Release the source code!

[LeoMcFly]

You're closing...
Winamp is a great Music Player, but there's a lot of work to do (integration with music stream services, linux port, bug fix, updates ecc)
Why don't you release winamp's (and winamp for android) source code under a free license (like the GPL for example)? Thats a big christmas gift you can do for all the community.
A lot of companies (Like RedHat, Intel, Google ecc) release the source code of their products in a free license, because the community can help with the development of them...
Please. Let the llama still live

[thinktink]

Probably not going to happen since there is non-free code probably protected by an AOL proprietary protection schema that AOL probably does not want released...




...probably...

[Klausi2007]

Originally Posted by thinktink

... there is non-free code probably protected by an AOL proprietary protection schema that AOL probably does not want released...




...probably...

So what. There is always the option to remove the non-free code, if that not breaks the whole application...

AOL has produced trillion tons of AOL CD's at the '90th, releasing the source code will be a great reparation for that ^^

[Koopa]

Originally Posted by Klausi2007

AOL has produced trillion tons of AOL CD's at the '90th, releasing the source code will be a great reparation for that ^^

hahahahaha

made my day really,

[thinktink]

Originally Posted by Klausi2007

...option to remove the non-free code, if that not breaks the whole application...

And who's going to foot the bill to remove all the proprietary, non-free, royalty-payment-required source code with that team of CYA lawyers on standby to verify that nothing potentially infringing remains in the source code oi?

Again, not gonna happen...


...probably...

...very probably...

[MrSinatra]

I think Frankel should take 5.66 and do it anonymously if no one else will. I'm sure he still has friends there and can get the source, and seed the code... if he wants to.

let me add a caveat that AOL should be given a couple years to find a buyer first. "Winamp" is a very strong brand name, and it could sell. but if it doesn't, open source would be better than death. fragmentation is not necessarily a bad thing.

[thinktink]

You know the first thing I'd do if Winamp went open source? I'd browse all the headers and find out how to interface the JNetLib Wasabi interface and a number of other API related stuffings.

[DrO]

that stuff will be made available where I can for the 5.66 SDK, just it may take until January until it's properly done...

[osmosis]

Originally Posted by MrSinatra

I think Frankel should take 5.66 and do it anonymously if no one else will. I'm sure he still has friends there and can get the source, and seed the code... if he wants to.

let me add a caveat that AOL should be given a couple years to find a buyer first. "Winamp" is a very strong brand name, and it could sell. but if it doesn't, open source would be better than death. fragmentation is not necessarily a bad thing.

Yup, one fork always becomes/remains dominant, look at Firefox.

Originally Posted by thinktink

And who's going to foot the bill to remove all the proprietary, non-free, royalty-payment-required source code with that team of CYA lawyers on standby to verify that nothing potentially infringing remains in the source code oi?

Again, not gonna happen...


...probably...

...very probably...

Could do proprietary blobs for closed-source portions?

[Zypher76]

Originally Posted by Klausi2007

So what. There is always the option to remove the non-free code, if that not breaks the whole application...

AOL has produced trillion tons of AOL CD's at the '90th, releasing the source code will be a great reparation for that ^^

AOL doesn't think "Free", AOL think $ ...
So, if they spent millions of $(80 million USD) when they bought winamp in 1999, why should they just give it to people now?
They think like this: "We kill winamp and majority will start using our own(lame) products instead!".
It is the hard truth!

Unless nobody will buy winamp, of course!

Personally I wish and hope that winamp will survive! Now, there is only one cure to us, trusted winamp users, it's TIME! We have to wait and see what will happen!

[ravermeister]

if we would know a price, we could think about a donation project for this,
just like it has been done for blender

[rockouthippie]

Blender is GNU Public license. That's not the same thing,

breaks the whole application...

Winamp minus code AOL licensed and does not own is not a media player anymore. If you made Winamp today, you wouldn't go about it the same way at all. It's so not the way you'd go about it.

[dreamlayers]

Releasing only some parts is better than releasing nothing at all. Missing parts can be replaced.

For example, suppose MP3 decoding can't be released because it's licensed from Fraunhofer. That seems like a big deal, but actually it just means you need another MP3 decoder plugin. There already is at least one other existing plugin: the libmad plugin. Even if there wasn't you could easily implement a plugin using free libraries.

[Sabine Klare]

"Releasing only some parts is better than releasing nothing at all. Missing parts can be replaced. "... Yes, You are right, dreamlayers, I agree with You.

Or at least AOL should sell Winamp to another company. I don't know, if Mozilla or Google are better than Microsoft. Did I forget another software company?

I wish, there would be a millionaire or billionaire somewhere on Planet Earth, who loves Winamp very much and who wants to buy Winamp & SHOUTcast. I hope, AOL is willing to negotiate with such a person.

If yes, then maybe I can still celebrate xmas...