It was definitely the most versatile audio application. It sucked because it was an insane resource hog and was not very well optimized.
Are you kidding? It was the leanest mp3 player around. Pentium 1s didn't have a lot of resources to go around, and a lot of people had ISA soundcards (often sharing the bus with their network cards or modems).
Say what you will about iTunes or WMP but I never had audio clipping with either of those applications and I would get it pretty freqently with Winamp.
What do you mean "audio clipping?" Clipping only happens if the source file is recorded outside of the acceptable range, or if the playback system is overdriven. Do you mean stutters or clipping?
Also, iTunes didn't even exist until 2001, and wasn't available on Windows until the end of 2003. WMP didn't even support mp3s until after version 6.0. Winamp was in use for years prior to that (1997). What the fuck era are you talking about? Winamp was obsolete around when version 3 was released.
Stutters is more accurate. And exactly, it was supposed to be the leanest, but I had way more issues with it. I mean, regardless of my lack of resources PC-wise iTunes and WMP managed them just fine.
Also you're pointing out an age difference as I didn't really start listening to music on a PC until ~2001 :P Regardless of when iTunes came out though I had more success with WMP than I ever had with Winamp.
For the record my dissatisfaction is purely anecdotal. Many of my friends used Winamp without issue. I just personally disliked it.
Yeah, and I'm pointing out that neither iTunes nor WMP were available or able to play mp3s for a long, long time. They didn't overlap or compete in any way. By the time iTunes was in use, Winamp was dead. People used Winamp 2.X up until WMP/VLC/iTunes replaced it. Winamp 3 was garbage with a different codebase and was ignored.
In 2001, you couldn't have used iTunes on your PC.
I suspect you were using Winamp 3, since you are talking about a time long past the era of Winamp. It was garbage, and was never widely adopted.
The winamp/mp3 era we're talking about was 1997-2003.
You're right, I used WMP until they had Win iTunes. For a time I was using Real Media Player which was just... just awful. I was most likely using Winamp 3 as well.
You're right, I used WMP until they had Win iTunes. For a time I was using Real Media Player which was just... just awful. I was most likely using Winamp 3 as well.
Winamp 1 was literally the only game in town for many years. Even when competition started to creep in, it was better, faster, and more reliable than anything in its era.
The Nullsoft people had to push v3 for a lot of dumb reasons, but they always made sure their loyal fans knew how to get the real version right until the end.
Nullsoft was one of, if not the, last hardcore for reals software companies. Nowadays everyone just makes a web app, mobile app, or an open source project. Nullsoft was hackers like that would make open source projects, but making commercial freeware. The apps that Justin Frankel actually wrote were incredible for their time. If only WASTE had not failed, we could still really use it right now.
Nullsoft was one of, if not the, last hardcore for reals software companies. Nowadays everyone just makes a web app, mobile app, or an open source project
Nullsoft was one of, if not the, last hardcore for reals software companies. Nowadays everyone just makes a web app, mobile app, or an open source project
Oculus
Might have been true. But at least Nullsoft released product before selling out to AOL. Oculus sold out to Facebook, and they still don't have any product any normal person can get their hands on.
The Oculus people, from what I can see looking in from the outside, are in that caliber.
Sure, but Nullsoft built at least two things that millions of people used, WinAmp and Gnutella. When Oculus has as many users, they can get some credit.
Might have been true. But at least Nullsoft released product before selling out to AOL. Oculus sold out to Facebook, and they still don't have any product any normal person can get their hands on.
You can, it's just that you should probably wait. Over 100k units have been shipped since DK1, so it's hard to make the comparison that Oculus hasn't done anything of the sort.
This is me being honest. If I was trolling, I'd tell you about my love of RealPlayer (although I did have a very brief fascination with video channels when they first hit).
Also, when speaking of "real software companies", I'd argue that most game studios would fit in the category. They are on the forefront of perf aware programs.
Windows 98 was good? I distinctly recall that when I had 98, you could bypass the login authentication by pressing the Cancel button. It would just take you right to the desktop. If you were smart, you held on to 95 until 2000 came out.
95 was actually pretty good by the time it was discontinued. Initially it was a bit rough, but new OS launches typically are, and by the time you got to revision B (OSR2.1) where they rolled in USB support it was pretty kick-ass. 98 just improved over that by so much that many people look back at 95's launch and say it was garbage.
I distinctly recall that when I had 98, you could bypass the login authentication by pressing the Cancel button.
Yeah, that was a big fat security hole, but in the grand scheme of things 98 was really intended to be the home-user OS, and 95 had the same problem in non-network situations.
Nullsoft was one of, if not the, last hardcore for reals software companies. Nowadays everyone just makes a web app, mobile app, or an open source project. Nullsoft was hackers like that would make open source projects, but making commercial freeware. The apps that Justin Frankel actually wrote were incredible for their time. If only WASTE had not failed, we could still really use it right now.
Winamp is still around. They're apparently making a big update to it. Winamp wifi sync was really fucking awesome...
Until Google Music happened.
Still, I keep winamp installed and use it regularly. The library is still the best compared to any other major media player.
Comments
Also, iTunes didn't even exist until 2001, and wasn't available on Windows until the end of 2003. WMP didn't even support mp3s until after version 6.0. Winamp was in use for years prior to that (1997). What the fuck era are you talking about? Winamp was obsolete around when version 3 was released.
Also you're pointing out an age difference as I didn't really start listening to music on a PC until ~2001 :P Regardless of when iTunes came out though I had more success with WMP than I ever had with Winamp.
For the record my dissatisfaction is purely anecdotal. Many of my friends used Winamp without issue. I just personally disliked it.
In 2001, you couldn't have used iTunes on your PC.
I suspect you were using Winamp 3, since you are talking about a time long past the era of Winamp. It was garbage, and was never widely adopted.
The winamp/mp3 era we're talking about was 1997-2003.
You can, it's just that you should probably wait. Over 100k units have been shipped since DK1, so it's hard to make the comparison that Oculus hasn't done anything of the sort.
Hell, don't buy one if you don't want to. Just make one, we've given you everything you need:https://github.com/OculusVR/RiftDK1
This is me being honest. If I was trolling, I'd tell you about my love of RealPlayer (although I did have a very brief fascination with video channels when they first hit).
Windows 95 was pretty decent though. It was an insane step up from 3.1.
Fuckin' punk kids.
Until Google Music happened.
Still, I keep winamp installed and use it regularly. The library is still the best compared to any other major media player.