Nullsoft
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Defunct | 2014 |
| Successor | Radionomy |
| Headquarters | Sedona, Arizona |
Key people | Justin Frankel Tom Pepper |
| Products | Winamp, NSIS, and others |
| Owner | Radionomy Group |
Nullsoft, Inc. was an American software house founded in Sedona, Arizona, in 1997 by programmer Justin Frankel. Its products included the Winamp media player and the SHOUTcast MP3 streaming media server.
History[edit]
In 1997, Justin Frankel, a programmer from Sedona, Arizona, founded Nullsoft, Inc in his home town. The company's name is a parody of Microsoft.[1] Mike the Llama is the company's mascot.[a] The company launched the media player Winamp in 1997, developed by Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev. It was the second real-time MP3 player for Windows, following WinPlay3.[2]
Nullsoft, along with Spinner.com, were sold to America Online (AOL) on June 1, 1999, for around $400 million and thereafter existed as a subsidiary, subsequently becoming a division of AOL Music. The headquarters were moved to San Francisco, California.[3][4]
According to Bonnie Burton, then editor of the website Winamp.com, 2001 was a period of heightened tension between the Nullsoft staff and upper management, because of Frankel's uncompromising views about file-sharing. He had developed Gnutella in 2000 and released it using company infrastructure.[5][6] Ars Technica also noted that AOL failed to effectively monetize or find a larger audience for Winamp.[7] Nullsoft's San Francisco offices were closed in December 2003, with a near-concurrent departure of Frankel and the original Winamp development team.[1][3] In 2013, some AOL Music sites were shut down and others sold to Townsquare Media.[8][9][10]
In November 2013, an unofficial report surfaced that Microsoft was in talks with AOL to acquire Nullsoft.[11] On January 14, 2014, it was officially announced that Belgian online radio aggregator Radionomy had bought Winamp and Shoutcast, formerly owned by Nullsoft. No financial details were publicly announced.[12][13]
Software[edit]
Winamp[edit]
Winamp is a media player released by Nullsoft in April 1997. By 1999, it was downloaded by 15 million people.[1] The company released several new versions of the Winamp player and grew its monthly unique subscriber base to 60 million users by late 2004.[3] Winamp was discontinued by Nullsoft around 2013.[14] New versions of Winamp, which started releasing in 2023, are by a different developer named Llama Group.[15]
SHOUTcast[edit]
SHOUTcast (currently Shoutcast) is an MP3 streaming media server.
Nullsoft Scriptable Install System[edit]
In later years, their open source installer system, the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS) became an alternative to commercial products like InstallShield.[16]
Other[edit]
Nullsoft's developments after acquisition included the Nullsoft Streaming Video (NSV) format, which was intended to stream media that used any audio or video codec. In 2002, the press reported a technology called Ultravox being developed by Nullsoft.[17] The company also created the peer-to-peer networks Gnutella and WASTE.[1] Although AOL tried to limit the distribution of Gnutella and WASTE, the Ultravox technology was reportedly used for some AOL radio services in 2003.[18] A service called Nullsoft Television was announced in 2003 using NSV.[19]
Notes[edit]
- ^ this is frequently referred to in promotional material (especially for Winamp) citing llamas. Frankel introduced the llama in Winamp's startup sound clip, inspired by the lyrics of Wesley Willis: "Winamp, it really whips the llama's ass!"[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Kushner, David (January 13, 2004). "The World's Most Dangerous Geek". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 21, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ "Tales in Tech History: Winamp". August 25, 2017.
- ^ a b c Mook, Nate (November 10, 2004). "Death Knell Sounds for Nullsoft, Winamp". Betanews. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ Krigel, Beth (June 1, 1999). "AOL buys Spinner, Nullsoft for $400 million". CNET. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ Burton, Bonnie (November 22, 2013). "Waving goodbye to Winamp, paying respects to Nullsoft". CNET. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Harmon, Amy (March 20, 2000). "Technology; Free Music Software May Have Rattled AOL". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Farivar, Cyrus (July 3, 2017). "Winamp's woes: How the greatest MP3 player undid itself". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ Constine, Josh (June 2, 2013). "Townsquare Media Acquires Some Doomed AOL Music Sites And Comics Alliance". Techcrunch. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ Cooper, Charles (April 26, 2013). "AOL shuts down music-related services". CNET News. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ Solsman, Joan E. (June 3, 2013). "Radio chain picks up pared-down AOL music sites". CNET News. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ "AOL reportedly wants to sell Winamp to Microsoft". The Verge. November 21, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (January 1, 2014). "AOL Sells Winamp And Shoutcast Music Services To Online Radio Aggregator Radionomy". TechCrunch. AOL.
- ^ "Winamp lives on after acquisition by Radionomy". The Verge. January 14, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
- ^ Burton, Bonnie (November 23, 2013). "Waving goodbye to Winamp, paying respects to Nullsoft". CNET. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ Newman, Jared (April 12, 2023). "Winamp is back, but not like you remember". FastCompany. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ Cimpanu, Catalin (March 16, 2017). "Trend: Ransomware Hidden in NSIS Installers Harder to Detect". Bleeping Computer. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Hu, Jim (June 26, 2002). "AOL aims to supercharge streaming". CNET News. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ "AOL pulls Nullsoft file-sharing software". Flexbeta. May 30, 2003. Archived from the original on September 8, 2004. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ "Nullsoft TV Worldwide Public Access". Nullsoft.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2003. Retrieved June 7, 2013.