K-Jöfol Development Continues

Started almost two years ago as the first fully customizable media player, K-Jöfol quickly became a top download for all digital music lovers alike. Previously working on a DOS-based MP3 decoder, Christophe Thibault (aka rOn) "wanted to code on something for Windows platforms and so I choose to code a customizable MP3 player."

K-Jöfol offered not only the option to change the top 'skin' of the program, but also the physical shape, something not found in other players at the time. Steve Gedikian, K-Jöfol graphic designer, attributes the radical design to the growing Windows customization movement going on at the time. Its intuitive user interface not only attracted graphic artists, but also set a trend for digital music players to come.

K-Jöfol's user base grew rapidly as it became a necessity for Windows users customizing their desktop with LiteStep. However, as quickly as development surged, it began to slow, with rOn finding less and less time to code. After a grandiose 0.51 release that featured a built-in 'dock' mode, K-Jöfol screeched to a halt.

Finding it impossible to compete with the large corporate funding backing Winamp and Sonique, rOn did not have the time or resources to make K-Jöfol a full-time project. After a long period of occasionally adding small updates to the player, rOn has decided to pick development back up to prove K-Jöfol can compete once again and to show his fans he still cares.

K-Jöfol 2000 brings many new features to the table, mainly a new modular design. "If you take a look at the main EXE file, it's just 50kb, it's the main kernel," rOn told eFront, "all the components (GUI, decoders, etc.) are now in separate DLLs." This will not only make the player less bulky, but it will also speed up development. "Just imagine someone coding a Sonique GUI DLL for K-Jöfol. K-Jöfol will then be able to operate like Sonique but with the K-Jöfol architecture/engine," rOn noted. Whether or not this will catch on as the standard in MP3 players is yet to be seen, but the foundation has been made.

Although this is the first beta release of K-Jöfol 2000, the response from the MP3 community has been positive thus far. A second beta release is expected in 3-4 weeks, with a completely re-done playlist in the works. For detailed information on what's new in K-Jöfol 2000 or to download Beta 1, visit FileForum.com.