Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Amazon Cloud Player - Add to playlist with just 5 clicks! - Set phasers on annoying


This the worst kind of dialogue box.  Every attempt to use it involves a wasted click.  Let's say I just want to add it to my "_Tops" playlist, that I'm using as a pathetic kludge until they add a star button.  If it showed the first playlist in the selector, I could just click Save and be done with this.  Instead, I have to click, select the playlist, and then click save. Everytime. Waste of clicks.  Waste of time.  Annoying.


Amazon Cloud Player
Number of Clicks to Add to Playlist5


1. Click Song
2. Click Add to Playlist
3. Click select playlist
4. Click playlist name
5. Click Save


Google Music Beta
Number of Clicks to Add to Playlist2

1. Click Select Song
- Drop down menus to playlist
2. Click playlist name



iTunes
Number of Clicks to Add to Playlist2

1. Select Song
2. Drag and drop to playlist


Disclaimer: Okay.  I see it now.  They have another add playlist button along the top of the song list that uses drop downs.  But when you click on the song, that one doesn't have the drop downs. Google seems simpler, but that's only because they're only working through song at at time, not having reached the multiple select stage of complexity.



Amazon Cloud Player - Quick Hits

1. Unhide the volume controls!

2. Make the Controls/song information it's own frame so I can control my music all the time.

3. Need Star button to like songs, rate songs, etc.  I'm sure you know all that, but it still seems really odd that you're ahead of google, but you don't even have a simple star, so I can add a good song to a starred list.

4. I like the Latest Purchases button, but maybe it should be a "+ menu" that shows me the recent albums so I can quickly select the album I bought and listen only to that with a few clicks.

5. Skips - if I skip a song it should be depreciated.  Also without a play count column it's a bit tough to figure out where I was in an album if I accidentally close the browser tab (which seems to be the biggest problem so far.  Accidental Tab Closure = Music Stoppage and Total Place Loss.  This is the one that needs to be fixed in this cloud player thing is going to take off.)

6. Columns don't sort, no track numbers.  Basically it's just confusing to drill down to an album to avoid random shuffling.  It has a very mp3.com circa 2000 feel.  Yawnsville.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Kindle Screensaver - It needs to display the book cover

I really don't understand why, when I turn the Kindle off, it doesn't display the cover of the book I'm currently reading.  It would help it seem more like a real book (whenever you looked at it, you'd say, wow I can't wait to start reading "Book Title" again...), instead of a strange screensaver, that sometimes I like (showing pictures of authors I read who are smiling) and sometimes I don't like (creepy pictures of Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf and other authors who have committed suicide).  What's the deal Amazon?  This is Kindle3 and it still doesn't display the book cover?  Just seems silly.