The mention of Winamp brings with it waves of nostalgia for those who remember using the media player back when it was one of the premier music and video alternatives to both Apple’s iTunes and Windows’ Media Player. After its most recent release in 2013, it was assumed that the project might have died off after being acquired by Radionomy in 2014, but a new leaked version of the software found online points to a possible resurrection.
Initially developed by Nullsoft in 1997, Winamp found itself in the hands of AOL by 1999 before being sold to Radionomy 15 years later. After the company’s acquisition of the media player, the Winamp website announced that the software would be returning soon with updates, but with no visible progression and a decade and a half with no updates, the community began mourning the possible loss of the player.
While still available to download, the player has been out of date and incompatible with certain modern operating systems, most notably Windows 10. Newly leaked changelogs note that the new software iteration, version 5.8, is set to deliver compatibility with Microsoft’s latest operating systems, in addition to new improvements and bug fixes.
Winamp 5.8 offers support for Windows Audio, bringing full compatibility to both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 operating systems. Numerous bugs have also been squashed including memory leaks, the player crashing with specific MP3 ID3v2 tags, and long loading times. The company has also taken the time to update or replace the media player’s various audio decoders.
Potentially most notable is the changelog stating that all Pro functionality within the player has been removed and that “Winamp is now 100-percent freeware again.” This marks the return of the media player from a freemium model that was introduced in 2002 by AOL.
While the leaked bit of software is now available on the internet via an anonymous source, we won’t be linking to it as it has been failing safety checks by virus scanning solutions; this could simply be the result of an incomplete software build or evidence of something more malicious. Radionomy hasn’t made any announcement about Winamp, and we recommend waiting for an official release before downloading any unknown software.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.