Slashdot Mirror


Winamp Alpha for Linux

nerdguy0 writes "It appears that Winamp isn't just for Windows anymore. Nullsoft has a Linux alpha of Winamp3 out on their site. Hopefully it doesn't overshadow all of the hard work the XMMS people have done." Does winamp have better playlist controls then xmms? I've taken to using freeamp just because it has decent playlist controls. I say decent, not good. I want something with a tivo type of intelligence, but everything that claims to do something like this, well, doesn't.

12 of 347 comments (clear)

  1. Choices of GUI mp3 players by little_fluffy_clouds · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Winamp, and as a consequence, xmms, have always seemed clunky in terms of UI to me. Freeamp is better, but in my opinion GQmpeg, even though it is just a frontend to mpg123, has the best interface. It also has some really neat skins (check the PDA one).

    GQmpeg
    GQmpeg Skins.

    --
    What were the skies like when you were young?
  2. Windows Media by Moderator · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Assuming you can use WinAmp plugins, you would be able to listen to Windows Media files on Linux. Not only that, but WinAmp has dozens of plugins for video and other audio types. This could be the link that Linux needs to be a usable multimedia system.

    --
    The World is Yours.
  3. XMMS will continue by larien · · Score: 5, Interesting
    XMMS isn't just a linux MP3 player; there are now plugins for Solaris, AIX, IRIX and other Unixes.

    Perhaps more importantly (for linux users, at least) is that the open source nature make developing plugins easier.

    What would be good would be binary compatibilty between XMMS and Winamp plugins. Having not looked at Winamp plugin development, I don't know how hard that would be; anyone know how compatible they are/could be?

  4. You need multimedia apps in Linux? by disc-chord · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I just know I'm going to get modded down for troll, but please READ this post ALL the way through before you do so. I am not a Win32 zealot, I love Linux and want only the best for it.

    Anyway, this should be considered a good thing, as linux needs as much support as it can get when it comes to multimedia applications, and especially ones from big companies

    There is already a Shoutcast for linux, why would you need client sortware on a server OS? Why do you want people to waste time on this, when developers could better be spending their time competeing with Unix in the enterprise market. That's esentially what this is... a waste of time and resources. The most precious resource the Linux community has is it's developers, shouldn't you be encouraging them to play to their strengths instead of "run multimedia apps and have office so Linux can be just like Windows". I don't want Linux to be just like Windows. If I want Windows I have windows. If I want an affordable server solution I have Linux... and that, in all honesty, is a solution that needs some more solving.

    Please stop crying for Linux to be a desktop OS. Perhaps it will evolve into one after it has swallowed the server market, but now is not the time to spend valuable resources on it.

  5. I'll be using winamp on lunix by ukyoCE · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One of the biggest reasons I don't use linux all that much is the quality of programs for doing my everyday things. High on that list is listening to mp3s/oggs. I tried both freeamp and xmms, and while I thought they were decent, both seemed to be trying their damndest to copy winamp, and failing. Both had many quirks that annoy the hell out of me. For instance on XMMS you have to hold down the mouse button to navigate the right-click and options menus. The add-files in xmms is extremely clunky too. I can't even read half the names of my songs because of it.

    WINAMP being ported to Linux is a GOOD THING. It is definetly the best media player. Even if it wasn't, with 99% of windows people using Winamp, seeing the software they use ported to linux is a great way to convince them to get off Windows.

    If anyone wants to stick to XMMS or Freeamp because of their religious open source ideals, regardless of player quality, go right ahead. I'll be using winamp as soon as it's out of beta for linux.

  6. try `wine winamp.exe` by incuo · · Score: 2, Interesting


    try

    $ cd
    $ wine winamp.exe

    yep, it works perfectly well here (kernel 2.4.12).

    of course, i installed it in whine-blows first ( haven't tried installing in Linux using WINE ).

    [...]

  7. What about plugins? by Sho0tyz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The only thing that could make me switch at this point is if all the winamp DLL plugins somehow work in the linux version. Winamp has a lot of nice plugins you won't find for xmms. Somehow I doubt it, but have they even addressed the plugin issue at all?

  8. Re:what about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    New plugins will be written using the portable wasabi-api. If the plugin itself is portable (#ifdef madness) there won't be a problem with running it on linux - a simple recompile.

  9. Winamp better than Xmms? by deragon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I tried Winamp. Its not beta, its alpha.
    I got it playing an mp3, but many features
    do not work/work well.

    However, when it played, it played my mp3 much
    better than xmms. For some reason, my mp3
    has a sort of "skip" sound at some point.
    Under Xmms, it plays loud. Under Winamp and
    mpg123, the "skip" is muted. You can hear
    it, but its much less intrusive.

    BTW, what can cause these "skips" to occur?
    Bad riping?

    --
    Remember the year 2000? They promised us flying cars. They delivered the PT Cruiser...
  10. Winamp offers some level of control over randomnes by Chibi · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, there seems to be a limit on how long titles can be... ;-)

    I like Winamp, but, no, the playlist randomisation is purely random - it doesn't randomise within a genre or the like, for example

    In the Windows version, if you go to Preferences -> Shuffle, there is something called "Shuffle Morph Rate." It's a horizontal bar, with "Slow" on the left and "Fast" on the right. The text says the following:

    "The shuffle morph rate controls how new songs are picked up when in shuffle mode. In slow morph mode, a slight variation of the same playlist is played each time through, whereas on fast shuffle mode mode major changes happen each time through.

    The default is very close to 'Fast.'"



    But, as you said, there's no way to randomize within genres, outside of creating your own custom-playlists. And that probably won't be too random...at least the second time...

    --
    If all you have are silver bullets, everything looks like a werewolf.
  11. Re:all very strange... by ShaunC · · Score: 3, Interesting

    >In all of this I'm starting to wonder where AOL comes in

    What continues to intrigue me is the fact that AOL (as AOL Time Warner) also owns Warner Records. For the time being, the left hand seems to be operating without regard to the right; but who knows how long this will keep up? The conflict of interest is way too obvious and way too intentional.

    It's sort of like having the Moms Against Guns buy Smith & Wesson... You know there's got to be something shady in the works. I'm curious what Winamp will (d)evolve into over the coming years.

    Shaun

    --
    Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
  12. developers plan file by Simm0 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Winamp developers response to slashdot:

    [simm0@mercury ~]$ finger brennan@nullsoft.com
    [nullsoft.com]
    Login: brennan Name: Brennan Underwood
    Directory: /home/brennan Shell: /usr/local/bin/tcsh
    On since Sun Oct 14 18:17 (PDT) on ttyp0, idle 1:05, from 64.105.36.233
    New mail received Sun Oct 14 19:20 2001 (PDT)
    Unread since Sun Oct 14 19:05 2001 (PDT)
    Project:
    Why, none other than architect and head such-and-such for Winamp 3.0.
    Codename Wasabi. Why this fails to get me all the chicks I'll never know.

    Plan:
    14-Oct-2001

    Dear /.

    We ported it to Linux because we *like* Linux. Calm down.

    Sincerely,
    Brennan