# Winamp 3: It really sucks the llama's ass **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 18, 2002, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792 "2002-10-18T06:19:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/21 "2002-10-18T11:51:18Z")
My only complaint about it so far is that the random play option doesn’t seem to be sufficiently random. When I have it on for extended periods of time day after day, even with only 200-300 songs in it, there are certain songs that just keep coming up, and other songs that never get played. I haven’t actually kept a formal tally, so I guess it could simply be my perception, but I wouldn’t completely rule it out. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/22 "2002-10-18T12:50:54Z")
I also hated it. I found it to be pretty damn slow. I never had a problem with 2.81, so that’s what I continue to use. As for skins, I’ve always found the majority of them to be unusable. “I know! I’ll make it dark gray on black!” ---
**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/23 "2002-10-18T14:06:35Z")
Another complaint about the so-called ‘shuffle/random play’ option. I’ve tried setting the slider just about everywhere between ‘slow’ and ‘fast’ and it STILL picks the same songs over and over and over and over and over… One night it was fixated on ‘Dad Threw Up on Christmas Day’, ‘Walking Around in Women’s Underwear’ and ‘Big Balls’. I decided I did **not** want to know why. * * * \<\< Do something amazing… accomplish work on the computer! \>\> ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/24 "2002-10-18T15:44:58Z")
Add me to the list of people who think it sucks (though I’m still running it). Here’s my short list of complaints: 1. It no longer tells you the total length of the playlist, which was always handy for me because I could use it to test CD track listings without launching my burner software. 2. Only one icon. I always used one of the extra icons because I didn’t like the stock lightning bolt. 3. The playlist shuffle does completely suck. If my old HD hadn’t crashed, I’d reinstall 2.81 and use it. -brianjedi ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/25 "2002-10-18T16:04:48Z")
Yes, I forgot about the last of total time on the playlist. That sucks, as I used it in the same way. You can still get 2.81 off their site: [http://classic.winamp.com/](http://classic.winamp.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/26 "2002-10-18T17:08:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\*Hasn’t this been the case with many programs? Many Netscape users have stayed with version 4.7x over any other later version, because, simply, the creators and maintainors of the program added tons of “neat” features, along with all of their bugs, that few people actually wanted. > \*\* Heh. I’m positive there’s a phrase in the jargon dictionary that describes this: “Cruft” or something? Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/27 "2002-10-18T17:40:30Z")
how about the fact that in xp you have the “play all” or the Play selection" options right there in the window, but with winamp 3 if you chose either of these options you get an error message that basically says winamp 3 will have a seizure if you try this, of course if you hit do it anyway it does indeed have a seizure as it trys to play all of the songs AT ONE FRIGGING TIME! other than that it sucks ass. I do like some of the skins like the corner amp and the transparency features but things like the above and the fact that even when its set on random it plays the first song in the list first EVERY time drive me batshit, I mean whats the point of a 2000+ song playlist if your’e going to hear “beer star” by 45 dip each time it starts? ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/28 "2002-10-18T17:59:14Z")
I don’t care for the new improved version 3, it can go suck a lemon. sticking with 2.8 ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/29 "2002-10-18T18:07:23Z")
For all of you complaining about the skins, I strongly suggest going to [Deskmod.com](http://Deskmod.com) and downloading the [MMD Skin](http://www.deskmod.com/?show=showskin&skin_id=17332). Why Winamp didn’t come up with a user-friendly skin like this I’ll never know. Wait, I do- they’re owned by AOL. My big complaints are the aforementioned missing total playlist time and the fact that there’s currently no feature to crossfade when converting to .WAV, like Winamp2 had with the [SQRSoft Diskwriter plugin](http://www.sqrsoft.com.ar/en/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Bubba\_Ray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bubba\_Ray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bubba_Ray)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/30 "2002-10-18T18:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iamthewalrus(:3= \* > \*\*Got it. Hated it. Uninstalled it. > > \*\* Yep, made my system slow down terribly (hey its an older PC), reinstalled 2.something, works fine again. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/31 "2002-10-19T01:17:30Z")
I tried it for an evening and hated it. I found the interface to be clumsy and I didn’t like the way it seemed to slow down my system. You can go to [http://www.oldversion.com/](http://www.oldversion.com/), and get any of the older versions of Winamp. I’m using version 2.79, and it does everything I need it to do. ---
**Author:** ![firagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/13edae/32.png) [@firagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firagon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/32 "2002-10-19T01:52:38Z")
> [@](#): > > You’re talking about varying the opacity of the program, so you can “see through” it to whatever program is behind it? If so, Winamp 3 supports this by default. Or at least it does if you check all the boxes when installing it. Click on the + menu at the top left, and choose “Opacity” from the menu. I know about WinAMP 3’s transparency thing, but it sucks compared to the plug-in I have. The plug-in I have has a fade-in/fade-out effect for when you move your cursor over it or click winamp. Much nicer than the constant transparency that WinAMP3 has, because I like my WinAMP barely visible when I’m not paying attention to it, but opaque when I’m fiddling with its controls. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/33 "2002-10-19T01:58:02Z")
**Firagon** : that sounds cool. Can you post the name of the plugin? Fenris ---
**Author:** ![firagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/13edae/32.png) [@firagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firagon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/34 "2002-10-19T03:06:13Z")
It’s called “TransparentFX”, and you can find it at [http://www.draconpern.com/TransparentFX/index.html](http://www.draconpern.com/TransparentFX/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/35 "2002-10-19T04:45:04Z")
Another flaw: In their desire to make Winamp a cross-platform application (um, what does the “Win” stand for again?), the authors have removed all inter-process communication support from Winamp 3. There is no DDE, no COM, no SendMessage API. My freeware application, Visual IRC, includes a nice script for Winamp 1.x/2.x that shows a toolbar with the song title, elapsed time, and control buttons. Users can type simple commands to go back and forth through the playlist, announce their music to the channel, etc., all without switching programs. But, of course, it doesn’t work with Winamp 3. Instead, I’d have to write a plugin, which means learning Winamp’s “WASABI” framework and probably buying a different compiler. No thanks! ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/36 "2002-10-19T23:00:25Z")
I tried version 3 recently and didn’t like it either. But mostly just because it wasn’t what I was used to. But I’m running 2.78. Is 2.81 much better? (only **asterion** appears to be using an older version, and besides us, it looks like only **brujo** uses anything other than 2.81 or 3.) ---
**Author:** ![Avumede](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/avumede/32/7235_2.png) [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/37 "2002-10-19T23:12:02Z")
All the WinAmp’s pretty much suck, along with most of the other mp3 players. I don’t know how people can use those things. First of all, on most skins it’s difficult to tell where the buttons are, let alone what they do. The few skins that seem to have text on them have this teeny text in low contrast. It’s unreadable. Plus, the whole way it’s designed is ridiculous, with the bitmapped graphics and all. It should be a normal windows application, with a normal UI. That way it can adjust appropriately to resolution, etc. This is why ITunes is usuable, but WinAmp isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/38 "2002-10-20T04:55:58Z")
The playlists on Winamp drive me crazy, because I also play music by browsing in explorer and just double-clicking on them. But when I do that, it always erases the last playlist I was using! So then I have to reload it from disk. There may be an option to change this behaviour somewhere, but I haven’t found it. Terrible design. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/39 "2002-10-20T05:42:19Z")
Way way slower (especially for movies: even WindowsMP is much fsater). However, there are some great windowshade skins available that minimize screen real estate. Hopefully, as time goes on, they’ll fix. Whadda want for free? ---
**Author:** ![sc913](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@sc913](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sc913)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792/40 "2002-10-20T09:57:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*The playlists on Winamp drive me crazy, because I also play music by browsing in explorer and just double-clicking on them. But when I do that, it always erases the last playlist I was using! So then I have to reload it from disk. There may be an option to change this behaviour somewhere, but I haven’t found it. Terrible design. \*\* I don’t know how to do this in 3, but in the older 2.x versions, go to options-preferences, and in the preferences window, go to File Types (under Setup). Check ‘Enqueue as default action’. Back on topic, I haven’t downloaded winamp 3 because I’ve heard it uses up a lot of system resources, and I like Winamp on in the background while I’m doing all kinds of resource intensive stuff. And I don’t need too many features on my mp3 player. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winamp-3-it-really-sucks-the-llamas-ass/132792.md?page=3)