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Audiogalaxy reinvents itself as free, access-your-music-anywhere service (with Android and iOS apps!)
The service is incredibly easy to use: just head over to Audiogalaxy.com, register an account, install a "helper" app (it searches for, and streams, your music)... and that's it. You're then presented with a simple, but fully-functional, Web-based music player -- which you can use as your primary music player, if you like!
Despite what it may look like, Audiogalaxy isn't cloud-based -- in fact, your MP3s never leave your computer's hard disk. When you play a song from your collection the helper app actually streams the music. This means that your home PC (or whichever computer has access to your music) has to stay turned on -- not an ideal solution for some users, but one that's obviously much easier and safer for Audiogalaxy to pull off.
The implications -- the potential applications -- are pretty extensive when you factor in the Android [QR code] and iPhone [iTunes] apps. Assuming you have a half-decent Internet connection (i.e. anything better than dial-up), you can have access to your entire music library wherever you go, including any computer with a Web browser.
You can also let other people access your library -- give your password to a friend and they can stream your music, too! They can even log into your account and create playlists for you!
Below is a gallery of my experiences with Audiogalaxy's Web and Android apps -- as you'll see, it's not the most beautiful service in the world, but it works really well.
Comments
16
Subscribe to commentsrells009Oct 14th 2010 10:34AM
I do have fond memories of Audiogalaxy. It introduced me to a lot of artists I would've never heard of otherwise.
SpankyOct 14th 2010 10:45AM
Confirmed on my iPhone.
I kept my PC on all day yesterday and Audiogalaxy kept the music going even over EDGE. I would have like to use 3G on my iPhone 3GS but in Seattle, if you have 3G on, you'll drop any phone calls. Since I'm one of the few people that use my phone for voice calls, I give up 3G but get better battery life - but I digress.
The shuffle is a great feature. I hit it with a folder on my HD and another USB drive and it found all 57,000 songs. Then, the shuffle put together a 10 song mix that allowed me to enjoy a few tunes I hadn't heard in a long time. Additionally, the responsiveness to a fast forward in my shuffle list was very quick. Again, this was all over a fairly nasty EDGE connection.
Sound quality was really good. Most of my Mp3s are really high bit rate and it didn't choke on any of them.
I would love to see a paid version that could handle .Flac files (a bit of an anomaly for sure) but otherwise, this feels really well baked and ready for prime time.
If you want to know how they're going to make money, just say LaLaLaLaLa over and over again until they are acquired and cash out.
Sebastian AnthonyOct 14th 2010 11:31AM
Cool! I'm glad the iPhone experience is just as good :)
There's an entry in the FAQ, re: FLAC. They say they're working on it (and I don't think it'll be paid-for... at least I hope not). It's probably something to do with transcoding, because you don't want to stream FLAC to a mobile device (unless you have very nice headphones...)
I'm curious how much it will cost them to run. Bandwidth is pretty cheap nowadays...
BradDOct 14th 2010 7:43PM
I've been doing this with Subsonic for years.
http://www.subsonic.org/pages/index.jsp
JeffPOct 14th 2010 1:44PM
Subsonic user here too. Would be interested to hear a comparison regarding performance between the two.
Asim FareedOct 14th 2010 2:49PM
Just tried this, it seems, well, pretty perfect.
I can now listen to my music from any computer and (when I get a droid) anywhere I want. I was trying to do something similar using port forwarding from my ReadyNAS but it was so slow. This is instant.
The quality is also pretty great, I can't tell the difference between streaming an mp3 and listening to it from my HDD, though I am listening through Koss Portapros at the office right now.
I like the idea of having all my music accessible anywhere, especially since it's too big for an iPod (300gb+). I was thinking of waiting for Windows Phone 7 and then using Zune Pass to pull similar music from the cloud, but that's an extra $15 a month. This is free!
Again, this seems awesome, are there any similar programs/sites I could also try?
Sebastian AnthonyOct 14th 2010 3:23PM
Ah... that's an interesting one. If your NAS has a Web browser, and Flash, you could stream with Audiogalaxy...
I hadn't thought of that -- and I have a NAS!
Asim FareedOct 14th 2010 4:26PM
Well I just mounted the NAS to a drive letter, then pointed Audiogalaxy to it via simple file browser, it could not have been easier.
This was a huge contrast to programs like Mozy or Windows Live Folder Sync, which refuse to recognize NAS entirely.
Sebastian AnthonyOct 14th 2010 4:49PM
Hehe, the whole point would be to have your NAS streaming the music -- so you can turn your desktop off while you're out of the house :P
Asim FareedOct 14th 2010 5:05PM
Ohh of course, I get it. But come on, who turns their computer off anymore =p
Asim FareedOct 14th 2010 2:51PM
Subsonic you say? Trying it now...
Asim FareedOct 14th 2010 3:19PM
OK I can't get Subsonic to stream from a NAS. Also, streaming to a mobile phone via Subsonic costs 10 euros. So.... I'mma stick with Audiogalaxy, even though it can't do FLAC.
@davey_ladOct 14th 2010 4:45PM
Just audiogalaxied up my iTunes library... streaming to my HTC Desire in no time. I'm well impressed... it's even got album art... cool.
Next task is to move my music to one of the servers at work... i'm sure they won't mind :-)
paulOct 14th 2010 5:02PM
I've done this for a while using a LAMP setup and ampache - http://ampache.org/
There are a few other web-based media streamers out there, and it seems like Audiogalaxy is essentially an AMP setup on top of the current OS + ampache-like software.
KrazyCalvinOct 15th 2010 1:22AM
Oh my god, audio galaxy! I loved that service sooo much. that and oink.cd make up 50 gigs of music on my hard drive.
danOct 16th 2010 6:01PM
is there any other ways to stream ur music after to turn off ur computer besides getting a NAS