Today you can play mp3 files —and music files in even higher quality formats—on virtually any device around you. But more than 20 years ago, the MP3 specification, actually called MPEG-1 Audio Layer III, was a real revolution. Until then, extracting songs from a Compact Disc was not complicated, but they took up so much space that it was absurd to do so. MP3 reduced that space by almost 90%. And just around that time, he appeared Winamp. If we rule out videogames, said software can certainly be the one that arouses the most nostalgia among its former users.
Winamp, the program that revolutionized the way you listen to music
Winamp was not the first mp3 music player on the market, but it became the most popular for a long time. back in the year 1997, both personal computers and Internet rates were beginning to become cheaper. And this, added to the MP3 specification, allowed people to use the computer to play their favorite music - we know, it would not have been possible if people had not started sharing files on the network like crazy.
However, alternatives like Windows Media Player or Real Player did not have intuitive interfaces. They weren't easy to use either, and had very basic functions. Thus, Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldrev set out to program digital playback software, taking advantage of this gap in the Microsoft Windows market. And it was a complete success. Its first versions already supported the creation of playlists or playing tracks randomly. And everything, in a small program that is very easy to use. It didn't take too long until Winamp became paid. As of version 1.5, the application became paid, and its creators became millionaires, especially in the years 1999When AOL (America Online) was done with the program from Nullsoft for $80 million. However, the plans of the American communication group failed, and the original Nullsoft team left the company a few years later.
Still, AOL continued to develop the software, releasing version 5 in late 2003 with a different team of developers. In 2007, AOL announced the end of Winamp., after a corporate restructuring. However, many users continued to use the program for many more years—regardless of the existence of pocket MP3 players.
Winamp as a pocket player. So you can make your own
La winamp interface It remains a icon for all those who remember the software fondly. Tim C. an Adafruit collaborator is one of those nostalgics who spent hours and hours listening to their favorite artists on the yellow lightning show. With a little skill has created a pocket MP3 player with the Winamp interface. If something like that had come out back in 2005, it would have been rich.
To do so, Tim has used as a base the Adafruit PyPortal, which is still a small touch LCD with an ARM processor, wireless connectivity and expansion ports. A product almost identical to a Raspberry Pi, only designed to create IoT devices. However, he has used it to revive the mythical Winamp, with a interface recreated in python. Also, not a single secret has been kept. He has published on the Adafruit website the step by step tutorial on how to build this device, and it has also provided the programming files so that you too can rediscover and customize the skin of the mythical music reproduction program.