Want easy access to the music collection on your home PC when you’re away?

Recently I discovered Winamp Remote, which I now use to access my music and video libraries from other computers—even my cell phone—via the web. It’s like having my own personal Internet radio station. What’s even cooler is that Winamp Remote is easy to use and set up—so easy, in fact, that I did it by accident when installing the Winamp media player.

Here’s how:

First, download and install Winamp. On the Choose Components setup screen, under Winamp Library, you’ll see the Remote Media option. Make sure it’s checked. (If you’re installing the Full version, it should be checked automatically.)

After Winamp is installed, select the Media Library tab and then click Audio under Remote Media. This will bring up the Winamp Remote installer. Click on the Download Now link to install Winamp Remote.

After the installer finishes, you’ll be asked to create a login name and password to access your media.

Your Winamp media library is now available from any web browser at http://winamp.com/remote. For instance, let’s say I want to stream the album “Deep Cuts” by The Knife from my home PC to my work PC. I just click my New Music folder, where I keep the album.

Then I select all the tracks on the album, and then click the play icon. As you can see, I’m just finishing listening to Deep Cuts and will probably listen to some M.I.A. or Hot Chip before heading home for the weekend.

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