Nullsoft
{{Short description|American software company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Nullsoft
| logo = Nullsoft.svg
| type = Private
| successor = Radionomy
| foundation = 1997
| defunct = 2014
| location = Sedona, Arizona
| key_people = Justin Frankel
Tom Pepper
| industry = Computer software
| products = Winamp, SHOUTcast, 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
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.{{cite magazine |first= David |last= Kushner |date= January 13, 2004 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070321025028/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938320/the_worlds_most_dangerous_geek |title= The World's Most Dangerous Geek |magazine=Rolling Stone |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938320/the_worlds_most_dangerous_geek |archivedate=March 21, 2007 |url-status= dead |accessdate= June 7, 2013}} Mike the Llama is the company's mascot.{{efn|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!"}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.silicon.co.uk/mobility/mobile-apps/tales-tech-history-winamp-220495|title = Tales in Tech History: Winamp|date = August 25, 2017}}
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.{{Cite news |last=Mook |first=Nate |date= November 10, 2004 |url=http://betanews.com/2004/11/10/death-knell-sounds-for-nullsoft-winamp/ |title= Death Knell Sounds for Nullsoft, Winamp |publisher= Betanews |accessdate= June 7, 2013}}{{Cite web |last=Krigel |first=Beth |date=1999-06-01 |title=AOL buys Spinner, Nullsoft for $400 million |url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-226540.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208082243/http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-226540.html |archive-date=2013-12-08 |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=CNET}}
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.{{cite web |last1=Burton |first1=Bonnie |title=Waving goodbye to Winamp, paying respects to Nullsoft |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/waving-goodbye-to-winamp-paying-respects-to-nullsoft/ |website=CNET |access-date=14 April 2024 |language=en |date=November 22, 2013}}{{cite web |last1=Harmon |first1=Amy |title=Technology; Free Music Software May Have Rattled AOL |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/20/business/technology-free-music-software-may-have-rattled-aol.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=14 April 2024 |date=20 March 2000}} Ars Technica also noted that AOL failed to effectively monetize or find a larger audience for Winamp.{{Cite web |last=Farivar |first=Cyrus |date=2017-07-03 |title=Winamp's woes: How the greatest MP3 player undid itself |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/winamp-how-greatest-mp3-player-undid-itself/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}} Nullsoft's San Francisco offices were closed in December 2003, with a near-concurrent departure of Frankel and the original Winamp development team. In 2013, some AOL Music sites were shut down and others sold to Townsquare Media.{{Cite news |title= Townsquare Media Acquires Some Doomed AOL Music Sites And Comics Alliance |first= Josh |last= Constine |date= June 2, 2013 |url= https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/02/townsquare-media-acquires-shuttered-aol-music-sites-and-comicsalliance/ |publisher=Techcrunch |accessdate= June 7, 2013}}{{Cite news |title= AOL shuts down music-related services |publisher= CNET News |date= April 26, 2013 |first= Charles |last= Cooper |url= http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57581661-93/aol-shuts-down-music-related-services/ |accessdate= June 7, 2013}}{{Cite news |title= Radio chain picks up pared-down AOL music sites |publisher= CNET News |date= June 3, 2013 |first= Joan E. |last=Solsman |url= http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57587311-93/radio-chain-picks-up-pared-down-aol-music-sites/ |accessdate= June 7, 2013}}
In November 2013, an unofficial report surfaced that Microsoft was in talks with AOL to acquire Nullsoft.{{cite web|title=AOL reportedly wants to sell Winamp to Microsoft|url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/11/21/5130536/microsoft-aol-reportedly-working-on-winamp-sale|work=The Verge|date=November 21, 2013 |accessdate=November 21, 2013}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/01/aol-sells-winamp-and-shoutcast-music-services-to-online-radio-aggregator-radionomy|title=AOL Sells Winamp And Shoutcast Music Services To Online Radio Aggregator Radionomy|last=Lunden|first=Ingrid|work=TechCrunch|publisher=AOL|date=January 1, 2014}}{{cite web|title=Winamp lives on after acquisition by Radionomy|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/14/5263086/winamp-radionomy-acquisition-internet-radio-service|work=The Verge|date=January 14, 2014 |accessdate=January 14, 2014}}
Software
= Winamp =
{{main|Winamp}}
Winamp is a media player released by Nullsoft in April 1997. By 1999, it was downloaded by 15 million people. The company released several new versions of the Winamp player and grew its monthly unique subscriber base to 60 million users by late 2004. Winamp was discontinued by Nullsoft around 2013.{{Cite web |last=Burton |first=Bonnie |date=2013-11-23 |title=Waving goodbye to Winamp, paying respects to Nullsoft |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/waving-goodbye-to-winamp-paying-respects-to-nullsoft/ |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=CNET |language=en}} New versions of Winamp, which started releasing in 2023, are by a different developer named Llama Group.{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Jared |date=2023-04-12 |title=Winamp is back, but not like you remember |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90880374/winamp-is-back-but-not-like-you-remember |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=FastCompany}}
= SHOUTcast =
{{main|Shoutcast}}
SHOUTcast (currently Shoutcast) is an MP3 streaming media server.
= Nullsoft Scriptable Install System =
{{Section-stub|date=April 2025}}
In later years, their open source installer system, the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS) became an alternative to commercial products like InstallShield, InnoSetup, InstallSimple and InstallAware.{{cite web |last1=Cimpanu |first1=Catalin |title=Trend: Ransomware Hidden in NSIS Installers Harder to Detect |url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/trend-ransomware-hidden-in-nsis-installers-harder-to-detect/ |website=Bleeping Computer |access-date=14 April 2024 |language=en-us |date=March 16, 2017}}
= Other =
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.{{Cite news |title= AOL aims to supercharge streaming |publisher= CNET News |date= June 26, 2002 |first= Jim |last= Hu |url= http://news.cnet.com/AOL-aims-to-supercharge-streaming/2100-1023_3-939736.html |accessdate= June 7, 2013}} The company also created the peer-to-peer networks Gnutella and WASTE. Although AOL tried to limit the distribution of Gnutella and WASTE, the Ultravox technology was reportedly used for some AOL radio services in 2003.{{Cite news |title=AOL pulls Nullsoft file-sharing software |publisher= Flexbeta |date= May 30, 2003 |url= http://www.flexbeta.net/main/comments.php?catid=1&id=2931|url-status=dead |archivedate= September 8, 2004 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20040908005241/http://www.flexbeta.net/main/comments.php?catid=1&id=2931|accessdate= June 7, 2013}} A service called Nullsoft Television was announced in 2003 using NSV.{{Cite web |title= Nullsoft TV Worldwide Public Access |publisher= Nullsoft.com |url= http://www.nullsoft.com/ntv/publicaccess/ |url-status=dead |archivedate= February 19, 2003 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20030219221159/http://www.nullsoft.com/ntv/publicaccess/ |accessdate= June 7, 2013}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}