I was catching up on some feeds yesterday, and this piece of news caught my eye - Amarok 2.1 released. Being a long time Amarok fan ( heck Amarok itself was catalyst to make me use my SUSE 10.0 use full time) - I read the article with great interest.

"In This Issue

* What's New in Amarok
* Google and Amarok
* Roktober Success
* Interview with a Developer: Bart Cerneels
* Automated Playlist Generator: How to Use it
* Queue Manager in Amarok
* Installing and using a script in Amarok
* Amarok on Windows
* Transcode your media files
* Amarok Live CD"

Amarok was my favorite among Linux media players, until Amarok 2.0 series started coming in. I totally understand that Amarok 2.0 series is a complete rewrite and I really appreciate the effort they have put on upgrading Amarok. But the bottom line is, Amarok 2.0 series is not there yet.

With the very latest on Amarok 2 development ( with more screenshots than you can snake a stick at ), past and future events, news on Amarok 2 on Mac and a wall sized Amarok logo, issue 12 of the "Amarok Insider" is a a great read for anyone curious about what cool and unique new features Amarok 2.0 will bring.

Since Amarok 2 is on its way with all the fuss around it and the currently stable 1.4.9.1 version will probably be the last in the 1.x series, I decided to make a review of the last stable Amarok. Debian Lenny will ship with this version (or any later version before Amarok 2), probably making it the most stable Amarok experience up to date.

Since Amarok 2 is on its way with all the fuss around it and the currently stable 1.4.9.1 version will probably be the last in the 1.x series, I decided to make a review of the last stable Amarok. Debian Lenny will ship with this version (or any later version before Amarok 2), probably making it the most stable Amarok experience up to date.

So I’ve just installed Amarok 2.1. Configured my collection location easy enough, downloaded the alarm script from the scripts library. I know exactly how I want Amarok 2 to look: Exactly like Amarok 1.4.

The Amarok team needs your help. Amarok are looking for a new, shiny and fresh jingle to play at first start of Amarok 2.0 and are holding a contest to find one. Magnatune and ccMixter have generously offered their help to get this going. The Amarok project will award the winner with fame, glory and a load of cool prizes, including $100 US dollars in cash and cool Amarok swag.

Amarok 2.1 Beta 1 is out in the wild! Featuring one of the longest ChangeLogs in Amarok history, this beta release showcases what is possible when building on the strong technical foundations that have been laid with Amarok 2.0. Nearly all parts of Amarok have received attention, and while not a final release, it is already very usable and quite stable.