Why No More Front Row?

Front Row doesn't come with Lion and it actually uninstalls it if you install Lion on top of SL, but, actually, Front Row does run on Lion PERFECTLY. If you are interested, look for my detailed instructions on another thread of this forum.

 

Seriously? For the sake of argument, one could easily find a suitable replacement for Front Row... Plex springs to mind

 

Be careful, though. It doesn't work with the iTunes 10.5 beta and Lion. It will never be updated again, so there's no guarantee it will work in the future. It might be best just to move on to something else now.

 

I'll think about Plex or some other replacement when Front Row no longer works on OS X. For now, as of Lion, Front Row keeps working fine, exactly as fine as it used to under Snow Leopard, so there's no reason to look for a supposedly better replacement.

 

Take it from me, Plex isn't "supposedly" better, it is "markedly" better.

• Your content can be stored anywhere, instead of only locally on your Mac.
• Plex automatically scans all of your content and identifies it through IMDB et. al.
• The UI is a lot better: instead of a nondescript wall of text in Front Row, everything is grouped per show or movie with matching illustrations (and in the case of popular shows: matching intro music), a short intro to the show and even what type of video and accompanying soundtrack there is.

Unless out of sheer habit (which is fine of course), I could not for my life think of a reason why you would want to stick to Front Row when you could have Plex.
Hell, I wish the mediatank I have under my TV were even half as good as Plex -_-

 

Does Plex playback iTunes protected content?

 

Point well taken, apologies -_-

 

Front Row UI is actually oudated. Windows Media Center do much better job and give more eye candy, but being integrated with SL is a plus

Plex is good app, but being 3rd party app makes it less interesting. Updating could take long time if you have bunch of movie collection. And I had a bad experience with Plex crashing my OSX installation.

So, Apple give us an eye candy media center app with beauty and flexibility.

 

You are entitled to your opinion, but understand that your opinion should not be considered anybody else's canon of perfection. I was very pleased with Front Row when I first saw it. It's perfectly integrated into the OS and does the functions it was devised to perform very well indeed. Since this continues to be so under Lion, there's no pressing reason why I should explore other purportedly "better," not-so-well-integrated options, whether someone claims they are "markedly" better or not.

 

Wouldn't surprise me if Apple were working on a new media centre type app and will release it into the App Store. It has baffled me why it's been removed. I didn't have much use for it but does seem very popular.

 

So was I, but as a media center, I suspect that few can argue that it has a very limited feature set.
As an all-round mediacenter, it has an extremely limited feature set. Then again, if you almost exclusively watch iTunes protected content (which isn't even possible where I live), then I suppose Front Row is your best and only bet.

 

I've noticed that, on the issue of Front Row under Lion, some forum members tend to express either their anger at Apple for not including Front Row in Lion, or their preference for a somewhat similar programme. And this pops up even when no comparison or replacement is being sought by the OP. In our case, the OP expressed his/her surprise that Front Row hadn't been included in Lion. I merely pointed out that Front Row is still available under Lion if you want to copy a few files and subfolders from your SL installation and it still works as usual. Why would someone offer a replacement product, good as it may be, when that wasn't requested at all? The issue is, Can Front Row run under Lion? The unequivocal answer is "Yes, it can". Move on.

 

I have noticed that as well. I cannot but assume that there might be some sort of profound reason for that.
Contemplate this: you give the advice to continue to use a seemingly deprecated product with not even an official way to install it.
The others propose a worthy replacement.

Usually, when something is deprecated, one finds alternatives. That's just the way of the world.

 

I'm not saying that Front Row is a better product than others. I'm only saying that if one wants to keep using it, there's no technical reason why it couldn't be done. It's very simple, really. Many users complain Front Row has been deprecated. I simply point out that even if no new version of Front Row will be forthcoming in the foreseeable future, it can still be used exactly the same as it was used before. Those who want to explore other programmes are welcome to do so, but that's an entirely different issue.

 

I disagree. IT history teaches us that it is hardly ever wise to continue to use deprecated products (for too long after it's been deprecated).
It is usually the easiest to jump ship right around the time you learn a product has been deprecated, than later on, when you're still dependent on said deprecated product but the entire world around you has moved on. The Quicken debacle comes to mind...
The technical term is "legacy software". This is probably what Front Row has become.
Just to be clear: I agree with you in that one could conceivably continue to use Front Row through all sorts of hackery. I'm simply questioning the wiseness of it all.
Though I do wonder what Apple would have people do if they have iTunes protected content. Buy Apple TV's?

 

WHAT do you disagree with? That it's feasible to continue to use Front Row in Lion? If you disagree with that, look for professional help, because it IS feasible. Nothing more needs to be said. On the other hand, if you claim Front Row is "legacy software" because it hasn't been included in Lion, you also have a problem in your reasoning. Why would Front Row be "legacy" for Lion and "non-legacy" for Snow Leopard? It's the same software. It runs equally well on both OSs and does the same functions. I don't suppose you are advocating that a SL user should delete Front Row as soon as possible in order to "jump ship", do you? If a SL user needn't do that ship-jumping thing, why exactly should a Lion user do it when it is clear it needn't be done?

 

Could you please calm down? This is a respectable forum, no need to be aggressive.
I disagree with the wiseness of your statement that people should just take a deprecated binary from an older OS and run with it, without at the very least checking out the alternatives.
As to why it could be considered legacy software? Because Apple doesn't seem to support it anymore. That is the very definition of legacy software, just like all the PPC software out there.
Fyi:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legacy_system

 

See to it that you calm down yourself. I can take care of my own needs and have no need of your "advice".

Well, if you think showing the inaneness of your comments is being aggressive, it's your problem, not mine.

It doesn't matter if you "agree" or "disagree". Nobody asked for any "alternatives", so those who offer them might be taken for people with hidden agendas.

If Apple doesn't support Front Row because it hasn't been officially incorporated into Lion, it doesn't support it, period, so, again, should Snow Leopard users to the ship-jumping thing of yours?

The point is very simple, but you seem to have some serious difficulty in getting it. Can Front Row run in Lion? Yes, it can. Does it need some expert "hackery" to do so? Well, perhaps your level of IT literacy might consider copying a few files and subfolders is "hackery," but more sensible people won't be fooled by such a laughable assessment.

 

I'm sorry, what? You attack me with your rude and snide comments and I'm the one to blame? Look into a mirror why don't you
Anyway, enough of these unpleasantries:
Yes Front Row can work in Lion.
Yes there are alternatives which are worth exploring.
Good day, sir.

 

Well said, sir.

As are alternatives to Microsoft Office, or to Acrobat Creative Suite, or to Adobe Acrobat. Did anyone ask anything about such alternatives? No.

Likewise, sir.

 

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<\3 I miss front row already... Biggest con IMO about lion

 

Yes me too

 

What exactly do you miss about it? It runs well in Lion if you care to copy the relevant files and subfolders from Snow Leopard.