AfterDawn: Tech news

End near for Nullsoft?

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 11 Nov 2004 2:50 User comments (35)

End near for Nullsoft? AOL's contiuing cost-cutting, declining membership figures and changes in its corporate attitude over the years seem to have finally put a permanent stop to one of the world's most popular software programs, WinAMP. After the recent shakups, the resigning of Justin Frankel and the general lack of support from AOL, it seems now that the story of Nullsoft is finally over.
The software company, bought by AOL back in 1999 for $100M, now has just three employees to continue the development of Nullsoft's products that include WinAMP, ShoutCast and NSIS. The last major version of WinAMP was released back in December when WinAMP v5.0 was released.

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35 user comments

111.11.2004 15:05

im glad aol has financial problems :) the bill for all those billions of cds is finally catchin up to them ;)

211.11.2004 15:47

yeah screw AOL but...I love winamp someone else buy nullsoft :(

311.11.2004 18:32

DOWN WITH AO-HELL!! sucks about Nullsoft though, just shows how a small company like that can create great programs. Hopefully someone will buy it to carry on the winamp torch. There's not much else to use...WMP is a joke compared to winamp.

411.11.2004 21:43

This is whack, ive been using winamp since it was in like .5 beta back in the day, except for winamp 4, every single one was great and shoutcast is fantastic. Hopefully they get aquiered by another company or they make it open source so supernerds can work on it.

512.11.2004 08:48

Really harsh about Nullsoft. I always stream from winamp coz media player sucks! Glad to see AOL in trouble tho!!!

612.11.2004 09:22

mesh - correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't winamp go directly from 3 to 5. I remember reading on their website that they combined the parts that everyone liked from version 3, and the new features from version 3, and created version 5. (2 + 3 = 5). Maybe I'm wrong, but thats what I recall...

712.11.2004 09:24

meant to say version 2, then version 3...damn fingers and their typos!

812.11.2004 11:35

Microsoft should realise NullSoft's potential and buy them, then have them develope WMP11. I'm using WinAmp right now... it would be a disgrace to the human race if NullSoft went away. =(

912.11.2004 11:43

it would be the end of an era if nulLsofT went under. and if microsuck bought them it would be the end of nulLsofT as we know it. i really hope aoHell crashes to the ground , but with justiN gone, winamp would go with it. lets just pray that some brilliant japanese business men give justiN what what he wants.

1012.11.2004 12:52

I agree, microsoft should NOT buy nullsoft, because they wouldn't do anything with it. To them it would just be buying out the other competitor so we're forced to use WMP.

1113.11.2004 08:56

And that is bad because? If they manage to make WMP as good as WinAmp, why not use it? Apart from the fact that you hate Microsoft because it is so succesful...

1213.11.2004 09:08

don't forget that microsuck releases consistently shitty apps just so they can force folks to upgrade later.

1313.11.2004 10:03

Maybe it's the fact that Microsuck like to charge for streaming radio stations from the net, or that they basically make apps that constantly screw up your mahcine... come to think about it, Maybe it's that they don't give a toss about the "User experience" either way if they got their hands on winamp... it'd become another bag of crap from ms!

1413.11.2004 10:54

I never said I didn't like Microsoft...they're as successful as they are for a reason, I just don't like WMP. Comparing it to winamp is a joke. About making WMP like winamp, well they've have like 5 versions of WMP to try and make it like winamp, and they haven't yet, so I don't think they will figure it out in the future.

1513.11.2004 15:34

I have been a loyal user since Winamp 2 and I hate to see it go. Somebody else should really buy Winamp to save us from WMP! I dont like WMP because of the automatic DRM updates and the like that they can legally put on your computer without your knowledge. It also installs when the OS installs and when you install a service pack. Once I get another computer I'm getting Linux, thats for sure. The only reason I continue to put up with XP is so I can play my games.

1613.11.2004 15:35

I have been a loyal user since Winamp 2 and I hate to see it go. Somebody else should really buy Winamp to save us from WMP! I dont like WMP because of the automatic DRM updates and the like that they can legally put on your computer without your knowledge. It also installs when the OS installs and when you install a service pack. Once I get another computer I'm getting Linux, thats for sure. The only reason I continue to put up with XP is so I can play my games.

1713.11.2004 16:16

I agree, Linux is a great OS, much better than Windows, there's just sucha lack of software for it that I don't think its worth it. I absolutely HATE XP, it has to be one of the worst Windows ever, I just tolerate it because I use Pro Tools. 2000 is the best windows OS there is by far.

1814.11.2004 04:17

I just want to put my vote in that AOL sucks and they screwed up ICQ! I use nothing but winamp for my music/radio. imo though a program that is so widely used and loved will be picked up. The problems is if a crappy company picks it up and screws it up :( But AOL is nothing good and winamp would be better to stray from AOL and I hope AOL falls hard.

1914.11.2004 10:31

hell yes! i wonder what justin thinks about all of this crap. he doesn't seem like the type to just roll over, lose his baby and drive his BMW around LA for the rest of his life ya know? all i can say about windows is that i'm getting a G5/OSX... yes i'm a hippie, and i'm NEVER looking back!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2014.11.2004 10:45

shame on you. no matter HOW bad windows gets, I will never, EVER stoop low enough to guy a MAC. Stick with REAL computers!! I'd go to linux before going to a MAC.

2114.11.2004 10:50

yeah but DP4 and Logic Audio wErk really really well with the mac architecture. i wish i could build a machine that worked as well as a straight G5/DP4 combo, but i can't afford to have any problems durring tracking cause i'm charging.

2214.11.2004 10:58

Logic only works on MACs, cause its owned by Apple. I thought Digital Performer was for MAC only too?? Maybe I'm wrong though. I use Pro Tools, which is great cause it works on XP Pro and OS X, and in my opinion is the best audio program out there. I've used Logic, Cubase, all those, but they don't compare to the capabilities that Pro Tools has. There's a reason its the industry standard for the Entertainment Industry. Go to any recording studio (in So Cal. at least) and they all use Pro Tools. Okay, sorry, done ranting, I just love talking about Pro Tools.

2314.11.2004 11:39

i've wanted pro tools since i was like 14 but it's far too expensive for a dude that's gonna try like hell to get a $25k loan to start a record production company. i can get almost all of the capabilities of pro tools with a native system for about a quater of the price. in five years, pro tools maybe the only way to get anything professional done and by then, yes i will buy a $100k HD system. but for now, it's completely out of my range and makes no sense when i consider the level of production i'll be doing. p.s i could talk about digital audio until my vocal cords fall apart... typing is the shit!

2414.11.2004 11:58
diabolos
Inactive

<Off_Topic> djscoop, I think that mesh was joking when he said what he said (the winamp 4 thing). I thought it was very witty of mesh :) </Off_Topic>

2514.11.2004 12:14

thanks, diabolos, that joke flew way over my head...LOL. yeah, Pro Tools is the shit for sure. Its actually not that expensive. Sure, the top of the line HD systems can reach well over $100 grand, but you can get a smaller system for much cheaper. for about $450 you can get Pro Tools LE 6, and an MBOX which is 2 channels in/out at 48K, along with SPDIF. its nice cause its USB 1.1, and runs off USB power, so its ideal for a laptop/portable recording environment. It has pretty decent Focusrite mic preamps, and phantom power. So if you just want to get started and learn the basics, a small MBOX system is definately the way to go. After that you can upgrade to a DIGI002 for about $2000 and have 8 channels in/out at 96K.

2614.11.2004 12:17

p.s. where are you starting your recording company??

2714.11.2004 12:25

it would be cool just to have a basic pro tools setup so i could import sessions to my native system, good idea man. i need at least 12 trx in/out so i'm getting the new mackie onyx 16 ch. board... @ only $1200. including fire wire 400 interface, it seems like a dream come true for live tracking and the like. i'm geting me company off the ground in Las Vegas. i just got in town and i hope there's a lot of bands just starting out that are as amazing as the killers(a native band that just blew up). how's sOcaL?

2914.11.2004 13:38

Very nice. You can never go wrong with a Mackie mixer. I wonder how much the Firewire I/O interface is though. Thats the one thing that sucks abour Pro Tools...you have to use their interface, unlike Logic or Cubase. I've been using Pro Tools for close to 5 years now, and I help teach it at a Community College where I learned it. I've interned/worked at a bunch of small studios around LA, and now I'm at Warner Bros starting out as an assistant studio tech. Its sweet cause I get to learn the ins and outs of a pro studio, like all those little tips and tricks that come with the trade though. Audio is a blast, I've always been into it. I used to DJ for a while too, but it wasn't really my thing. I'm a total computer geek as well, so using Pro Tools and digital audio is kind of like the best of both worlds for me. I've heard the Killers, they're a great band. I love Vegas too, seen many rock shows out there...tons of potential. Vegas is great, even though I lose all my money every time I go there. But I'm taking Black Jack lessons, so next time I'll be prepared!!

3014.11.2004 13:46

i wish i could play cards cause i'd always have something to do out here, but i suppose it's a good thing i can't! can you program? i could NOT get programing at all. i love computers but i couldn't write code to save my life... at least not yet. i've heard it's not that hard but i'm not a math guy, more of a psychOcreative type. warner bros.? awesome. you can always do more damage from the inside than the outside looking in. i debated about college for a few years but i realized that i know enough to be independent of any institution, at least for a while. i of'course didn't learn as many techniques as you have but i've developed a style of my own and people seem to like the voodoo i do. by march05 i'll definately have everything i need to start me company, and you should drop me a line. quantumpsych@yahoo.co.uk i'm not familiar with the DJ thing but i LOVE electronic music, i'm from metrOdetroit so it kinda comes with the territory.

3114.11.2004 17:38

Yeah, don't play card until you learn and get good at it. Its just like givin' the casinos free money. But it is fun though... I do love electronic music. Some of my favorites are Yomanda, Ferry Corsten, Sandra Collins, Dieselboy, Kylie Minogue (even though she's more like pop), and Aphrodite. I never actually spun electronic, I was actually a DJ for weddings. A boring job, but it paid well and there were always free drinks. About college, well I just went cause it was the easiest way for me to learn the basics, but ask anybody, and they'll tell you that its not where you learned, or what degree you have, its what kind of knowledge and experience you have, and its all about who you know. Most people could care less about your background, if you are good then the word travels. Next time I'm in Vegas (prob. early 05) I'll drop ya a line.

3215.11.2004 03:37

Gr8, Now gayOL will kill a GREAT MP3 player... It's the only one I use..... I wish someone could get the source code for it!!

3316.11.2004 08:14

thanks for the wErds of encouragement djscoop. hope i have everything running by the time you get out this way. hey rrawding, thats's not an impossibility. you should get a hold of justiN first but hell, talk to some linuX guys and i bet they'd recompile it for you for free.... that's just how cool linuX peeps are!

3416.11.2004 12:17

thats a great idea. any "linuX guy" reading this should definitely give it a go and contact justin. i really hope winamp doesnt end with 5.05.

3522.11.2004 02:08

Be ashame if winamp gone... it has been on every installation I have had since forever! I hope that before they give up on winamp they give it an open source license so that the real computer users who have used this over lesser players can keep on using the best media player ever made - and take the development into our own hands!

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