ALMOST THERE ... But...! Fine tuning required.....
Written: Aug 26 '06
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Hi, I'm a long-time music lover and Computer enthusiast. I own and have used computers from old CP/M 'professional' computers,(pre IBM-PC), and "home" computers to the new Compaq Athlon 64 powered Windows XP Media Center Machine I use for most everything now.
My first experience with Rhapsody was with the Version 2.X software which was mostly aimed at streaming and had fairly good luck streaming music. I only bought a few Rhapsody tracks then.
I had a regular Rhapsody subscription which I upgraded to a Rhapsody to Go subscription with the latest software. I had no trouble loading and managing music to my Sansa M200 series flash MP3 player. They have a good variety of music, most tracks start playing quickly when you click on them, and they have good features, like radio, album reviews, etc.
As Much as I like Rhapsody, I just CANCELLED the service. I think my problems are related to their software more than anything else. I have been using my new Compaq Athlon 64 machine with 1 GB of memory and lots of disc space, DVD/CD burner and a high speed Cable Modem. The computer is protected from viruses and spyware/adware. My big complaint is that I have had too much "skipping" or "buffering" while playing music with the Rhapsody player. I could almost bear occassional problems while streaming, but NOT when it happens playing a Rhapsody song that is Downloaded and already on my hard drive. This occurs even while logged on to the service and connected by cable modem, though the files should also play offline too. I don't think there is any excuse for the skipping of local music tracks. I don't know if that is a common occurence with Rhapsody or not, but it's a deal-breaker for me. The only other complaint, (less important to me..) is that the Rhapsody software isn't very good at importing music files already on the computer to their software. This is true even when I go to the proper Directory or subdirectory to locate the files. I can import those files with I-tunes or Napster, or even Real's own Realplayer software. It would be nice to have all your music in one searchable library, wouldn't it?
I also prefer to be able to cancel subscriptions started online without having to call Customer Service. I had to call Rhapsody to cancel, but at least they were courteous and not TOO pushy to retain me. I was offered a free month, but I declined it. So far I'm using Napster with mostly good results, (more subscription music please.?.), and I'm considering taking Yahoo! Unlimited's buy a year, get a second year free plan. This is only offered to subscribers who charge the subscription to a MasterCard. (8-26-06 till ???)
Recommended:
No
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