diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index b6e54da6..e41f082e 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,18 +1,22 @@
 1.31.0
 ------
 
-TODO: Let curl handle redirects again, or make this an option somehow.
-Right now this eases testing of redirect code in streamdump.c.
-
 - mpg123:
--- TODO: Revert to internal network code for plain HTTP to ensure continued
-  support for original shoutcast servers that do not talk proper HTTP.
+-- Revert to internal network code for plain HTTP to ensure continued
+   support for original shoutcast servers that do not talk proper HTTP.
+   External backends are built at the same time and can be enforced using
+   --network <backend>.
+-- Try-witout-port for internal network code is gone. We do not need to
+   keep each ancient hack for specific hosts.
 -- Handle redirections independently of the backend behind net123. 
+-- Set proxy environment variables when --proxy is specified, for net123
+   backends to use.
 -- Continue reading for long commands in generic control, avoiding
    unnecessary unfinished command errors.
 -- Change error message from 'unknown command' to
    'unknown command with arguments' to avoid confusion why 'help foo'
    is unknown, as opposed to 'help'.
+- some build fixes for compiler pickyness
 
 1.30.3
 ------
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 8f8db97e..8827a01f 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ dnl 2.69 at least.
 AC_PREREQ([2.69])
 
 dnl ############# Initialisation
-AC_INIT([mpg123], [1.30.3], [maintainer@mpg123.org])
+AC_INIT([mpg123], [1.31.0], [maintainer@mpg123.org])
 dnl Increment API_VERSION when the API gets changes (new functions).
 
 dnl libmpg123
@@ -1218,7 +1218,7 @@ if test "x$ac_cv_sys_posix_termios" = "xyes"; then
   term_type=posix
 fi
 
-AC_CHECK_FUNCS( random )
+AC_CHECK_FUNCS( random setenv unsetenv )
 
 # Check for sched_setscheduler
 AC_CHECK_FUNCS( sched_setscheduler setuid getuid)
@@ -2577,7 +2577,10 @@ AC_ARG_ENABLE(network,
 
 AC_MSG_CHECKING([for preferred network support])
 AC_ARG_WITH([network],
-  [AS_HELP_STRING([--with-network=<type>], [Available options, depending on platform, are auto, none, internal, winhttp, wininet, and exec (wget or curl binaries).])],
+  [AS_HELP_STRING([--with-network=<type>],
+[Available options, depending on platform, are auto, none, internal, winhttp, wininet (or wininethttp for both), and exec (wget or curl binaries).
+The internal code is always built in addition to external options for plain HTTP (esp. Shoutcast v1) support.
+The external option is for HTTPS by default, but can be used for HTTP, too.])],
   [
     case "$withval" in
       exec)
@@ -2592,6 +2595,10 @@ AC_ARG_WITH([network],
         network_type="wininet"
         AC_MSG_RESULT([wininet])
         ;;
+      wininethttp)
+        network_type="wininethttp"
+        AC_MSG_RESULT([wininethttp])
+        ;;
       internal)
         network_type="internal"
         AC_MSG_RESULT([internal])
@@ -2619,7 +2626,7 @@ if test x$network_type = xauto; then
   if test "x$have_fork" = "xyes"; then
     network_type=exec
   elif test "x$win32_specific_codes" = "xenabled"; then
-    network_type=wininet
+    network_type=wininethttp
   elif test "x$have_network" = "xyes"; then
     network_type="internal"
   else
@@ -2635,7 +2642,7 @@ fi
 if test x$network_type = xexec -a x$have_fork != xyes; then
   AC_MSG_ERROR([exec network support selected but fork not available])
 fi
-if test x$network_type = xwininet -o x$network_type = xwinhttp && test x$win32_specific_codes != xenabled; then
+if test x$network_type = xwininet -o x$network_type = xwinhttp -o x$network_type = xwininethttp && test x$win32_specific_codes != xenabled; then
   AC_MSG_ERROR([wininet or winhttp is currently only for Windows])
 fi
 
@@ -2644,7 +2651,7 @@ AM_CONDITIONAL([WIN32_CODES], [ test "x$win32_specific_codes" = xenabled ])
 
 if test x"$ipv6" = xauto; then
 	AC_MSG_CHECKING([IPv6 use])
-	if test x"$have_ipv6" = xyes -a x"$network_type" = xinternal; then
+	if test x"$have_ipv6" = xyes -a x"$network_type" != xdisabled; then
 		ipv6=enabled
 	else
 		ipv6=disabled
@@ -2652,14 +2659,31 @@ if test x"$ipv6" = xauto; then
 	AC_MSG_RESULT([$ipv6])
 fi
 
-if test x$network_type = xinternal -a x$network_internal = xwinsock2; then
+if test x$network_type != xdisabled -a x$network_internal = xwinsock2; then
   AC_DEFINE([WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS], [1], [ Define to use Win32 sockets ])
 fi
 
-AM_CONDITIONAL([NETWORK_WINSOCK], [ test x$network_type = xinternal -a x$network_internal = xwinsock2 ])
+AM_CONDITIONAL([NETWORK_WINSOCK], [ test x$network_type != xdisabled -a x$network_internal = xwinsock2 ])
+AM_CONDITIONAL([NET123], [ test x$network_type != xdisabled ])
 AM_CONDITIONAL([NET123_EXEC], [ test x$network_type = xexec ])
-AM_CONDITIONAL([NET123_WINHTTP], [ test x$network_type = xwinhttp ])
-AM_CONDITIONAL([NET123_WININET], [ test x$network_type = xwininet ])
+AM_CONDITIONAL([NET123_WINHTTP], [ test x$network_type = xwinhttp || test x$network_type = xwininethttp ])
+AM_CONDITIONAL([NET123_WININET], [ test x$network_type = xwininet || test x$network_type = xwininethttp ])
+
+case "$network_type" in
+  exec)
+    AC_DEFINE(NET123_EXEC,    1, [ Define for executable-based networking (for HTTPS). ])
+  ;;
+  winhttp)
+    AC_DEFINE(NET123_WINHTTP, 1, [ Define for winhttp networking (for HTTPS). ])
+  ;;
+  wininet)
+    AC_DEFINE(NET123_WININET, 1, [ Define for wininet networking (for HTTPS). ])
+  ;;
+  wininethttp)
+    AC_DEFINE(NET123_WININET, 1, [ Define for wininet networking (for HTTPS). ])
+    AC_DEFINE(NET123_WINHTTP, 1, [ Define for winhttp networking (for HTTPS). ])
+  ;;
+esac
 
 dnl ############## Terminal choice
 
@@ -2685,7 +2709,7 @@ if test x"$fifo" = xenabled; then
 fi
 
 dnl ############## Network enable
-if test x"$network_type" = xinternal; then
+if test x"$network_type" != xdisabled; then
 	AC_DEFINE(NETWORK, 1, [ Define if network support is enabled. ])
 	if test x"$have_network" = xno; then
 		AC_MSG_WARN( [ You forced network code while I think there is support missing! ] )
@@ -2742,9 +2766,11 @@ echo "
   Extreme debugging ....... $xdebugging
   Seek table size ......... $seektable
   FIFO support ............ $fifo
-  Buffer .................. $buffer
-  Network (http streams) .. $network_type"
-if test x$network_type = xinternal; then
+  Buffer .................. $buffer"
+if test x$network_type != xdisabled; then
+  if test x$network_type != xinternal; then
+    echo "  External network ........ $network_type"
+  fi
   echo "  Internal network type ... $network_internal
   IPv6 (getaddrinfo) ...... $ipv6"
 fi
diff --git a/ports/cmake/src/CMakeLists.txt b/ports/cmake/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 44f99b9f..612738ee 100644
--- a/ports/cmake/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/ports/cmake/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ check_function_exists(mkfifo HAVE_MKFIFO)
 check_function_exists(mmap HAVE_MMAP)
 check_function_exists(nl_langinfo HAVE_NL_LANGINFO)
 check_function_exists(random HAVE_RANDOM)
+check_function_exists(setenv HAVE_SETENV)
+check_function_exists(unsetenv HAVE_UNSETENV)
 check_function_exists(setlocale HAVE_SETLOCALE)
 check_function_exists(setpriority HAVE_SETPRIORITY)
 check_function_exists(shmget HAVE_SHMGET)
diff --git a/src/Makemodule.am b/src/Makemodule.am
index 7b302179..9946fbc5 100644
--- a/src/Makemodule.am
+++ b/src/Makemodule.am
@@ -118,17 +118,21 @@ if TERM_NONE
 src_mpg123_SOURCES += src/term_none.c
 endif
 
+if NET123
+src_mpg123_SOURCES += src/net123.h
+endif
+
 if NET123_EXEC
-src_mpg123_SOURCES += src/net123.h src/net123_exec.c
+src_mpg123_SOURCES += src/net123_exec.c
 endif
 
 if NET123_WINHTTP
-src_mpg123_SOURCES += src/net123.h src/net123_winhttp.c
+src_mpg123_SOURCES += src/net123_winhttp.c
 src_mpg123_LDADD += -lwinhttp
 endif
 
 if NET123_WININET
-src_mpg123_SOURCES += src/net123.h src/net123_wininet.c
+src_mpg123_SOURCES += src/net123_wininet.c
 src_mpg123_LDADD += -lwininet
 endif
 
diff --git a/src/common.c b/src/common.c
index ce7f4387..9b185b03 100644
--- a/src/common.c
+++ b/src/common.c
@@ -179,7 +179,6 @@ void print_stat(mpg123_handle *fr, long offset, out123_handle *ao, int draw_bar
 	off_t rframes;
 	int spf;
 	double basevol, realvol;
-	char *icy;
 	long rate;
 	int framesize;
 	struct mpg123_frameinfo mi;
diff --git a/src/control_generic.c b/src/control_generic.c
index 19670cb4..1eb2dd3e 100644
--- a/src/control_generic.c
+++ b/src/control_generic.c
@@ -751,7 +751,6 @@ int control_generic (mpg123_handle *fr)
 					/* Simple EQ: SEQ <BASS> <MID> <TREBLE>  */
 					if (!strcasecmp(cmd, "SEQ")) {
 						double b,m,t;
-						int cn;
 						if(sscanf(arg, "%lf %lf %lf", &b, &m, &t) == 3)
 						{
 							mpg123_eq_bands(fr, MPG123_LR, 0,  0, b);
diff --git a/src/httpget.c b/src/httpget.c
index 6026fdf0..cb4741f3 100644
--- a/src/httpget.c
+++ b/src/httpget.c
@@ -153,74 +153,6 @@ debunk_result:
 
 
 #ifdef NETWORK
-#if !defined (WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS)
-static int writestring (int fd, mpg123_string *string)
-{
-	size_t result, bytes;
-	char *ptr = string->p;
-	bytes = string->fill ? string->fill-1 : 0;
-
-	while(bytes)
-	{
-		result = write(fd, ptr, bytes);
-		if(result < 0 && errno != EINTR)
-		{
-			merror("writing http string: %s", strerror(errno));
-			return FALSE;
-		}
-		else if(result == 0)
-		{
-			error("write: socket closed unexpectedly");
-			return FALSE;
-		}
-		ptr   += result;
-		bytes -= result;
-	}
-	return TRUE;
-}
-
-static size_t readstring (mpg123_string *string, size_t maxlen, int fd)
-{
-	int err;
-	debug2("Attempting readstring on %d for %"SIZE_P" bytes", fd, (size_p)maxlen);
-	string->fill = 0;
-	while(maxlen == 0 || string->fill < maxlen)
-	{
-		if(string->size-string->fill < 1)
-		if(!mpg123_grow_string(string, string->fill+4096))
-		{
-			error("Cannot allocate memory for reading.");
-			string->fill = 0;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		err = read(fd,string->p+string->fill,1);
-		/* Whoa... reading one byte at a time... one could ensure the line break in another way, but more work. */
-		if( err == 1)
-		{
-			string->fill++;
-			if(string->p[string->fill-1] == '\n') break;
-		}
-		else if(errno != EINTR)
-		{
-			error("Error reading from socket or unexpected EOF.");
-			string->fill = 0;
-			/* bail out to prevent endless loop */
-			return 0;
-		}
-	}
-
-	if(!mpg123_grow_string(string, string->fill+1))
-	{
-		string->fill=0;
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		string->p[string->fill] = 0;
-		string->fill++;
-	}
-	return string->fill;
-}
-#endif /* WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS */
 
 void encode64 (char *source,char *destination)
 {
@@ -383,11 +315,10 @@ int translate_url(const char *url, mpg123_string *purl)
 	return TRUE;
 }
 
-int fill_request(mpg123_string *request, mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *port, mpg123_string *httpauth1, int *try_without_port)
+int fill_request(mpg123_string *request, mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *port, mpg123_string *httpauth1, const char * const *client_head)
 {
 	char* ttemp;
 	int ret = TRUE;
-	const char *icy = param.talk_icy ? icy_yes : icy_no;
 
 	/* hm, my test redirection had troubles with line break before HTTP/1.0 */
 	if((ttemp = strchr(request->p,'\r')) != NULL){ *ttemp = 0; request->fill = ttemp-request->p+1; }
@@ -405,26 +336,14 @@ int fill_request(mpg123_string *request, mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *por
 	if(host->fill)
 	{ /* Give virtual hosting a chance... adding the "Host: ... " line. */
 		debug2("Host: %s:%s", host->p, port->p);
-		if(    mpg123_add_string(request, "Host: ")
+		if(!(   mpg123_add_string(request, "Host: ")
 			  && mpg123_add_string(request, host->p)
-			  && ( *try_without_port || (
-			         mpg123_add_string(request, ":")
-			      && mpg123_add_string(request, port->p) ))
-			  && mpg123_add_string(request, "\r\n") )
-		{
-			if(*try_without_port) *try_without_port = 0;
-		}
-		else return FALSE;
+			  && mpg123_add_string(request, ":")
+			  && mpg123_add_string(request, port->p)
+			  && mpg123_add_string(request, "\r\n") ))
+			return FALSE;
 	}
 
-	/* Acceptance, stream setup. */
-	if(    !append_accept(request)
-		 || !mpg123_add_string(request, "\r\n")
-		 || !mpg123_add_string(request, CONN_HEAD)
-		 || !mpg123_add_string(request, icy)
-		 || !mpg123_add_string(request, "\r\n") )
-	return FALSE;
-
 	/* Authorization. */
 	if (httpauth1->fill || param.httpauth) {
 		char *buf;
@@ -456,72 +375,30 @@ int fill_request(mpg123_string *request, mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *por
 
 		free(buf); /* Watch out for leaking if you introduce returns before this line. */
 	}
+	while(ret && *client_head)
+	{
+		ret = mpg123_add_string(request, *client_head);
+		if(ret)
+			ret = mpg123_add_string(request, "\r\n");
+		++client_head;
+	}
 	if(ret) ret = mpg123_add_string(request, "\r\n");
 
 	return ret;
 }
-#if !defined (WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS)
-static int resolve_redirect(mpg123_string *response, mpg123_string *request_url, mpg123_string *purl)
-{
-	debug1("request_url:%s", request_url->p);
-	/* initialized with full old url */
-	if(!mpg123_copy_string(request_url, purl)) return FALSE;
 
-	/* We may strip it down to a prefix ot totally. */
-	if(strncasecmp(response->p, "Location: http://", 17))
-	{ /* OK, only partial strip, need prefix for relative path. */
-		char* ptmp = NULL;
-		/* though it's not RFC (?), accept relative URIs as wget does */
-		fprintf(stderr, "NOTE: no complete URL in redirect, constructing one\n");
-		/* not absolute uri, could still be server-absolute */
-		/* I prepend a part of the request... out of the request */
-		if(response->p[10] == '/')
-		{
-			/* only prepend http://server/ */
-			/* I null the first / after http:// */
-			ptmp = strchr(purl->p+7,'/');
-			if(ptmp != NULL){ purl->fill = ptmp-purl->p+1; purl->p[purl->fill-1] = 0; }
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			/* prepend http://server/path/ */
-			/* now we want the last / */
-			ptmp = strrchr(purl->p+7, '/');
-			if(ptmp != NULL){ purl->fill = ptmp-purl->p+2; purl->p[purl->fill-1] = 0; }
-		}
-	}
-	else purl->fill = 0;
-
-	debug1("prefix=%s", purl->fill ? purl->p : "");
-	if(!mpg123_add_string(purl, response->p+10)) return FALSE;
-
-	debug1("           purl: %s", purl->p);
-	debug1("old request_url: %s", request_url->p);
-
-	return TRUE;
-}
-
-int http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd)
+int http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd, const char * const *client_head)
 {
 	mpg123_string purl, host, port, path;
-	mpg123_string request, response, request_url;
+	mpg123_string request, request_url;
 	mpg123_string httpauth1;
 	int sock = -1;
 	int oom  = 0;
-	int relocate, numrelocs = 0;
-	int got_location = FALSE;
-	/*
-		workaround for http://www.global24music.com/rautemusik/files/extreme/isdn.pls
-		this site's apache gives me a relocation to the same place when I give the port in Host request field
-		for the record: Apache/2.0.51 (Fedora)
-	*/
-	int try_without_port = 0;
 	mpg123_init_string(&purl);
 	mpg123_init_string(&host);
 	mpg123_init_string(&port);
 	mpg123_init_string(&path);
 	mpg123_init_string(&request);
-	mpg123_init_string(&response);
 	mpg123_init_string(&request_url);
 	mpg123_init_string(&httpauth1);
 
@@ -533,26 +410,6 @@ int http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd)
 	/* Don't confuse the different auth strings... */
 	if(!split_url(&purl, &httpauth1, NULL, NULL, NULL) ){ oom=1; goto exit; }
 
-	/* "GET http://"		11
-	 * " HTTP/1.0\r\nUser-Agent: <PACKAGE_NAME>/<PACKAGE_VERSION>\r\n"
-	 * 				26 + PACKAGE_NAME + PACKAGE_VERSION
-	 * accept header            + accept_length()
-	 * "Authorization: Basic \r\n"	23
-	 * "\r\n"			 2
-	 * ... plus the other predefined header lines
-	 */
-	/* Just use this estimate as first guess to reduce malloc calls in string library. */
-	{
-		size_t length_estimate = 62 + strlen(PACKAGE_NAME) + strlen(PACKAGE_VERSION) 
-		                       + accept_length() + strlen(CONN_HEAD) + strlen(icy_yes) + purl.fill;
-		if(    !mpg123_grow_string(&request, length_estimate)
-		    || !mpg123_grow_string(&response,4096) )
-		{
-			oom=1; goto exit;
-		}
-	}
-
-	do
 	{
 		/* Storing the request url, with http:// prepended if needed. */
 		/* used to be url here... seemed wrong to me (when loop advanced...) */
@@ -585,7 +442,7 @@ int http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd)
 			}
 		}
 
-		if(!fill_request(&request, &host, &port, &httpauth1, &try_without_port)){ oom=1; goto exit; }
+		if(!fill_request(&request, &host, &port, &httpauth1, client_head)){ oom=1; goto exit; }
 
 		httpauth1.fill = 0; /* We use the auth data from the URL only once. */
 		if (hd->proxystate >= PROXY_HOST)
@@ -599,105 +456,27 @@ int http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd)
 			}
 		}
 		debug2("attempting to open_connection to %s:%s", host.p, port.p);
+#ifdef WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS
+		sock = win32_net_open_connection(&host, &port);
+#else
 		sock = open_connection(&host, &port);
+#endif
 		if(sock < 0)
 		{
 			error1("Unable to establish connection to %s", host.fill ? host.p : "");
 			goto exit;
 		}
 #define http_failure close(sock); sock=-1; goto exit;
-		
+
 		if(param.verbose > 2) fprintf(stderr, "HTTP request:\n%s\n",request.p);
-		if(!writestring(sock, &request)){ http_failure; }
-		relocate = FALSE;
-		/* Arbitrary length limit here... */
-#define safe_readstring \
-		readstring(&response, SIZE_MAX/16, sock); \
-		if(response.fill > SIZE_MAX/16) /* > because of appended zero. */ \
-		{ \
-			error("HTTP response line exceeds max. length"); \
-			http_failure; \
-		} \
-		else if(response.fill == 0) \
-		{ \
-			error("readstring failed"); \
-			http_failure; \
-		} \
-		if(param.verbose > 2) fprintf(stderr, "HTTP in: %s", response.p);
-		safe_readstring;
-
+#ifdef WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS
+		if(!win32_net_writestring (sock, &request))
+#else
+		if(unintr_write(sock, request.p, request.fill-1) != request.fill-1)
+#endif
 		{
-			char *sptr;
-			if((sptr = strchr(response.p, ' ')))
-			{
-				if(response.fill > sptr-response.p+2)
-				switch (sptr[1])
-				{
-					case '3':
-						relocate = TRUE;
-					case '2':
-						break;
-					default:
-						fprintf (stderr, "HTTP request failed: %s", sptr+1); /* '\n' is included */
-						http_failure;
-				}
-				else{ error("Too short response,"); http_failure; }
-			}
+			http_failure;
 		}
-
-		/* If we are relocated, we need to look out for a Location header. */
-		got_location = FALSE;
-
-		do
-		{
-			safe_readstring; /* Think about that: Should we really error out when we get nothing? Could be that the server forgot the trailing empty line... */
-			if (!strncasecmp(response.p, "Location: ", 10))
-			{ /* It is a redirection! */
-				if(!resolve_redirect(&response, &request_url, &purl)){ oom=1, http_failure; }
-
-				if(!strcmp(purl.p, request_url.p))
-				{
-					warning("relocated to very same place! trying request again without host port");
-					try_without_port = 1;
-				}
-				got_location = TRUE;
-			}
-			else
-			{ /* We got a header line (or the closing empty line). */
-				char *tmp;
-				debug1("searching for header values... %s", response.p);
-				/* Not sure if I want to bail out on error here. */
-				/* Also: What text encoding are these strings in? Doesn't need to be plain ASCII... */
-				get_header_string(&response, "content-type", &hd->content_type);
-				get_header_string(&response, "icy-name",     &hd->icy_name);
-				get_header_string(&response, "icy-url",      &hd->icy_url);
-
-				/* watch out for icy-metaint */
-				if((tmp = get_header_val("icy-metaint", &response)))
-				{
-					hd->icy_interval = (off_t) atol(tmp); /* atoll ? */
-					debug1("got icy-metaint %li", (long int)hd->icy_interval);
-				}
-			}
-		} while(response.p[0] != '\r' && response.p[0] != '\n');
-		if(relocate)
-		{
-			close(sock);
-			sock = -1;
-			/* Forget content type, might just relate to a displayed error page,
-			   not the resource being redirected to. */
-			mpg123_free_string(&hd->content_type);
-			mpg123_init_string(&hd->content_type);
-		}
-	} while(relocate && got_location && purl.fill && numrelocs++ < HTTP_MAX_RELOCATIONS);
-	if(relocate)
-	{
-		if(!got_location)
-		error("Server meant to redirect but failed to provide a location!");
-		else
-		error1("Too many HTTP relocations (%i).", numrelocs);
-
-		http_failure;
 	}
 
 exit: /* The end as well as the exception handling point... */
@@ -708,22 +487,10 @@ exit: /* The end as well as the exception handling point... */
 	mpg123_free_string(&port);
 	mpg123_free_string(&path);
 	mpg123_free_string(&request);
-	mpg123_free_string(&response);
 	mpg123_free_string(&request_url);
 	mpg123_free_string(&httpauth1);
 	return sock;
 }
-#endif /*WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS*/
-
-#else /* NETWORK */
-
-/* stub */
-int http_open (const char* url, struct httpdata *hd)
-{
-	if(!param.quiet)
-		error("HTTP support not built in.");
-	return -1;
-}
 #endif
 
 /* EOF */
diff --git a/src/httpget.h b/src/httpget.h
index ecdb80bc..4805c53d 100644
--- a/src/httpget.h
+++ b/src/httpget.h
@@ -49,20 +49,17 @@ int debunk_mime(const char* mime);
 int proxy_init(struct httpdata *hd);
 int translate_url(const char *url, mpg123_string *purl);
 size_t accept_length(void);
-int fill_request(mpg123_string *request, mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *port, mpg123_string *httpauth1, int *try_without_port);
+int fill_request(mpg123_string *request, mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *port, mpg123_string *httpauth1, const char * const *client_head);
 void get_header_string(mpg123_string *response, const char *fieldname, mpg123_string *store);
 char *get_header_val(const char *hname, mpg123_string *response);
 
-/* needed for HTTP/1.1 non-pipelining mode */
-/* #define CONN_HEAD "Connection: close\r\n" */
-#define CONN_HEAD ""
 #define icy_yes "Icy-MetaData: 1"
 #define icy_no "Icy-MetaData: 0"
 
 // Append an accept header line to the string, without line end.
 int append_accept(mpg123_string *s);
 
-/* takes url and content type string address, opens resource, returns fd for data, allocates and sets content type */
-extern int http_open (const char* url, struct httpdata *hd);
+// Open HTTP URL with internal network code.
+int http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd, const char * const *client_head);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/src/local.c b/src/local.c
index 9a1dc4e3..10bb3e04 100644
--- a/src/local.c
+++ b/src/local.c
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ int utf8force = 0; // enforce UTF-8 workings
 int utf8env = 0; // produce UTF-8 text output
 int utf8loc = 0; // have actual UTF-8 locale (so that mbstowcs() works)
 
-static int term_is_fun = -1;
+//static int term_is_fun = -1;
 
 static const char joker_symbol = '?';
 static const char *uni_repl = "\xef\xbf\xbd";
diff --git a/src/mpg123.c b/src/mpg123.c
index c47f0f05..a80c2ac6 100644
--- a/src/mpg123.c
+++ b/src/mpg123.c
@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@ static void set_appflag(char *arg, topt *opts)
 #if defined(NETWORK) || defined(NET123)
 static void set_httpauth(char *arg, topt *opts)
 {
-	param.httpauth = strdup(arg);
+	param.httpauth = compat_strdup(arg);
 	// Do not advertise the password for all system users.
 	memset(arg, 'x', strlen(arg));
 }
@@ -1599,14 +1599,13 @@ static void long_usage(int err)
 	fprintf(o," -y     --no-resync        DISABLES resync on error (--resync is deprecated)\n");
 	fprintf(o," -F     --no-frankenstein  disable support for Frankenstein streams\n");
 #if defined(NETWORK) || defined(NET123)
-#ifdef NETWORK
-	fprintf(o," -p <f> --proxy <f>        set WWW proxy\n");
-#else
+	fprintf(o," -p <f> --proxy <f>        override proxy environemnt variable for plain HTTP\n");
 	fprintf(o,"        --network <b>      select network backend, available: auto");
 	const char **nb = net123_backends;
 	while(*nb){ fprintf(o, " %s", *nb++); }
 	fprintf(o, "\n");
-#endif
+	fprintf(o,"                           (auto meaning internal code for plain HTTP and the\n");
+	fprintf(o,"                           first external option for HTTPS)\n");
 	fprintf(o," -u     --auth             set auth values for HTTP access\n");
 	fprintf(o,"        --auth-file        set auth values for HTTP access from given file\n");
 	fprintf(o,"        --ignore-mime      ignore HTTP MIME types (content-type)\n");
@@ -1635,6 +1634,7 @@ static void long_usage(int err)
 	fprintf(o,"        --list-devices     list the available output devices for given output module\n");
 	fprintf(o," -a <d> --audiodevice <d>  select audio device (depending on chosen module)\n");
 	fprintf(o," -s     --stdout           write raw audio to stdout (host native format)\n");
+	fprintf(o," -O <f> --outfile <f>      write raw audio to given file (- is stdout)\n");
 	fprintf(o," -w <f> --wav <f>          write samples as WAV file in <f> (- is stdout)\n");
 	fprintf(o,"        --au <f>           write samples as Sun AU file in <f> (- is stdout)\n");
 	fprintf(o,"        --cdr <f>          write samples as raw CD audio file in <f> (- is stdout)\n");
diff --git a/src/net123.h b/src/net123.h
index f6c725fc..11f002e5 100644
--- a/src/net123.h
+++ b/src/net123.h
@@ -39,12 +39,17 @@
 #ifndef _MPG123_NET123_H_
 #define _MPG123_NET123_H_
 
+#include "config.h"
 #include <sys/types.h>
 
-// The network implementation defines the struct for private use.
-// The purpose is just to keep enough context to be able to
-// call net123_read() and net123_close() afterwards.
-struct net123_handle_struct;
+// stream handle for differing implementations, build-time plugins
+struct net123_handle_struct
+{
+	void *parts; // custom internal data
+	// callbacks
+	size_t (*read)(struct net123_handle_struct *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize);
+	void (*close)(struct net123_handle_struct *nh);
+};
 typedef struct net123_handle_struct net123_handle;
 
 extern const char *net123_backends[];
@@ -54,16 +59,16 @@ extern const char *net123_backends[];
 // and then the raw data.
 // client_head contains header lines to send with the request, without
 // line ending
-net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head);
 
-// Read data into buffer, return bytes read.
-// This handles interrupts (EAGAIN, EINTR, ..) internally and only returns
-// a short byte count on EOF or error. End of file or error is not distinguished:
-// For the user, it only matters if there will be more bytes or not.
-// Feel free to communicate errors via error() / merror() functions inside.
-size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize);
-
-// Call that to free up resources, end processes.
-void net123_close(net123_handle *nh);
+// Variant for the external binding.
+#ifdef NET123_EXEC
+net123_handle *net123_open_exec(const char *url, const char * const *client_head);
+#endif
+#ifdef NET123_WININET
+net123_handle *net123_open_wininet(const char *url, const char * const *client_head);
+#endif
+#ifdef NET123_WINHTTP
+net123_handle *net123_open_winhttp(const char *url, const char * const *client_head);
+#endif
 
 #endif
diff --git a/src/net123_exec.c b/src/net123_exec.c
index af3dc4b3..93c4c37c 100644
--- a/src/net123_exec.c
+++ b/src/net123_exec.c
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
 	specifically if param.network_backend is set accordingly.
 */
 
+// kill
+#define _XOPEN_SOURCE 600
+#define _POSIX_C_SOURCE 200112L
 
 #include "config.h"
 #include "net123.h"
@@ -34,18 +37,11 @@
 // wget --user=... --password=... 
 // Alternatively: Have them in .netrc.
 
-const char *net123_backends[] =
-{
-	"wget"
-,	"curl"
-,	NULL
-};
-
-struct net123_handle_struct
+typedef struct
 {
 	int fd;
 	pid_t worker;
-};
+} exec_handle;
 
 // Combine two given strings into one newly allocated one.
 // Use: (--parameter=, value) -> --parameter=value
@@ -198,8 +194,6 @@ static char **curl_argv(const char *url, const char * const * client_head)
 	,	"--silent"
 	,	"--show-error"
 #endif
-	,	"--max-redirs"
-	,	"0"
 	,	"--dump-header"
 	,	"-"
 	};
@@ -241,7 +235,36 @@ static char **curl_argv(const char *url, const char * const * client_head)
 	return argv;
 }
 
-net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const * client_head)
+
+static size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize)
+{
+	if(!nh || (bufsize && !buf))
+		return 0;
+	return unintr_read(((exec_handle*)nh->parts)->fd, buf, bufsize);
+}
+
+static void net123_close(net123_handle *nh)
+{
+	if(!nh)
+		return;
+	exec_handle *eh = nh->parts;
+	if(eh->worker)
+	{
+		kill(eh->worker, SIGKILL);
+		errno = 0;
+		if(waitpid(eh->worker, NULL, 0) < 0)
+			merror("failed to wait for worker process: %s", strerror(errno));
+		else if(param.verbose > 1)
+			fprintf(stderr, "Note: network helper %"PRIiMAX" finished\n", (intmax_t)eh->worker);
+	}
+	if(eh->fd > -1)
+		close(eh->fd);
+	free(nh->parts);
+	free(nh);
+}
+
+
+net123_handle *net123_open_exec(const char *url, const char * const * client_head)
 {
 	int use_curl = 0;
 	char * const curl_check_argv[] = { "curl", "--help", "all", NULL };
@@ -278,12 +301,21 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const * client_head)
 	}
 
 	int fd[2];
-	int hi = -1; // index of header value that might get a continuation line
 	net123_handle *nh = malloc(sizeof(net123_handle));
-	if(!nh)
+	exec_handle *eh   = malloc(sizeof(exec_handle));
+	if(!nh || !eh)
+	{
+		if(nh)
+			free(nh);
+		if(eh)
+			free(eh);
 		return NULL;
-	nh->fd = -1;
-	nh->worker = 0;
+	}
+	nh->parts = eh;
+	nh->read  = net123_read;
+	nh->close = net123_close;
+	eh->fd = -1;
+	eh->worker = 0;
 	errno = 0;
 	if(pipe(fd))
 	{	
@@ -295,15 +327,15 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const * client_head)
 	compat_binmode(fd[0], TRUE);
 	compat_binmode(fd[1], TRUE);
 
-	nh->worker = fork();
-	if(nh->worker == -1)
+	eh->worker = fork();
+	if(eh->worker == -1)
 	{
 		merror("fork failed: %s", strerror(errno));
 		free(nh);
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
-	if(nh->worker == 0)
+	if(eh->worker == 0)
 	{
 		close(fd[0]);
 		dup2(fd[1], STDOUT_FILENO);
@@ -311,7 +343,6 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const * client_head)
 		dup2(infd,  STDIN_FILENO);
 		// child
 		// Proxy environment variables can just be set in the user and inherited here, right?
-		int argc;
 		
 		char **argv = use_curl ? curl_argv(url, client_head) : wget_argv(url, client_head);
 		if(!argv)
@@ -340,35 +371,9 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const * client_head)
 	}
 	// parent
 	if(param.verbose > 1)
-		fprintf(stderr, "Note: started network helper with PID %"PRIiMAX"\n", (intmax_t)nh->worker);
+		fprintf(stderr, "Note: started network helper with PID %"PRIiMAX"\n", (intmax_t)eh->worker);
 	errno = 0;
 	close(fd[1]);
-	nh->fd = fd[0];
+	eh->fd = fd[0];
 	return nh;
 }
-
-size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize)
-{
-	if(!nh || (bufsize && !buf))
-		return 0;
-	return unintr_read(nh->fd, buf, bufsize);
-}
-
-void net123_close(net123_handle *nh)
-{
-	if(!nh)
-		return;
-	if(nh->worker)
-	{
-		kill(nh->worker, SIGKILL);
-		errno = 0;
-		if(waitpid(nh->worker, NULL, 0) < 0)
-			merror("failed to wait for worker process: %s", strerror(errno));
-		else if(param.verbose > 1)
-			fprintf(stderr, "Note: network helper %"PRIiMAX" finished\n", (intmax_t)nh->worker);
-	}
-	if(nh->fd > -1)
-		close(nh->fd);
-	free(nh);
-}
-
diff --git a/src/net123_winhttp.c b/src/net123_winhttp.c
index f02070f3..4d1562bf 100644
--- a/src/net123_winhttp.c
+++ b/src/net123_winhttp.c
@@ -5,13 +5,11 @@
 #include <ws2tcpip.h>
 #include <winhttp.h>
 
-const char *net123_backends[] = { "(always winhttp)", NULL };
-
 // The network implementation defines the struct for private use.
 // The purpose is just to keep enough context to be able to
 // call net123_read() and net123_close() afterwards.
 #define URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH 255
-struct net123_handle_struct {
+typedef struct {
   HINTERNET session;
   HINTERNET connect;
   HINTERNET request;
@@ -26,7 +24,7 @@ struct net123_handle_struct {
   size_t headers_pos, headers_len;
   DWORD internetStatus, internetStatusLength;
   LPVOID additionalInfo;
-};
+} winhttp_handle;
 
 #define MPG123CONCAT_(x,y) x ## y
 #define MPG123CONCAT(x,y) MPG123CONCAT_(x,y)
@@ -34,7 +32,7 @@ struct net123_handle_struct {
 #define MPG123STRINGIFY(x) MPG123STRINGIFY_(x)
 #define MPG123WSTR(x) MPG123CONCAT(L,MPG123STRINGIFY(x))
 
-static DWORD wrap_auth(net123_handle *nh){
+static DWORD wrap_auth(winhttp_handle *nh){
   DWORD mode;
   DWORD ret;
 
@@ -81,13 +79,16 @@ static void debug_crack(URL_COMPONENTS *comps){}
 
 static
 void WINAPI net123_ssl_errors(HINTERNET hInternet, DWORD_PTR dwContext, DWORD dwInternetStatus, LPVOID lpvStatusInformation, DWORD dwStatusInformationLength){
-  net123_handle *nh = (net123_handle *)dwContext;
+  winhttp_handle *nh = (winhttp_handle *)dwContext;
   nh->internetStatus = dwInternetStatus;
   nh->additionalInfo = lpvStatusInformation;
   nh->internetStatusLength = dwStatusInformationLength;
 }
 
-net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
+static size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize);
+static void net123_close(net123_handle *nh);
+
+net123_handle *net123_open_winhttp(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
   LPWSTR urlW = NULL, headers = NULL;
   size_t ii;
   WINBOOL res;
@@ -101,8 +102,18 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
   win32_utf8_wide(url, &urlW, NULL);
   if(urlW == NULL) goto cleanup;
 
-  net123_handle *ret = calloc(1, sizeof(net123_handle));
-  if (!ret) return ret;
+  winhttp_handle *ret = calloc(1, sizeof(winhttp_handle));
+  if (!ret) goto cleanup;
+
+  net123_handle *handle = calloc(1, sizeof(net123_handle));
+  if (!handle) {
+    free(ret);
+    goto cleanup;
+  }
+
+  handle->parts = ret;
+  handle->read = net123_read;
+  handle->close = net123_close;
 
   ret->comps.dwStructSize = sizeof(ret->comps);
   ret->comps.dwSchemeLength    = 0;
@@ -206,13 +217,13 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
   }
   debug("net123_open OK");
 
-  return ret;
+  return handle;
 cleanup:
   debug("net123_open error");
   if (urlW) free(urlW);
-  net123_close(ret);
-  ret = NULL;
-  return ret;
+  net123_close(handle);
+  handle = NULL;
+  return handle;
 }
 
 // Read data into buffer, return bytes read.
@@ -221,20 +232,21 @@ cleanup:
 // For the user, it only matters if there will be more bytes or not.
 // Feel free to communicate errors via error() / merror() functions inside.
 size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize){
+  winhttp_handle *h = nh->parts;
   size_t ret;
-  size_t to_copy = nh->headers_len - nh->headers_pos;
+  size_t to_copy = h->headers_len - h->headers_pos;
   DWORD bytesread = 0;
 
   if(to_copy){
      ret = to_copy <= bufsize ? to_copy : bufsize;
-     memcpy(buf, nh->headers + nh->headers_pos, ret);
-     nh->headers_pos += ret;
+     memcpy(buf, h->headers + h->headers_pos, ret);
+     h->headers_pos += ret;
      return ret;
   }
 
   /* is this needed? */
   to_copy = bufsize > ULONG_MAX ? ULONG_MAX : bufsize;
-  if(!WinHttpReadData(nh->request, buf, to_copy, &bytesread)){
+  if(!WinHttpReadData(h->request, buf, to_copy, &bytesread)){
     return EOF;
   }
   return bytesread;
@@ -242,21 +254,26 @@ size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize){
 
 // Call that to free up resources, end processes.
 void net123_close(net123_handle *nh){
-  if(nh->headers) {
-    free(nh->headers);
-    nh->headers = NULL;
-  }
-  if(nh->request) {
-    WinHttpCloseHandle(nh->request);
-    nh->request = NULL;
-  }
-  if(nh->connect) {
-    WinHttpCloseHandle(nh->connect);
-    nh->connect = NULL;
-  }
-  if(nh->session) {
-    WinHttpCloseHandle(nh->session);
-    nh->session = NULL;
+  if (!nh) return;
+  winhttp_handle *h = nh->parts;
+  if(h) {
+    if(h->headers) {
+      free(h->headers);
+      h->headers = NULL;
+    }
+    if(h->request) {
+      WinHttpCloseHandle(h->request);
+      h->request = NULL;
+    }
+    if(h->connect) {
+      WinHttpCloseHandle(h->connect);
+      h->connect = NULL;
+    }
+    if(h->session) {
+      WinHttpCloseHandle(h->session);
+      h->session = NULL;
+    }
+    free(h);
   }
   free(nh);
 }
diff --git a/src/net123_wininet.c b/src/net123_wininet.c
index 49907e3a..520c0996 100644
--- a/src/net123_wininet.c
+++ b/src/net123_wininet.c
@@ -5,13 +5,11 @@
 #include <ws2tcpip.h>
 #include <wininet.h>
 
-const char *net123_backends[] = { "(always wininet)", NULL };
-
 // The network implementation defines the struct for private use.
 // The purpose is just to keep enough context to be able to
 // call net123_read() and net123_close() afterwards.
 #define URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH 255
-struct net123_handle_struct {
+typedef struct {
   HINTERNET session;
   HINTERNET connect;
   HINTERNET request;
@@ -28,7 +26,7 @@ struct net123_handle_struct {
   DWORD HttpQueryInfoIndex;
   DWORD internetStatus, internetStatusLength;
   LPVOID additionalInfo;
-};
+} wininet_handle;
 
 #define MPG123CONCAT_(x,y) x ## y
 #define MPG123CONCAT(x,y) MPG123CONCAT_(x,y)
@@ -60,13 +58,17 @@ static void debug_crack(URL_COMPONENTSW *comps){}
 
 static
 void WINAPI net123_ssl_errors(HINTERNET hInternet, DWORD_PTR dwContext, DWORD dwInternetStatus, LPVOID lpvStatusInformation, DWORD dwStatusInformationLength){
-  net123_handle *nh = (net123_handle *)dwContext;
+  debug("In net123_ssl_errors");
+  wininet_handle *nh = (wininet_handle *)(dwContext);
   nh->internetStatus = dwInternetStatus;
   nh->additionalInfo = lpvStatusInformation;
   nh->internetStatusLength = dwStatusInformationLength;
 }
 
-net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
+static size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize);
+static void net123_close(net123_handle *nh);
+
+net123_handle *net123_open_wininet(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
   LPWSTR urlW = NULL, headers = NULL;
   size_t ii;
   WINBOOL res;
@@ -78,51 +80,63 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
   if(urlW == NULL) goto cleanup;
 
   net123_handle *ret = calloc(1, sizeof(net123_handle));
-  if (!ret) return ret;
+  wininet_handle *wh = calloc(1, sizeof(wininet_handle));
+  if(!ret || !wh)
+  {
+     if(ret)
+       free(ret);
+     if(wh)
+       free(wh);
+     return NULL;
+  }
 
-  ret->comps.dwStructSize = sizeof(ret->comps);
-  ret->comps.dwSchemeLength    = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
-  ret->comps.dwUserNameLength  = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
-  ret->comps.dwPasswordLength  = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
-  ret->comps.dwHostNameLength  = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
-  ret->comps.dwUrlPathLength   = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
-  ret->comps.dwExtraInfoLength = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
-  ret->comps.lpszHostName = ret->lpszHostName;
-  ret->comps.lpszUserName = ret->lpszUserName;
-  ret->comps.lpszPassword = ret->lpszPassword;
-  ret->comps.lpszUrlPath = ret->lpszUrlPath;
-  ret->comps.lpszExtraInfo = ret->lpszExtraInfo;
-  ret->comps.lpszScheme = ret->lpszScheme;
+  ret->parts = wh;
+  ret->read  = net123_read;
+  ret->close = net123_close;
+
+  wh->comps.dwStructSize = sizeof(wh->comps);
+  wh->comps.dwSchemeLength    = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
+  wh->comps.dwUserNameLength  = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
+  wh->comps.dwPasswordLength  = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
+  wh->comps.dwHostNameLength  = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
+  wh->comps.dwUrlPathLength   = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
+  wh->comps.dwExtraInfoLength = URL_COMPONENTS_LENGTH - 1;
+  wh->comps.lpszHostName = wh->lpszHostName;
+  wh->comps.lpszUserName = wh->lpszUserName;
+  wh->comps.lpszPassword = wh->lpszPassword;
+  wh->comps.lpszUrlPath = wh->lpszUrlPath;
+  wh->comps.lpszExtraInfo = wh->lpszExtraInfo;
+  wh->comps.lpszScheme = wh->lpszScheme;
 
   debug1("net123_open start crack %S", urlW);
 
-  if(!(res = InternetCrackUrlW(urlW, 0, 0, &ret->comps))) {
+  if(!(res = InternetCrackUrlW(urlW, 0, 0, &wh->comps))) {
     debug1("net123_open crack fail %lu", GetLastError());
     goto cleanup;
   }
 
   debug("net123_open crack OK");
-  debug_crack(&ret->comps);
+  debug_crack(&wh->comps);
 
-  ret->session = InternetOpenW(useragent, INTERNET_OPEN_TYPE_PRECONFIG, NULL, NULL, 0);
+  wh->session = InternetOpenW(useragent, INTERNET_OPEN_TYPE_PRECONFIG, NULL, NULL, 0);
   free(urlW);
   urlW = NULL;
   debug("net123_open InternetOpenW OK");
-  if(!ret->session) goto cleanup;
+  if(!wh->session) goto cleanup;
 
-  debug2("net123_open InternetConnectW %S %u", ret->comps.lpszHostName, ret->comps.nPort);
-  ret->connect = InternetConnectW(ret->session, ret->comps.lpszHostName, ret->comps.nPort,
-    ret->comps.dwUserNameLength ? ret->comps.lpszUserName : NULL, ret->comps.dwPasswordLength ? ret->comps.lpszPassword : NULL,
+  debug2("net123_open InternetConnectW %S %u", wh->comps.lpszHostName, wh->comps.nPort);
+  wh->connect = InternetConnectW(wh->session, wh->comps.lpszHostName, wh->comps.nPort,
+    wh->comps.dwUserNameLength ? wh->comps.lpszUserName : NULL, wh->comps.dwPasswordLength ? wh->comps.lpszPassword : NULL,
     INTERNET_SERVICE_HTTP, 0, 0);
-  if(!ret->connect) goto cleanup;
+  if(!wh->connect) goto cleanup;
   debug("net123_open InternetConnectW OK");
 
-  debug1("HttpOpenRequestW GET %S", ret->comps.lpszUrlPath);
-  ret->request = HttpOpenRequestW(ret->connect, L"GET", ret->comps.lpszUrlPath, NULL, NULL, NULL, ret->comps.nScheme == INTERNET_SCHEME_HTTPS ? INTERNET_FLAG_SECURE : 0, (DWORD_PTR)ret);
-  if(!ret->request) goto cleanup;
+  debug1("HttpOpenRequestW GET %S", wh->comps.lpszUrlPath);
+  wh->request = HttpOpenRequestW(wh->connect, L"GET", wh->comps.lpszUrlPath, NULL, NULL, NULL, wh->comps.nScheme == INTERNET_SCHEME_HTTPS ? INTERNET_FLAG_SECURE : 0, (DWORD_PTR)wh);
+  if(!wh->request) goto cleanup;
   debug("HttpOpenRequestW GET OK");
 
-  cb = InternetSetStatusCallback(ret->request, (INTERNET_STATUS_CALLBACK)net123_ssl_errors);
+  cb = InternetSetStatusCallback(wh->request, (INTERNET_STATUS_CALLBACK)net123_ssl_errors);
   if(cb != NULL){
     error1("InternetSetStatusCallback failed to install callback, errors might not be reported properly! (%lu)", GetLastError());
   }
@@ -132,7 +146,7 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
     if(!headers)
       goto cleanup;
     debug1("HttpAddRequestHeadersW add %S", headers);
-    res = HttpAddRequestHeadersW(ret->request, headers, (DWORD) -1, HTTP_ADDREQ_FLAG_ADD | HTTP_ADDREQ_FLAG_REPLACE);
+    res = HttpAddRequestHeadersW(wh->request, headers, (DWORD) -1, HTTP_ADDREQ_FLAG_ADD | HTTP_ADDREQ_FLAG_REPLACE);
     debug2("HttpAddRequestHeadersW returns %u %lu", res, res ? 0 : GetLastError());
     free(headers);
     headers = NULL;
@@ -140,13 +154,14 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
 
   debug("net123_open ADD HEADERS OK");
 
-  res = HttpSendRequestW(ret->request, NULL, 0, NULL, 0);
+  res = HttpSendRequestW(wh->request, NULL, 0, NULL, 0);
 
   if (!res) {
     res = GetLastError();
     error1("HttpSendRequestW failed with %lu", res);
     goto cleanup;
   }
+  debug("HttpSendRequestW OK");
 
   // dummy, cannot be null
   headers = calloc(1,1);
@@ -155,18 +170,20 @@ net123_handle *net123_open(const char *url, const char * const *client_head){
     error("Cannot allocate dummy buffer for HttpQueryInfoW");
     goto cleanup;
   }
-  res = HttpQueryInfoW(ret->request, HTTP_QUERY_RAW_HEADERS_CRLF, headers, &headerlen, &ret->HttpQueryInfoIndex);
+  debug("Try HttpQueryInfoW pass 1");
+  res = HttpQueryInfoW(wh->request, HTTP_QUERY_RAW_HEADERS_CRLF, headers, &headerlen, &wh->HttpQueryInfoIndex);
   free(headers);
+  debug("HttpQueryInfoW pass 1 OK");
 
   if(!res && GetLastError() == ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER && headerlen > 0) {
     /* buffer size is in bytes, not including terminator */
     headers = calloc(1, headerlen + sizeof(*headers));
     if (!headers) goto cleanup;
-    res = HttpQueryInfoW(ret->request, HTTP_QUERY_RAW_HEADERS_CRLF, headers, &headerlen, &ret->HttpQueryInfoIndex);
+    res = HttpQueryInfoW(wh->request, HTTP_QUERY_RAW_HEADERS_CRLF, headers, &headerlen, &wh->HttpQueryInfoIndex);
     debug3("HttpQueryInfoW returned %u, err %u : %S", res, GetLastError(), headers ? headers : L"null");
-    win32_wide_utf7(headers, &ret->headers, &ret->headers_len);
+    win32_wide_utf7(headers, &wh->headers, &wh->headers_len);
     /* bytes written, skip the terminating null, we want to stop at the \r\n\r\n */
-    ret->headers_len --;
+    wh->headers_len --;
     free(headers);
     headers = NULL;
   } else {
@@ -184,21 +201,24 @@ cleanup:
   return ret;
 }
 
-size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize){
+static size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize){
+  if(!nh || !nh->parts)
+    return 0;
+  wininet_handle *wh = nh->parts;
   size_t ret;
-  size_t to_copy = nh->headers_len - nh->headers_pos;
+  size_t to_copy = wh->headers_len - wh->headers_pos;
   DWORD bytesread = 0;
 
   if(to_copy){
      ret = to_copy <= bufsize ? to_copy : bufsize;
-     memcpy(buf, nh->headers + nh->headers_pos, ret);
-     nh->headers_pos += ret;
+     memcpy(buf, wh->headers + wh->headers_pos, ret);
+     wh->headers_pos += ret;
      return ret;
   }
 
   /* is this needed? */
   to_copy = bufsize > ULONG_MAX ? ULONG_MAX : bufsize;
-  if(!InternetReadFile(nh->request, buf, to_copy, &bytesread)){
+  if(!InternetReadFile(wh->request, buf, to_copy, &bytesread)){
     error1("InternetReadFile exited with %d", GetLastError());
     return EOF;
   }
@@ -206,22 +226,28 @@ size_t net123_read(net123_handle *nh, void *buf, size_t bufsize){
 }
 
 // Call that to free up resources, end processes.
-void net123_close(net123_handle *nh){
-  if(nh->headers) {
-    free(nh->headers);
-    nh->headers = NULL;
+static void net123_close(net123_handle *nh){
+  if(!nh)
+    return;
+  wininet_handle *wh = nh->parts;
+  if(!wh) /*???*/
+    return;
+  if(wh->headers) {
+    free(wh->headers);
+    wh->headers = NULL;
   }
-  if(nh->request) {
-    InternetCloseHandle(nh->request);
-    nh->request = NULL;
+  if(wh->request) {
+    InternetCloseHandle(wh->request);
+    wh->request = NULL;
   }
-  if(nh->connect) {
-    InternetCloseHandle(nh->connect);
-    nh->connect = NULL;
+  if(wh->connect) {
+    InternetCloseHandle(wh->connect);
+    wh->connect = NULL;
   }
-  if(nh->session) {
-    InternetCloseHandle(nh->session);
-    nh->session = NULL;
+  if(wh->session) {
+    InternetCloseHandle(wh->session);
+    wh->session = NULL;
   }
   free(nh);
+  free(wh);
 }
diff --git a/src/playlist.c b/src/playlist.c
index fe48f548..c72e1c0a 100644
--- a/src/playlist.c
+++ b/src/playlist.c
@@ -357,7 +357,8 @@ static int add_next_file (int argc, char *argv[], int args_utf8)
 				}
 			}
 			pl.entry = 0;
-			if(pl.file && pl.file->network)
+#ifdef NET123
+			if(pl.file && pl.file->nh)
 			{
 				debug1("htd.content_type.p: %p", (void*) pl.file->htd.content_type.p);
 				if(!APPFLAG(MPG123APP_IGNORE_MIME) && pl.file->htd.content_type.p != NULL)
@@ -402,6 +403,7 @@ static int add_next_file (int argc, char *argv[], int args_utf8)
 					}
 				}
 			}
+#endif
 			if(!pl.file)
 			{
 				param.listname = NULL; // why?
diff --git a/src/streamdump.c b/src/streamdump.c
index 778c03d8..6c7c44aa 100644
--- a/src/streamdump.c
+++ b/src/streamdump.c
@@ -4,11 +4,15 @@
 	This evolved into the generic I/O interposer for direct file or http stream
 	access, with explicit buffering for getline.
 
-	copyright 2010-2019 by the mpg123 project - free software under the terms of the LGPL 2.1
+	copyright 2010-2022 by the mpg123 project - free software under the terms of the LGPL 2.1
 	see COPYING and AUTHORS files in distribution or http://mpg123.org
 	initially written by Michael Hipp
 */
 
+// setenv
+#define _XOPEN_SOURCE 600
+#define _POSIX_C_SOURCE 200112L
+
 #include "streamdump.h"
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <errno.h>
@@ -22,6 +26,139 @@
 #define HTTP_MAX_RELOCATIONS 20
 #endif
 
+#if defined(NETWORK) && !defined(NET123)
+#error "NETWORK only with NET123 from now on!"
+#endif
+#if !defined(NETWORK) && defined(NET123)
+#error "NET123 only with NETWORK from now on!"
+#endif
+
+
+#ifdef NETWORK
+
+const char *net123_backends[] =
+{
+	"internal"
+#ifdef NET123_EXEC
+,	"wget"
+,	"curl"
+#endif
+#ifdef NET123_WINHTTP
+,	"winhttp"
+#endif
+#ifdef NET123_WININET
+,	"wininet"
+#endif
+,	NULL
+};
+
+// Net123 variant for our internal code that has safer legacy support for HTTP shoutcast.
+
+static size_t net123_read_internal( struct net123_handle_struct *nh,
+void *buf, size_t bufsize )
+{
+	if(!nh)
+		return 0;
+	int *fdp = nh->parts;
+#ifdef WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS
+	return win32_net_read(*fdp, buf, bufsize);
+#else
+	return unintr_read(*fdp, buf, bufsize);
+#endif
+
+}
+
+static void net123_close_internal(struct net123_handle_struct *nh)
+{
+	if(nh)
+		return;
+	int *fdp = nh->parts;
+#ifdef WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS
+	if(*fdp != SOCKET_ERROR)
+		win32_net_close(*fdp);
+#else
+	close(*fdp);
+#endif
+	free(fdp);
+	free(nh);
+}
+
+static net123_handle *net123_open_internal( const char *url
+,	const char * const  *client_head, struct httpdata *hd )
+{
+	net123_handle *nh = malloc(sizeof(net123_handle));
+	if(!nh)
+		return NULL;
+	int *fdp = malloc(sizeof(int));
+	if(!fdp)
+	{
+		free(nh);
+		return NULL;
+	}
+	nh->parts = fdp;
+	nh->read = net123_read_internal;
+	nh->close = net123_close_internal;
+	// Handles win32_net internally.
+	*fdp = http_open(url, hd, client_head);
+	if(*fdp >= 0)
+		return nh;
+	free(fdp);
+	free(nh);
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+// Decide which backend to load.
+static net123_handle *net123_open( const char *url
+,	const char * const  *client_head, struct httpdata *hd )
+{
+	int autochoose = !strcmp("auto", param.network_backend);
+	int https      = !strncasecmp("https://", url, 8);
+	if(param.proxyurl)
+	{
+		if(strcmp(param.proxyurl, "none"))
+		{
+#ifdef HAVE_SETENV
+			setenv("http_proxy",  param.proxyurl, 1);
+			setenv("HTTP_PROXY",  param.proxyurl, 1);
+			setenv("https_proxy", param.proxyurl, 1);
+			setenv("HTTPS_PROXY", param.proxyurl, 1);
+#endif
+		} else
+		{
+#ifdef HAVE_UNSETENV
+			unsetenv("http_proxy");
+			unsetenv("HTTP_PROXY");
+			unsetenv("https_proxy");
+			unsetenv("HTTPS_PROXY");
+#endif
+		}
+	}
+	if(   (autochoose && !https)
+	   || !strcmp("internal", param.network_backend) )
+	{
+		if(https && !param.quiet)
+			fprintf(stderr, "Note: HTTPS will fail with internal network code.\n");
+		return net123_open_internal(url, client_head, hd);
+	}
+#ifdef NET123_EXEC
+	if( autochoose
+		|| !strcmp("wget", param.network_backend)
+		|| !strcmp("curl", param.network_backend) )
+		return net123_open_exec(url, client_head);
+#endif
+#ifdef NET123_WINHTTP
+	if(autochoose || !strcmp("winhttp", param.network_backend))
+		return net123_open_winhttp(url, client_head);
+#endif
+#ifdef NET123_WININET
+	if(autochoose || !strcmp("wininet", param.network_backend))
+		return net123_open_wininet(url, client_head);
+#endif
+	merror("no network backend for %s", https ? "HTTPS" : "HTTP");
+	return NULL;
+}
+#endif
+
 /* Stream dump descriptor. */
 static int dump_fd = -1;
 
@@ -31,13 +168,9 @@ static int dump_fd = -1;
 static ssize_t stream_read_raw(struct stream *sd, void *buf, size_t count)
 {
 	ssize_t ret = -1;
-#ifdef NET123
+#ifdef NETWORK
 	if(sd->nh)
-		ret = net123_read(sd->nh, buf, count);
-#endif
-#ifdef WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS
-	if(sd->fd >= 0 && sd->network)
-		ret = win32_net_read(sd->fd, buf, count);
+		ret = (ssize_t) sd->nh->read(sd->nh, buf, count);
 #endif
 	if(sd->fd >= 0) // plain file or network socket
 		ret = (ssize_t) unintr_read(sd->fd, buf, count);
@@ -79,8 +212,12 @@ static ssize_t stream_read(struct stream *sd, void *buf, size_t count)
 
 static off_t stream_seek(struct stream *sd, off_t pos, int whence)
 {
-	if(!sd || sd->network)
+	if(!sd)
 		return -1;
+#ifdef NET123
+	if(sd->nh)
+		return -1;
+#endif
 	return lseek(sd->fd, pos, whence);
 }
 
@@ -151,6 +288,7 @@ ssize_t stream_getline(struct stream *sd, mpg123_string *line)
 	}
 }
 
+#ifdef NETWORK
 // Return 0 on success, non-zero when there is an error or more work to do.
 // -1: error, 1: redirection to given location
 static int stream_parse_headers(struct stream *sd, mpg123_string *location)
@@ -278,11 +416,84 @@ static int stream_parse_headers(struct stream *sd, mpg123_string *location)
 	return ret;
 }
 
+// resolve relative locations given the initial full URL
+// full URL ensured to either start with http:// or https://
+// (case-insensitive), location non-empty
+static void relocate_url(mpg123_string *location, const char *url)
+{
+	if(!strncasecmp(location->p, "http://", 7) || !strncasecmp(location->p, "https://", 8))
+		return;
+	if(!url || (strncasecmp(url, "http://", 7) && strncasecmp(url, "https://", 8)))
+	{
+		mpg123_resize_string(location, 0);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	if(!param.quiet)
+		fprintf(stderr, "NOTE: no complete URL in redirect, constructing one\n");
+
+	mpg123_string purl;
+	mpg123_string workbuf;
+	mpg123_init_string(&purl);
+	mpg123_init_string(&workbuf);
+
+	if(mpg123_set_string(&purl, url) && mpg123_move_string(location, &workbuf))
+	{
+		debug1("relocate request_url: %s", purl.p);
+		// location somewhat relative, either /some/path or even just some/path
+		char* ptmp = NULL;
+		// Though it's not RFC (?), accept relative URIs as wget does.
+		if(workbuf.p[0] == '/')
+		{
+			// server-absolute only prepend http://server/
+			// I null the first / after http:// or https://
+			size_t off = (purl.p[4] == 's') ? 8 : 7;
+			ptmp = strchr(purl.p+off,'/');
+			if(ptmp != NULL)
+			{
+				purl.fill = ptmp-purl.p+1;
+				purl.p[purl.fill-1] = 0;
+			}
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			// relative to current directory
+			// prepend http://server/path/
+			// first cutting off parameter stuff from URL
+			for(size_t i=0; i<purl.fill; ++i)
+			{
+				if(purl.p[i] == '?' || purl.p[i] == '#')
+				{
+					purl.p[i] = 0;
+					purl.fill = i+1;
+					break;
+				}
+			}
+			// now the last slash, keeping it
+			ptmp = strrchr(purl.p, '/');
+			if(ptmp != NULL)
+			{
+				purl.fill = ptmp-purl.p+2;
+				purl.p[purl.fill-1] = 0;
+			}
+		}
+		// only the prefix left
+		debug1("prefix=%s", purl.p);
+		mpg123_add_string(location, purl.p);
+	}
+
+	mpg123_add_string(location, workbuf.p);
+
+	mpg123_free_string(&workbuf);
+	mpg123_free_string(&purl);
+}
+
+#endif
+
 static void stream_init(struct stream *sd)
 {
 	sd->bufp = sd->buf;
 	sd->fill = 0;
-	sd->network = 0;
 	sd->fd = -1;
 #ifdef NET123
 	sd->nh = NULL;
@@ -296,15 +507,8 @@ static void stream_reset(struct stream *sd)
 {
 #ifdef NET123
 	if(sd->nh)
-		net123_close(sd->nh);
+		sd->nh->close(sd->nh);
 	sd->nh = NULL;
-#endif
-#ifdef WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS
-	if(sd->fd >= 0 && sd->network)
-	{
-		if(sd->fd != SOCKET_ERROR)
-			win32_net_close(sd->fd);
-	}
 #endif
 	if(sd->fd >= 0) // plain file or network socket
 		close(sd->fd);
@@ -327,10 +531,9 @@ struct stream *stream_open(const char *url)
 		sd->fd = STDIN_FILENO;
 		compat_binmode(STDIN_FILENO, TRUE);
 	}
-#ifdef NET123
+#ifdef NETWORK
 	else if(!strncasecmp("http://", url, 7) || !strncasecmp("https://", url, 8))
 	{
-		sd->network = 1;
 		// Network stream with header parsing.
 		const char *client_head[] = { NULL, NULL, NULL };
 		client_head[0] = param.talk_icy ? icy_yes : icy_no;
@@ -339,15 +542,18 @@ struct stream *stream_open(const char *url)
 		append_accept(&accept);
 		client_head[1] = accept.p;
 		mpg123_string location;
+		mpg123_string urlcopy;
 		mpg123_init_string(&location);
+		mpg123_init_string(&urlcopy);
 		int numrelocs = 0;
 		while(sd)
 		{
-			sd->nh = net123_open(url, client_head);
+			sd->nh = net123_open(url, client_head, &sd->htd);
 			if(!sd->nh)
 			{
 				stream_close(sd);
 				sd = NULL;
+				break;
 			}
 			location.fill = 0;
 			if(stream_parse_headers(sd, &location))
@@ -358,35 +564,29 @@ struct stream *stream_open(const char *url)
 					if(++numrelocs > HTTP_MAX_RELOCATIONS)
 					{
 						merror("too many HTTP redirections: %i", numrelocs);
-						stream_close(sd);
-						sd = NULL;
+						url = NULL;
 					} else
-						url = location.p; // Used one time, then possibly overwritten.
+					{
+						relocate_url(&location, url); // resolve relative locations
+						mpg123_copy_string(&location, &urlcopy);
+						url = urlcopy.p;
+					}
 				} else
+				{
+					url = NULL;
+				}
+				if(!url)
 				{
 					stream_close(sd);
 					sd = NULL;
 				}
 			} else break; // Successful end.
 		}
+		mpg123_free_string(&urlcopy);
 		mpg123_free_string(&location);
 		mpg123_free_string(&accept);
 		// Either sd is NULL or we got a stream ready.
 	}
-#elif defined(NETWORK)
-	else if(!strncasecmp("http://", url, 7))
-	{
-#ifdef WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS
-		sd->fd = win32_net_http_open(url, &sd->htd);
-#else
-		sd->fd = http_open(url, &sd->htd);
-#endif
-		if(sd->fd < 0)
-		{
-			stream_close(sd);
-			return NULL;
-		}
-	}
 #endif
 	else
 	{
@@ -482,12 +682,7 @@ int dump_setup(struct stream *sd, mpg123_handle *mh)
 		ret = mpg123_open_handle(mh, sd);
 	} else
 	{
-#ifdef WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS
-		if(sd->network)
-			win32_net_replace(mh);
-		else // ensure libmpg123 is using its own reader otherwise
-#endif
-			mpg123_replace_reader(mh, NULL, NULL);
+		mpg123_replace_reader(mh, NULL, NULL);
 		ret = mpg123_open_fd(mh, sd->fd);
 	}
 	if(ret != MPG123_OK)
diff --git a/src/streamdump.h b/src/streamdump.h
index c220b620..5bb93a02 100644
--- a/src/streamdump.h
+++ b/src/streamdump.h
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
 #ifdef NET123
 #include "net123.h"
 #endif
+#ifdef NETWORK
+#include "httpget.h"
+#endif
 
 // The stream is either addressed via file descriptor or net123 handle.
 struct stream
@@ -25,7 +28,6 @@ struct stream
 	char buf[256]; // buffer for getline
 	char *bufp; // read pointer in buffer
 	int fill; // bytes in buffer
-	int network; // flag to mark network streams (with httpdata)
 	int fd; // if > 0: plain file descriptor or win32 net socket
 	struct httpdata htd;
 #ifdef NET123
diff --git a/src/term.c b/src/term.c
index 2e9594ad..ae0eefa3 100644
--- a/src/term.c
+++ b/src/term.c
@@ -232,8 +232,9 @@ static void term_handle_key(mpg123_handle *fr, out123_handle *ao, char val)
 	case MPG123_QUIT_KEY:
 		debug("QUIT");
 		if(stopped)
-		{		if(param.verbose)
-			print_stat(fr,0,ao,0,&param);
+		{
+			if(param.verbose)
+				print_stat(fr,0,ao,0,&param);
 
 			stopped = 0;
 			out123_pause(ao); /* no chance for annoying underrun warnings */
diff --git a/src/term_posix.c b/src/term_posix.c
index ba1d161d..9c26cd95 100644
--- a/src/term_posix.c
+++ b/src/term_posix.c
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@
 	initially written by Thomas Orgis
 */
 
+// ctermid
+#define _XOPEN_SOURCE 600
+#define _POSIX_C_SOURCE 200112L
+
 #include "config.h"
 
 #ifdef __OS2__
diff --git a/src/win32_net.c b/src/win32_net.c
index 11a5a422..e43ddd42 100755
--- a/src/win32_net.c
+++ b/src/win32_net.c
@@ -1,14 +1,7 @@
-#include "config.h"
-#include "mpg123.h"
+#include "win32_support.h"
 #include "mpg123app.h"
-#include "httpget.h"
-#include "resolver.h"
-#include "compat.h"
-#include <errno.h>
-
 #include "debug.h"
 
-#if defined (WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS)
 #ifdef DEBUG
 #define msgme(x) win32_net_msg(x,__FILE__,__LINE__)
 #define msgme1 win32_net_msg(1,__FILE__,__LINE__)
@@ -115,28 +108,6 @@ static int get_sock_ch (int sock)
     return (((int) c)&0xff);
   return -1;
 }
-/* Addapted from from newlib*/
-char *win32_net_fgets(char *s, int n, int stream)
-{
-  char c = 0;
-  char *buf;
-  buf = s;
-  debug1("Pseudo net fgets attempts to read %d bytes from network.", n - 1);
-  while (--n > 0 && (c = get_sock_ch (stream)) != -1)
-  {
-    *s++ = c;
-    if (c == '\n' || c == '\r')
-      break;
-  }
-  debug1("Pseudo net fgets got %"SIZE_P" bytes.", (size_p)(s - buf));
-  if (c == -1 && s == buf)
-  {
-    debug("Pseudo net fgets met a premature end.");
-    return NULL;
-  }
-  *s = 0;
-  return buf;
-}
 
 ssize_t win32_net_write (int fildes, const void *buf, size_t nbyte)
 {
@@ -148,18 +119,6 @@ ssize_t win32_net_write (int fildes, const void *buf, size_t nbyte)
   return ret;
 }
 
-off_t win32_net_lseek (int a, off_t b, int c)
-{
-  debug("lseek on a socket called!");
-  return -1;
-}
-
-void win32_net_replace (mpg123_handle *fr)
-{
-  debug("win32_net_replace ran");
-  mpg123_replace_reader(fr, win32_net_read, win32_net_lseek);
-}
-
 static int win32_net_timeout_connect(int sockfd, const struct sockaddr *serv_addr, socklen_t addrlen)
 {
 	debug("win32_net_timeout_connect ran");
@@ -239,7 +198,7 @@ static int win32_net_timeout_connect(int sockfd, const struct sockaddr *serv_add
 	}
 }
 
-static int win32_net_open_connection(mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *port)
+int win32_net_open_connection(mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *port)
 {
 	struct addrinfo hints;
 	struct addrinfo *addr, *addrlist;
@@ -286,52 +245,10 @@ static int win32_net_open_connection(mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *port)
 	}
 
 	freeaddrinfo(addrlist);
-	return 1;
+	return ws.local_socket == SOCKET_ERROR ? -1 : 1;
 }
 
-static size_t win32_net_readstring (mpg123_string *string, size_t maxlen, int fd)
-{
-	debug2("Attempting readstring on %d for %"SIZE_P" bytes", fd, (size_p)maxlen);
-	int err;
-	string->fill = 0;
-	while(maxlen == 0 || string->fill < maxlen)
-	{
-		if(string->size-string->fill < 1)
-		if(!mpg123_grow_string(string, string->fill+4096))
-		{
-			error("Cannot allocate memory for reading.");
-			string->fill = 0;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		err = win32_net_read(0,string->p+string->fill,1); /*fd is ignored */
-		/* Whoa... reading one byte at a time... one could ensure the line break in another way, but more work. */
-		if( err == 1)
-		{
-			string->fill++;
-			if(string->p[string->fill-1] == '\n') break;
-		}
-		else if(errno != EINTR)
-		{
-			error("Error reading from socket or unexpected EOF.");
-			string->fill = 0;
-			/* bail out to prevent endless loop */
-			return 0;
-		}
-	}
-
-	if(!mpg123_grow_string(string, string->fill+1))
-	{
-		string->fill=0;
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		string->p[string->fill] = 0;
-		string->fill++;
-	}
-	return string->fill;
-}
-
-static int win32_net_writestring (int fd, mpg123_string *string)
+int win32_net_writestring (int fd, mpg123_string *string)
 {
 	size_t result, bytes;
 	char *ptr = string->p;
@@ -355,253 +272,3 @@ static int win32_net_writestring (int fd, mpg123_string *string)
 	}
 	return TRUE;
 }
-
-static int win32_net_resolve_redirect(mpg123_string *response, mpg123_string *request_url, mpg123_string *purl)
-{
-	debug1("request_url:%s", request_url->p);
-	/* initialized with full old url */
-	if(!mpg123_copy_string(request_url, purl)) return FALSE;
-
-	/* We may strip it down to a prefix ot totally. */
-	if(strncasecmp(response->p, "Location: http://", 17))
-	{ /* OK, only partial strip, need prefix for relative path. */
-		char* ptmp = NULL;
-		/* though it's not RFC (?), accept relative URIs as wget does */
-		fprintf(stderr, "NOTE: no complete URL in redirect, constructing one\n");
-		/* not absolute uri, could still be server-absolute */
-		/* I prepend a part of the request... out of the request */
-		if(response->p[10] == '/')
-		{
-			/* only prepend http://server/ */
-			/* I null the first / after http:// */
-			ptmp = strchr(purl->p+7,'/');
-			if(ptmp != NULL){ purl->fill = ptmp-purl->p+1; purl->p[purl->fill-1] = 0; }
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			/* prepend http://server/path/ */
-			/* now we want the last / */
-			ptmp = strrchr(purl->p+7, '/');
-			if(ptmp != NULL){ purl->fill = ptmp-purl->p+2; purl->p[purl->fill-1] = 0; }
-		}
-	}
-	else purl->fill = 0;
-
-	debug1("prefix=%s", purl->fill ? purl->p : "");
-	if(!mpg123_add_string(purl, response->p+10)) return FALSE;
-
-	debug1("           purl: %s", purl->p);
-	debug1("old request_url: %s", request_url->p);
-
-	return TRUE;
-}
-
-int win32_net_http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd)
-{
-	mpg123_string purl, host, port, path;
-	mpg123_string request, response, request_url;
-	mpg123_string httpauth1;
-	ws.local_socket = SOCKET_ERROR;
-	int oom  = 0;
-	int relocate, numrelocs = 0;
-	int got_location = FALSE;
-	/*
-		workaround for http://www.global24music.com/rautemusik/files/extreme/isdn.pls
-		this site's apache gives me a relocation to the same place when I give the port in Host request field
-		for the record: Apache/2.0.51 (Fedora)
-	*/
-	int try_without_port = 0;
-	mpg123_init_string(&purl);
-	mpg123_init_string(&host);
-	mpg123_init_string(&port);
-	mpg123_init_string(&path);
-	mpg123_init_string(&request);
-	mpg123_init_string(&response);
-	mpg123_init_string(&request_url);
-	mpg123_init_string(&httpauth1);
-
-	/* Get initial info for proxy server. Once. */
-	if(hd->proxystate == PROXY_UNKNOWN && !proxy_init(hd)) goto exit;
-
-	if(!translate_url(url, &purl)){ oom=1; goto exit; }
-
-	/* Don't confuse the different auth strings... */
-	if(!split_url(&purl, &httpauth1, NULL, NULL, NULL) ){ oom=1; goto exit; }
-
-	/* "GET http://"		11
-	 * " HTTP/1.0\r\nUser-Agent: <PACKAGE_NAME>/<PACKAGE_VERSION>\r\n"
-	 * 				26 + PACKAGE_NAME + PACKAGE_VERSION
-	 * accept header            + accept_length()
-	 * "Authorization: Basic \r\n"	23
-	 * "\r\n"			 2
-	 * ... plus the other predefined header lines
-	 */
-	/* Just use this estimate as first guess to reduce malloc calls in string library. */
-	{
-		size_t length_estimate = 62 + strlen(PACKAGE_NAME) + strlen(PACKAGE_VERSION) 
-		                       + accept_length() + strlen(CONN_HEAD) + strlen(icy_yes) + purl.fill;
-		if(    !mpg123_grow_string(&request, length_estimate)
-		    || !mpg123_grow_string(&response,4096) )
-		{
-			oom=1; goto exit;
-		}
-	}
-
-	do
-	{
-		/* Storing the request url, with http:// prepended if needed. */
-		/* used to be url here... seemed wrong to me (when loop advanced...) */
-		if(strncasecmp(purl.p, "http://", 7) != 0) mpg123_set_string(&request_url, "http://");
-		else mpg123_set_string(&request_url, "");
-
-		mpg123_add_string(&request_url, purl.p);
-
-		if(!split_url(&purl, NULL, &host, &port, &path)){ oom=1; goto exit; }
-		if (hd->proxystate >= PROXY_HOST)
-		{
-			/* We will connect to proxy, full URL goes into the request. */
-			if(    !mpg123_set_string(&request, "GET ")
-			    || !mpg123_add_string(&request, request_url.p) )
-			{
-				oom=1; goto exit;
-			}
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			/* We will connect to the host from the URL and only the path goes into the request. */
-			if(    !mpg123_set_string(&request, "GET ")
-			    || !mpg123_add_string(&request, path.p) )
-			{
-				oom=1; goto exit;
-			}
-		}
-
-		if(!fill_request(&request, &host, &port, &httpauth1, &try_without_port)){ oom=1; goto exit; }
-
-		httpauth1.fill = 0; /* We use the auth data from the URL only once. */
-		if (hd->proxystate >= PROXY_HOST)
-		{
-			if(    !mpg123_copy_string(&hd->proxyhost, &host)
-			    || !mpg123_copy_string(&hd->proxyport, &port) )
-			{
-				oom=1; goto exit;
-			}
-		}
-		debug2("attempting to open_connection to %s:%s", host.p, port.p);
-		win32_net_open_connection(&host, &port);
-		if(ws.local_socket == SOCKET_ERROR)
-		{
-			error1("Unable to establish connection to %s", host.fill ? host.p : "");
-			goto exit;
-		}
-		debug("win32_net_open_connection succeed");
-#define http_failure win32_net_close(ws.local_socket); ws.local_socket=SOCKET_ERROR; goto exit;
-		
-		if(param.verbose > 2) fprintf(stderr, "HTTP request:\n%s\n",request.p);
-		if(!win32_net_writestring(ws.local_socket, &request)){ http_failure; }
-		debug("Skipping fdopen for WSA sockets");
-		relocate = FALSE;
-		/* Arbitrary length limit here... */
-#define safe_readstring \
-		win32_net_readstring(&response, SIZE_MAX/16, -1); \
-		if(response.fill > SIZE_MAX/16) /* > because of appended zero. */ \
-		{ \
-			error("HTTP response line exceeds max. length"); \
-			http_failure; \
-		} \
-		else if(response.fill == 0) \
-		{ \
-			error("readstring failed"); \
-			http_failure; \
-		} \
-		if(param.verbose > 2) fprintf(stderr, "HTTP in: %s", response.p);
-		safe_readstring;
-
-		{
-			char *sptr;
-			if((sptr = strchr(response.p, ' ')))
-			{
-				if(response.fill > sptr-response.p+2)
-				switch (sptr[1])
-				{
-					case '3':
-						relocate = TRUE;
-					case '2':
-						break;
-					default:
-						fprintf (stderr, "HTTP request failed: %s", sptr+1); /* '\n' is included */
-						http_failure;
-				}
-				else{ error("Too short response,"); http_failure; }
-			}
-		}
-
-		/* If we are relocated, we need to look out for a Location header. */
-		got_location = FALSE;
-
-		do
-		{
-			safe_readstring; /* Think about that: Should we really error out when we get nothing? Could be that the server forgot the trailing empty line... */
-			if (!strncasecmp(response.p, "Location: ", 10))
-			{ /* It is a redirection! */
-				if(!win32_net_resolve_redirect(&response, &request_url, &purl)){ oom=1, http_failure; }
-
-				if(!strcmp(purl.p, request_url.p))
-				{
-					warning("relocated to very same place! trying request again without host port");
-					try_without_port = 1;
-				}
-				got_location = TRUE;
-			}
-			else
-			{ /* We got a header line (or the closing empty line). */
-				char *tmp;
-				debug1("searching for header values... %s", response.p);
-				/* Not sure if I want to bail out on error here. */
-				/* Also: What text encoding are these strings in? Doesn't need to be plain ASCII... */
-				get_header_string(&response, "content-type", &hd->content_type);
-				get_header_string(&response, "icy-name",     &hd->icy_name);
-				get_header_string(&response, "icy-url",      &hd->icy_url);
-
-				/* watch out for icy-metaint */
-				if((tmp = get_header_val("icy-metaint", &response)))
-				{
-					hd->icy_interval = (off_t) atol(tmp); /* atoll ? */
-					debug1("got icy-metaint %li", (long int)hd->icy_interval);
-				}
-			}
-		} while(response.p[0] != '\r' && response.p[0] != '\n');
-		if (relocate) { win32_net_close(ws.local_socket); ws.local_socket=SOCKET_ERROR; }
-	} while(relocate && got_location && purl.fill && numrelocs++ < HTTP_MAX_RELOCATIONS);
-	if(relocate)
-	{
-		if(!got_location)
-		error("Server meant to redirect but failed to provide a location!");
-		else
-		error1("Too many HTTP relocations (%i).", numrelocs);
-
-		http_failure;
-	}
-
-exit: /* The end as well as the exception handling point... */
-	if(oom) error("Apparently, I ran out of memory or had some bad input data...");
-
-	mpg123_free_string(&purl);
-	mpg123_free_string(&host);
-	mpg123_free_string(&port);
-	mpg123_free_string(&path);
-	mpg123_free_string(&request);
-	mpg123_free_string(&response);
-	mpg123_free_string(&request_url);
-	mpg123_free_string(&httpauth1);
-	if (ws.local_socket == SOCKET_ERROR || oom)
-	return -1;
-	else
-	return 1;
-}
-#else
-int win32_net_http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd)
-{
-  return -1;
-}
-#endif /*WANT_WIN32_SOCKETS */
diff --git a/src/win32_support.h b/src/win32_support.h
index 1c797de3..498d7e61 100755
--- a/src/win32_support.h
+++ b/src/win32_support.h
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 
 #include "config.h"
 #include "mpg123.h"
-#include "httpget.h"
 #ifdef HAVE_WINDOWS_H
 
 #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN 1
@@ -32,15 +31,18 @@
 Note: Do not treat return values as valid file/socket handles, they only indicate success/failure.
 file descriptors are ignored, only the local ws.local_socket is used for storing socket handle,
 so the socket handle is always associated with the last call to win32_net_http_open
+
+TODO: Move the socket descriptor/state struct into streamdump.c, which wraps all network
+connections. Stored in in nh->parts, it enables multiple sockets being opened.
 */
 
 /**
  * Opens an http URL
- * @param[in] url URL to open
- * @param[out] hd http data info
+ * @param[in] host to connect to
+ * @param[in] port to use
  * @return -1 for failure, 1 for success
  */
-int win32_net_http_open(const char* url, struct httpdata *hd);
+int win32_net_open_connection(mpg123_string *host, mpg123_string *port);
 
 /**
  * Reads from network socket
@@ -61,13 +63,12 @@ ssize_t win32_net_read (int fildes, void *buf, size_t nbyte);
 ssize_t win32_net_write (int fildes, const void *buf, size_t nbyte);
 
 /**
- * Similar to fgets - get a string from a stream
- * @param[out] s buffer to Write to
- * @param[in] n bytes of data to read.
- * @param[in] stream ignored for compatiblity, last open connection is used.
- * @return pointer to s if successful, NULL if failture
+ * Writes a whole mpg123_string to the network socket
+ * @param[in] filedes Value is ignored, last open connection is used.
+ * @param[in] string the string to write
+ * @return TRUE if successful, FALS on error
  */
-char *win32_net_fgets(char *s, int n, int stream);
+int win32_net_writestring (int filedes, mpg123_string *string);
 
 /**
  * Initialize Winsock 2.2.
@@ -84,12 +85,6 @@ void win32_net_deinit (void);
  * @param[in] sock value is ignored.
  */
 void win32_net_close (int sock);
-
-/**
- * Set reader callback for mpg123_open_fd
- * @param[in] fr pointer to a mpg123_handle struct.
- */
-void win32_net_replace (mpg123_handle *fr);
 #endif
 
 #ifdef WANT_WIN32_UNICODE