1 Topic by likearaptor (edited by likearaptor 2010-01-12 08:02:46)

  • From: Idaho
  • Registered: 2009-12-03
  • Posts: 111

Topic: Pandora Interface

Hi,

I love to listen to Pandora, but I have the habit (whether it be bad or not) of making sure a song I listen to is either thumbs up or thumbs down.  Mostly I only hear thumbs up songs but on some of my stations I get a lot of new ones and the majority are ones I don't like (go figure).  So here is what I currently do:

1.  Start Pandora and make sure the song it starts playing is a good one
2.  Exit out of Pandora and go back to the widget channel while listening to Pandora
3.  When I hear a song I don't like I have to go to control panel, music, Pandora, options, thumbs down. 
4.  Then I have to hit Done, Done, and then click on the widget to resume playback of the widgets.

Sometimes I get a lot of new ones in a row and I usually stay in the Pandora app till I feel like I should be getting good ones and then I go back to the channel.

It would be nice if the Pandora app had some sort of an API that we could see the title/artist in the control panel at maybe the bottom of the screen and a little thumbs up and down button to automatically send that info to Pandora. 

If not, maybe at least a Pandora button (or whatever is playing) that would take you straight to the Music App, because the part that is the most annoying is a 5 second delay after hitting Music.  So it would take one button press and one touch in the screen and you would be in the app instead of one button press and one touch, 5 second delay, and another touch. 

Thanks

  • From: Oceanside, CA
  • Registered: 2008-04-17
  • Posts: 650

Re: Pandora Interface

I've always thought another good idea that would help you (and not be as much of a UI change) would be the ability to leave the control panel in music and return to widget playback.  For example, navigate to pandora and simply press the bend sensor to return to widgets.  If you wish to play with alarms, changing channels, etc. you still have the option to leave the music section for the rest of the control panel, but I don't like that I'm forced to leave music to get back to widgets.  In other words, the bend sensor should ALWAYS toggle widgets/control panel.

Linux Guy - Occasional Chumby Hacker

Materdaddy's Website

  • From: Idaho
  • Registered: 2009-12-03
  • Posts: 111

Re: Pandora Interface

I think that would be a great idea, and probably not that big of a change.  That would at least remove the problem on how to resume widget playback.

  • From: Queens, NY
  • Registered: 2010-01-17
  • Posts: 9

Re: Pandora Interface

This sounds like a great fuctional change.  I find navigating back to the "start" of the control panel from music cumbersome, as is going from widgets back to music.  If the top button just toggled the control panel overlay on and off it would resolve this process.

Non-programmer
Chumby One for Xmas '09
Registered Nurse

mickeynurse's Website

  • Registered: 2011-03-21
  • Posts: 4

Re: Pandora Interface

I don't know if Chumby has an Interface Specs, but I am mainly playing with Pandora and find it "locks" up to frequently and its interface is quite kludgy, un-doncumented,...

  perhaps you can point me to a documentation of the interface of pandora and a suggested interface for Chumby apps.

   The Pandora problem is that often it gets into a state where the only way to recover is to power off the Chumby and re-load. The "Close" tab  never seems to work and the top-button on the Chumby is inactive.

   My first suggestion is that the Chumby OS support a Long press of the top button to be a "Previous" so that any page or program can be forcefully "abortted" back or at worst to the OS home page. That does not require that the apps be re-written, but just that there be a recognition of a long push of the top button and have the OS follow a "Previous" if available, or return to its top level.

   My second suggestion is that all APPS support the "previous" or "close" or what ever, via the Chumby top button, if possible, and that,  as possible, there be a soft button on the screen that does this, and that the "tab" in Pandora be activated this way...

   My third suggestion is that all menus be made touch screen scrollable and items be double clickable. In Pandora, they use line  down and line up arrows and require an extra "Go To"  push.

    I'm sure that there are a lot more, and I looked to Cumby.wiki, but did not find an interface section, My Bad?, but though the device is interesting, it will live or die based on its apps, and unless they are capable, easy to use, ..., I suspect it will go the way of the Dinosaur.

   p.s. Is there another, perhaps better and alternative, app for accessing Pandora or a similar service....

THANKS...

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,209

Re: Pandora Interface

Pandora had very stringent requirements for the UI used by the Chumby.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2009-02-12
  • Posts: 132

Re: Pandora Interface

Duane wrote:

Pandora had very stringent requirements for the UI used by the Chumby.

That's interesting.  The Chumby UI seems to mirror the Pandora.com UI fairly closely, but the UI for Pandora on my Android phone is quite a bit different, and the Pandora UI on my Dash is even more different.

Somewhat off topic, I particularly like the way the Chumby allows you to go back through songs that have played and rate them even after another song has started -- I can't do that on Android, Dash, or even the Windows Sidebar app -- just Chumby and the web interface.

  • Registered: 2011-03-21
  • Posts: 4

Re: Pandora Interface

Follow up to; http://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?pid=35943#p35943

1) I am considering upgrading from a Chumby I to the Sony, or newer one, Are the interface and Apps the same or different, and if different how so?

2) I assume the answer is that the ONLY interface to Pandora is the one I have on my Chumby I, or is there a different/better one available, either on my Chumby or the others?

What I want is a less "buggy" and better Pandora App. The key addition I'd want is to be able turn off the Music and switch. With one touch, to an idle night time Clock or almost black screen [My default], and then in the morning, with two touches, "Get attention,  either by touching the screen or the top bar"  and "Start Playing Music" be able to continue playing the channel that I stopped when I went to bed.

As it is now, it takes lots of touches to go into Night mode, thru the default Night mode, and then back to the channel I was listening to, thru the default channel, exiting it, then into the music channel, then selecting pandora, then adjusting the volume control... That is more work than I'd prefer.

Thanks.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,209

Re: Pandora Interface

On the Sony Dash, the Pandora client is completely different - it's part of Sony's BIVL offering, and thus you have to go through a different set of menus and options to get to it, probably even more complex than on C1.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2011-07-17
  • Posts: 16

Re: Pandora Interface

Actually, on the Dash, there is a shortcut to go back to whatever audio app is playing.  Just press the top button then the screen button that looks like a play button |>

There is also a theme that shows what's playing on Pandora in the bottom right while your widgets still play AND you still see the time/weather.  Trust me, not s Sony Dash cheerleader.  I own both the Dash and the C1.  They both have pros and cons.  Rant over.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,209

Re: Pandora Interface

Raskull is right - hitting the top button will bring up that menu under certain circumstances  - at other times, however, it will simply exit what you're doing altogether, for instance, if you happen to be looking at one of the other BIVL applications.

It obviously makes little difference to us which one anyone buys, just pointing out that the dash does not have the ever elusive single-press "do what I want" button any more than anything else.

Duane's Website