{"id":8218,"date":"2019-01-16T06:51:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T06:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/?p=8218"},"modified":"2019-03-07T22:45:10","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T22:45:10","slug":"kaku-web-technologies-based-music-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/2019\/01\/16\/kaku-web-technologies-based-music-player\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaku – web technologies-based music player"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"YouTube-tools\"<\/p>\n

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Kaku \u2013 web technologies-based music player<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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My CD collection has taken over my spare room. With very little space to store more, I\u2019m gradually spending more time using streaming services.<\/p>\n

Linux is blessed with a mouthwatering array of excellent open source music players. But I\u2019m always on the look out for fresh and innovative music players.<\/p>\n

Kaku bills itself as the next generation music client. Is that self-proclaimed hype? The software is written in JavaScript.<\/p>\n

Installation<\/h3>\n

Users are well catered for irrespective of their operating system, as the project offers binaries for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.<\/p>\n

For Linux, there\u2019s official packages for Debian\/Ubuntu (32- and 64-bit). For other distros, there may be packages available from their respective repositories.<\/p>\n

The developer also provides an AppImage (32- and 64-bit) which makes it easy to run the software. AppImage is a format for distributing portable software on Linux without needing superuser permissions to install the application. All that\u2019s required is to download the AppImage, and make the file executable by typing:<\/p>\n

$ chmod u+x .\/Kaku-2.0.1-x86_64.AppImage<\/code><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In operation<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s an image of Kaku in action.<\/p>\n

\"Kaku\"<\/p>\n

First thing you might notice from the above screenshot is that Kaku replaces the maximize, minimize, and close buttons with Mac style buttons. I prefer my applications to have a consistent look and feel, but it\u2019s not a big issue.<\/p>\n

At the top right of the window, there\u2019s a search bar. By default, Kaku displays results from YouTube, but there\u2019s also the option to search Vimeo, SoundCloud, MixCloud, or all of them. Videos can be displayed in a list view or a icon view. By default, you\u2019re presented with the top ranking YouTube music videos.<\/p>\n

At the bottom left, there\u2019s a small window that displays the video. There\u2019s the standard playback buttons and playback bar together with the option to cast the output to a device, and toggle TV mode. You can make videos appear full screen or occupy all of the Kaku estate.<\/p>\n

Latest News<\/strong><\/p>\n

This section is redundant, useless, and hopefully will be removed in a later release. It shows only release notes for early releases of Kaku. You might (incorrectly) conclude that Kaku hasn\u2019t been updated in years. This isn\u2019t the case; the software is under active development. But even if this section offered details of recent improvements to the software, that information is much better placed on the project\u2019s GitHub page rather than cluttering up the application itself.<\/p>\n

Search Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re taken to this section whenever you use the search bar, or click Search Results (unless you\u2019re in TV mode). Videos that match your search criteria are easily added to the play queue. The search bar displays even in TV mode, but search results are not displayed.<\/p>\n

Play Queue<\/strong><\/p>\n

This section is populated by clicking the \u201cAdd to Play Queue\u201d button, which is shown in Home and Search Results. The video currently being played is highlighted in light blue. Right click on a video gives the option to add it to a playlist. You\u2019ll need to have a playlist created first though.<\/p>\n

History<\/strong><\/p>\n

As you might have guessed, this section shows a history of videos that you\u2019ve watched. You can click on any entry and replay that video. Right click on a video gives the option to add it to a playlist.<\/p>\n

Settings<\/strong><\/p>\n

This section lets you configure the application. I\u2019ll cover the configuration options in the next page.<\/p>\n

Online DJ<\/strong><\/p>\n

Does the prospect of becoming a DJ entice you? This section lets you become your own DJ, offering your choice of music videos to listeners (known as guests). When you create a room, a room key is generated. You share this key with your guests which gives them access to your room. As the DJ, what you play will be offered to your guests. By joining the room, you can also text chat with everyone in the room. Neat!<\/p>\n

Other Features<\/h3>\n

Before looking at some of the other functionality, let\u2019s discuss memory usage.<\/p>\n

I recently put\u00a0Headset<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0under the microscope. Like Kaku, Headset is a YouTube player although it\u2019s implemented in a very different way.<\/p>\n

One thing that cropped up with Headset was its excessive memory usage, sometimes topping 1GB of RAM. Kaku is much more frugal with memory, consuming less than 300MB in typical usage.<\/p>\n

\"Kaku\"<\/p>\n

The settings section offers the following functionality:<\/p>\n