<s>
Audion	B-Application
was	O
a	O
media	O
player	O
developed	O
by	O
Panic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
a	O
commercial	O
(	O
shareware	B-License
)	O
program	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
the	O
dominance	O
of	O
Apple	B-Operating_System
's	I-Operating_System
iTunes	I-Operating_System
,	O
development	O
was	O
halted	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
released	O
as	O
freeware	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
Audion	B-Application
that	O
set	O
it	O
apart	O
from	O
its	O
rivals	O
,	O
particularly	O
SoundJam	B-Operating_System
,	O
was	O
its	O
user	O
interface	O
,	O
which	O
featured	O
transparency	O
through	O
a	O
process	O
that	O
mimicked	O
the	O
functionality	O
of	O
alpha	O
channels	O
on	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
9	I-Operating_System
's	O
QuickDraw	B-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
graphics	O
system	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
support	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cabel	O
Sasser	O
has	O
written	O
that	O
he	O
and	O
Steven	O
Frank	O
had	O
one	O
goal	O
with	O
Audion	B-Application
:	O
"	O
We	O
wanted	O
to	O
listen	O
to	O
our	O
music	O
CDs	O
on	O
our	O
computers	O
while	O
we	O
worked	O
,	O
and	O
we	O
wanted	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
stylish.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
Audion	B-Application
's	O
development	O
,	O
MP3	O
files	O
became	O
a	O
popular	O
means	O
of	O
listening	O
to	O
music	O
on	O
a	O
computer	O
,	O
and	O
Panic	O
licensed	O
an	O
MP3	O
decoder	O
for	O
incorporation	O
into	O
Audion	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audion	B-Application
was	O
originally	O
conceived	O
as	O
one	O
piece	O
in	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
small	O
applications	O
to	O
be	O
called	O
PanicPack	O
,	O
but	O
time	O
constraints	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Audion	B-Application
1.0	O
as	O
standalone	O
application	O
on	O
August	O
16	O
,	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audion	B-Application
became	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
MP3	O
decoder	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
reputed	O
to	O
produce	O
sound	O
with	O
superior	O
fidelity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
tried	O
to	O
meet	O
with	O
Cabel	O
and	O
Steven	O
to	O
hire	O
them	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
original	O
version	O
of	O
iTunes	B-Operating_System
based	O
on	O
their	O
work	O
on	O
Audion	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
meeting	O
never	O
took	O
place	O
,	O
and	O
Apple	O
instead	O
acquired	O
Audion	B-Application
rival	O
SoundJam	B-Operating_System
MP	I-Operating_System
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
iTunes	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audion	B-Application
was	O
retired	O
on	O
November	O
11	O
,	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2020	O
,	O
Panic	O
announced	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
updating	O
hundreds	O
of	O
Audion	B-Application
's	O
unique	O
"	O
faces	O
,	O
"	O
or	O
skins	O
,	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
modern	O
versions	O
of	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
