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Hi author here. I have used Songbird and while I do agree that it does offer some interesting features it borrows "A LOT" from iTunes. Simply if I was a consu

• robotron 18y ago
  You shouldn't make assumptions on what the "consumer" sees. Personally, I have been using open source software for over a decade and can't understand this "open source should innovate" argument. By it's very nature open source software is innovative. Twenty years ago the concept would have been unheard of (in the broader world than academia). Open source has pushed many boundaries and has also forced closed-source shops to "innovate". Granted, this loses it's influence over time and simply being open-source is not enough to be a unique piece of software. You are cherry-picking the software to compare. Spend a good amount of time with the latest-and-greatest that's out there and you'll see the innovation. You have to pay attention though. By "pay attention" I don't mean just reading blogs and news aggregators. I use Songbird when I'm not streaming directly from someone's own player (like last.fm, etc.). I have used iTunes in the past. Other than a similar presentation structure it's not similar to iTunes. I don't even see how iTunes has innovated outside of tying the consumer in to the iTunes store. Not really something I like either, hence one reason I don't use that product.