Well, we can see over at a BetaNews article, that AOL not only has turned it's back on Winamp, but now maybe we can see why. Apparently they are developing a new media player, called imaginatively-the AOL Media Player or AMP that will not be based on Winamp 5 and not only that, (thank goodness) it will be independent of their much maligned client software. Already in the hands of subscribers, the new media player is the first step towards AOL starting it's own music store.
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Although AOL client tie-ins will remain, AMP is now a full-fledged application, complete with media library, video support and CD ripping to MPEG4 AAC or Microsoft's WMA formats. Like iTunes and Winamp 5, AOL's other media player, AMP features customizable smart playlists and integrated streaming audio from Radio @ AOL Surprisingly, AMP is not based on AOL's Winamp platform, only utilizing Winamp's "Unagi" playback engine. Instead, AMP is built atop the company's Communicator XUL user interface framework. Communicator was first unveiled in beta form two years ago and eventually evolved into Fanfare. Despite the overlap, AMP is not meant to replace Winamp - even with the recent departure of the player's development team. AOL says its new Media Player is not a competing product and has different audience, as Winamp users are not likely AOL users. |
They say it will be done when it's finished, because it's hard to build a player from scratch. Supposedly this thing has been in the works already for some 3 years and has gone through several re-writes. But, as we saw earlier in the article, it's in beta now so we should see something soon.
Source: BetaNews
