Bauer-Power - Linux | Windows | Software

Feb 10, 2012

Another Alternative to Pandora One

Ever since Pandora, the internet radio site, changed their layout it broke my favorite desktop client for Pandora called Open Pandora. True, I could upgrade to Pandora One, but I'm a cheap bastard. Also true, I can just listen to Pandora from my web browser, but sometimes I just don't like to have my browsers open all the time. Hence the need for a desktop client.

Well I found a very cool little application on the Hak5 Forums from a user named ZigZagJoe called the Standalone Pandora Client. This little player does not work in anonymous mode, so you have to have a Pandora login to use it, but that's no big deal. You will also need .Net Framework 2.0. If you have a Linux computer, this will run in WINE, you just need to check the box for WINE compatibility at install. After you install it, you have a very lightweight client to listen to Pandora without your browser!

Here is a list of features:

Supports creating and seeding stations by searching for music
Supports deletion and renaming of stations
Supports shared stations, creation by station url or ID or when using sproxy when you click on a listen link
Supports feedback (duh) and will skip when badly rated (unless you choose otherwise)
Shuffle stations (every 4 songs) or songs
Web control if using sproxy (controls, change station, see what's playing)
Global media hotkeys (play pause, next)
UNLIMITED SKIPS
Mute, volume control, etc.

Here are a couple of screen shots I took of it as well:

standalone pandora client

standalone pandora client windows

What do you think about this? Have you been looking for a free Pandora client for your desktop? Have you tried other ones? Do you use a different one? Which one do you like? Let us know in the comments.

del.icio.us tags: free, alternative, pandora, one, desktop, client, windows, linux

Which is Better? PHP, Ruby or Python? [Infographic]

I guess this is the week of infographics here at Bauer-Power. That is mainly because I am preparing for yet another colocation facility move at my day job. This will be the third colocation move I have been involved with since being in IT, and let me tell you it is rather stressful. There are a lot of things riding on systems at one's data center, and there are a lot of potential hazards if you don't prepare the move down to the most minute detail.

Today's infographic aims to compair three of today's modern open source coding platforms, PHP, Ruby and Python. All of which are used in web applications. Some of the biggest websites use these languages including Facebook (PHP), Twitter (Ruby), and Youtube (Python). Which one is the best though? That's up to you, but hopefully this infographic comparison can help you decide which one you like the best.

[Via Udemy]