Couldn't you pose the same question to Apple about why their most recent versions of OS X are not supported on older Macs? Ultimately, Spotify are going to have their requirements set to version of an Operating System. And you can't go on supporting old software forever. New features will become reliant on features of modern operating systems, and supporting old OSs becomes a nightmare and adds so much legacy code to any application, which makes the entire application bloated, slower, and much more prone to bugs. Bearing in mind that the PowerMac 5 was discontinued in 2006. And it's now 2012. You can't seriously be surprised that Spotify isn't continuing to support 6 year old technology.
With this new Mac OS update enabling widgets from other apps (besides the system apps) it will be really helpfull to have a widget for Spotify.
Admittedly they still support Windows XP, which is older than that. But I expect they'll drop that soonish. You have to face it at some point that if you want to use the latest and greatest software, you'll have to keep up with the reasonably newer technology. Computers really aren't designed to last forever, and neither is software for them. Consumers are expected (rightly or wrongly) to go out and replace old equipment with new, and to accept that.
David's given you Spotify's specific reason for this change: 'plans to implement newer and more advanced features' - advanced features that old operating systems just aren't going to support. And as for 'downright discriminatory', what about all those iPhone users that can't download half the apps in Apple's Appstore because their devices don't support them.
Spotify are no different to any other technology company, they can't support everyone's old devices for ever, else where would the incentive to upgrade be? We'd all still be using old bricks as mobile phones if we could play Angry Birds on them. Sorry for such a long post. But I hope that it's perhaps enlightened you as to why more and more software isn't going to be supported on your old devices. You can think of it as unfair, but that's just the way it works, I'm afraid. I suppose you have a point, as you see it, and there are two sides to every argument. If you are one of those people who can afford to buy new equipment every other year, then apps like Spotify must be for you.
It seems unfair for those of us who aren't rich or are like the person in this thread who worries about having to replace his G4 laptop to have Spotify. He's become attached to his machine (and OS) because it serves him faithfully and efficiently.
Do you recall the concept of 'planned obsolescence'? It involves making products that will either go out of date, out of fashion or fall apart after a certain amount of use. The cynical reasoning behind this marketing ploy is that gullible people will go out and buy the newest version, thus keeping the company profits healthy. If products were designed to last longer, the company would of course lose out, wouldn't it?
I'm afraid Apple may be guilty of this sort of thing, as just around the corner, the latest iPad may well eclipse the current model - just as that one's sleekness makes the initial offering look downright clunky. Read similar for your iPhones, iPads, and the Macs. As it happens, though people like you may never know or care about it, Apple has built very reliable and long-lasting computers, which can even be updated and repaired by users (though I don't know that installing an Intel processor, if possible, or OS X Lion is worth it to have Spotify). You think 6 years is ancient history, but visit the Apple Discussions, and you'll see users who are quite happy with 10 or 15 year-old machines and software.
Maybe they won't have Spotify, but there are plenty of other workarounds that they rely on. Another, more extreme example perhaps, (although I suspect you would find it so dreadfully un-American) is the way 50 or 60 year-old cars in Cuba are kept running - and even looking pretty, thanks to the dedication and ingenuity of their owners.
And that goes for a lot of other make-do 3rd world countries, and even in some sensible 1st world ones. So your arguement about supporting old OS being a nightmare doesn't hold water if you have any respect for the planet. I'm still blaming Spotify in this instance for not going the extra mile - which probably doesn't involve rocket science to create a 'legacy version', to include 'older' users. On that note, I should add that being in NYC, I have access to a very superior music collection at my public library - so may well go the route of simply copying CDs to my HD.
As far as 'latest and greatest software' if you can afford it, you and your up to date friends can have it.everyone else can go.themselves.is what I'm reading in your post, friend. Sorry for such a long post, but I hope that's enlightened you, too. I have PowerMacs G4 and 5 running OS 10 X.4 (Tiger) and I think it's pretty shoddy that Spotify can't see their way to accomodate me and the thousands of other users (and music lovers) who either can't afford Intel machines, or don't see the need for them -(outside of having Spotify, I guess). It's also downright discriminatory, when you think of it I was enjoying Spotify up til now, and can no longer access it.There just doesn't seem to be any reason why you can't include older macs and systems.Please explain.and if there's no decent explanation (underline decent) then why don't you do something to rectify this injury? Couldn't you pose the same question to Apple about why their most recent versions of OS X are not supported on older Macs? Ultimately, Spotify are going to have their requirements set to version of an Operating System. And you can't go on supporting old software forever.
New features will become reliant on features of modern operating systems, and supporting old OSs becomes a nightmare and adds so much legacy code to any application, which makes the entire application bloated, slower, and much more prone to bugs. Bearing in mind that the PowerMac 5 was discontinued in 2006. And it's now 2012. You can't seriously be surprised that Spotify isn't continuing to support 6 year old technology. Admittedly they still support Windows XP, which is older than that. But I expect they'll drop that soonish.
You have to face it at some point that if you want to use the latest and greatest software, you'll have to keep up with the reasonably newer technology. Computers really aren't designed to last forever, and neither is software for them.
Consumers are expected (rightly or wrongly) to go out and replace old equipment with new, and to accept that. David's given you Spotify's specific reason for this change: 'plans to implement newer and more advanced features' - advanced features that old operating systems just aren't going to support.
And as for 'downright discriminatory', what about all those iPhone users that can't download half the apps in Apple's Appstore because their devices don't support them. Spotify are no different to any other technology company, they can't support everyone's old devices for ever, else where would the incentive to upgrade be? We'd all still be using old bricks as mobile phones if we could play Angry Birds on them.
Sorry for such a long post. But I hope that it's perhaps enlightened you as to why more and more software isn't going to be supported on your old devices.
You can think of it as unfair, but that's just the way it works, I'm afraid. I suppose you have a point, as you see it, and there are two sides to every argument. If you are one of those people who can afford to buy new equipment every other year, then apps like Spotify must be for you.
It seems unfair for those of us who aren't rich or are like the person in this thread who worries about having to replace his G4 laptop to have Spotify. He's become attached to his machine (and OS) because it serves him faithfully and efficiently. Do you recall the concept of 'planned obsolescence'?
It involves making products that will either go out of date, out of fashion or fall apart after a certain amount of use. The cynical reasoning behind this marketing ploy is that gullible people will go out and buy the newest version, thus keeping the company profits healthy. If products were designed to last longer, the company would of course lose out, wouldn't it?
I'm afraid Apple may be guilty of this sort of thing, as just around the corner, the latest iPad may well eclipse the current model - just as that one's sleekness makes the initial offering look downright clunky. Read similar for your iPhones, iPads, and the Macs. As it happens, though people like you may never know or care about it, Apple has built very reliable and long-lasting computers, which can even be updated and repaired by users (though I don't know that installing an Intel processor, if possible, or OS X Lion is worth it to have Spotify). You think 6 years is ancient history, but visit the Apple Discussions, and you'll see users who are quite happy with 10 or 15 year-old machines and software. Maybe they won't have Spotify, but there are plenty of other workarounds that they rely on. Another, more extreme example perhaps, (although I suspect you would find it so dreadfully un-American) is the way 50 or 60 year-old cars in Cuba are kept running - and even looking pretty, thanks to the dedication and ingenuity of their owners.
And that goes for a lot of other make-do 3rd world countries, and even in some sensible 1st world ones. So your arguement about supporting old OS being a nightmare doesn't hold water if you have any respect for the planet.
I'm still blaming Spotify in this instance for not going the extra mile - which probably doesn't involve rocket science to create a 'legacy version', to include 'older' users. On that note, I should add that being in NYC, I have access to a very superior music collection at my public library - so may well go the route of simply copying CDs to my HD. As far as 'latest and greatest software' if you can afford it, you and your up to date friends can have it.everyone else can go.themselves.is what I'm reading in your post, friend. Sorry for such a long post, but I hope that's enlightened you, too. @Keithgvp: I understand both sides of the argument, I don't actually agree with forcing consumers to keep buying new stuff. I can't afford it either, I don't have the latest MacBook. I'll have stick with my perfectly functional Mac Mini (previous generation before they updated the design and CPU etc etc etc).
But still the issue remains that most of the technology industry (certainly hardware) is built around 'planned obsolescence'. Apple are a prime culprit of it. Apple's devices are some of the best around in their build quality and ability to last years and years, but they instead release newer versions with newer features, improved aesthetics and a huge marketing campaign to convince you that you NEED the new one. Then all those people who do buy the new devices demand software that uses all the latest features else they feel cheated. It's a vicious circle.
And you might be quite right that Spotify don't need to put that much extra effort into supporting the older platform. Except they're a startup where they probably don't have resources to throw at supporting legacy hardware. From their point of view, Non-Intel Macs are probably a incredibly small portion of their user-base. Whether it's economically viable to keep supporting it is going to come into play.
At the moment it probably is, but it probably won't be in the not too distant future. I've got nothing against old devices, and emphasise completely with people who don't wish to change them because they 'just work'. And I don't think 6 years is ancient history.
It's just viewed as ancient history by Apple and a lot of other companies. Creating a legacy version is fine idea now. But what happens when they make a backend change and the legacy client gets broken? Are they going to fix it? A better idea would be to have a community based, open-source client, that could be maintained by the community that need it.
Libspotify already exists, there's nothing to stop people doing it. I understand your argument. But I understand the other side of the argument too.
On a side note, wouldn't copying CDs from a public library come under the heading copyright infringement. Assuming they weren't non-copyrighted works? Which I presume is precisely your point. Everyone who simply can't afford to keep up to date - which is practically no one - will just carry on making do.
Myself included. As for enlightenment, perhaps that wasn't the best phrase to use. It sounded a bit condescending - apologies if it came across that way. Regards George. Nice response, George. On reflection, I feel sorry for many music lovers who will not be able to access Spotify due to limits on their systems.
As mentioned, I am probably more fortunate to live in the city where library copies are available - than someone in a small upstate community who only has public radio for a very limited selection of classical music - mostly of the 'greatest hits' variety. As for violating copyrights - on one level, there's the 'if you can burn it, you can have it'. Rationale, and, that since it's public property one could presumably make a copy for one's personal use. (since 'owned' by all). However, it's perfectly legal to borrow and return. And, as far as I can tell, one can't download music from Spotify - although I imagine someone's figured that out.
Ports needed(anything beyond this is would be extra and I definitely don't want to pay extra for charge pass through and the likes): HDMI, 2x USB A, SD card reader (a big shame they no longer includes this) On my venture on amazon I found this: But it seems a bit weird especially with the picture of 'CHIP STRONG PERFORMANCE' also only 5 reviews Trying to find something cheaper as the laptop itself is already quite a lot, and since I won't be even using this Hub most of the time Is it cheaper to just go with separate adapters for everything? (since I don't really plan to need this daily, but more of a incase someone hands a usb drive or want to connect an SD card or something, a small Adapter for everything to carry around all the time) I saw some posts about them when the new MacBook pros came out, but for some reason can't find the specific ones I remember seeing, so asking if anyone has tried some out and have any suggestions? Usb c hub for mac. So I finally decided to get a MacBook pro 15 inch, as it comes with USB C ports only and I would occasionally know would need a usb a port or something I thought instead of getting all the different dongles for each type of connector I'd just get a one small usb c hub that has all of them and just have that around rather than searching for the right one each time.
Spotify - even the basic version - is a wonderful idea - perhaps similar to Google Books' intention to share for free the world's great literature online - or of Wikipedia or the Internet itself. And maybe it's just not that easy to write code to include older systems. Adobe is making it hard for us to update their FlashPlayer on our G4 laptop.another Intel-required incident.
Still, you can find a variety of software companies that make the effort to support as many as possible. So I guess I'm just reacting to Spotify's exclusive attitude.
Spotify is an online portal hosting millions of songs. With a single account, users can listen to their favorite music anytime, anywhere and by using any device. However, they cannot download the songs from the application. Only the premium version provides the ability to download music. The premium version varies according to the need and requires paying a monthly fee or annual fee. Not everyone can opt for a premium version. Therefore, in this article, we are providing you with information that explains about three different methods to download music from Spotify in a few simple steps.
How to Download Music from Spotify Downloading music from Spotify requires paid membership. However, with the assistance provided by, users can download and organize their library in a few simple steps. Yes, that is true! IMusic is a capable program that extracts music from Spotify, saves them MP3 or MP4 format, and helps in organizing the library.
Also, the tool is further helpful in transferring the downloaded content to iOS and Android devices with ease. The built-in toolbox with various options helps in improving the overall experience that a music lover would expect from a well-established software. The following description will throw light on the important features embedded within the program.
Step 3: After completing the download, you can check for the song in the iMusic library. You can access the library from within the application by clicking the “Library” feature in the menu bar. It will open the list of the songs present on the Mac. Now, to see the downloaded song from Spotify, press the “Download” icon on the top left side of the window. It will present the list of the downloaded songs. You can then directly add them to iTunes library or transfer to any external device with ease. Step 2: Press the record icon displayed on the menu to let know that the software is ready to capture the streaming audio.
Open Spotify on your preferred browser on the Mac. Navigate to the song or playlist that you wish to save.
Press the play button. IMusic will learn that you initiated the start of the song and will begin to record the song/songs. Interestingly, the program will further search for ID3 tags and missing information related to a song or songs within the playlist and insert the same before it saves on the computer. That way, you have less pain in searching for information. Discover – the feature helps you to search for favorite songs by using artists name, hottest playlists, trending songs, new songs, and genres.
Apart from listening, users can download a song and save to their Mac directly. Download – with the help of this, users can download songs from over 3,000 websites that include YouTube, Spotify, Facebook, Vimeo, and others. Record – using this feature, the user can easily record a live streaming audio such as an online internet radio and save it as MP3 while the program searches for ID3 information in the background and completes the details with ease. Transfer – iMusic provides the chance to move the downloaded songs or existing media on the computer/Mac to Android/iOS devices and between iOS and Android devices directly. Fix – you can fix the iTunes library for broken links, mislabeled songs, missing ID3 information, and album art.
Rebuild/backup – create a backup of the library so that you can easily move the same to another computer/Mac when you are in the process of switching or use a previous backup to update another library on a different computer.