Submit Hint Search The Forums LinksStatsPollsHeadlinesRSS
14,000 hints and counting!

Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users System
Recently I discovered an oddity which I thought was worth mentioning in this forum... I selected an .mp3 on the desktop file and did a Get Info (Command-I). In the Preview pane, I clicked on the Play button, and the file started playing. For some reason, when activated fast user switching to change accounts, the audiofile kept playing. I even logged in as another user and still the music was playing.

Not very useful, but nevertheless......
    •    
  • Currently 1.00 / 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  (1 vote cast)
 
[6,342 views]  

Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users | 10 comments | Create New Account
Click here to return to the 'Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users' hint
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users
Authored by: Pedro Estarque on Mar 04, '04 11:04:03AM

I always thought iTunes should work this way



[ Reply to This | # ]
Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users
Authored by: vondrix on Mar 04, '04 11:14:24AM

In the panther betas it worked that way, but it was considered a bug. Which I think is OK, but you should allow the other user to start itunes too..



[ Reply to This | # ]
Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users
Authored by: DavidRavenMoon on Mar 05, '04 10:15:06AM

The problem with two people using iTunes seems to be if you share a music library, as my wife and I do, then you run into the problem of open files. As it is sometimes I can't edit the tags on a file because of permissions (as when my wife added it and not me), and you can see where two people writing to the same file could potentially cause a bunch of problems!

I do wish Apple would make iTunes inactive when switching, so when my wife forgets to close iTunes I wouldn't have to use Activity Monitor to kill it to allow me to open it too.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users
Authored by: leenoble_uk on Mar 04, '04 11:30:36AM

Both Windows Media Player and RealPlayer will continue to play sound outside of login.
The latest version of WMP unfortunately stops when you switch to the login window now. The older version didn't.
I use Applecripts to record certain radio stations at different times and have found that they work more reliably if you leave the login window up. If you log in then the keystrokes in UIScripting get directed to the wrong place if the machine has gone to sleep or the screensaver has kicked in.
The sound continues at the login panel throughout and if you or someone else logs in thereafter.

---
So, I said ... well, I can't actually remember exactly what I said. But it was one of the most enormously cruel and frighteningly witty put downs ever.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users
Authored by: rwinchester on Mar 04, '04 11:44:54AM

I've noticed that playing mp3s in the Finder really kills my CPU... even if you've paused the tune...



[ Reply to This | # ]
Slightly off topic
Authored by: jecwobble on Mar 04, '04 03:24:29PM

In a similar way, I have noticed that other applications can use non-monitor I/O from a 'switched' user's workspace. One day I noticed some weird noises that weren't coming from any application I was running. After checking around, I found that my son had been playing Sonic in his session and had paused the game when he switched out. The game was still using the speakers.

We have dial-up and I tend to leave Mail open even when I disconnect from the net. One day I noticed several new emails in my inbox but I had never dialed up and retrieved them. Turns out, while my wife was logged on to her account and dialed in, my Mail app connected to my ISP provider and retrieved new emails for me, even though mine wasn't the active account.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users
Authored by: newbish on Mar 04, '04 09:52:42PM

The primary key to Panther's multi-user fast switching was that applications running in your space would continue to run while someone else was working in their space. It does not suspend your applications while you are away.

These are the side effects. The Mail.app is actually doing it's job in the background. When it sees that there is a live connection, it does what it's supposed to do.

As far as playing music in the Finder vs. iTunes- well, yeah, this looks like a bug. iTunes was smart enough to pause when switching accounts. But the Finder keeps plugging away at it.

I think what should have been done was that while processes can continue for user_1, the output should have been completely cut off while User_2 was using the machine. Clearly, audio still has a way through. Perhaps this will be cleaned up in the next version release.

I will offer, though, do we really want to lose that? It would be nice if some kind of audible alert could let me know when something important completed.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users
Authored by: chris_on_hints on Mar 05, '04 03:36:19PM

I love the way Panther lets sounds from "background" users through to the speakers. I have set up Mail to use a different "Incoming Mail" sound for each user. Now we can tell who is getting mail, no matter who is actively using the machine!!

IMHO:
The next iTunes should be a multi-user program with the option for a shared library and shared control.... when i have it playing music, its always a shock when it cuts out as my girlfriend does a fast user switch... especially as it doesnt auto-resume when i log back in.

In the meantime, check out iTiRemote - its a bit clumsy, but lets iTunes music continue through user switches and allows other users to change track and pause etc.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Applications Running After User Switch
Authored by: n1mie on Mar 05, '04 05:41:49PM

I noticed this also with SETI@Home. I now take advantage of this by having a generic account which runs all the time. Now no matter who logs in to the family computer, SETI works in the background. (This is more elegant than the old solution which was to have a startup item for each account.)

---
--Chip



[ Reply to This | # ]
Finder-based MP3 files play after switching users
Authored by: xSmurf on Mar 05, '04 07:50:04PM

On a similar note, try playing the preview from the column view and then select something (icons on the desktop or files in another window), this seams to occure with both window showed and minmized in the dock

---
PM G4 DP 800 / 768Mb / 120Gb+80Gb /SuperDrive / SCSI: AGFA SnapScan 1236s / Jaz 1Gb / Zip 100Mb
- The only APP Smurf ;P



[ Reply to This | # ]