Winamp has been around for ages–it’s one of the first media players we remember using–and it’s still alive and kicking. Winamp Lite is a scaled-down version of the program, offering the basic character of Winamp with fewer features and in a smaller package. Although we personally find Winamp to be dated and awkward to use, hard-core fans will likely approve of this lightweight version of the software.

Opening Winamp Lite was a blast from the past, as its interface has remained largely unchanged over the years. It’s still full of tiny text and buttons with hard-to-read labels. The program is organized into a main window, playlist editor, equalizer, and video player; aside from the main window, these can be opened and closed independently of one another. It’s easy enough to import and play songs with Winamp Lite, although some of its other features are likely to flummox the first-time user, given the abbreviated descriptions on many of the program’s buttons. The online Help file isn’t particularly helpful, either. Winamp Lite does get points for its excellent sound quality and support of a variety of file formats, which are attractive features for serious users. Overall, we know that Winamp has its loyalists, and we don’t begrudge them their media player. But anyone who isn’t already a fan of Winamp would do better to seek out a more straightforward option than Winamp Lite.

Winamp Lite installs politely but leaves a folder behind upon removal.

The post Download Winamp Lite Free for Windows appeared first on software.muycloud.com.

WinAmp 5.3 took some long-needed steps to improve the old-school media player, with support for AAC encoding, CD burning, and a robust file-management system. WinAmp 5.56 ups the ante with strong support for portable devices, including iPods, the ability to sync non-DRMed files to your PC from your device, an optional new interface layout and a built-in browser for media discovery.

We liked that clicking on an artist’s name will get you related headlines and Web sites in a separate pane. There’s also Podcast support, device synchronization that lets you tweak the sync list while in progress, and continued support for AOL’s excellent Shoutcast. The new Bento layout is worth mentioning, too, because it gets the venerable llama away from the old modular format. The joined panes for the browser, media player, artist list, album list and more make WinAmp instantly more visually appealing. There’s also an Auto-Tag feature, which will download metatags from the Gracenote database, and Winamp’s proprietary music scrobler called Orgler, with links back to AOL Music.

If you want MP3 encoding and full-speed CD burning, you have to shell out $19.95 for the Pro version. However, there are other problems. Automatic album art download support is spotty at best. More importantly, there are some stability issues when playing videos, and occasional program crashes were far more common than they should be.

WinAmp 5.56 is no iTunes killer–not yet. It has become, however, a strong alternative and should be of interest to those looking for something with more meat on its bones. Llama meat, that is.

The post Download Winamp Free for Windows appeared first on software.muycloud.com.