“For a startup with an unfinished software product, a teenage
founder and an interim chief executive officer, Napster Inc. is
stirring up big waves on the Internet.”
“The San Mateo firm’s… program has become a huge underground
hit because it allows Internet users to find and share easily free
copies of songs from the hottest stars…”
“Hundreds of thousands of college students are using Napster,
searching from a virtual library of millions of MP3-formatted songs
stored on one another’s computer hard drives.”
“… the world’s biggest record companies… have hit Napster
with a lawsuit, accusing the 10- month-old firm of promoting music
piracy.”
“More than 100 universities have banned Napster because so many
students are using it to download MP3 songs that they are clogging
up college Internet connections.”
“Analyst Rob Enderle of Giga Information Group said it will
be difficult for the RIAA or the music industry to pull the plug on
Napster or similar technology now that it is out.”