View source for Amarok/Archives/VisionCreation

[[Category:Amarok]]
'''This page was used to collect ideas relevant for the vision for Amarok. It has since been [[Vision|created]].'''


= now (status March 2011) =

== What is happening in the world external to Amarok that may impact our work? ==
* computing is becoming ubiquitous
** decline of desktops
** move to mobile devices
** 2011 is the year of the tablet, and tablets are probably here to stay
** streaming music services are more ubiquitous, and no longer all free
** users have more and more sources of music (local, remote, ...)
* backend and other supporting software is changing or disappearing (HAL)
* mp3 stores are mostly DRM-free
* increasing amounts of (free) music available
* move to QML
* number of music player protocols becoming less? (Can we scale back efforts here?)

== What trends are occurring that may affect the needs, expectations, and desires of key stakeholders (e.g., contributors, upstream, downstream, etc.) ==
* computing is becoming ubiquitious
** move to mobile devices
** moving music to the cloud
*** streaming services like Spotify, MOG, grooveshark make listening to music easy, cheap, with low overhead. For <$10 a month I can listen to whatever I want wherever I want.
* net is becoming more social - so is music on the net
* in spite of the above, Last.fm doesn't seem to be growing
* willingness to pay artists directly instead of giving a large share to music labels or pirating the music completely (flattr?)
* app stores popping up
* simplicity and usability
* instant gratification

== What are other projects doing or considering doing to prepare themselves for the future? ==
* providing music purchases inside the player - shop integration
* vendor lock-in to keep customers
* coupling hardware and software
* allowing easy coding of add-ons
* integrating player controls into the desktop
* integrating a large number of social/web services
* allowing to share music with a group of friends

== What are the core values and beliefs for how contributions should be done that will not be compromised? ==
* libre
* gratis?
* open
* welcoming new contributors, and new ideas
* still a KDE project

= the future =

== What is Amarok's reputation? What is it known for? ==
* Amarok brand still highly coupled to KDE but it is known that Amarok can be run anywhere else as well 
* power with simplicity
* provides lots of context information
* not the best for someone who just wants to listen to a song or two every now and then
* plays whatever music is right at the moment
* best of breed
* helps rediscover music in the large amount each user has access to
* service and social feature integration integration

== What do competitors and coopetition respect and envy the most? ==
* pre-eminent KDE music app
* serious music lovers want to use Amarok if possible
* do we still mostly ignore the competition? we sometimes refer folks to other players which will better meet their needs
* our brand
* portability

== How and where are contributors doing work and interacting with users? ==
* Remotely via the internet
* On IRC, mailing lists, forums, wiki, denting, tweeting, blogs
* Amarok Insider
* Handbook
* Globally distributed teams: Europe and America
* attending FLOSS events, wearing our Amarok gear, and sometimes even staffing Amarok booths
* office?
* close contact to the team possible for every user

== What is the user's experience? ==
* still rediscovering music
* discovering music again that was forgotten in the large pool of files
* able to handle music from a lot of different sources in the same application
* "Amarok is magic - it is playing exactly what I like"
* [[Who are Our Users: User Profiles]]

== What major contributions have been made to the communities contributed to? ==
* inclusion of more context information than other players
* promoting free culture by allowing the user to discover great free culture work
* making people happy through music
* advancement of Free Software

== What are contributors saying to their closest friends and family about what it is like to contribute to Amarok? ==
* fun
* great to hang out with other music lovers
* team are responsive, intelligent, interesting people to work with 
* Amarok is awesome
* social/travel opportunities for active contributors
* opportunity to learn
* productive
* innovative

== What new ideas, businesses or ventures have been pursued? ==
(By Amarok or outsiders? [[User:Casey Link|Ramblurr]]  both [[User:Nightrose|Nightrose]])
* GSoC students have provided major code initiatives, and new members to the developer team
* GCI provided new energy and contributions to the Documentation team, and bug triage
* more music stores integrated
* more university projects
* more collaboration with free culture artists and labels
* Amarok on devices (smart phones, juke box,...)

== What is going on in the market place? ==
* restructuring in the music business landscape
* free music is clustering in distribution sites specializing in genres such as folk, covers, experimental, etc.
* streaming stations still shaking out
* commercial CD distribution consolidated on very few sites
* we have Amarok by default on devices -> small jukebox in the store next door, tablet pc, ...

== How are contributors interacting with users? How are services being provided? ==
* Interaction is via IRC, mailing lists, bugzilla, forums, blogs, denting, tweeting, the Insider
* Handbook
* Services provided via the same mediums as well as regular updates to the software addressing users' issues
* blogging and denting about Amarok have provided our users with both technical and new feature information

== What is the mood of the team? ==
There have been some tensions between team members in the past. More communication might help, but some disagreements are bound to happen in a fast-paced project. In general, team members confront one another openly, rather than gossiping, which means issues can be resolved. Overall, the team is a wonderful group to be part of. The IRC channels are positive; full of smart, funny people. - [[User:Valoriez|valorie]]

== What are contributors, users and other stakeholders experiencing and feeling? ==
* new contributors feel welcome, and appreciated
* long-time contributors have created friendships within the team, and still enjoy hacking on Amarok
* it is possible for some to make a living contributing to Amarok
* contributors find that their experience on the Amarok team also enriches their professional life
* Amarok is a joy to use because it has been made easier and more intuitive
* some users will use Amarok without knowing it is Amarok
* experiencing any music anywhere, anytime