Listening to my tunes. (Winamp)

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Winamp
Date:	12/03/02 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great for playing music, small download, free

Disadvantages: very small buttons

Until very recently I was using my Napster Application to play my MP3 files on my Computer.
I admit it, I do have a load of MP3's that I have acquired over a long period of time and from various sources and until now, the player within Napster has been the ideal tool to hear my audio.
But, with the renewal of my PC and changes to the software, Napster has become somewhat outdated and frankly, worthless without the connectivity it once had.
Its a bit of a waste just using it as a player.

SO I looked at alternatives and tried quite a few out. In the end, I opted for Winamp.

Why?

Price.
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It has none. It is made very attractive by being freely available on the web. You can download a free copy directly from their website at:
www.winamp.com/download
You can choose between Full, Standard or lite editions to suit your setup or requirements. This varies in download size from 1.8mb to 500k
The current version of the software is 2.78.

Popularity
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It seems everyone knows of, or is using Winamp.
When people advertise their MP3 list on the web or display it in a search engine, they always refer to their "winamp playlist".
If so many people are using it, there must be a reason for it.

Usability
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There is a reason for it. It is so simple to use. The install of the software takes a matter of seconds, after which you will see the small application that is Winamp.
I say small as this is my only critisism if the app. It is too small. It is hard to see what you are doing as the buttons and icons are so tiny.
The display is very dark and confusing for the new user and it takes a couple of minutes to acquiant yourself with the layout.

What i do like is the display of current music files present on your hard drive. This appears on the right hand side of the application. You can simply choose from the list of songs to play, make cu
stom lists or select random songs to play. Handy for backgroung music at parties and you never have to change a CD again!

As for the overall look of the program, you can simply apply a different "skin" to the app from the the many available skin downloads on the web.
These are free and brighten up the look of your Winamp program. Some of these skins actually make using the application easier as it changes the buttons and icons around.

Features.
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As well as the basic Play, Forwards, Backwards, Stop and Pause of some players, Winamp will also give you full control over volume, balance and even a graphic equalizer from within the program.
The sliders give full control over the sound you want as well as some handy preset equalizer styles.

Files.
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Not only does it play your MP3's but allows the full support of WAV, MOD and MIDI files. That is if you want tacky Casio Keyboard style MIDI tracks to play on your PC!

You can also to hook up to the radio too using the Web OutKast radio. This is similar to the Realplayer Radio and Windows Media Player Radio functionality. Handy for when you are in the office and listening to something live.

What it does struggle with is working through a firewall. Media player is fine and will use HTTP ports to connect. Winamp struggles with this.

Overall.
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A great MP3 player for all of those Morpheus and Napster files. I would however suggest that you download an easier skin to use as the buttons are very tiny and hard to use on the original.

Summary: