Napster: Could it be this easy?
Written: Aug 16 '00 (Updated Aug 21 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Rare hard to find songs,new artists,chat rooms,library feature,fast searches
Cons: Transfer errors,can not download a lot at once,connection problems
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| beavis612's Full Review: Napster |
On the this the new millenium I have become tired of searching threw countless websites smashed with ads/pop up banners where I am attempting to find that one MP3 I am looking for yet find nothing but blind links to porn sites and broken/dead links.
Luckily with the help of a friend on ICQ I heard about this new little program called Napster.At the time I downloaded it the whole controversy nationwide hadn't started yet.There was no legal talks,no MTV with round the clock coverage and specials, and no down-time on the Napster program.
Now days Napster is a household word.Close to everyone knows what Napster is because of the huge success it has.Well over 20 million people are using it already worldwide.In addition the real controversy over Napster happened when Lars Ulrich from the band 'Metallica' made it clear that he is joining the fight with the R.I.A.A. to shut down Napster.
This is mainly due to the fact that Napster is in a way like stealing, if it is used wrongly.People can download songs (MP3 files) and use a CD-RW to burn those songs onto a cd disk for free just like one you would buy at the store.
Plus there are a lot of bootlegged shows on Napster.Live songs from Korn, Metallica, Limp Bizkit, and others can be found in the Napster program.This is the main case why record companies want Napster shut down.
There isn't much that people can do to stop companies like Napster since there are many copy cats like it on the net.Imesh.com offers not only downloadable MP3's but is also offers movie files,real audio files, and more.So the war against MP3's on the internet has only begun and it looks like a long battle ahead.
What is Napster?
Napster is a group of millions of people online that download and share their own music files online.You can chat with others, add you files to a library where you can listen to them on your computer, add others who have a lot of MP3's to offer onto a 'hot list' where you can check their new stuff fast and easily, find new artists that are looking to get signed, post your own music (make your own band) and publish for free your song on Napster to millions of users, and so much more.
Pros:
Napster is fast, easy, and remember everyone..... it's free!! If you don't like Napster you have nothing to complain about.You didn't purchase it so what's the problem.
The first (and my favorite) feature on Napster is that I can find tons of live performances from my favorite bands.It gives me the feeling that I'm in the concert at a live show listening to them.
Another great thing about Napster is rare and early songs I never heard before.Many artists had albums before they were truely 'rock stars' and I like to check them out and I bet you would too.
If I see a band I like I usually check the song out on Napster and add it to my library.In the library on Napster I can organize a huge list of songs arranged alphabetically, frequency, size, or length.This is also great because I can just click on the song and play it on my computer.Turn up the speakers, sit back, and rock out!
Napster is especially cool because it even sponsored the Limp Bizkit and Cypress Hill "Back to Basics" summer tour which was completely free all thanks to my buddies at Napster.
Cons:
There were a huge amount of problems I discovered first downloading Napster about a year ago (you can download Napster for free at their web site).
The first problem I encountered was the downloading process takes a long time especially on my computer.In addition (this really gets me heated) a couple times I would reach 99% downloaded of a song and it would say 'transfer error' and I couldn't force transfor it.This happens because you can get disconnected from the song you are downloading.
This resulted in me having to re-download it which took another half an hour.The third problem I faced on Napster was the in-ability to download more than one song at a time without losing the song and having to download it again.
I tried this by downloading only three songs at once.I left my computer for half an hour then came back and turned on my monitor only to discover all the songs I was downloading resulted in 'transfer errors.'
All of these problems with eventually be fixed by the Napster team if it does not get shut down by the R.I.A.A. Most of the problems I encountered are due to the fact that many of the versions out there are still beta versions.
Currently you can download from Napster's web site the version 2.0 beta 7 version for free.
Napster Vs. Others:
I believe Napster is in all fairness a great MP3 search engine.But to be honest it has it's faults.
Imesh.com is another place where you can download and share your files just like on Napster.What makes the Imesh software (which is also free) better is that you can download a ton of songs all at once and never (one out of a hundred) get an interuption when downloading an MP3 file.
I once downloaded 20 songs and got them all in under an hour! In addition Imesh offers music videos,.mov files,real audio, and more.
Napster does have the advantage of chat rooms (assorted by genre plus you can make your own chat room) and easy organization yet I never use the chat rooms (no body likes me).
I suggest checking out both of these programs to see which best suits your needs for an MP3 finder.
Napster Features:
Share,download, and discover new music
Play and easily organize your MP3 files
Chat it up with fellow Napster friends
Find songs that others have to offer in your hot list
Check out new artists trying to make it big
Even a help guide if you get lost
Downloading:
Speed: Very fast and under a minute
Simply download for free the program at Napster.com and save it to your desktop so you have a nice little icon to press if you want to run the program.When you first run Napster you're required to set up an account with a user name and password.
Napster won't ask you for any personal information that really matters such as credit card numbers.
An Apple/Mac version is not presently available but Napster suggests checking out Macster.com for a similar program.
Download size: 1,587Kb
Available for: Windows 95, 98, and NT
Final Thoughts:
Napster is here to stay and isn't going to go away kindly.If your thinking about downloading Napster quick and getting all the files you can in a feeding frenzy of MP3 files, simply don't.
There will be many more companies and places where you can find more music.Lycos,Alta Vista,Scour.net,and Imesh.com are just a few off the top of my head that I know offer thousands upon thousands of MP3's to get downloaded.All it takes is a couple clicks of the mouse and you have a new MP3.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
beavis612
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