@xkillurfacex In my utter frustration with Apple, and their revamps of programs to act more like shopping storefronts, rather than what they should be, I've been shocked to find that there are few alternatives to their applications. iTunes became Music, and at first I thought it was so much better than the bloated mess iTunes had become. That is, until I began to realize that Apple had tweaked Music to act less the music library I had needed and more the carnival barker for Apple Music Streaming. I also realized that in Apple's revamping of this application (as well as the other sorry excuse, Books), its functionality was becoming more and more limited.
Sadly, there are only a handful of alternatives to Music –– that is, if you wish to consider them so. Yet here I am, almost a year after having stumbled upon SMP still desperate and cranky, in need of an alternative music library & player. Although Strawberry is designed rather differently (having so much more functionality than Music) I again sit frozen. Because there still exists that same old wretched problem when considering straying away from the Apple ecosystem. . .
Fear.
The fear is that at some point, SMP will cease to be supported by its more technically advanced users. The users who tinkle and prod with its insides to make it better (or worse, depending on your viewpoint). If, like me, you are one with a massive music and audiobook library, it becomes more difficult to commit to a new player, especially if you find any signs - any signs at all that interest is waning or none at all anymore in sustaining it. A few things I look for when considering a new application is update frequency or lack thereof. Also, I look for inconsistent dates regarding website copyright, among other visual cues as well. More importantly, I look for other, much more important things such as how it works (or does it even) with other Apple devices. How does it work to transfer, update, sync, etc., if at all? Does it have a companion app for the iPhone? Can you output the sound to both an external blue tooth speaker (while still having sound tunnel through your desktop's internal speaker at the same time) etc., etc.?
I have found a few of these concerns with the SMP website, and that is sad (and frightening). The mentioning on the front page that there are no Mac users currently working on the application, therefor no further changes or updates are in the works, was even more earth-shattering to me. But whether this is actually still true, or just someone forgetting to update the front page of the website, I don't know. In either case, again, it doesn't give me great confidence.
I would love desperately to run –– not walk, away from Apple's "Music" app, and yesterday! But so far there have only been two alternatives that seem to allow for the same kind of user functionality, –– SMP and another whose name I forget at the moment. Because sadly, the other alternative had not been updated in a number of years. . .
So, what am I trying to say in all this?
I am deeply frustrated, and profoundly shocked at what appears to be an unbelievable situation. I am astounded that at what appears to be tens of millions of Apple users, there seems to be few who seem to get riled or even care about the lack of real alternatives. At least along the lines that give users the ability to manipulate and maintain their own personal music libraries the way they see fit. As if by the current lack of existence for such apps today, it is to say,
"We're all be just fine as angel hair to pay a monthly subscription fee for streaming music because, after all. . . we're just Apple suck-ups. We enjoy taking it up our back-ends while being forced to use our very expensive devices –– our desktops the way Apple wants us too, rather than how we want it to. And we are even more gleeful at having various monthly subscription charges for this and that along the way."
Either I am missing something entirely, or the way I've come to perceive this issue, is true. Yes, maybe twenty years ago, when Apple was clawing and grasping its rotting carcass out of the pit it had made for their grave, I could understand the lack of application alternatives. But two decades later? Especially since Apple has not only survived, it has done so spectacularly?
I have had Strawberry sitting on my HD for a number of months now, and only yesterday I opened it again just to tinker. Because Apple Music, once again, was acting like the stupid brat child it has been restructured to be.
But again, am I anywhere near able to be committed to switching to Strawberry yet?
Wellllll. . . I'm still a good twenty feet –– far from jumping off that cliff at the moment. Actually, I feel as if I don't even know how to strap my parachute on, let alone use it for what it was made for. And I may remain frozen like this for some time, until I see some sign of encouragement that SMP is going to continue to grow as a viable alternative to Music. And after twenty-something years using Apple's iTunes and Music, I am in need of that encouragement so very desperately!