Need some help with a super simple clean elegant desktop music player

[nerys]

Ok. my dad'd girlfriend is in the hospital. she had stage 4 throat cancer. it appears they beat the cancer against all odds but her body is a WRECK and now comes the truly hard part. surviving the CURE for cancer (which can be just as deadly as the cancer)

she is bed ridden now has pneumonia (sp?) (doctors say she probably won't go home for 5-6 more weeks) etc.. etc.. can't talk can hardly move. She has to right things down to communicate. and thats hard. SO I rigged up a netbook and wireless lightweight keyboard in the hopes she will be willing to use that to "talk"

pop wants to give her access to her music. I am trying to find some software to let me do this. so far every program is TOO hard to use. requires dragging or menu drilling or double clicking or adding to playlists etc.. etc..

here is what I would LIKE to have. a nice large full screen interface. BIG buttons. absolutely nothing requiring double click or dragging or playlist creation.

I would like a 2 pain window one with a list of albums but list by FOLDER not by "id3" (it always screws up the various artists albums listing them as individual single song albums.

i will be loading an SD card with music. pop that into the slot on the netbook and then "point" this software at that memory card.

if she clicks on a folder in the list I want it to just start playing it. whatever is in that folder just play it.

if she clicks another folder STOP playing whatever it was playing and start playing the new folder. JUST the new folder.

this way I can tell her just click the one you want to hear and she does not have to worry about menus or dragging or playlists or anything like that.

if its hard or complicated I fear the pain of moving so much will result in her just ignoring it all together. (It is literally painful for her to move too much)

trying to boost her moral and she loves her music so hoping this might be a good way to help her out.

think what mp3 player software could I get 90 year old grandma to use kind of software.

I can do the prep point it at the right memory card etc..

I got foobar but its too complicated. click on the albums it fines does nothing. you have to drag or right click etc.. she is just not going to do that.

[nerys]

I just thought of an idea. it would be a bit harder for me to set up but I don't mind.

what about a music player with few if any buttons and no menus' where it just shows ALBUM ART images (LARGE) click on the "cover" you want and it starts playing then arrow keys will let you cycle through songs left right forward back etc.. space to pause.

something more visual. ??

[yoda313]

what about itunes or zune? I know zune can let you scroll down the pictures of the albums and then a single click on the picture pulls up the album tracks on the right, then you access the tracks that way.

I don't really use itunes so I can't recommend it for just that purpose.

I'm guessing mpchc or vlc would be to complex for this purpose right?

[nerys]

yep too complex. itunes is also far too complex and zune. ouch. won't even go their I ripped my hair out dealing with zune software hehehe unless I find something really good I think I found an alternative. android. I have a ton of them lying around going to try some software on those and see how it goes. but thats basically what I need. software like you might find on a portable device but that is windows based.

much easier to use but the downside is now she has to physically HOLD a device in her hands.

[yoda313]

much easier to use but the downside is now she has to physically HOLD a device in her hands.

They make a million different types of stands for those things. Look around and you should find something suitable.

[nerys]

HEY now THAT is a really good idea. a clamp and a clamp on gooseneck lamp type rig just might be the ticket !!!

[yoda313]

HEY now THAT is a really good idea. a clamp and a clamp on gooseneck lamp type rig just might be the ticket !!!

now that isn't exactly what I wasn't thinking of but its an evolution of the idea. A swing arm type holder would do like they have for tvs. I'm sure they have something like what you are countersuggesting.

Good luck.

[nerys]

no your idea was perfect they DO make a lot of cell phone holders. I am just going to "MOUNT" one of those holders (if I can find one and if she has a problem holding it) to a gooseneck like a clamp lamp.

see a regular stand would be tough where would she put it? on her belly ? but a clamp lamp I can "clamp" to her bed frame and she can simply position it in reach of her hand and when its in the way push it asside. less chance of it being dropped this way too and gives a path to route the power wire out of the way.

[nerys]

dammit got player pro on the vitality but it crashes on some songs. Grrr need reliable so back to the market to see what other media players are out their

[nerys]

Ok jet audio is working on this crap phone great for timelapse not so great to mp3 players for some reason. Grrr

its a bit laggy and the interface is not as clean but it is "simple" enough I hope. taking it to her today. fingers crossed that #1 she can use it and #2 that it will perk up her moral a little.