14 DAY TRIAL // Winamp will soon be discontinued, so it’s only natural to believe that AOL developers will no longer improve the application in the coming weeks.
Well, if you’re thinking that the parent company has already abandoned Winamp, you’re wrong, as AOL has just released a new version of the media player that comes with several improvements.
Winamp 5 Lite 5.666 Build 3510 was specifically designed to fix bugs and other issues found in the application, so make sure you update to this particular build to repair any glitches that you might have found in previous builds.
For example, it fixes a broken “Add to Library” shell menu item, as well as search filters with Unicode characters that were not saved in Winamp.
At the same time, the developing team also added improvements to some of the built-in modules, including better support for alternative services and an option to use source file instead of database-managed copy.
Winamp, on the other hand, will be officially discontinued on December 20, 2013, even though the developer community is calling for AOL to release the code and make the app open source.
What’s more interesting is that Microsoft is said to be discussing a potential takeover deal that would give Winamp a chance to survive, even though it’s not yet clear how exactly Redmond plans to integrate the media player in its lineup.
At this point, Microsoft already has its very own Windows Media Player for Windows users, while also investing heavily in Xbox Music, a service that’s already available on most devices running its modern operating system.
Of course, Microsoft hasn’t commented on the possibility to take over Winamp, but if these reports are true, Winamp might still be available for many years from now on.
In case you’re already planning to abandon the app, here are some pretty good alternatives for Winamp.