Subsonic

Modern technology allows us to listen to our favorite songs or view our favorite videos at any time and place. You just need to copy your files on a mobile device and you will have them with you anywhere you go. Subsonic allows you to play your music or videos from any computer, as long as it is connected to the Internet. The application is capable of streaming your media files and you can either share them with your friends or play them yourself from any other computer.

The setup package is 35.8 MB, which may put your Internet connection to the test if it is not fast enough. The good news is that you just need to specify a destination folder and click a button to install the application. You can use it on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Unix. What's more, the application is also available for Android, iPhone and Windows Phone.

Subsonic's core functions are located on a web interface, but it also comes with a compact control panel, for your desktop, which you can use to change the port number, set up a memory limit and of course, to start the server. A default username and password (admin) can be used to access the web interface and you may change your credentials later. After specifying one or more music folders, on the Settings page, you will find them as hyperlinks, placed in alphabetical order, on the left side of the window.

Besides playing your music files, on the web interface, you may also compile playlists, share or download files. Performing an action, on multiple files, is easy. You can select one or more files by clicking a check box, after which you must select an action from a drop menu. Music can be shared on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. In addition, the software provides you with a link, which you can send to your friends. The link will take you to a web player, on your default browser, where you can also find a playlist with the shared files.

Your friends can access the web interface as well. You may create new user accounts, on the Settings page and set up various permissions. If other users are logged in, you can see what songs or videos they are playing, on the right side of the window, where you can also type and send messages. Clicking this information will take you to the song's playlist. You can also bring up the song's lyrics by clicking a different hyperlink, in the same area.