14 DAY TRIAL // This morning I was looking for an interesting software or at least for a software that people think it's interesting. Lucky me! As I was in the encoders section, the rather weird name of today's first program drew my attention, so I took a closer look only to find a very simple and - at the same time - interesting piece of code. As a matter of fact, the LamedropXPd is so simple that it makes encoding a child's play! I must confess that this is one of the simplest encoding tools I have met in years, and the fact that ?loading? is made by simply dropping files in a small square interface makes it even simpler; I guess I could teach my cat to work with it!
Without being a highly professional and ?almighty? piece of software, the LamedropXPd manages to run as smooth as any major big money application and the results of its work are very very good (of course, depending on your settings). Adding that LamedropXPd is offered for absolutely no money. Well, I guess I have succeeded in raising your interest!
The Looks. The Works. The Ease.
Well, here we might have a bit of a difficulty: usually, the GUIs for this kind of software are rather front-ends for very impersonal code which would mean absolutely nothing to non-programmers if not even scare people away, just like the command-prompter in Linux did years ago or even the Windows command-line still does for some people these days. Having started as a small software which was working for ?those who know? and definitely having to receive a more human ?face?, programs like LamedropXPd have begun to ?look?.
Now, don't think that you'll see a similar piece of software with a very XP or even Vista look, fully loaded with all sorts of 3D elements and gadgets! In the best case, you'll see an interface as the LamedropXPd has: a small yet functional one, with a very clear design-line, definitely without futile components, task- and (if you are lucky) user-oriented. The main window of the LamedropXPd is a small white square with a chartreuse green LAME logo and a very explicit text: ?Drop Files Here?. Accessing the settings and other menus can be done by right-clicking this white square and then choosing whatever is appropriate for what you want to do.
Needless to say that LamedropXPd does not have skins nor has it any color schemes: the interface remains the same whether you are in working or idle mode. The rest of the menus look pretty OK and usual, with native Windows appearance and thus taking the shape and the color of the Win theme you have currently installed. The most complex-looking menu is the Encoding Options one; nevertheless, do not forget what I have told you in the beginning regarding simplicity ? it even makes me laugh that I have gotten to use ?complex? while describing the GUI of the LamedropXPd! The appearance of this menu makes me ask myself whether the LamedropXPd hasn't by any chance been designed for kindergarten use: the quality of the resulting MP3 is to be set sliding up or down a cursor on a scale graded from 10 to 100, meaning lower and higher quality, respectively.
The tagging setup menu is also dead-simple and easy to use and I can almost bet on my next month's wage that even if you have never used a tagging application before you'll be able to tag the audio files resulting from your processing-session in a satisfactory if not even perfect manner! Editing the fields for artist/song name, genre, year and so on is really one thing you can't get wrong: ticking the ?Custom? box and writing the corresponding text, or choosing a genre from the large and extensive list in the drop menu is truly a child's play!
Besides an output directory of your own choice you'll also get the chance to make processing with even less effort by choosing the source folder as the destination one as well; thus you can better keep track of your newly-obtained files as you now know for sure where they have gone and you won't loose time searching them on you HDD nor will you go mad when you don't find them. Encoding engine quality may be set to High, Standard or Fast in LamedropXPd as mono encoding can be easily achieved by simply ticking a checkbox. Should you think you won't need the source files any longer you can set up the LamedropXPd to delete the original files; combining this feature with the ?Same As Input Directory? option already gives us an automated work flow that's indeed easier than anything similar!
Finally one thing that truly makes LamedropXPd easier to handle than absolutely anything else: its working has been designed in such a way that the need for a ?Start? button has been eliminated! Believe me or not, there is no Start, Encode or Run button whatsoever; the moment you drop a file (or even 1000 files) in the white square, the LamedropXPd will automatically start working while also displaying the file and overall status in two separate progress bars. It's a rather fast process and you'll be producing nice MP3 files in a short time. Converting WAV to MP3 or vice-versa (even having the OGG format supported) has finally become quite an easy task, simple to attain for anyone! Again, completely free!
The Good
The best thing in what LamedropXPd is concerned is the fact that it is a program so easy to use that I am sure anyone could operate it perfectly from the very first time he/she sets hands on it. Being fast and reliable and also offered for absolutely no money increases the overall value of the LamedropXPd. The GUI is simple and functional and this makes this nice piece of code a real jewel.
The Bad
I haven?t detected really bad things in the looks or works of the LamedropXPd; though I'd make some small suggestions for the oncoming versions: what if the developers made LamedropXPd reside in the system tray? And finally, some small X-like sign in a corner, made especially for closing this application in other way than Alt+F4 could come in really handy!
The Truth
One of the truly lovely encoders I have ever seen, simpler as it can possibly be, non-intrusive and fast. And since it's free, why wait instead of going and getting it?
See the few screenshots below while deciding which files you will process first:
