There are some applications that you are so used too that you don’t really think about an alternative. Something like Screamer Radio for me, it ‘gets the job done’. Until you run into an alternative through one of your favorite software blogs, maybe something like ghacks.net.

You install the alternative and play a little with it and then it hits you, you have been missing the superb search function in your former piece of internet radio streaming thingie. Luckily for you there is also a testing version, so you can apply a non-hideous skin so it kinda looks like a native Windows application. The nice cross fades into the next station, the more than 12000 presets, or the simple equalizer presets are something I won’t even mention here.

So now I just type in ‘ska’ and it comes up with ‘BigUpRadio Skankin’ Ska’. Search FTW!

www.radiosure.com

I have been switching between Media Player Classic and VLC Media Player for my video viewing needs for over a year now. I always liked MPC a lot of bits better, but VLC had better explorer context options like right clicking on a map with dvd files or an iso and selecting play from there. And since I’m always working from within Windows Explorer this is a big thing for me.

But really, the guys from VLC should find someone who can redesign the preferences settings. If you weren’t freaked out by watching the ring or something, you should open the preferences of VLC, be sure to try the advanced settings too.

So then I stumbled upon Media Player Classic – Home Ciname, a fork of the original which has bugs fixed, you know the original MPC is sorta dead, additional video decoders and the thing what I was missing, right clicking in Explorer. So I will be test driving this app for a while.

mpc-hc.sourceforge.net