[quote="Lowlander"]I think it's a bit early to complain about something if you haven't seen it yet.[/quote]
I've seen the drawings on the Wiki, plus, it's not too hard to imagine what the change will look like. And the point was to voice my opinion BEFORE the change was implemented. I didn't know that it had already been added.

I was originally concerned that there might be five tabs that couldn't be turned off like in one of the drawings, or a bunch of metadata that couldn't be disabled. Since there are only two tabs and the details can be disabled, I can live with that.

I think it's a bit early to complain about something if you haven't seen it yet. And yes the current alphas are intended for developers and they're also still alphas, so waiting for a more stable release (be it beta or even RC) isn't unwise.

I think that alpha versions are really intended for developers and don't want to install one on my computer, so I appreciate the feedback.

So it sounds like they went with only two tabs plus the optional details? At least it's good news that the details can be disabled which will only leave the two tabs, but I wish the tabs could be disabled as well since all they will do for me is take up space. I guess if it's in there already, I'll have to live with it.

[quote="Giarc"]
First of all, I really don't want to see a bunch of tabs and/or metadata combined with the album art. I think this will just mess up the nice clean look of the interface making it appear too "busy" (simple is beautiful).

Also, details such as the title, artist, and album are most likely already shown in the Now Playing list or the main file list anyway. If you want more details or lyrics, simply bring up the Properties dialog. That's where this information belongs, and there is lots of room for it there.[/quote]Right click on the panel --> show file details (uncheck)

Note that you can customize which fields are displayed and the font used.
Right click on the panel --> Choose fields

[quote="Giarc"]Regarding the new "Selected" and "Now Playing" tabs, I personally don't see a need for them. You can switch modes now by simply right-clicking on the art window, but I never do that anyway. I always just leave it on "Selected". If I want to see the art for what's currently playing, it's just as easy to click in the Now Playing window.[/quote]
I welcome these new tabs. It's useful for me because I can now see with a glance in which mode the panel is (selected or now playing )
In your case I agree that they are superfluous. Unfortunately for you they can't be hid. Maybe some material for the wishlist here!

[quote="Giarc"]
One more point - the Wiki shows the Now Playing list positioned on the right side of the screen, with the album art below it. I hope that the option will still be available to position the Now Playing list below the main file list with the album art to the right of it.[/quote]
This is of course still possible. I currently have my now playing panel under the main panel.

[quote="Giarc"]
If you agree with me on this, please chime in and let the developers know. By dropping this unnecessary change, they can get a new version released that much sooner.[/quote]
There is nothing to drop. This is already implemented since months.

In case you weren't aware you can already download the latest developer's build.
[quote="Dreadlau"]mm4 public alpha is now downloadable here: http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=54156#p278637[/quote]

You can hide the details if you don't want them.

Did you actually check out the developers pre-alpha to see what these mentioned changes entail? Those mentioned changes also come on the request of users who wanted a more functional Album Art window.

I would like to comment on the MM 4.0 UI changes. In particular, I am concerned with the idea of turning the album art window into a "properties" window ( [url]http://www.jirihajek.net/MMwiki/index.php/MM_4.0_UI[/url] ).

The Wiki shows this several different ways. The "main panel" image only shows the addition of two tabs: Selected and Now Playing. The "now playing" image also adds a bunch of metadata, and the "podcast node" image instead adds three more tabs: Art, Details, and Lyrics.

First of all, I really don't want to see a bunch of tabs and/or metadata combined with the album art. I think this will just mess up the nice clean look of the interface making it appear too "busy" (simple is beautiful).

Also, details such as the title, artist, and album are most likely already shown in the Now Playing list or the main file list anyway. If you want more details or lyrics, simply bring up the Properties dialog. That's where this information belongs, and there is lots of room for it there.

Regarding the new "Selected" and "Now Playing" tabs, I personally don't see a need for them. You can switch modes now by simply right-clicking on the art window, but I never do that anyway. I always just leave it on "Selected". If I want to see the art for what's currently playing, it's just as easy to click in the Now Playing window.

One more point - the Wiki shows the Now Playing list positioned on the right side of the screen, with the album art below it. I hope that the option will still be available to position the Now Playing list below the main file list with the album art to the right of it. That's how I like to have it. In this arrangement, the album art will display in a nicer, larger size without the tabs. Adding tabs will only serve to reduce the size of the album art.

If you agree with me on this, please chime in and let the developers know. By dropping this unnecessary change, they can get a new version released that much sooner.