If you're a music junkie then this is the greatest piece of software written, next to the newest version of Media player.

Napster is more than just an MP3 download client. You can meet all sorts of people that have the same tastes in music that you have. And, you can learn all about other genres of music as well.

If you like listening to a variety of artists and songs while whiling away many hours surfing the net, then you really ought to check Napster out. It's very easy to set up. You answer a few questions, like what kind of internet connection you have and where you want to save downloaded files to. After that its time to start looking for the music.

The search screen is very easy to use. For the beginner, just type in the name of the artist and click "Find It". If you're looking for a particular song you can add the song title to the search criteria.

If you're an experienced user, like me, you can filter your search to include only songs with a particular bitrate, or limit the songs displayed to those who's users have a particular connection speed, or set the ping time. The higher the bitrate the better the quality of music, and the larger the file. While I don't understand all the technical specifics regarding the ping time, I know that a low ping on an ISDN connection is better than a high ping on a T3 connection. However, the ping time is something you have to experiment with for yourself.


For example, my search would look something like this:
Artist: Celine Dion
Song: <blank>
Bitrate: at least 128 KB/s
Connection: at least Cable (meaning Cable Modem)
Ping time: at best 100ms (milliseconds)

As some of you know, downloading with a 14.4 modem or a 33.6 modem is very slow, and the chance of the user leaving before the download is finished is greater as more time passes. Hence, the "Cable" part of the filter. With use I have found that a Ping time over 100 is very slow even with a T3 connection, so much so that you might as well be using a 14.4 modem. The 128 KB/s bitrate is decent CD quality and makes for decent sized files.


If you like music, if you like MP3's, and you have a large hard drive, then you really have to give Napster a try. You'll be glad you did.



Recommended: Yes