Hey guys, I totally get that the new icon system for multiple recordings of a given piece is probably meant to blur the line between “local” and “online”, but it really doesn’t work, because it really isn’t clear or instinctive (or not as clear and instinctive as the “library icon with number” and “network icon with number”) that preceded it.
Whereas in 1.7, it would’ve been easy for me to immediately see that I have two versions locally, and that there are another 14 available from my streaming provider, now, the only thing I can see is that, well, there are versions. Yeap, some tracks have more than others, as I can easily guess from here:
But the thing is that there are 15 versions of You’ve got it (The Right Stuff), same with Please Don’t Go Girl, 16 for I’ll Be Loving You Forever, which is, well, ok, close, but then, you only have two for I Need You, which uses the same icon to indicate the number of versions. Then, Hangin’ Tough has 24.
It feels like it not only makes no sense, but that it’s also a bit bone-headed, because there’s enough negative space there not only for numbers, but also to differentiate the icons, without hurting the airiness of the design too much.
That, or I completely missed the awesomeness behind the logic.
I don’t see an issue. If I’m listening to a particular track all I need to know is that there are other versions.
If I want to explore them I click the icon and see the full list. Again the number of versions is largely irrelevant. And so is the source. They are what they are.
But then I’m not precious about the file format, bit depth etc. I’ll always chose the version that is the most rewarding listen.
To me the extra information in 1.7 was unnecessary.
I kinda disagree with you, in the sense that you can read the number of alternates as an indicator of the cultural impact of a given track: in my example, Hangin’ Tough had a bigger cultural impact than Cover Girl, and that shows in the number of alternates.
For me, this is actually a better indicator than the individual taste that goes in the criticism, or, I’d guess, the checkmarks.
This probably applies to classical as well, where some stuff (say, the first movement from the four seasons) is much more likely to end up on “best of elevator music, vol. 12” than the fourth.
We completely agree on formats and bit depths. Thing is that because at least one of the services normally only allows for one stream per “normal” subscription, I tend to rather prefer to know where something’s coming from, so that I’m sure not to needlessly interrupt my partner’s listening, for example…
I guess my point is : do you need this information on that page? I’m not saying it’s irrelevant, just that I’m not going to want that information for the majority of my listening so it’s better elsewhere.
Maybe some mileage in the streaming icon on the Recordings page. Maybe linked to the Customise Album Display options?
I’d like an option to have it, yes, in the sense that given how much negative space there is anyway, I don’t feel like it detracts from readability of either titles or durations, so I don’t see the gain in removing it or it being yet another function nested behind something else.
