89 votes

Winamp has announced that it is opening up its source code to enable collaborative development of its legendary player for Windows

23 comments

  1. vord
    Link
    This is actually somewhat exciting. No other music player was ever quite as nice as Winamp. I'm curious to see what surprises that it holds.

    This is actually somewhat exciting. No other music player was ever quite as nice as Winamp. I'm curious to see what surprises that it holds.

    21 votes
  2. knocklessmonster
    Link
    I would be curious about seeing a Linux port, unless it is tied heavily into Windows APIs.

    I would be curious about seeing a Linux port, unless it is tied heavily into Windows APIs.

    15 votes
  3. arrza
    Link
    I've been a steadfast user of Winamp since the late 90s. It still functions perfectly. I wonder what features they might add?

    I've been a steadfast user of Winamp since the late 90s. It still functions perfectly. I wonder what features they might add?

    12 votes
  4. [6]
    crdpa
    (edited )
    Link
    I was born in the winamp era, but I can't understand the following behind it other than nostalgia. Probably because I switched to Linux after Windows XP and before Windows Vista and the other...

    I was born in the winamp era, but I can't understand the following behind it other than nostalgia.

    Probably because I switched to Linux after Windows XP and before Windows Vista and the other players for windows were bad. I never missed Winamp in Linux.

    Cmus in the terminal was already awesome and for GUI there was Quod Libet and many others.

    10 votes
    1. [5]
      Akir
      Link Parent
      Winamp had three features that made it drammatically better than any other media player. It was very fast and lightweight. It could be run reliably in the background while you did other things. It...

      Winamp had three features that made it drammatically better than any other media player.

      • It was very fast and lightweight. It could be run reliably in the background while you did other things.

      • It made it easy to make and save playlists, which was basically the extent of library management at the time

      • It was trivial to customize and extend. Skins gave it a social aspect, while extensions meant that it was often the easiest ways to play music in more exotic formats like Ogg Vorbis or even video game specific files.

      Beyond that, it quickly expanded to meet new and exciting features, like music visualization, video, and internet streaming, while the extensions for it only got more and more ambitious.

      Possibly the best things it had going for it were that it was miles better than Windows Media Player, it was free, and to my recollection it didn't bug you to buy the paid "pro" version except on the download page.

      The little demo jingle that came with it was also iconic in it's own way.

      20 votes
      1. [2]
        crdpa
        Link Parent
        Windows Media Player was an abomination. I was always in awe when I saw someone using it seriously.

        Windows Media Player was an abomination. I was always in awe when I saw someone using it seriously.

        12 votes
        1. Spacepope
          Link Parent
          It's good for setting in slideshow mode to keep your work laptop from going to sleep while you "work from home".

          It's good for setting in slideshow mode to keep your work laptop from going to sleep while you "work from home".

          7 votes
      2. kingofsnake
        Link Parent
        Loved playing video game format files downloaded from Zophar's domain on this beast. Back in the day when game OST MP3 access was difficult, it made a massive difference.

        Loved playing video game format files downloaded from Zophar's domain on this beast. Back in the day when game OST MP3 access was difficult, it made a massive difference.

        4 votes
      3. imperator
        Link Parent
        Ya I used my old computer in college, hooked it up to the TV and speakers. Was awesome at parties with winamp

        Ya I used my old computer in college, hooked it up to the TV and speakers. Was awesome at parties with winamp

        1 vote
  5. [6]
    V17
    Link
    I do really like it when older projects are preserved by making them open source. And I used to love Winamp 2.xx as a kid and teenager. But then I found Foobar2000, which does everything that...

    I do really like it when older projects are preserved by making them open source. And I used to love Winamp 2.xx as a kid and teenager.

    But then I found Foobar2000, which does everything that winamp does and more with the exception of skins (it is theoretically heavily skinable, but almost nobody really cares about that anymore,) and visualizations (though it may still be possible to use milkdrop, it used to be). It's just as fast, completely free, new features are still being added and it has a large repository of user-made extensions. It's one of those killer apps that made me completely stop caring about the existence of any alternatives.

    I also remember that people who wanted a Winamp-like with more modern features were pretty happy with Aimp (though disclaimer: it's proprietary russian freeware and I've never tried it).

    So, while undoubtedly good, I don't see this having any significant impact.

    7 votes
    1. tomf
      Link Parent
      fb2k themes are still going strong.. but most people who use it have been settled on their setup for years :) foobar2000 is the best.

      fb2k themes are still going strong.. but most people who use it have been settled on their setup for years :) foobar2000 is the best.

      4 votes
    2. [4]
      Akir
      Link Parent
      Foobar2000 is great. To me it's kind of like what iTunes should be. But if Winamp ever had a successor, it's XMPlay. It's got the skinnability and it even supports Winamp plugins.

      Foobar2000 is great. To me it's kind of like what iTunes should be.

      But if Winamp ever had a successor, it's XMPlay. It's got the skinnability and it even supports Winamp plugins.

      1 vote
      1. [3]
        kingofsnake
        Link Parent
        Does this have to do with XM Radio or is it something else?

        Does this have to do with XM Radio or is it something else?

        1. [2]
          Akir
          Link Parent
          It was originally made to play XM music. But it's a general audio player.

          It was originally made to play XM music. But it's a general audio player.

          1 vote
  6. [2]
    feanne
    Link
    I loved Winamp skins so much! I wish more media players, or apps in general, could be personalized to that extent.

    I loved Winamp skins so much! I wish more media players, or apps in general, could be personalized to that extent.

    5 votes
  7. Amarok
    Link
    Oh boy. Sign me up for Linamp alpha. Pair it with TagScanner if your collection is getting messy. Both of them work just fine under Wine already, but I'd much rather have native versions. :)

    Oh boy. Sign me up for Linamp alpha. Pair it with TagScanner if your collection is getting messy. Both of them work just fine under Wine already, but I'd much rather have native versions. :)

    1 vote
  8. [3]
    kingofsnake
    Link
    I absolutely need this. As a friend of files over streaming, I'm always at a bit of a loss when using VLC to launch media. The skins don't update for 4K, the player (for some wild reason) doesn't...

    I absolutely need this. As a friend of files over streaming, I'm always at a bit of a loss when using VLC to launch media. The skins don't update for 4K, the player (for some wild reason) doesn't recognize my media keys...

    And Milkdrop -- will somebody please give me Milkdrop

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      arch
      Link Parent
      ProjectM is what you want. It can run on its own.

      ProjectM is what you want. It can run on its own.

      2 votes
  9. iamnotree
    Link
    Pretty cool. I'll be interested to see how this is utilized going forward forward projects like WACUP. I've used WACUP on and off over the years. Helped a lot with scaling on modern monitors and...

    Pretty cool. I'll be interested to see how this is utilized going forward forward projects like WACUP. I've used WACUP on and off over the years. Helped a lot with scaling on modern monitors and worked pretty great. Ultimately though, I use Foobar2000.

    https://getwacup.com/

    1 vote
  10. jredd23
    Link
    This is great news - I have used this app from the very early on in it's release. I found an iPhone app (highStereo)that is similar to those of you looking for something like this app on your...

    This is great news - I have used this app from the very early on in it's release.
    I found an iPhone app (highStereo)that is similar to those of you looking for something like this app on your phone; https://apps.apple.com/us/app/highstereo-mp3-music-player/id1100086488