LinuxWorld: The Napster gap

[ Thanks to S.Ramaswamy for this link. ]

"How record companies could embrace Napster and maintain profits."

"The open source movement has inspired countless debates about copyright issues, even in areas having nothing to do with source code. One such issue came to mind recently when I discovered a utility called Napster. Napster searches for Internet databases of recorded music, connects to the one that it determines to be the best, and lets you to browse the collected files. If you find any songs you like, you can download them and play them any time."

"In theory, Napster should be an excellent way to provide music on demand over the Internet. It's a whole different thing in practice. Most of the music you'll find on the Internet through Napster is pirated."

"I'm not of the opinion that copyrights and patents are bad. But the whole system seems to be going awry with the growth of the Internet..."

Complete story.

Related Stories:

• Wired: Open-Source 'Napster' Shut Down(Mar 16, 2000)
• ZDNet: New program mimics Napster(Mar 15, 2000)
• LinuxPower: The Great Napster Shootout(Mar 14, 2000)
• NY Times: Powerful Music Software Has Industry Worried(Mar 07, 2000)
• SF Gate: Napster's Success Hits Sour Note(Mar 05, 2000)