exactly why i don't use anything that has anything to do with them i tried one version of winamp (i forget which version) it was so stupid every button i clicked did the exact opposite (stop = play etc.) i junked it after two minutes and kicked myself for a week for wasting 2 hours dowloading it. i forget how many of those aol(ripoff) cd's i melted or shreaded. i won't use it or any other program they claim nor will i ever pay them a cent for internet i'd sooner do without a computer.

it sucks that aol messed with winamp it is seriously my choice of media player over anything else because of the plugins

ya- what really PO's me is that they have "upgraded" the shoutcast list format to exclude all older versions. that is just....well, criminal - imagine if you had bought a car and it came with a warranty, you go in to get something or other fixed and they say 'sorry but we upgraded that part and its no longer compatible - you'll have to buy the new model with shinier hubcaps and tinfoil crumplezones'. is winamp free? yes, but some people buy it for the burning features(silly) - if they use shoutcast, they're kinda getting screwed(another analogy would be that the car salesman came by and tore off your mirrors- the mirrors weren't why you bought the car, but they're kindof an important accessory). i use it for free, anyways since only 5.21 will get the full shoutcast listing I am keeping it installed - but only to make shoutcast lists, which i will play in the file-associated 5.03

evidence of winamp 5.21's complete belly flop:
2003-2006 user reviews note how the tone quickly goes from satisfied/enamored to bitter/disgusted after v5.
another dissatisfied user
5.21 release thread ; note that the programmers sound like they have no idea what their code is doing: "Please do not report that Shift+click is working like Ctrl+click and that Ctrl+click doesn't do anything. We know about this issue. The Media Library is somehow eating both the Del and Ctrl keys, so for now we've had to use Shift+click instead. Again, these issues will hopefully all be addressed in a forthcoming release."

for a little levity, check out this official "poll"s optional responses; it should be noted that the forum is for weirdos who actually care enough about winamp to join a forum about it(lame)
Online services poll 2
the winamp nazis didn't silence everyone though:
shoutcast lists

Edited by - Cold_Void on 5/7/2006 1:39:34 PM

Have you guys posted your complaints to them about it? I know it's a huge evil empire company, but unless you stick your complaints in their face and say "This is wayyy below what we'd expect", then they'll never ever bother doing anything about.

If you do complain though, try to keep the tone both civil and informing (telling them what exactly is wrong, and why it's wrong) - as after working for companies receiving complaints letters, there is nothing quite like a letter just ranting on without any seeming coherant points or information for making you just discard it as a waste of time. If they bring up points clearly, awesome - if it's just "omfg i hate you, hate you hate you! you've made my life hell, i hope you all die and rot in piles of horse manure" then it's a complete waste of effort and time.

its not that they're unresponsive; they just don't care imo. if it's not an in-house AOL product why dedicate any real resources to it? my complaint is that its just another scam where a company comes in and buys a products IP rights so they can "improve" it then doesn't follow through with a real budget/fires or loses all its core programmers. am i miffed? you bet. do i want to actually help AOL? uhh.... heh

winamp is owned by AOL? wow. i stopped updating after v2.91. it never got any better after that.

-:-
I'm Rick James, *****.