If your at all interested in helper apps for iTunes, I would recommend you stay away from SweetFM. Although if your a fan of Last.fm it is worth checking out. It is available from choco moko for $29. If you are just looking for an iTunes helper, check out the free Bowtie.
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December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I tried it a few days ago finally, and couldn’t get it to even play an artist station. /a Armor for Sleep. You got further than I did! Had high hopes, but was very disappointed.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
@Brad
I guess it should be noted that it took me a few days to get it to work.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I actually really liked its LastFM features. It’s keyboard controls and features for LastFM are even better then LastFM’s official Mac application. Also, there is a pretty heavy discount if you buy two licenses, so you just need to find a second person interested in the app to cut the price to $19.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I actually find Sweet FM really easy to use… as long as you’re not an idiot and expect everything to be handed to you.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I haven’t played around with it very much, but I wanted to mention that it’s free now to use.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Couldn’t disagree more with this review. It’s opensource and free now, so maybe some of your issues will be resolved. Would like more skins but hopefully those will come and you can possible design your own.
One feature which puts it above all the rest is that it’s integrated with iTunes and anything you’re playing can be automatically exported to your iTunes. FREE MUSIC!!. Admittedly only 128kbps, but so what? ALSO, tags show up properly in iTunes although file names are generic. Using something like Media Rage quickly renames the files. Oh, and did I say FREE MUSIC?
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I never could figure out how to get it to work. And with no support available to clue you in on how to link it to last.fm, I said screw it!
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
You guys are retards, it’s not an iTunes helper, it’s and last.fm radio app.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
First, make sure you have a last.fm account. Then fire it up and open preferences.
You enter your last.fm acct info, click on “Export tracks to iTunes”, if you want the streaming audio to automatically load into iTunes. Loads each song individually after it streams. For me it automatically connects to last.fm and opens iTunes. Pretty simple.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I agree totally with Centurious here. Just came across this app yesterday. My Last FM player app has stopped playing audio since some upgrade I did (maybe os x). Its been great. Much smaller and lighter than the last.fm application, and with the additional ability to download the low-quality versions, it simplifies sharing the new music I come across with my gf, and I’ll buy it at a better quality if I like it.
Regarding bugs, if enough people like the app, then open sourcing it will solve this eventually.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
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December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Definitely the best part of this app is that it works the same as taping songs off the radio. You just need to type in /a Weezer and then you listen to all the songs that you’d like and they are automagically exported to iTunes. What could be better? Admittidly the interface is a bit clunky but if you really want to, try and design your own instead of complaining! I simply use the keyboard shortcuts and hide the interface all together.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
It is definitely poorly coded and a beta release, and the skin sucks, etc. however, in principle, this is a great app.
Here are two things it does that no other last.fm app for mac does:
1) Plays last.fm radio and scrobbles without conflicting with last.fm software.
2) Records and imports 128 mp3 files directly into itunes.
This is basically like a poorly designed and written pandorajam for mac, but for last.fm. I truly look forward to the next release:
Fix these:
you should be able to add a menu to itunes so that there is no longer a menu bar or dock icon, but it is within itunes
dont require itunes users to keep the add to library setting on, let it import without that
import quality adjustments
better skins, mini player, better menu bar icon for that mode …