14 DAY TRIAL // Is Winamp a good application or not? Some say that it is the best choice in media players while others despise it completely for not having this or that option. Just like anything else, the truth about it is subjective and relative. I for one try as much as I can to avoid it and look for specially designed audio playing tools instead of an all-in-one utility that can play videos, audio files, Internet TV and radio and so on and so forth.
Winamp's fame is incontestable. The software is used worldwide by both beginner and advanced users, no to mention that it is the average user's best choice. Its awards in software world are well deserved, despite all the badmouthing of some of the users. Just as the slogan on its page says, it is "The Ultimate Media Player".
However, as users grew more and more addicted to it, a lot of complaints started to be issued. One of them refers to the control of the application while it is not the active one on the screen. Some time ago, nobody would have thought about this. But it has certainly become a necessity when you are running other softwares that take up all your desktop screen, such as games, for example.
Winamp does not come complete with a play control function while running in background, so a third party application had to take the stand and do this. Winamp Controller is a free software designed to give you the grip on Nullsoft's famous program no matter the foreground window.
The interface is nice and comfy and will definitely not give you a headache. The pinned to the desktop small window is not actually all of the application. That is just the minimized version. But if you access its context menu you will be able to open the main menu. This in turn is a bit more complicated as the number of options and settings in there are baffling in comparison to the minimized version.
The first window allows a customization of the keyboard shortcuts that manage Winamp. Every control has a correspondent on your keyboard, even Repeat, Shuffle and starting Nullsoft's best; not to mention pumping the volume up or cranking it down a notch. Of course that for these there are the multimedia keyboards, but they will turn down the sound for the entire system.
Additional windows permit you to configure the controller in the most comfortable way. That is you can set it to start with Windows and automatically start Winamp, close Winamp when the controller closes or make Winamp close with a fade-out effect. Also, a balloon tip will warn you of all its activities and the duration of its display is customizable.
The options for the mini mode (short version of the menu) are also customizable and let you add the elements to be displayed in the sticky mini window. These are actually the shortcuts you use the most in manipulating Winamp and the mini mode menu will help you memorize them faster as it stands on top of all the windows permanently showing you the hotkeys. Another way the mini mode makes itself useful is that you won't have to exit an application to look for the shortcut you need.
By default the mini mode window looks a bit strange, to say the least. I mean it is very useful and all that, but only the developer could love those looks. The black background in combination with the bright green text color are an eye killer for sure. The good thing is that it can be beautified via the customization settings available.
Dragging it all over the screen is an easy task, but just to fill up a blank spot in the MiniMode Options window the developer decided to insert a Position feature there. It is the simplest way to manipulate the mini window as there are only five options: the four corners of the screen and centering it. Of course none of these represent the best choice, and I think that making it mouse hover sensitive would solve the problem and integrate it in Vista.
However, the application proves to be a very good companion of Winamp and a handy remote control when you are in a game window or in a video conference and you do not want to minimize the window.
The Good
It is useless to say something about its functionality as it is too obvious, especially for gamers. The flexibility allows you to set hotkeys for all the most important functions in Winamp. And all the shortcuts can be customizable so that they will not interfere with the game controls or other shortcuts you have set up.
The interface of the main menu is truly something as the Basic and MiniMode Options sliding from a side of the window is not something you see in every application.
The Bad
MiniMode window is not resizable. This leads to a limited number of hotkeys it can display (only six of them).
The Truth
The application is free and does a great job. Although it is especially useful for gamers, it can be employed by more down to earth users too. It almost allows you full control over the most important Winamp functions.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
