MM 4 & 5 just NOT user friendly

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MusicKing
Posts: 77
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2017 3:14 pm

MM 4 & 5 just NOT user friendly

Post by MusicKing »

Dear developers,

MediaMonkey is a very very very extensive program, with LOTS of features, which no other music program even comes close to. But............. ..the downside of that, is that it's also EXTREMELY user unfriendly. As you're seeing here on the Forum Board Index, people are having HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of problems, just trying to get MM 5 working correctly or are just being really disappointed with the new version:

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=100203

But not only that. Getting the older MM 4 to work properly is also a real pain in the ass for a lot of people, including myself.

As I've asked/proposed earlier, PLEASE, just PLEASE make a complete tutorial on how to set up MediaMonkey, STEP BY STEP. From installing, to setting up the libraries, explaining all the functions and the menu's, utilizing it to it's full potential etc.
And specifically, how to properly syncronize with WIFI for the android version. Because that's a whole other part of MM which ALWAYS gives people a lot of trouble. And NO, I don't mean sending some hyperlinks to different websites which all have some part of the solution. That's just lazyness.

You developers are forgetting ONE thing: most of us MediaMonkey users are just music enthousiasts, not advanced programmers or IT technicians, please keep that in mind.

You can make software a lot more user friendly. For instance, using a easier GUI, a fully 'getting started wizard', a complete tutorial (what I said earlier), highlights in the GUI with some explanation about the object your mouse is currently pointing at.

So please consider this, or more and more people are switching to other music software like MusicBee, AIMP, FooBar2000 etc.
smellhole
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:21 pm

Re: MM 4 & 5 just NOT user friendly

Post by smellhole »

I'm just an enthusiast too and I used to think this too. When I first started using MM4 I was overwhelmed with all that crap you can do with it. By nature it's more complicated to use than simpler media players. I also think that people who buy Mediamonkey get it because of its complexity, customization and all the nifty ways you can manage your library with it. They want to screw around with all that complicated crap.

However! MM5 really only shines if your music files are correctly tagged (and if you never tagged them correctly yourself, they won't be). It took a long time to properly tag my files (I used MP3Tag) but now I can do meaningful queries on the database. That takes a long time and a lot of work, tho. I have about 3000 files. I had to go through them almost one-by-one to go through them. Personally, I think it's worth the time and effort.

You're not going to get a step-by-step guide because there's just too much to go over.

I don't mean to be facetious or dismissive about this, but I think maybe Mediamonkey isn't for you. It seems to be way overkill for what you want.

Take a look at MusicBee if you haven't already. It's free and not as complicated as MM5. It's a nice player.

Also, there is a wizard. I see it every time I install MM5 fresh.

Cheers!
::: Smellhole
::: It's better to have loved and lost than to never have had a good pair of speakers.
Barry4679
Posts: 2399
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:07 am
Location: Australia
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Re: MM 4 & 5 just NOT user friendly

Post by Barry4679 »

smellhole wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 11:50 am Also, there is a wizard. I see it every time I install MM5 fresh.
Agree all your points, but it is a tad generous to call that a "wizard" isn't it?

There has be a bar that you have to exceed to earn that title. :)

Things like:
  • show me which MM4 database is going to be imported from, and allow me to alter the source if I wish
  • in a non-portable install, show me were the MM database is going to be stored, and allow me to alter the location if I want
  • attend to Gold licence re-validation before doing the import, so that my Gold version settings are not reset (eg. whether or not the Album Artist sub-node or the EntireLibrary node is displayed
  • help me turn off|on database backup, and set backup location and frequency
  • and a quick tour around what has changed would be a bonus
I think that there is still too much screwing around with Secret Squirrel stuff during installation.
Want a dark skin for MM5? This is the one that works best for me .. elegant, compact & clear.
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