Install Amarok 1.4.1 in Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu
Amarok rocks. Last.fm, ditto. Amarok and Last.fm — need I say more? Since version 1.4.1 Amarok supports Last.fm streams and, best of all — the neat feature of suggesting similar tracks to what you’re listening based on your (and others’) Last.fm profile.
I was suprised to find out that they actually changed the interface, but if you liked Amarok before, you’ll damn sure love it now. Dynamic playlists can be found in the playlists tab. What really blew me off was when I loaded the “Suggested Songs” playlist and started playing a track. Amarok populated the playlist with similar tracks in less than a second. I switched the genre, new tracks similar to what I was playing were automatically inserted in the list. This is cool.
But what makes Amarok even more fun to use is that you can play Last.fm streams, love and ban tracks just like in the original player. How much more cool is that?
Back to business, installing Amarok 1.4.1 in Ubuntu and friends. First things first, download the gpg key that was used to sign the packages:
wget http://people.ubuntu.com/~jriddell/kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg
Import the key:
sudo apt-key add kubuntu-packages-jriddell-key.gpg
Add a new repository:
sudo echo "deb http://kubuntu.org/packages/amarok-latest dapper main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
Refresh the package list:
sudo apt-get update
And install amarok:
sudo apt-get install amarok amarok-engines
Fast, light and no sugar.
Technically sound instructions.Thanks.Question though :if I’m using Xubuntu, do I really want to use a qt app like amarok, sounds like forfeiting the gains made on performance, GTK2 n’all..
Dunno, what you reckon?
Hi. Unless you’re running a fairly decent machine I wouldn’t recommend you using Amarok on Xubuntu. If you’re looking for a good and, of course since we’re talking about Xubuntu here, fast music player you should go for Banshee. I’ve used that player for about 4-5 months until I discovered Amarok, and I know for sure that it’s faster and less of a memory hog. My hardware is a 2Ghz cpu and I have 1 gig of ram, so memory consumption was not such a big problem. The only reason I am running xfce instead of other wm’s is the fact that I’m used to it, and second, I got tired of my gnome and kde looks.
Anyway, the bottom line is — unless your hardware gives you signs that it’s confortable with qt applications there’s no reason to be knocking at the wrong door. There are plenty of similar and great(er?) GTK2 based apps out there just waiting to be discovered, and Banshee is one of them (also take a look on BMPx)