Registered: Jan 2000
From: San Francisco, CA

To our beloved developers,


we'd like to inform you of our new (or somewhat recently updated) development
plans for Winamp. It's important to note that our primary goals (to provide
the best media playback experience and functionality) have not changed.

The New Plan[tm]!

Currently we provide Winamp 2.81 and Winamp3 for our users. Both programs
provide some really excellent features and functionality, and a lot of those
benefits do not overlap between the two products.

We intend to combine everything our users like about Winamp 2.81 and Winamp3
into one version of Winamp.

Step 1: Winamp 2.9 (next week)

Winamp 2.9 will be built on Winamp 2.x, and include new features such as video
support and a media library. Winamp 2.9 will also provide some new APIs for
tighter plug-in integration. We will even be releasing portable device plug-ins
as examples.

Step 1.5: release lots of updates to Winamp 2.9x, to fix bugs and add minor improvements.

Step 2: Winamp "5" (this summer)

(The "5" is just a working title, and may or may not be used.. The (slightly amusing)
thought is that Winamp 2 + Winamp 3 = Winamp 5; but not everybody around is sold on
that idea. We'll see.)

This version will integrate Winamp 3 skin and script support into the Winamp 2.x platform.
This will allow users who do not wish to have complex freeform skins to use classic
Winamp skin(s), with the full performance of Winamp 2.x. Those who wish to use more
advanced Winamp3 skins can do so as well. The integration will be seamless.

Initially this version of Winamp will not support Wasabi components. That may
or may not change as we go forward, we have yet to see how worthwhile that will
be. We have and will be extending Winamp 2.x's plug-in architecture greatly to
allow much of the same functionality that can be accomplished with Wasabi).

We also plan on adding CD ripping and burning capability for this release.

We are aiming to release this version sometime (read: towards the end of) this
summer (2003).

Step 3: ???

Step 4: Profit!

(don't worry about steps 3 and 4, they are just a lame Southpark reference)

To just sum things up: plan going forward:

• Winamp 2.9, March 2003
  - Adds video and library and new APIs for better plug-in integration to Winamp 2.x
  
• Winamp "5" (title unknown), Late Summer 2003
  - Adds Winamp3 skin support, CD ripping, CD burning.
  - Fully supports Winamp "classic" and Winamp3 skins
  - Fully supports Winamp "classic" plug-ins
  - Does not initially support Winamp3 (Wasabi) components.
  

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Registered: Jan 2002
From: New Zealand

If Wasabi is (possibly) not to be supported in Winamp 5 (*snif*) , will the Window Frame, XML Skin, Attribute, and Maki support be made available to the "new API" plugins?

Since Winamp 3 skins are to be supported, it would be great if these features were exposed through some (reduced?) API to the plugins, so that they make use of them for their interfaces. This could provide a common method for window creation which through Winamp 5 gives: auto window docking, easy XML content creation, configurification / attribute interfaces, and scripting level control to/for any new plugin developed for Winamp 5.

Hopefully we will be able to do things like:
1). Use "setContent()" for XML window content creation?
2). Use Maki as a versatile scripting language to control the plugin?
3). Use attributes for (Maki controlled) feedback to plugins?
4). Create a ScriptObject interface to Maki (exposing plugin)?
5). Create textFeeds or similar for display content?
6). Use actions or raise Maki events (event driven)?

Seeing Wasabi 'disappear' would be a shame, however if we could still retain some of it's most flexible and powerful features, I think a number of developers would be eternally grateful.

Cheers,
Robert.

__________________
GodZone, New Zealand

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Registered: May 2003
From: Australia

Does this mean that 2.9 and the future common versions will support the IPC commands (SendMessage API) like winamp 2 did?

Last edited by MAhlgren on 05-09-2003 at 02:03 PM

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Registered: May 2003
From: Australia

ok then, will the future common version (Winamp "5") support the IPC commands?
I assume from what they've said, that Winamp "5" will be based on the Winamp 2.x platform and therefore will have IPC support.

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Registered: Jan 2001
From: UK

Yes.

(Winamp5 will probably still be called Winamp 2.x)

__________________
For long you live and high you fly, but only if you ride the tide, and balanced on the biggest wave you race towards an early grave.
|Musicbrainz|Audioscrobbler|last.fm|

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Registered: Mar 2002
From: Berlin, Germany

Well, i'm kinda confused. Now that i kind of got into Wasabi programming and learned how good it actually is it's goin to be removed?

is any effort being put in wasabi-programming right now for nothing?

Greets, Jon

__________________
home: www.jonkowal.de
jonplug.wac - spice up aol :-)
music: www.ellisnyard.de

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Registered: Jan 2001
From: UK

Well, at current there are no firm plans for adding wasabi component support to Winamp5. However there's still a community of programmers focused on making Winamp3 better, and you're welcome to help with that .

__________________
For long you live and high you fly, but only if you ride the tide, and balanced on the biggest wave you race towards an early grave.
|Musicbrainz|Audioscrobbler|last.fm|

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