And then there was Napster
Written: Oct 05 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The extremely wide variety of music may make you question some user's sanity (or hearing). You can always find what you want, downloads are usually fast, servers are up most of the time.
Cons: Hot List doesn't show any user's files, searches limited to 100.
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| dokool's Full Review: Napster |
I sincerily hope that no church-goers are offended by this...
In the beginning, there was nothing.
Then, on the first day, g0d created the MP3, and the world rejoiced.
g0d was not happy, however, because the world could not access his creation.
Therefore, on the second day, g0d created the Website, where people could download the fabled MP3s. And the world rejoiced.
On the third day, g0d created AOL listservs, so that the wild animals of his earth could join in. The insect population rejoiced.
On the forth day, g0d created the FTP site. The FTP site was a happy place, where people could download anything they wanted, as long as they had a fast enough connection.
Sometime between the fourth and the fifth day, one of g0d's other creation, a human, altered g0d's creation. He created the Ratio FTP site, requiring people to send files in order to recieve. The heads of these Ratio FTP sites cheated it's users, however, and the world was an unhappy place.
So, on the fifth day, g0d smited the administrators of the Ratio FTP sites, sending them downstairs. To be safe, g0d also smited the administrators of regular FTP sites, to preempt them from going down that dark path.
And the world had no music.
So g0d spend all night in front of his Linux box (in a perfect world) and worked on something.
On the sixth day, g0d created Napster. And the world rejoiced.
Wanna know why g0d did nothing on the seventh day? He was downloading and listening. And the world rejoiced.
Once again, my sincerest apologies to anyone who was offended by that. I in no way want to say that Sean Fanning is God. That's why I spelled it g0d.
Napster is a program worshipped by over 25 million users worldwide. You can't blame them. You can get any song you want, from the new Ricky Martin single to a rare live song that you think Hendrix did.
It's a simple interface, log on (which can be tough, depending on your location and how busy the servers are), go to "Search", and fill in the criteria. Most of the time, you'll find what you're looking for.
But how do I know I have a good mp3? You may ask. Here's how I make sure that my downloads are nothing but the highest quality:
1. Do you see the window w/ all the search results, how you can sort by Name, time, size, etc? Sort by size, and search for the size that the majority of your searches are. Most often, these are the mp3s you want.
2. The higher the bitrate, the higher the quality. 128 is acceptable, but I try to keep my downloads at a 192 bitrate.
Now, if it's speed you're worried about, sort by Ping and find the person with the lowest number. You can also limit your searches to certain connection speeds (I usually do Cable or higher). However, a problem is presented, because users with Unknown speed (they put in Unkown for their speed setting) are usually faster than everyone else.
Right now, Hot Lists on Napster don't really work.
Dealing with queues can be a pain, but if you want your music, you gotta do it. The only other problem with Napster is that your searches are limited to 100. This is because it's still in beta, and eventually, I'm sure this will be remedied.
Some may question the legality of Napster, and you'll want to check out my editorial on Napster vs. the RIAA for my opinion.
But for now, sit back, relax, and download.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dokool
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Member: Danny Orlowitz
Location: Melrose Park, PA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 0 members
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