Since pyradio has not been working for a long time-

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=56036

I decided to have a go at making/compiling the famous Pandora Linux CLI - pianobar work in maemo 5.

In short, it works great- to our luck, it works even better.

the good thing about this is that pianobar CLI software (linux mac desktop sw) has a bigger audience and the chance that it would be deserted is very very slim. (No offence to pyRadio. I can understand ppl have to move on. I cant blame anybody except stupid "NOKIA" who recklessly abandoned the precious maemo 5. )

I am just jotting all the procedure in a very brief way. Not sure if anybody is interested. Not sure how many n900 users out there who still use it as a daily device. But happy to help anyone who wants this installed. Even happy to detail each process if anyone interested. Just post in this thread and you will get a reply. I can even attach binaries/ lib files.Let me know.

But I do strongly suggest get this compilation done. That way you become independent and can make / compile/ install future versions on pianobar without any assistance.

we need to install following dependencies before installing pianobar:

1. build-essential
2. libao/ dev
3. libfaad2/ dev ****
4. libmad/ dev
5. pthreads
(Search for the packages using 'apt-cache search', as i dont remember the full package names.)

**** unfortunately the prepackaged libfaad2 doesn't work with pianobar. Though you can compile pianobar without it, unless u r pandora one subscriber, it doesnt support/ play mp3 format. which means we need to get this libfaad2 work inorder to support aac format..

u can compile new libfaad2 (must be compiled without DRM - check the INSTALL file in source for further instructions), getting the source from
http://www.audiocoding.com/downloads.html (use tar.gz)
one trick is that you need to uninstall/purge the prepackaged libfaad2 (if u have already installed) before compiling and installing them. If you don't, then you can expect this:
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...&postcount=225

Make sure you "make install" the files in /usr/lib and not /usr/local/lib OR you create a symlink for /usr/local/lib/libfaad* in /usr/lib/ OR u can include this path in ldconfig, whichever is easier.


NOW, Download pianobar src from the git
https://github.com/PromyLOPh/pianobar

Compiling should be a breeze.

run the 'pianobar' binary to checkout how beautiful this thing works on ur n900.
people who use tor can/ rather should use the control_proxy option

control_proxy = http://127.0.0.1:8118/

in the config file. it is a lot faster than using 'torify pianobar'. Infact using the torify is not practicaly useable. audio is totally cluttered no matter how low the audio quality is set-to. the details regd config are in the contrib folder in pianobar src

scrobbling to lastfm works fine as well, including now playing.
use the latest pylast.py and the scrobble.py from the contrib folder in piano source.

the py files need to be modded to support 2.5 python. That is a pain. I can upload those 2 modded files if anyone interested.

I have been using this app like mad cow for the past 3 days. So far no issues at all. and happy that i got my 'one of fav apps' back in a even better way to my n900-

Frankly, so far- in the last 3 yrs, i haven't been impressed with another mobile which can outdo this maemo 5 OS!! especially when it comes to work. happy that i could get back this Pandora Radio back!!

This is what I used to do.. and pyPianobar was just a front-end for pianobar. It's possible if you got a working pianobar, the old pyPianobar might still work as a front-end.. though it was buggy.

Thanks for getting these guys Pandora again in some form. I'd honestly look at pyRadio again.. but the problem is the upkeep. Since I don't use the N900 at all anymore; theres not much reason to keep going with it.

The issue is Pandora.. they change crap every couple weeks to couple months so you'll be constantly recompiling pianobar, or in my case - fixing pyRadio again, and again. I wish there was an open API for it.

I've compiled pianobar for my own use as well. However, I was disappointed in the performance (seems to eat the battery).

I think that it would be good if we could hook it up to gstreamer to get hardware acceleration if possible. It would be nice if someone would figure out how do do this with libpiano so that frontends could be built against that and then we would just need to maintain libpiano. And maybe someone should try to port the "Pithos" frondend. Not sure how possible/difficult all this would be.

u sure, pianobar is eating up battery? I actually use it via TOR-proxy / 3G connection. Mine seems to be normal. I mean u can expect battery consumption, considering that it is using 3G, plus playing audio. But not something alarming. have u used powertop and other tools to analyze battery usage??

Could you guys post your compiled pianobar binaries? I tried doing it myself, but I just get lost in dependency hell...

Why do you need PyRadio when you can download
SOUNDTRACKER RADIO from Ovi Store and is for FREE.
It is way superior to Pandora NO COMMERCIALS and great DB.

@miri, I would love a soundtracker app for n900. can u post the link which supports n900?

@Applesaws, will post it soon matey

I have attached 4 zip files.

It has libfaad and pianobar.

you need to replace the existing libfaad files with this.

in case the pianobar doesn't fire up properly, try 'ldd pianobar'
this should tell us if we miss any dependencies.

by the way, what problems you have compiling.
If you can discuss the issues, i am sure we can solve it.
Believe me, that is the best solution u have matey!

------------------------

Before diving into this I thought I might ask:

I got pianobar sort-of working through Easy Debian but the sound stutters like cazy. Has anyone tried this and fixed it? It has the advantage of a simple update process.

Thanks