Re: The Future of Winamp
- From: "Rob Robinson" <robert.trj@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <winamp4theblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 17:34:48 -0500
Well, this news definitely isn't surprising. None the less, I don't think
this is world shattering news though, because of one simple point, at least
we won't have to worry about trying to keep up to the current version any
more. Ever since assholes on line took over, the development has never been
the same. Gee, I wonder if, seeing as how there might not be any more
development of winamp, if AOL will still take our money for the purchase of
winamp pro?LOL! Well, here's hopin' for the best![thumbs up winampers!]
Sincerely,
Robert Robinson
robert.trj@xxxxxxxxx
MSN Screen Name:
robert.trj@xxxxxxxxx
Canadian Amateur Station
va3trj
va3trj@xxxxxx
Club Web Site:
http://www.va3kvd.ca/vhara
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrea Sherry" <sherryan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Winamp 4 The Blind" <winamp4theblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 5:11 PM
Subject: The Future of Winamp
> From an article on the Betanews site:
> Death Knell Sounds for Nullsoft, Winamp
> By
> Nate Mook
> , BetaNews
> November 10, 2004, 1:26 PM
> The last members of the original Winamp team have said goodbye to AOL and
the door
> has all but shut on the Nullsoft era, BetaNews has learned.
> Only a few employees remain to prop up the once-ubiquitous digital audio
player with
> minor updates, but no further improvements to Winamp are expected.
> \
> Winamp's demise comes as no surprise to those close to the company who say
the software
> has been on life support since the resignation of Nullsoft founder and
Winamp creator
> Justin Frankel last January.
> The marriage of Nullsoft and AOL was always one of discontent. After AOL
acquired
> the small company in 1999 for around $100 million, the young team of
Winamp developers
> was assimilated into a strict corporate culture that begged for rebellion.
Although
> Nullsoft was initially given a long leash by AOL, It wasn't long until the
two ideologies
> collided.
> Frankel and his team were accustomed to simply brainstorming ideas over
coffee and
> bringing them to the masses without approval. So when Frankel and fellow
Nullsoft
> developer Tom Pepper devised a decentralized peer-to-peer file sharing
system, dubbed
> Gnutella, parent AOL was left in the dark.
> Gnutella was unveiled
> in March 2000, much to the chagrin of an unprepared AOL; executives
feared the program
> would encourage copyright infringement and damage the company's pending
merger with
> Time Warner. AOL quickly clamped down on Gnutella, but not before the
software's
> source code leaked. Gnutella-based alternatives soon followed, igniting a
peer-to-peer
> land grab that has yet to subside.
> But AOL knew it had to protect its investment and turn a profit from the
freely available
> Winamp. Frankel and crew found themselves in hot water numerous times, but
always
> escaped with little more than a proverbial slap on the wrist.
> However, growing displeasure reached a boiling point with Nullsoft's
unsanctioned
> release of WASTE
> -- an encrypted file-sharing network -- in June 2003. Frankel threatened
to resign
> after AOL
> removed WASTE
> , but remained with the company long enough to finish Winamp 5.0.
> Frankel's departure followed AOL layoffs and the closure of Nullsoft's San
Francisco
> offices in December 2003.
> With AOL struggling to stave off declining subscriber numbers and
> 700 additional layoffs
> planned for next month, the company's focus has shifted away from
supporting acquisitions
> such as Winamp.
> Despite the somber farewell, Nullsoft's former masterminds are proud of
their accomplishments.
> Winamp helped start a digital audio revolution and boasts an incredible 60
million
> users per month.
> After a disappointing
> Winamp3
> , Nullsoft developers returned to the drawing board and completed
long-standing goals
> with the release of
> Winamp 5.0
> in late 2003.
> Nullsoft's
> Shoutcast
> , which pioneered audio streaming over the Internet, is called "the Net's
best secret"
> by its creator Tom Pepper and has reached 170,000 simultaneous users
accounting for
> 70 million hours of listening each month.
> For its part, AOL says it remains committed to Winamp, stating it is "a
thriving
> product that AOL continues to support and will continue to support."
> But without those who poured their heart and soul into building the
software, Winamp
> seems destined to meet a fate similar to fellow audio player
> Sonique
> , after Lycos saw the departure of its development team. Sonique has
stagnated for
> years, and development ceased altogether last March.
> mailto:sherryan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> When you have eliminated the impossible.
> whatever remains, however improbable,
> must be the truth.
> To post a message to the list, send it to winamp4theblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, please send a message to:
> winamp4theblind-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the
subject line.
> Archives located at:
> //www.freelists.org/archives/winamp4theblind>
> If you have any concerns about the list, post received from the list, or
> the way the list is being run, do not post them to the list directly.
Instead, please contact
> the list owners at winamp4theblind-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
To post a message to the list, send it to winamp4theblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, please send a message to:
winamp4theblind-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject
line.
Archives located at:
//www.freelists.org/archives/winamp4theblind>
If you have any concerns about the list, post received from the list, or
the way the list is being run, do not post them to the list directly. Instead,
please contact
the list owners at winamp4theblind-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Other related posts:
