NullSoft, Winamp Call It Quits

By Ian Bell November 11, 2004

“Winamp’s abandonment comes as no surprise to those close to the company who say the software has been on life support since the resignation of Nullsoft founder and Winamp creator Justin Frankel last January.

The marriage of Nullsoft and AOL was always one of discontent. After AOL acquired the small company in 1999 for around $100 million, the young team of Winamp developers was assimilated into a strict corporate culture that begged for rebellion. Although Nullsoft was initially given a long leash by AOL, It wasn’t long until the two ideologies collided.”

This is a very sad indeed. Winamp has and will always be a great product. AOL’s takeover of the company back in 1999 might have just been too much for the Nullsoft team. With a new corporate identity and culture, creativity could have been hurt.

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Ian Bell

Publisher

I work with the best people in the world and get paid to play with gadgets. What's not to like?

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