Winamp users post petition on Change.org asking AOL to open source the media player

RIP WinampWinamp will cease to be on Dec. 20th.

Many are sad about this. Some refuse to go quietly into the night.

If you’re lit up about AOL pulling the plug, there’s a Change.org petition you can add your name to. They’re demanding AOL continue offering Winamp or allowing the Winamp code to slide into the world of open source software. It’s an honorable way to preserve some sense of internet history. 15 years and millions of users is quite a legacy to just quit on.

At the time of this writing, they’re about 8000 names short of their goal, so go get signing!

AOL: Keep Winamp alive or let it go open source

RIP: Winamp to shut down December 20th 2013 – no longer available to download

RIP WinampI have such fond memories of Winamp. It was a mandatory download for MP3 playing back in the Windows XP days. No program like it had the wealth of streaming radio and customization options. Hours were spent selecting exactly the right skin and visualization plugins. It was the best.

Winamp even seemed primed for a potential comeback during the early days of Android, offering up a fantastic mobile app which synced to the desktop player, and served users WiFi music sync. Before the app market became Google Play, we didn’t have an iTunes-like media management system, and Winamp was pretty handy for quickly swapping and updating our playlists.

Unfortunately, in a world of cloud services like Pandora, Spotify, and Google Play Music, our poor little Winamp just wasn’t able to continue competing against streaming radio and cloud solutions.

The entire Winamp ecosystem is shutting down December 20th of this year.

No more downloading the desktop player. No more Winamp.com. All the other associated features will be turned off. Say goodnight Gracie.

Those who still have Winamp software installed, I’m sure it’ll still function locally, but I think it’s time to move on. Start finding other solutions. I haven’t used it in years, but I’m going to miss Winamp.

It no longer whips the llama’s ass…

(via Winamp)