LAUNCHcast
AdMute 2.3
Release Date: 03/07/2006
Last Update: 3/27/2007
File Size: 1.13 MB
Installation Type: Setup File
Download Now (1 MB zip file)
LAUNCHcast AdMute Version 3 Now Available!
Details
I've been a LAUNCHcast user for several years now and absolutely love the service. The ads, however, have gotten increasingly annoying. While there's no easy way to skip the ads, they can be muted. LAUNCHcast AdMute monitors the player for ads and automatically mutes your system volume during commercials and restores the volume once the music starts again. The LAUNCHcast player is embedded in the AdMute application so as long as you're signed into your Yahoo account, LAUNCHcast will automatically start upon opening AdMute.
Version History
Version 2.3
Version 2.3 includes the option to select between the US and UK LAUNCHcast versions. The US version has more variety, while the UK version plays less commercials and has no usage limits.
-- Now uses the updated URL for the US version
Version 2.2
LAUNCHcast Admute 2.2 introduces the Save Song History option, which keeps a history of all the artists, songs, and song ratings played through AdMute. You can view your LAUNCHcast music history by clicking the View Song History link. You may view recently played songs, most played artists or songs, and even search for songs using custom search criteria. See screenshots below.
Version 2.1
Options have been added to disable the Minimize to System Tray and to Automatically refresh on the "Are you Still There?" message.
Version 2.0
The first version of LAUNCHcast AdMute did a pretty good job of automatically muting commercials, but there were a few features I wasn't too happy with. Using timers to check for ads every XX seconds meant unnecessarily using system resources to constantly get the status of the LAUNCHcast browser. I also had to add the option to not automatically mute more than once every XX minutes to overcome the issue of using timers when LAUNCHcast got "stuck" and didn't update its status.
LAUNCHcast AdMute 2.0 overcame these issues by integrating the LAUNCHcast player within the AdMute application. Aside from the added convenience of having the applications combined, this allows AdMute to automatically detect when LAUNCHcast's status has changed without having to rely on timers to constantly retrieve the status from an external browser.
Options
Automatically mute when ad detected
AdMute detects when ads start and end and automatically mutes the system wav volume until the ads are over.
Mute current song/ad
Aside from muting commercials, you can also use AdMute to mute songs you don't want to hear. Just click "Mute current song/ad" and the volume will be muted until the LAUNCHcast status is updated to anything other than an ad.
Automatically refresh on LAUNCHcast errors
Check this option to have AdMute automatically restart the LAUNCHcast player when an Error status is detected.
Automatically refresh on "Are You Still There?" message
LAUNCHcast periodically stops playing music and shows a message asking if you are still there. You normally have to click a button to resume play or sign up for LAUNCHcast Plus to continue listening to music. You can avoid this annoyance by clicking the Automatically refresh on "Are You Still There?" option, which will automatically restart the player when the message is detected.
Save song history
Check this option to have AdMute save a history of artists, songs, and song ratings to a local database file. You'll then be able to view your music history by clicking the View Song History link.
Show/Hide Options
LAUNCHcast AdMute will open with the Options hidden by default. Just click the Show/Hide options link on the bottom left hand corner of the screen to view or hide the settings for AdMute.
Refresh LAUNCHcast
If LAUNCHcast gets "stuck" and doesn't update the status and/or song information you can click the Refresh LAUNCHcast link to restart the player.
Minimize to the System Tray
The AdMute icon resides in the system tray rather than taking up space on the task bar. The current song and the status of AdMute will show up when you hover your mouse of the System Tray icon. When you minimize AdMute you can restore the options window by double clicking the icon. You can also access a few options by right clicking the System Tray icon. In version 2.1 you have the option of disabling the Minimize to System Tray option.
Main Form with options shown
recently played songs
most played artists
most played songs
search songs
system tray status message
system tray menu
