A large alert box added to the top of the Winamp website on Wednesday announced to the world that "Winamp.com and associated web services will no longer be available past December 20, 2013"
Winamp was developed in 1997 as a way to play the MP3 audio format on a home computer. The use of the MP3 file format greatly reduced audio file sizes of audio recordings without a great loss in sound quality.
Winamp became the multi-format media player of choice during the evolution of the MP3 audio file format in the late 1990s.
Winamp creator Justin Frankel started software house Nullsoft in 1998 to distribute Winamp. Nullsoft also created streaming media service SHOUTcast. Nullsoft was acquired by AOL in 1999.
Talks with Microsoft?
On Thursday, various media outlets such as TechCrunch have reported rumors that Microsoft is talking with AOL to buy SHOUTcast and Winamp.
SHOUTcast describes itself as the ultimate directory of online radio stations with over 45,000 radio stations from the US and around the world.
So far there have been no official statements by AOL, or any posts to the SHOUTcast website, regarding changes to the streaming media internet radio service.
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What's on your mind today?
Do you have a favorite internet radio service? What software do you use to manage your music media files?
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via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/winamp-download-shutting-down-as-aol-abandons-popular-music-program?cid=roadrunner