![]() Highlighting the scrubber brings up the play timer, and takes to you whatever point in the song you click. Shortcuts are peppered throughout the app, letting you create playlists or jump to an artist view without having to go through library links or categories. All the little details from the web service have been carried over as-is, such as how album artwork fades into view, how soft shadows bring artists and albums forward, and Google’s distinct orange highlights. Small touches reformat the sidebar into something more appealing for OS X. Regardless, the app itself does a swell job of presenting your music (and Free from Google tunes) in a presentable interface. You’ll have to log into the app using your username and password, and for those who are security conscious, the app does display your email address in the top right. While I don’t see the purpose of including a button for other Google apps, the player rightfully does Google’s service justice on the desktop. The experience largely reminds of Pocket for Mac, with the Google Play logo, search, and popover menus comprising the native wrapper. The app lets you play your music Library through its native experience or, like Fluid, simply present the web app in a window. At least that was until Google Music for Mac, an open source application that wraps the experience in a native player and binds the app to your Mac’s media keys. While the service offers a proper mobile experience on iOS and Android, the desktop experience is limited to the browser. The separate manager for matching songs is a little clumsy, but it’s not a deal breaker. I’ve always thought the player itself was good, and it’s certainly a usable alternative to iTunes for those listening on their work machine or Chromebook. The service has some nice touches, such as a miniature spectrum visualizer that designates the currently playing track and album in a variety of views, thumbs-up and thumbs-down ratings in contrast to stars, and instant mixes that create Genius-like playlists from your music library on the fly. ![]() I’ve dabbled with the service before, using it with my previous storage limited MacBook and giving it an honest shot when away from home. With All Access, you can stream Google’s entire catalog of music for $9.99 a month. One of the least talked about music services is Google’s Play Music service, a combination music store and digital locker that can match up to 20,000 songs from your local library and stream them to your devices over the web for free.
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