Winamp

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What is Winamp

Winamp is a popular music player for Windows that allows users to easily play a variety of music formats right from their desktops.

It is not hard to find a music player. In fact, the Internet is overrun with literally thousands of music players, all of which have their own followings. Winamp is a music player that was launched in 1997. Due to its ease of use, this music player quickly grew into popularity with more than three million downloads. Today, Winamp is still a popular name among tech-savvy Internet users that like to stray from the norm. The question is, how does Winamp stack up against the other players that are available?

Customizable

One of the key features that sets Winamp apart from other media playes is the fact that it is completely customizable. The program supports not only a number of skins but plug-ins as well. The skins simply change the look and layout of your Winamp program. The plug-ins, however, can completely change the features that your Winamp offers. Some plug-ins for Winamp can add lyrics, toolbars and a variety of other features that Winamp would not normally come with.

Paid vs. Free

Just like most “free” programs out there, Winamp has two main versions. There is the free version and the paid version. With the free version, you are able to install skins and plug-ins, listen to music and even sync music from other music devices. However, some of the best features of Winamp are reserved for the paid version. After all, Winamp has to have a reason to get people to want to upgrade from the free version to the paid one. Features such as CD-ripping, full CD-burning speeds and MP3 encoding are limited to the paid version. This is a shame for two reasons. First, there are a number of free music players that offer these kinds of features for free. Second, the paid version of Winamp is slightly overpriced at $19.99, considering that there are free programs out there that offer these same features.

Memory Hog

For the most part, Winamp runs like a dream. In fact, the program is light enough to run in the background of your computer while you game without giving you much issue. However, Winamp starts to get memory hungry when you load up a bunch of songs. In some cases, the program can eat up as much as 100MB of memory. With most newer computers, 100MB of memory is nothing. However, when you consider the fact that there are lighter programs out there for playing music, this may be reason enough for people to avoid Winamp.

Pro:

• Supports syncing to music players, such as iPods
• Plays a variety of music formats
• Videos and artist bio information are built right into the program
• Completely customizable with different skins and plug-ins

Cons:

• Can be a memory hog at times
• Many important features, such as CD-ripping, are limited to the paid version of the program
• Paid version is overpriced compared to other music players that you can get for free