I have been using all of the Music collector options for a couple of years now and I didn’t see a users forum for suggestions so I’m putting these requests into this forum. Perhaps others have the same issues.
You have an entire tab devoted to “Classical”, I assume that you have a large classical user base to have a tab devoted to it, however I have a large collection and not one classical album, while I ignore this tab, it would be nice to be able to eliminate it from view.
Track Information: You have multiple tabs in the edit section that are just copies of the same fields from the major tabs. These fields do not self populate with details entered into the main tabs. Having these tabs (other than the Lyrics/Music File tab) serves no real purpose if they do not populate with the details from the main tabs and I assume consume multiple tables in your DB configurations. I would suggest adding a Song Writer category and perhaps a Performer, if you wanted to identify specific singers (i.e. John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney), etc…
People: I would suggest creating a separate section for Bands or Groups and not combining them with Musicians. It appears that the “Artist” from the Main Tab populates the “Musician” table, so either the table is duplicated or just renamed in the form field. Group/Band/Artist should be separate tables from musicians. Also the Credit section should go under the Track Information Tab, and for the People tab you should have a Technical Credit section for Producers, Mixers, Sound Engineers, etc…
These are just some suggestions that I think would make the software better and more usable, with the resurgence of Vinyl/CD and now Cassette tapes taking off, I know many people are looking for cataloging software for their collections and I think that these could be implemented fairly easily. Perhaps you could even conduct a user survey to see what other users would like to see.
Hello @jdwintx1
I’m sorry to say, but CLZ is not considering any enhancements to the Windows desktop software as it is legacy software and is no longer under development.
Really I don’t understand your choice to make Music Collector for desktop a legacy software and no longer maintain it. It’s a very good software, it works very well and it has no valid competitors on the market. Furthermore, the other versions don’t have all the desktop version features. WHY?
It seems you didn’t read the first post. @CLZ_Alwin explained, “We will keep doing necessary maintenance updates for as long as it is feasible for us to do so, and only to keep the desktop software compatible with CLZ Core, CLZ Cloud and possible breaking Windows updates. We will do this for as long as it is feasible.”
Maybe, over time, the web and mobile versions will incorporate the features that are missing from the desktop versions, but some, like adding CDs and songs by scanning them from a CD-ROM or local drive, are just not possible in a web platform.
These are the main advantages of CLZ Music Web (compared to the Music Collector desktop software):
Easier to manage:
No need to install or update software on your own computer, no need to deal with database files, image files, settings files or backup files. No need to ever transfer software or data to a new computer. The software and data is on our servers, we manage and update it for you, we even make daily backups of your data.
No more conflicts with Windows configurations or 3rd party software:
CLZ Web just runs as a website in your browser. So no more conflicts with Windows file and folder permissions or Windows updates, no more conflicts with 3rd party products like firewall programs, security software, virus scanners, cloud storage tools (Dropbox, SkyDrive, etc…).
Use on any computer:
Work on your database from any online computer or mobile device. Just log in and continue where you left of, because even all data, software settings and customizations are stored server side. No need to install software, no need to sync your data back and forth. Got a new computer? No need to transfer software and data, just login and go!
Best user interface:
The CLZ Music Web user interface is our latest UI design, which is easier to understand and easier to use, while still providing all the power of the desktop software. Also, web-based development gives us complete flexibility to design the user interface exactly as we like it to be, without the constraints of Windows or Windows development tools. Examples: the Add screens with BIG cover images, managing columns/sort/folder favorites, edit screens, edit multiple tool, managing pick lists, import/export, print to PDF, etc… For most features, the UI design (and functionalit) of CLZ Music Web is lightyears ahead of the desktop version.
Regular updates:
CLZ Music Web is always actively developed on, so you are getting regular updates with improvements and new features (and completely automatic too, as we install the updates for you). In general, web-based development is faster and easier. Implementing new features is quick, making improvement to existing features is even quicker.
Better customer support:
The CLZ team can help you better if you’re on CLZ Music Web. We can log in to your account, we can see what you see, spot problems and even fix them for you. Also, all users are always on the latest version, which really helps with support.
Fast and smooth:
CLZ Music Web is a more lightweight solution, that runs fast and smooth on any computer or tablet, even with very large game databases. All you need is a reasonably fast internet connection.
No local storage space required
All data and all images are stored on our servers, not on your computer. So that will save you a lot of disk space, especially if you have a large collection.
Quick bug fixes without having to wait for the next update:
When you report a problem or bug, we can fix it quickly and easily and upload the fix to the online software. No need to wait for the next software, no need to download and install software updates.
@CLZ_Alwin
I know I’m a PC user that will eventually switch when I feel the features are at a place where I’ll be happy to do so. However, I’m sure you’re as tired of reading this argument as I am. So why not make this 9-point explanation a “sticky” at the top of all the Collector forums instead of continually rebutting so many people and being able to use your team’s time to better improve the apps.
Not a bad idea, @roybo. @CLZ_Alwin used to have the " Collector desktop vs CLZ Web web-based" post pinned, but he removed the pin in June. Maybe he doesn’t want to bring too much attention to it? Every couple of months, this topic is brought up by those who aren’t in the know, so maybe keeping it pinned could avoid some rehashing.
Folks, sorry didn’t mean to create a major thread on the different versions. I am well aware of all the versions and have subscriptions to all of them for both music and comics. I just prefer the desktop version and feel it gives me the majority of what I need for my collecting preferences. I personally don’t care for the web version, that’s a preference, not a condemnation. I feel the same way about MS Office, I prefer my local copy to their web version as I like to set things up the way I like them, not to have those decisions made by programmers and others.
That being said, if the decision has been made to sunset this product then I will continue to use it the way I currently do and not worry about any updates or enhancements. When it fully sunsets I’ll decide what I will do with my collection and if CLZ is still the right environment for what I need.
Sorry, I don’t understand.
How is this related to desktop vs web-based software?
Why would in web-based software the programmmers make decisions for you?
Sorry if I confused you, the point is that there are 2 versions of office, online and on prem, and there are distinct differences between them and what a “user” is allowed to do or how the software functions between the two environments. As I stated, personally, I prefer the on-prem option, just a preference not a condemnation, as I previously stated.
Companies and their development staff decide what works best in their SaaS environments for their software and web based cloud services. SaaS environments do not necessarily include all functions that a desktop version does either due to the development overhead or the restrictions of how their cloud based services are purchased/structured. What users may want or desire have to be factored into consideration based on these limitations and are often times overridden by those competing factors. My reference was a comparison to what MS delivered in their cloud version of Office vs. what was available in their desktop version to the end users. In the case of MS there are multiple differences between their SaaS online solution and the desktop version, that was all I was saying.
Yeah, but isn’t that the same for desktop software?
I mean, it is the CLZ people that have always decided what features and improvements we were going to add to the old desktop software. Of course, always based on user feedback.
And we are doing exactly the same for the web-based software.
Really, in this aspect, there is no difference between desktop and web-based software.
SaaS environments do not necessarily include all functions that a desktop version does either due to the development overhead or the restrictions of how their cloud based services are purchased/structured.
Why? I see no reason for that in general.
In fact, cloud-based software brings with it many advantages.
Also, we are not Microsoft. We are not talking about MS Office.
Please don’t automatically assume we do thing the same as MS.
For some reason this seems to have struck some sort of nerve… I was totally fine with the first response to my initial post. I will not be participating in any threads or further conversations on this or any other topic.
