stefan.waidele.info

In “Open source audio applications need to learn from listeners“, Nathan Willis complained:

“Only in software applications is this distinction made, and consequently we have to use separate apps to play music from different sources. And the problem is by no means limited to FM broadcasts and MP3 playback. How many of the mature open source audio players support basic CD playback? There are a few that support ripping CD audio directly within the app, but cannot play that audio directly off of the disc. Would anyone in their right mind buy a hardware device with that kind of limitation?”

Many do. And they do so on purpose. Back in the days when I was a Hifi-fetichist, I did buy one piece of hardware that would play CDs well. And another one that would record CDs to casette-tapes. And another one to receive FM radio. And another one to amplify the signals from all of these devices and send it to the speakers.
It was called ‘components’ and each component did its job well. A CD-player that receives FM-radio? Ridiculous. Even (or better: especially) in hardware.
A combination of these functions is only acceptable if it has to be mobile (What we used to call “Ghettoblasters” or car-stereos), or if it has to be cheap.
If you have components to do different tasks, they can be optimized for that task (handling and sound) and do their job well. If one breaks (or lacks performance), you can replace it.
I want to have the same situation in software. I love my combination of amarok/xmms, xine and grip!