skiTunes is a fast, extensible, open-source alternative to iTunes written in Cocoa and featuring Apple QuickTime and Apple WebKit. It may also use VLC, MPlayer, LAME, and cdrecord. It's target platform is Mac OS X 10.3 and later, however it may run on Mac OS X 10.2 as well.

It differs from Apple's offering in that it is written in Cocoa and uses native widgets, as well as supporting formats iTunes doesn't, such as OGG and WMA. Using native widgets will allow it to automatically match the rest of the OS when a theme is applied, unlike iTunes, which requires hacking in order to make it match. It will also offer a skinnable "mini-mode". Another advantage skiTunes will over iTunes is the fact that the project will offer binaries optimized for specific processors; specifically, the PowerPC G3, G4, and G5. A generic PowerPC build will also be offered.

skiTunes will be extensible too. It will allow plugins of almost any nature, including but not limited to:

• Visualizers
• Music player drivers
• Program modifications
• File format support

skiTunes will allow more flexibility for iPod users. It will allow them to use more than one iPod on one computer and allow transfer of songs from iPod to Mac, both of which iTunes cannot do.

It will support AppleScripting, and allow integration with existing open-source projects such as Adium, Growl!, and QuickSilver. skiTunes is also compatible with iTunes library files and will integrate with the rest of Apple's iLife applications.

skiTunes is planned to support the following file formats:

• MP3
• AIFF
• WAV
• AAC
• Apple Lossless
• OGG
• WMA
• FLAC

  skiTunes currently supports these formats:

  • Any Quicktime-supported format
  • TTA Lossless audio

Version 0.4:

• New Interface
• Customizable toolbar
• iGoom Visualizer
• Dock control menu
• Support for icon themes
• Time indicator
• Playlist icons
• Ability to specify iTunes library to use
• Mini-mode float option
• Better performance in all areas
• Ability to rename playlists
• Initial structure for ratings support laid out
• "Greyed out files in Add to Library" bug fixed

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