As I am slowly switching to OS X, I am adapting to new tools, and working out ways to use my favorite tools on the new platform. I built SilverSpider Play List around the Now Playing plugin, which is a great tool, but sadly, it only works for Winamp on Windows. So, I downloaded Kung Tunes and figured out how to configure it for use with SSPL. In time, I will add instructions for many others options – in fact, if you have figured out how to use an alternate media player / plugin with the script, please let me know, and I will include it in the documentation.
Using Kung Tunes with SilverSpider Play List
- Download and install Kung Tunes
- Open the Kung Tunes Preferences
- On the Uploads tab make the following changes:
- Upload Method: HTTP
- URL: The URL to your playlist_builder.php file including a question mark at the end (example: www.silverspider.com/playlist/playlist_builder.php?)
- File Location: Your Preferences folder within your user directory (example: /Users/alex/Library/Preferences/)
- Name: trackinfo.txt
- Leave the FTP info as it is, as you won’t need it
- On the Uploads tab make the following changes:
- Timer: 0
- Auto-Start Timer: Checked
- Produce Info Track File at Every Track Change: checked
- Track List: 0
- Inactivity Messages: Up to you, but there is not any support for these messages in SSPL – I recommend you uncheck these
- No Changes to the Miscellaneous Tab
- Save your Preferences changes
- Test your changes by opening iTunes and playing a song (make sure Kung Tunes is running
- Let me know if this doesn’t work for you and I will review my instructions
Note: Kung Tunes appears to have issues with non-English character sets which can seriously impact some album displays (Björk anyone?). It is also prone to random crashes, so it isn’t perfect, but it is a start.
I would love to hear about any other plugins and media players that you would like to see supported by SilverSpider Play List.
What is SilverSpider Play List?
SilverSpider Play List is a set of PHP scripts that helps you add a recent music list to your Web site. Each time you listen to a song, your media player will send song information to your Web site which will gather the info, and with the help of Amazon, compile it into a list of entries, each containing the name of the song, the artist and the album cover.
The markup provided by SSPL is very clean, and each of the 12 markup formats relies upon CSS and valid XHTML to control layout and style.
More information can be found at the official site, and within my SilverSpider Play List category on this site.
