We've been waiting with bated breath for the latest rock-steady release from the folks at Winamp, but now we're a little worried. AOL released a sneak preview of Winamp3 late last month, and after a first look at it, we're hoping for a trip back to the drawing board.

New code, new interface
The latest version, Winamp3 (which cleverly integrates MP3 into the player's name), runs on an entirely new code base, intended to ease the way for third-party plug-ins and skins. Unfortunately, the accompanying interface redesign seriously endangers Winamp's legendary ease of use.

The release candidate downloads with an optional Mad Magazine skin, but the software will drive you mad even without the skin. Winamp's new look muddies the water with a mess of options. For example, where you used to find a playlist window, Winamp now sports a toolbar, called a Thinger, from which you open various components. Click the oddly styled icons in the Thinger, and they spawn smaller windows for the browser, the playlist editor, the visualisation studio, your preferences, and the video window. This scheme reflects Winamp's plans to break various features into "components," then let developers create their own components for the program. For end users, though, it looks like a busy, disorganised jumble.

Work for your playlists
As with previous versions, you click the Eject button, found next to the row of buttons for controlling audio playback, to listen to an individual music file. But while Winamp 2.80 made it easy to add playlists, Winamp3 confuses the matter. To add a playlist or a folder full of MP3 files, you must first open the playlist editor by clicking its icon in the Thinger, then navigate to your directory of choice. We much prefer the old, integrated method.

Winamp3 Release Candidate does, of course, feature a multitude of skins, including a Classic view, which, unfortunately, also features the Thinger and a redesigned playlist display. The early preview also lacks Winamp 2.80's nifty Fade feature, which slowly fades songs to a stop, rather than abruptly halting them.

Some choice tools
Lest we sound completely negative, we should note that Winamp3 features a few nice, new tools. For example, its new visualisation studio has a wide variety of graphical choices and a beat detector so that the visualisations actually move in time with the music. The media library lets you organise files by artist, genre, year, album, or your own comments, and you can more easily sort songs using a clearly labeled button inside the playlist editor. Plus, all of the new buttons and the Thinger pop up well-worded bubble definitions that don't get hidden underneath other components, as they do in version 2.80.

Overall, alas, we found many of Winamp3's features inaccessible at worst and awkward at best. The software runs slowly, with a few unexplained freezes, though that's to be expected of beta apps. AOL says that it expects to release a final version sometime later this year. Stay tuned for our full review.

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