This past weekend, we met up with Matthew Callaway, product director for Winamp, as he showed us the new Winamp Remote on a Nintendo Wii. The result in the Wii Web Browser shows a simplified interface that feels inspired by iPod where players use a simple four-direction control scheme to select and stream video, audio, podcasts or even a friend's media collection. Apart from the pause incited by observing Callaway's eclectic personal taste for obscure '70s disco music, the audio started streaming almost right away over our WiFi connection with no issues. Callaway says that the same interface is what PlayStation 3 owners would see as console specific changes are done behind the scenes as the host PC optimizes the stream based on the console and the connection speed.
The product is relatively simple; users store their music files on a PC with Winamp running. Then they enable the application for remote access. After setting that up, users fire up the Wii or PlayStation 3 web browser and head to http://winamp.com/remote to sign in. As long as the host PC is on, has Winamp running and connected to the Internet, the user can allow a friend to stream music and video from that machine too. If the user was on the road, at a party, over a friend's or trapped in a coffee house with bad music, they can access their tunes remotely from anywhere with an Internet connection. Gamers with old PCs can either use their current PC to stream the media or take an older PC (at least with a 2.4 GHz CPU) and use it as a makeshift media center.
Bringing Winamp to gaming consoles sounds like an odd idea until you hear Callaway talk about his audience, "Everywhere we go to talk about WinAmp, we end up talking to users who are gamers." Callaway says this without any hesitation. Now reserve your overzealous judgment about a music guy's attempt to embrace gaming. Callaway's held positions at Sega and at Electronic Arts, where he served as director for both the EA Sports and EA Games brand sites including Burnout, Medal of Honor, Madden and a long list of others.
"Anecdotally, we know many PC gamers use Winamp," Callaway says as he clasps his hands together to show the connection. "So naturally, the place to start building new Winamp functionality was by heading to the consoles." Specifically, the E3 2006 debut of the Nintendo Wii brought an unexpected winner to the hearts of gamers. Once the Wii launched, the team watched to see how gamers reacted, "I don't think anyone thought that people would use the Wii connectivity as they are. There's a browser [in the Wii] and Winamp users are gamers so if anyone is going to use this product it would be there."
The software also further expands on the Winamp steaming media concept with a similar interface for cell phones with web browsers and the Xbox 360. Sadly, without a browser, the Xbox 360 can only stream media from a local PC and not from another location. Should Microsoft fix the problem, you should be able to use Winamp Remote there too.
link
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/news/?id=17414
Not sure how useful it will be but quite good never the less
The product is relatively simple; users store their music files on a PC with Winamp running. Then they enable the application for remote access. After setting that up, users fire up the Wii or PlayStation 3 web browser and head to http://winamp.com/remote to sign in. As long as the host PC is on, has Winamp running and connected to the Internet, the user can allow a friend to stream music and video from that machine too. If the user was on the road, at a party, over a friend's or trapped in a coffee house with bad music, they can access their tunes remotely from anywhere with an Internet connection. Gamers with old PCs can either use their current PC to stream the media or take an older PC (at least with a 2.4 GHz CPU) and use it as a makeshift media center.
Bringing Winamp to gaming consoles sounds like an odd idea until you hear Callaway talk about his audience, "Everywhere we go to talk about WinAmp, we end up talking to users who are gamers." Callaway says this without any hesitation. Now reserve your overzealous judgment about a music guy's attempt to embrace gaming. Callaway's held positions at Sega and at Electronic Arts, where he served as director for both the EA Sports and EA Games brand sites including Burnout, Medal of Honor, Madden and a long list of others.
"Anecdotally, we know many PC gamers use Winamp," Callaway says as he clasps his hands together to show the connection. "So naturally, the place to start building new Winamp functionality was by heading to the consoles." Specifically, the E3 2006 debut of the Nintendo Wii brought an unexpected winner to the hearts of gamers. Once the Wii launched, the team watched to see how gamers reacted, "I don't think anyone thought that people would use the Wii connectivity as they are. There's a browser [in the Wii] and Winamp users are gamers so if anyone is going to use this product it would be there."
The software also further expands on the Winamp steaming media concept with a similar interface for cell phones with web browsers and the Xbox 360. Sadly, without a browser, the Xbox 360 can only stream media from a local PC and not from another location. Should Microsoft fix the problem, you should be able to use Winamp Remote there too.
link
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/news/?id=17414
Not sure how useful it will be but quite good never the less
