RealNetworks RealJukebox 1.0 Downfalls and Summary Ben Durbin
The Downside
The downside to RealJukebox applies to experienced users. Besides the bit rate problems, there's also the interface. You are stuck with one interface that takes up most of your screen. The interface is very easy to use and good for the new MP3 user, but lacks the ability to change between skins (different looking interfaces), or customize your suite.
There are also some annoying bugs in this release. Every once in a while, RealJukebox crashed when we tried to close the program. Although it didn’t cause a problem while recording or playing MP3s, we still needed to reboot just to make sure it would work properly the next time around. Hopefully, this problem will be fixed in later versions.
Summary
Although experienced users may have a few qualms about RealNetworks' RealJukebox, it is still a great product, especially for the newbie. Despite qualms the experienced user would appreciate RealJukebox’s music cataloging capabilities. It is also free, always a key "selling" point. RealNetworks' huge installed base of 60 million registered RealPlayer users also plays a huge role in helping RealJukebox establish itself in the "MP3 Suite" arena.
So, after putting RealJukebox to the test, we see it has some drawbacks. But it delivers exactly what it promises; an all-in-one MP3 suite for newbies. Now anyone can be ripping, encoding and playing MP3s in no time.
