warning! phonon sound disaster

Suse 13.2:- 15 days ago my sound stopped working so checking here and there it seemed to be a phonon problem. I have never liked phonon I always preferred Alsa so using Yast I decided to delete the 4 phonon files that were installed. I should have looked more closely at the options and I just ticked the option to uninstall them. Oh boy! it proceeded to uninstall them and another 260+ other files and then reinstall 630+ other files. When it rebooted I found myself in some strange environment called icewm, I couldn’t get back into KDE then startx couldn’t find a screen I spent 5 days trying to sort it out, even ‘snapper’ never restored the pc back to it’s original state.
If anybody wants to check this go into Yast and try to delete ‘libphonon4-4.8.1-2.4.1.x86_64’ And you will see the following MADNESS :-

YaST2 conflicts list - generated 2015-05-21 05:28:49

python-kde4-phonon-4.14.3-8.2.x86_64 requires libphonon.so.4()(64bit), but this requirement cannot be provided
uninstallable providers: libphonon4-4.7.80-2.1.4.x86_64[openSUSE-13.2-0]
libphonon4-4.7.80-2.1.4.x86_64[repo-oss]
] keep libphonon4-4.8.1-2.4.1.x86_64

 ] break python-kde4-phonon-4.14.3-8.2.x86_64 by ignoring some of its dependencies

 ] Following actions will be done:

deinstallation of python-kde4-phonon-4.14.3-8.2.x86_64
deinstallation of plasma-addons-4.14.3-12.6.x86_64
deinstallation of phonon-backend-gstreamer-4.8.0-2.4.2.x86_64
deinstallation of okular-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of marble-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64
architecture change of libmarblewidget20-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64 to libmarblewidget20-14.12.3-16.2.i586

architecture change of libmarblewidget19-4.14.3-4.3.x86_64 to libmarblewidget19-4.14.3-4.3.i586
architecture change of libkde4-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64 to libkde4-4.14.6-16.2.i586
deinstallation of libkcompactdisc4-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
architecture change of libakonadi4-4.14.6-16.1.x86_64 to libakonadi4-4.14.6-16.1.i586
deinstallation of kscd-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kopete-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of konversation-1.5.1-3.4.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kmousetool-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kipi-plugins-4.6.0-13.23.x86_64
deinstallation of kdepim4-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64
architecture change of kdelibs4-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64 to kdelibs4-4.14.6-16.2.i586
deinstallation of kdebase4-runtime-14.12.3-16.6.x86_64
deinstallation of kdebase4-libkonq-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of gwenview-4.14.3-4.3.x86_64
deinstallation of dolphin-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of digikam-4.6.0-13.23.x86_64
deinstallation of phonon-backend-vlc-0.8.2-16.3.x86_64
architecture change of python-qt4-4.11.1-2.2.4.x86_64 to python-qt4-4.11.1-2.2.4.i586
deinstallation of ktorrent-4.3.1-8.1.9.x86_64

deinstallation of amarok-2.8.0-9.1.8.x86_64

deinstallation of plasma-addons-marble-4.14.3-12.6.x86_64
architecture change of libkgeomap2-4.6.0-13.23.x86_64 to libkgeomap2-4.6.0-13.23.i586
deinstallation of flash-player-kde4-11.2.202.457-2.48.1.x86_64
deinstallation of sweeper-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of python-kde4-plasma-4.14.3-8.2.x86_64
deinstallation of python-kde4-knewstuff-4.14.3-8.2.x86_64
deinstallation of python-kde4-khtml-4.14.3-8.2.x86_64
deinstallation of python-kde4-akonadi-4.14.3-8.2.x86_64
deinstallation of python-kde4-4.14.3-8.2.x86_64
deinstallation of plasmoid-folderview-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of plasma-addons-lancelot-4.14.3-12.6.x86_64
deinstallation of plasma-addons-kimpanel-4.14.3-12.6.x86_64
deinstallation of plasma-addons-akonadi-4.14.3-12.6.x86_64
architecture change of mobipocket-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64 to mobipocket-14.12.3-16.1.i586
architecture change of libreoffice-kde4-4.3.7.2-18.1.x86_64 to libreoffice-kde4-4.3.7.2-18.1.i586
architecture change of libktexteditor-4.14.3-4.12.x86_64 to libktexteditor-4.14.3-4.12.i586
architecture change of libksuseinstall1-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64 to libksuseinstall1-4.14.6-16.2.i586
architecture change of libksane0-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64 to libksane0-14.12.3-16.1.i586
architecture change of libkonq5-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64 to libkonq5-14.12.3-16.5.i586
architecture change of libkomparediff2-4-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64 to libkomparediff2-4-14.12.3-16.1.i586
architecture change of libkmahjongglib4-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64 to libkmahjongglib4-14.12.3-16.2.i586
architecture change of libkipi11-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64 to libkipi11-14.12.3-16.1.i586
architecture change of libkexiv2-11-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64 to libkexiv2-11-14.12.3-16.1.i586
architecture change of libkerfuffle4-14.12.3-16.3.x86_64 to libkerfuffle4-14.12.3-16.3.i586
architecture change of libkdepimlibs4-4.14.6-16.1.x86_64 to libkdepimlibs4-4.14.6-16.1.i586
architecture change of libkdepim4-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64 to libkdepim4-4.14.6-16.2.i586
architecture change of libkdegames6-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64 to libkdegames6-14.12.3-16.2.i586
architecture change of libkdcraw23-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64 to libkdcraw23-14.12.3-16.1.i586
deinstallation of libkcddb4-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
architecture change of libbaloowidgets4-4.14.3-4.2.x86_64 to libbaloowidgets4-4.14.3-4.2.i586
architecture change of libbaloofiles4-4.14.3-4.2.x86_64 to libbaloofiles4-4.14.3-4.2.i586
deinstallation of kwrite-4.14.3-4.12.x86_64
deinstallation of kwin-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kwalletmanager-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of ksudoku-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of ksnapshot-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kruler-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of krfb-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kreversi-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of krdc-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kpat-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of korganizer-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of kontact-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of konsole-4.14.3-4.2.x86_64
deinstallation of konqueror-plugins-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of konqueror-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kompare-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of knotes-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of kmix-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kmines-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kmail-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of kmahjongg-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kmag-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kipi-plugins-geolocation-4.6.0-13.23.x86_64
deinstallation of kipi-plugins-acquireimage-4.6.0-13.23.x86_64

deinstallation of kio_kamera-14.12.3-16.3.x86_64
deinstallation of kio_iso-2.4.0~beta3-6.3.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kio_audiocd-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kgpg-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of kget-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kgamma-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of keditbookmarks-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdnssd-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kdm-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdialog-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdf-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64
architecture change of kdepimlibs4-4.14.6-16.1.x86_64 to kdepimlibs4-4.14.6-16.1.i586
deinstallation of kdepim4-runtime-4.14.6-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kdepasswd-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdenetwork4-filesharing-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
architecture change of kdelibs4-core-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64 to kdelibs4-core-4.14.6-16.2.i586
deinstallation of kdebase4-workspace-plasma-calendar-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdebase4-workspace-libs-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdebase4-workspace-liboxygenstyle-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdebase4-workspace-ksysguardd-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdebase4-workspace-addons-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdebase4-nsplugin-14.12.3-16.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kdeartwork4-screensaver-14.12.3-16.11.x86_64
deinstallation of kde4-print-manager-14.12.3-16.3.x86_64
deinstallation of kde4-kgreeter-plugins-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kcolorchooser-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kcharselect-14.12.3-16.3.x86_64
deinstallation of kcalc-14.12.3-16.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kaddressbook-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of bluedevil-2.1.1-2.5.1.x86_64

deinstallation of ark-14.12.3-16.3.x86_64
deinstallation of apper-0.9.1-4.1.x86_64
deinstallation of akregator-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of akonadi-4.14.6-16.2.x86_64
deinstallation of k3b-codecs-2.0.80+git20150209.2250-1.3.x86_64
deinstallation of k3b-2.0.80+git20150209.2250-1.3.x86_64
deinstallation of skanlite-1.1-2.1.4.x86_64
deinstallation of polkit-kde-agent-1-0.99.0-21.1.4.x86_64
deinstallation of plasma-nm-vpnc-0.9.3.4-2.1.8.x86_64
deinstallation of plasma-nm-pptp-0.9.3.4-2.1.8.x86_64
deinstallation of plasma-nm-openvpn-0.9.3.4-2.1.8.x86_64
deinstallation of plasma-nm-0.9.3.4-2.1.8.x86_64
deinstallation of mozilla-kde4-integration-0.6.4-6.1.3.x86_64

architecture change of libkvkontakte1-1.0.0-9.1.4.x86_64 to libkvkontakte1-1.0.0-9.1.4.i586
architecture change of libktorrent5-1.3.1-6.1.3.x86_64 to libktorrent5-1.3.1-6.1.3.i586

architecture change of libkscreen-1.0.5-1.1.x86_64 to libkscreen-1.0.5-1.1.i586

architecture change of libkgapi2-2-2.2.0-2.1.4.x86_64 to libkgapi2-2-2.2.0-2.1.4.i586
architecture change of libkfbapi1-1.0-5.1.4.x86_64 to libkfbapi1-1.0-5.1.4.i586

deinstallation of kwebkitpart-1.3.3-3.1.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kvkbd-0.7.2-2.1.4.x86_64
deinstallation of ksshaskpass-0.5.3-18.1.3.x86_64
deinstallation of kio_mtp-0.75-4.1.4.x86_64

deinstallation of kde-gtk-config-2.2.1-4.1.5.x86_64
deinstallation of kaffeine-1.2.2-27.1.4.x86_64
deinstallation of kactivities4-4.13.3-3.2.4.x86_64
deinstallation of choqok-1.4-5.1.5.x86_64

deinstallation of krename-4.0.9-17.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kcm_systemd-0.7.0-1.4.x86_64
deinstallation of kcm-touchpad-1.1-4.19.x86_64
architecture change of libkolab0-0.5.3-1.3.x86_64 to libkolab0-0.5.3-1.3.i586

deinstallation of libkface-14.12.3-10.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kdebase4-artwork-14.12.3-16.1.noarch
deinstallation of kdebase4-runtime-branding-openSUSE-13.2-4.2.8.x86_64
deinstallation of skanlite-doc-1.1-2.1.4.x86_64
deinstallation of skanlite-lang-1.1-2.1.4.noarch
deinstallation of python-kdebase4-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
architecture change of kfilemetadata-4.14.3-4.4.x86_64 to kfilemetadata-4.14.3-4.4.i586
deinstallation of kdm-branding-openSUSE-13.2-3.6.1.noarch
deinstallation of k3b-lang-2.0.80+git20150209.2250-1.3.noarch
deinstallation of bluedevil-lang-2.1.1-2.5.1.noarch
deinstallation of marble-data-14.12.3-16.2.noarch
deinstallation of marble-doc-14.12.3-16.2.noarch
deinstallation of kipi-plugins-lang-4.6.0-13.23.noarch
deinstallation of konversation-lang-1.5.1-3.4.1.noarch
deinstallation of libkface3-14.12.3-10.1.x86_64
deinstallation of kdebase4-workspace-branding-upstream-4.11.17-21.5.x86_64
architecture change of libkscreen1-1.0.5-1.1.x86_64 to libkscreen1-1.0.5-1.1.i586
architecture change of libkolabxml1-1.0.2-1.10.x86_64 to libkolabxml1-1.0.2-1.10.i586
architecture change of baloo-core-4.14.3-4.2.x86_64 to baloo-core-4.14.3-4.2.i586
architecture change of libbalooqueryparser4-4.14.3-4.2.x86_64 to libbalooqueryparser4-4.14.3-4.2.i586
architecture change of libastro1-14.12.3-16.2.x86_64 to libastro1-14.12.3-16.2.i586
architecture change of libbaloopim4-4.14.3-4.2.x86_64 to libbaloopim4-4.14.3-4.2.i586
architecture change of libcdr-0_1-1-0.1.0-2.1.5.x86_64 to libcdr-0_1-1-0.1.0-2.1.5.i586

architecture change of libreoffice-pyuno-4.3.7.2-18.1.x86_64 to libreoffice-pyuno-4.3.7.2-18.1.i586
architecture change of libreoffice-math-4.3.7.2-18.1.x86_64 to libreoffice-math-4.3.7.2-18.1.i586

architecture change of libreoffice-impress-4.3.7.2-18.1.x86_64 to libreoffice-impress-4.3.7.2-18.1.i586

architecture change of libreoffice-draw-4.3.7.2-18.1.x86_64 to libreoffice-draw-4.3.7.2-18.1.i586

architecture change of libreoffice-calc-4.3.7.2-18.1.x86_64 to libreoffice-calc-4.3.7.2-18.1.i586
architecture change of libreoffice-base-drivers-mysql-4.3.7.2-18.1.x86_64 to libreoffice-base-drivers-mysql-4.3.7.2-18.1.i586
architecture change of libreoffice-base-4.3.7.2-18.1.x86_64 to libreoffice-base-4.3.7.2-18.1.i586

architecture change of libabw-0_1-1-0.1.0-2.1.5.x86_64 to libabw-0_1-1-0.1.0-2.1.5.i586
architecture change of libclucene-contribs-lib1-2.3.3.4-13.1.3.x86_64 to libclucene-contribs-lib1-2.3.3.4-13.1.3.i586
architecture change of libcmis-0_4-4-0.4.1-4.1.3.x86_64 to libcmis-0_4-4-0.4.1-4.1.3.i586
architecture change of libe-book-0_1-1-0.1.1-2.1.5.x86_64 to libe-book-0_1-1-0.1.1-2.1.5.i586
architecture change of libetonyek-0_1-1-0.1.1-2.1.5.x86_64 to libetonyek-0_1-1-0.1.1-2.1.5.i586
architecture change of libexttextcat-2_0-0-3.4.4-2.1.2.x86_64 to libexttextcat-2_0-0-3.4.4-2.1.2.i586
architecture change of libfbembed2_5-2.5.2.26539-14.4.1.x86_64 to libfbembed2_5-2.5.2.26539-14.4.1.i586
architecture change of libfreehand-0_1-1-0.1.0-2.1.5.x86_64 to libfreehand-0_1-1-0.1.0-2.1.5.i586
architecture change of libgltf-0_0-0-0.0.1-1.1.x86_64 to libgltf-0_0-0-0.0.1-1.1.i586
architecture change of libhyphen0-2.8.6-8.1.2.x86_64 to libhyphen0-2.8.6-8.1.2.i586
architecture change of liborcus-0_8-0-0.7.0-2.1.3.x86_64 to liborcus-0_8-0-0.7.0-2.1.3.i586
architecture change of libixion-0_8-0-0.7.0-2.1.3.x86_64 to libixion-0_8-0-0.7.0-2.1.3.i586
architecture change of liblangtag1-0.5.4-2.1.3.x86_64 to liblangtag1-0.5.4-2.1.3.i586
architecture change of liblpsolve55-0-5.5.2.0-9.1.2.x86_64 to liblpsolve55-0-5.5.2.0-9.1.2.i586
architecture change of libmspub-0_1-1-0.1.2-2.4.1.x86_64 to libmspub-0_1-1-0.1.2-2.4.1.i586
architecture change of libmwaw-0_3-3-0.3.4-2.4.1.x86_64 to libmwaw-0_3-3-0.3.4-2.4.1.i586
architecture change of libmysqlcppconn6-1.1.2-6.2.2.x86_64 to libmysqlcppconn6-1.1.2-6.2.2.i586
architecture change of libmythes-1_2-0-1.2.3-8.1.2.x86_64 to libmythes-1_2-0-1.2.3-8.1.2.i586
architecture change of libodfgen-0_1-1-0.1.1-2.1.5.x86_64 to libodfgen-0_1-1-0.1.1-5.9.i586

openSUSE → obs://build.opensuse.org/KDE
architecture change of libraw10-0.16.0-2.1.2.x86_64 to libraw10-0.16.1-76.1.i586

openSUSE → obs://build.opensuse.org/KDE
architecture change of libwpg-0_3-3-0.3.0-2.1.3.x86_64 to libwpg-0_3-3-0.3.0-2.1.3.i586
architecture change of libwpd-0_10-10-0.10.0-2.1.5.x86_64 to libwpd-0_10-10-0.10.0-2.1.5.i586
architecture change of libwps-0_3-3-0.3.0-2.1.3.x86_64 to libwps-0_3-3-0.3.0-2.1.3.i586
architecture change of librevenge-0_0-0-0.0.2-3.4.1.x86_64 to librevenge-0_0-0-0.0.2-3.4.1.i586
architecture change of libvisio-0_1-1-0.1.1-2.4.1.x86_64 to libvisio-0_1-1-0.1.1-2.4.1.i586

YaST2 conflicts list END

(I have had to remove 5000 characters from above list to post this)

Have they gone completely mad, how is it that deleting phonon requires the deinstallation of Konqueror, kdm, dolphin, kde and hundreds of others.
I have now got my pc running in kde but I’m frightened to turn it off until I’ve bought a new hard disk on which I can do a clean installation and start from scratch.

:X

Hi

Phonon is an integrated vital part of KDE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonon_(software)

It is not a question of using either ALSA or Phonon to produce sound; Phonon uses ALSA + whatevere multimedia-framework backend (gstreamer, xine etc) one choose to use, for the various KDE software.

Well, Phonon is KDE4 (and 5)'s multimedia backend. Nearly all KDE applications (and the desktop) use that. It’s even part of Qt4.
And no, they have not gone completely mad, at least not recently.
When KDE4 was created (8 years ago…), they decided to create their own abstraction layer, to not depend on 3rd party software any more (like KDE3’s Arts, which had been abandoned by its developers while KDE3 was still alive…)

And it supports more than just playing sound. It can play all multimedia files (as long as the backend supports them).

Dragon Player and Amarok are completely based on Phonon e.g.

I have now got my pc running in kde but I’m frightened to turn it off until I’ve bought a new hard disk on which I can do a clean installation and start from scratch.

You cannot “turn off” Phonon, and there’s no need to. It is just a library KDE applications can use to produce sound, independent on your actual operating system.

If you don’t want to use it (for whatever reason), uninstall KDE and all KDE based applications.

PS: (@F_sauce) The xine backend is not maintained at all since years, and doesn’t work nor is available any more.
The only options nowadays (on openSUSE) are gstreamer and vlc…

PS: (@F_sauce) The xine backend is not maintained at all since years, and doesn’t work nor is available any more.
The only options nowadays (on openSUSE) are gstreamer and vlc…

Aha, OK.

Olav

Thanks for your explanations. But I do have problems trying to understand why they had to integrate phonon so deeply into the system. Take a good look at the apps it actually has to uninstall just to remove one file (libphonon4-4.8.1-2.4.1.x86_64). why kpat, kmahjongg, kaddressbook, kcalc and gwenview. It is just a sound library it shouldn’t affect as many files as it does. Amarok I find too heavy I was happy with xmmp. Amarok tries to take over your system, I know where all my music files are and when I want to listen to them I can open them in xmmp and close it when I’ve finished, not with Amarok it doesn’t have a stop button only a pause, then when you close it, it doesn’t close but sits on the toolbar doing nothing. It’s too invasive. Once upon a time there used to be a program for Windoze called ACDC it was for browsing your photographs and it was brilliant. Then they upgraded it to play films and then again to listen to music until it got so heavy it became unusable. Even Kmail is getting unwieldy since they added Akonadi to it. I started using SuSe at 7.1 so maybe you can understand some of my gripes about upgrades removing perfectly functional apps/programs for new more complicated ones. Like someone said “If it aint broke don’t fix it”.
BTW I’m 67 and have been using computers since DOS 3.1, my problem nowadays is remembering how I did something 6 months ago to repair the computer I have to keep relearning it again it’s the same with programs, I used to use Autocad years ago but when I open it now I can’t remember how I used to do it. Once again thanks for replies.

libphonon is a library. You have to link against it to be able top use it. And as soon as you link against it, you need to have it installed.

That’s why libraries are normally split out into separate libxxx packages. Another example: you cannot uninstall libpulse either, you can uninstall pulseaudio itself though.

why kpat, kmahjongg, kaddressbook, kcalc and gwenview. It is just a sound library it shouldn’t affect as many files as it does.

Think of notification sounds e.g.
Also those applications do not require libphonon directly. They require some other package, which does.
Oh, and Phonon actually is integrated into Qt4, so you cannot uninstall it completely anyway.

Amarok I find too heavy I was happy with xmmp. Amarok tries to take over your system,

Why does it “take over your system”?

But if you don’t like it, fine. Don’t use it.

it doesn’t have a stop button only a pause,

It does.
But not in the default toolbar. Switch to the “Slim Toolbar” and there will be one.
The developers seem to think there’s not really a need for a stop button, “Pause” stops playing music anyway…
But again, it has not been removed completely.

I don’t want to address your other “concerns” now.
Maybe you should just switch back to DOS? :stuck_out_tongue:

wolfi323 donned his tin foil hat and penned:

> I don’t want to address your other “concerns” now.
> Maybe you should just switch back to DOS? :stuck_out_tongue:
>
>

Smile young man :slight_smile:

it gets to all of us eventually,


Mark
Nullus in verba
Caveat emptor
Nil illigitimi carborundum

hi there, sorry about griping it wasn’t actually my intention to gripe but merely point out a mistake I made by not seeing the ‘267 more’ when deleting it in Yast. I like SuSe and will continue to use it I’ll just adapt to the changes they make with every upgrade and try and get used to them. The Akonadi thing was that the first time it was installed a couple of years ago, it instantly started scanning for multimedia files which I thought was invasive so I stopped it. Recently when I had another look at it it didn’t automatically start scanning for files but when I played a track it went off looking for covers and lyrics which I didn’t like.
I think going back to DOS is bit drastic :). Once again thanks for your replies they have been useful. I have to do a complete re-install soon anyway I’m considering an SSD drive when I’ve investigated them enough.

Akonadi is KDE’s PIM framework. It doesn’t “scan” for any files and in particular not multimedia ones, nor does it look for covers and lyrics.

I think you mean Amarok here?
Well, Amarok is not intended to be a simple music player, but more a music “manager” or however you’d like to call it. If you want a simple music player, install and use one.
Again, nobody forces you to use Amarok.

But I still don’t understand how it would “take over the system” as you wrote… :wink:
And it only looks for music files and covers in the configured directories. It only fetches lyrics for the song that is currently played (if it hasn’t done so already), but this can be turned off.

PS: My advise to maybe switch back to DOS was not meant seriously… :wink:

yes, you are right I meant Amarok and not Akonadi. It was just the first time I tried it about 6 years ago and at that time it did start scanning for music files. I know that it no longer does that but it does still search for lyrics and go to the wikipedia page for the artist. I also know that I can change the settings to disable that function. I have just looked at the changelog file for Amarok and you can see that it certainly had a its share of ‘bugs’. Maybe I was exaggerating when I said it ‘Takes over the system’ but it certainly starting doing things automatically which I wasn’t comfortable with. I like programs to open and wait for me to configure them before I tell them what to do in this case ‘play’ the track then stop or go to the next track that I’ve added. At the moment when I select a track to play when it finishes it starts playing the next track in the directory. I’m sure that that can be configured as well but I suppose I’m too set in my ways and all in all I really am used to using what was ‘winamp’ and now has been re-baptised qmmp.
I had understood that the DOS thing wasn’t serious but it is difficult to convey humour through the written word. Once again thanks for the discussion.

Klementine is a good option, no complications for us old hands :wink:

I’ve frozen time and eliminated most of my old-apps maintenance by installing them in vmwareplayer VMs (XP, W7, oS11 and oS13.1). Broke something? restore the VM from a backup, setup the shares and I’m good to go.

Clementine, with a “C”.

Again, it only scans in the configured directories, by default it’s ~/Music/.

I know that it no longer does that but it does still search for lyrics and go to the wikipedia page for the artist.

The lyrics and the wikipedia page are displayed by applets, you can just remove them if you don’t like that.

I have just looked at the changelog file for Amarok and you can see that it certainly had a its share of ‘bugs’.

Like most software, yes.

Maybe I was exaggerating when I said it ‘Takes over the system’ but it certainly starting doing things automatically which I wasn’t comfortable with. I like programs to open and wait for me to configure them before I tell them what to do in this case ‘play’ the track then stop or go to the next track that I’ve added.

I think it asks where your collection is located on first start meanwhile.

At the moment when I select a track to play when it finishes it starts playing the next track in the directory.

No, it doesn’t, and never did.
It will play the next song in the playlist, like a music player is supposed to IMHO.

And unless you activated a dynamic playlist (which is not turned on by default), it will not automatically add songs to the playlist either.

If you drop a whole folder to your playlist, then it will act like you describe. But that’s what I would expect.

I’m sure that that can be configured as well but I suppose I’m too set in my ways and all in all I really am used to using what was ‘winamp’ and now has been re-baptised qmmp.

Well, there are other WinAMP clones, like XMMS (which I used before I found Amarok 10 years ago) or Audacious (which is still in active development. And general media players like VLC, MPlayer, or Xine can play Audio files as well of course.

But if you like qmmp, use that on all counts.

Oh, and especially WinAMP has a lot of plugins, that do exactly those things you don’t seem to like, e.g. fetching lyrics, covers, …

Yes, but it is based on Amarok (1, i.e. the KDE3 version), so it’s probably exactly not what he wants… :wink:

I’ve frozen time and eliminated most of my old-apps maintenance by installing them in vmwareplayer VMs (XP, W7, oS11 and oS13.1). Broke something? restore the VM from a backup, setup the shares and I’m good to go.

Good idea in general of course.

But for a music player, I doubt I would do that. Having to start the VM whenever I want to listen to music? Having the “other” OS take half a Gigabyte of RAM or more?
Not really worth it IMHO… :wink:

The first thing I do after installing an OS is add some more programs I normally use AND uninstall Amarok. This program is just too heavy for me, I’ve tried several times to use it but somehow it is too complicated for me.
I want a simple audioplayer with a long list of songs which I can add in playlists and then play them whenever I like it. I don’t need song-texts, I’m not looking at the player anyway when playing music plus I practically only have instrumental music (you know, the ones without texts ;))
I use Clementine and although it is based on Amarok it is so different, it does what I want it to do: play music, the music I want to hear.

That’s why Amarok is not the only music player in openSUSE or even Linux in general.

I want a simple audioplayer with a long list of songs which I can add in playlists and then play them whenever I like it. I don’t need song-texts, I’m not looking at the player anyway when playing music plus I practically only have instrumental music (you know, the ones without texts ;))
I use Clementine and although it is based on Amarok it is so different,

Well, it is based on Amarok 1 as I wrote, so of course it is different to Amarok 2. And it has of course changed over the years so is not exactly the same as Amarok 1 any more either.
And Amarok 1 is still available as well.

But even Amarok 1 used a “Collection”, scanned for tracks in the configured directories, fetched lyrics, and showed Wikipedia pages.
And Clementine does too, and it has also other “Internet Services”.

That’s why I wrote that I think Clementine is not a good choice for ghep because those are exactly the things he wrote he doesn’t like in Amarok.

I’d prefer Amarok 1 over Clementine any day though, but that’s probably because I exclusively used it for years (and it doesn’t require gstreamer… :wink: ).

it does what I want it to do: play music, the music I want to hear.

Hm? And Amarok 2 does not?
I’d say every music player or media player plays the music you tell it to play. Also Amarok 2.

But as I already wrote a few times: if you don’t like Amarok, don’t use it. There are plenty of alternatives.

I prefer Amarok (2), but that’s just me. And TBH, personally I don’t really care what other people use anyway.

I couldn’t suss out how you separate the quotes so I’ll have to do it the long way.

“Again, it only scans in the configured directories, by default it’s ~/Music/.”

I just played a song in amarok to check it out. I have never configured it before so I went to Settings-> configure Amarok. In ‘General’ It had already selected ‘Automatically retrieve cover art’ +‘Enable context applets…’ +‘Show background images…’. In ‘Local Collection’ it had found my music files and had selected the directories for scanning which surprised me because they are on different disk although mounted in my home directory but with a path of /audio/mp3/. ‘Watch folders for changes’ was also selected. In ‘Metadata’ All the ‘Synchronisation’ options were selected. The rest of the tabs had no problems with only Lyricwiki script needing to be disabled.

“If you drop a whole folder to your playlist, then it will act like you describe. But that’s what I would expect.”

Me too.

“No, it doesn’t, and never did.
It will play the next song in the playlist, like a music player is supposed to IMHO.”

When I played the the song today before re-configuring it when the song finished it did start playing another song which was not even in the directory of the song I played. Now I’ve re-configured it and it stops after playing the selected song.

“Oh, and especially WinAMP has a lot of plugins, that do exactly those things you don’t seem to like, e.g. fetching lyrics, covers, …”

Yes I agree but you do have to add them all manually and not remove them manually.

“But for a music player, I doubt I would do that. Having to start the VM whenever I want to listen to music? Having the “other” OS take half a Gigabyte of RAM or more”

Yes in fact most of my troubles started last December when I lost a 2TB HDD on which I had Partitions for Grub, Windoze, swap, Root and Home. I usually recover hard disks for all my friends with great success but this one was a ‘click’ ‘click’ ‘click’ failure which couldn’t even be seen in the BIOS, in the end I had to send it to Seagate who did in their way recover the data. On that disk I too had Win98, WinXP, Win7, Ubuntu, Mame, BT4 and Knoppix. But I haven’t reinstalled them yet.

You can’t.
You have to cut/move the text and insert

tags manually (for the latter there’s a button in the editor’s toolbar, if you select a text first this text will be enclosed).

[QUOTE]

“Again, it only scans in the configured directories, by default it’s ~/Music/.”

I just played a song in amarok to check it out. I have never configured it before so I went to Settings-> configure Amarok. In ‘General’ It had already selected ‘Automatically retrieve cover art’ +‘Enable context applets…’ +‘Show background images…’. In ‘Local Collection’ it had found my music files and had selected the directories for scanning which surprised me because they are on different disk although mounted in my home directory but with a path of /audio/mp3/.

Ok, I was not 100% correct. Actually it uses the folder that’s set in “Configure Desktop”->User Account Details->Paths as your music folder.
If that’s set to $HOME for some reason, it will use the whole $HOME as collection of course (unless you reconfigure that inside Amarok), and will find files in $HOME/audio/mp3/.

But again, I think it asks for confirmation on first start, I’d have to check with a fresh user account though.

‘Watch folders for changes’ was also selected.

Yes, but that only applies to the folders that are part of your collection.
It does not scan the whole hard disk, unless you configure thr whole hard disk as being part of your collection.

In ‘Metadata’ All the ‘Synchronisation’ options were selected.

Those synchronization options only apply to things like IPods or external media. And you have to do the synchronization manually.
Nothing is synchronized automatically, you have to click on the button there.

“No, it doesn’t, and never did.
It will play the next song in the playlist, like a music player is supposed to IMHO.”

When I played the the song today before re-configuring it when the song finished it did start playing another song which was not even in the directory of the song I played. Now I’ve re-configured it and it stops after playing the selected song.

That’s the standard behavior. If it finished playing the playlist, it stops (unless you enabled loop mode of course).

I have no idea what happened in your case. But if there is no song in the playlist, none is played, period.
You must have had another song in the playlist. You can add songs outside your collection to play them, so that would explain why it was not from the same folder.
And yes, Amarok does remember the playlist between restarts, so maybe it was a song that was still in the playlist from a previous run?

I meant to say that those partitions were not really partitions but VirtualBox Hard Disks.
Today I treated myself to a Sandisk Ultra II 240 GB solid state drive which I’ll start installing after posting this.
So once again thank you all for your support and I hope I’ll be back soon with phonon because I have to but without Amarok.

Ok.
Just one thing I think I should mention:
Phonon is just a thin abstraction layer that uses backends (plugins) to do the actual work. It has been embraced by KDE for the 4 series, to not be tied to some 3rd party multimedia/sound system (that might get dropped by its maintainers) again like they were in KDE3 (with Arts).
Actually I see no reason for trying to get rid of it at all, it is no server/daemon, it doesn’t use any resources (as long as there’s no multimedia file played of course) and it’s not really big either (~520 KiB for libphonon, ~370 KiB for the gstreamer backend)…

For the reasons listed above I think this is very sane approach for a DE multimedia solution.