Napster Mac Beta?

[MacRumors]

According to TheRegister.co.uk (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33864.html), Napster has a beta version of their software that allows Macs to play their music.

Kendig, however, assured us that Napster has some Mac software in beta that would allow songs to be played on Apple computers. Interesting.

Napster uses Windows Media 9 formatted (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/oct03/10-09NapsterMedia9PR.asp) music files with the associated Windows Digital Rights Management system. As a result, Microsoft's release of Windows Media Player 9 (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/11/20031107170626.shtml) may be tied into their player.

[greenstork]

Yeah OK, that's going to work. Smart thinking Napster, iTunes users are dying to jump ship.

[arn]

presumably, this helped Napster sign the Penn state deal.... since they are going to support the Mac platform too


arn

[C14ru5]

The irony in this is: No matter how much of a Mac Addict I am, if this service becomes available in Europe before iTMS, I'll probably start using it - providing it is (almost) as functional as iTMS.

[Mosco]

whats the point of having a mac client if you can't play these files on your ipod?

[rdowns]

Originally posted by greenstork
Yeah OK, that's going to work. Smart thinking Napster, iTunes users are dying to jump ship.

I hardly think that's their strategy. Maybe they'll have non OS X client.

Most Mac users (OS X and earlier) are not on iTunes.

[rdowns]

Originally posted by Mosco
whats the point of having a mac client if you can't play these files on your ipod?

Probably that most Mac owners don't own an iPod. Just a guess.

[zeron]

If the service allows you to sync up with sub $100 MP3 players, I might try using it. I love the iPod just can't afford it for the amount of music I have.

[Sailfish]

but we are not going to buy it. ; )

Another foolish business mistake, keep them coming.

Napster doesn't have a chance in hell of selling music to mac users, much less that piece of dog ***** player.

This sounds like a ACC vs WMA war with Napster as the puppet on Microsoft's hand.

We all know Microshaft makes the Napster Software, probably bankrolling their whole operation as well.

It takes BIG bucks to place Napster "gift certificates" (a loss leader on top of zero music profits) in all the brick and mortar shops across the nation.

I smell the stink of Redmond here.

[Exponent]

What's with all the making fun of Napster coming over to the Mac?!?! It's another option, and options are good - if it is useful, use it, if it isn't, DON'T!

Would all of you Mac zealots prefer developers find us so insignificant that they laugh at the concept of a Mac port?

Sometimes I really wonder about the Mac community

:rolleyes:

[hulugu]

Fell out my chair, laughing so hard...think I cracked a rib.....whew.

Seriously, Napster is a poor version of iTMS, but the competition could be good, make sure Apple keeps banging out more songs, working deals with Indies, adding new features.
Also, direct support for other Mp3 players would be nice. Apple will end up on top because it makes the best product, not because it locks us down to one solution like someone else we know. Engaging with other Mp3 players seem counter-intuitive because Apple bases so much of its business on Hardware, ala the iPod, but once people see the iPod in action compared to their dinky little flash player they'll want an iPod.
Competition is good, but Napster 2.0, hahahahahaha.

Ouch!

[rdowns]

Originally posted by Exponent
What's with all the making fun of Napster coming over to the Mac?!?! It's another option, and options are good - if it is useful, use it, if it isn't, DON'T!

Would all of you Mac zealots prefer developers find us so insignificant that they laugh at the concept of a Mac port?

Sometimes I really wonder about the Mac community

:rolleyes:

Agreed. As much as I love the Mac platform and this forum, there are a lot of zealots here that give Mac users the cult/zealot reputation that I see and hear a lot.

[hulugu]

I keep thinking we're at the top of Massada and the Romans are readying the seige engines and I don't know why. Oh wait, its because I'm a zealot.

My own point was that Napster is a very poor business model and a poor solution especially in comparison to iTunes/iTMS. It's great that Napster wants to dial in to the Mac community and while I appreciate the thought, I'd much rather good programs get ported over. I think competition is good, but Napster 2.0 is just a waste of time IMHO. If that attitude makes me a zealot then hand me my Torah.
But, I'd really prefer the whole zealot term for the Mac community would go away, I agree that some people do make the stereotype, but this is also a term used the denigrate and thereby ignore the wants and needs of Mac users. We've just had a drink of the kool-aid (or we're cultists just aching to die of Jim Jones) or we've entered Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field (anything Jobs says is suspect and you're insane for agreeing with him). If I happen to say Napster sucks, that doesn't make me a Zealot, it makes me judgemental. If I think Jobs is right about iTunes not needing WMA support right now, it just might be possible that he's right. He has been right a few times, I don't know if anyone noticed.
He's also been wrong before, and some Apple acolytes are raving maniacs who would sacrifice human hearts if Jobs asked them to.
But, I'd at least ask if there wasn't just a way to head down the back of the mountain while the Roman were still building their cataphracts.

And I'm not sorry for all the mixed metaphors.

[ryaxnb]

Why so many negatives? I think having more Mac software is a good thing(TM.) And it means if Pcers switch to Mac they can still use their Napster 2 music.

[whooleytoo]

On a similar note,<a href="http://theregister.com/content/6/33850.html"> this article</a> discusses an alternative to DRM media, compulsory licenses (much like the Penn State deal).

The Register bizarrely puts a lot of faith in this notion, that everyone pays a fee, either from their income tax, or when they buy music related goods etc., and get to listen to whatever, wherever they want.

My problems with this are:

How does the money get divided? Do all artists get an equal sum?

And more importantly, as a casual music listener, why should I subsidise others' music habits??

I'll take Apple's approach any day!!

Mike.

[sethypoo]

So the way I see it, Apple gives windows users iTunes with Quicktime, and napster gives you napster with wma!

How interesting.:rolleyes:

[billyboy]

Apple will eventually lose their massive market share using AAC only, ie others will come to market with their WMA preoccupation, ie try and compete thinking the codec somehow makes up for glitchy shopping experience. The opposition will become part of the "kill iTunes brigade" which may even sell product, but not on a repeat basis!

But as th einnovators par excellence, and being first, Apple then have the killer option that will make it possible to win over people who are thinking "iPod nice but bit limiting if I cant play Napster or Walmart or any of the other WMA type music downloads on the market. ". Apple can just kill the opposition totally by making iPods WMA compatible too - Punters will go around the competition, try them out and find the most user friendly service - iTMS.

As long as Apple respond to the competition and do keep iTMS one step ahead, the WMA option on the iPod will be irrelevant because AAC on iPods and iTMS will have won the minds of Windows users who like choice so they can find the best deal.

[devotchka]

As an original user of Napster - way before the media hype and attention - I will never use this version of Napster at all.

Clever as Roxio is for using this once pioneering and glaring symbol of filesharing, I am hardpressed to let them cash in on whatever mindshare they feel Napster had over me.

Many feel the same as I do and look to iTunes for legal music downloads - even though they are PC users.
(And many of these people are musicians themselves.)

I have and will continue to use the iTunes music service as a way to get my legal digital music downloads! And I will continue to tell my friends and family to use iTunes.

[johnnyjibbs]

I agree with some of the others. However good Napster is or whatever your opinion is on it, porting to the Mac can only be a good thing. Our platform must not be isolated or forgotten. We need choice...

Yes, iTunes is really good and I don't need anything else but choice isn't a bad thing. People here moan about Microsoft having a monopoly, but how come it's ok for Apple to have a monopoly on the Mac? (The fact it's their own platform is irrelevant.)

[Fitzcaraldo]

Originally posted by johnnyjibbs
porting to the Mac can only be a good thing. Our platform must not be isolated or forgotten. We need choice...


Choice is fine, But to say that supporting Propriety Standard improves choice?

If Napster, M$ etc. Chose "Open standard" Formats then fine we would have a choice?

I have no interest what so ever in supporting closed standards, I only wish that this logical desire were shared and understood by more.

Even my Government seems to have failed to see such logic and through the use of M$ formats, Java, and other Non Open standards, excludes Mac, Linux, Netscape, Safari, Mozilla users from viewing Content paid for in part by me.

[Sabenth]

how about having services that arnt just based in the USA .... How about having services that just do what there suppose to do which is provide Music / iTunes dose this really well no real gimicks or traps wma format maybe good for windows aac is good for Apple ITS UPTO YOU HOW WERE AND WHEN YOU BUY AND USE YOUR MUSIC...


you now have a choice....

You decide ....



this last bit is me just thinking out aloud so pay no attention the under lined crapOn a secondry note i used Napster once or twice and the concept was fantastic shame now its owned by the corps sick and tired of comanys now gathering up on us all demanding digital rights media if your smart you know what to do ?!!!

[MacAficionado]

Originally posted by Exponent
What's with all the making fun of Napster coming over to the Mac?!?! It's another option, and options are good - if it is useful, use it, if it isn't, DON'T!

Would all of you Mac zealots prefer developers find us so insignificant that they laugh at the concept of a Mac port?

Sometimes I really wonder about the Mac community

:rolleyes:

I know, it is like if you go to WalMart, then you are not to go to K-Mart for anything.

I wonder about Macheads sometimes too, and I am one.

[Macco]

Originally posted by hulugu

He's also been wrong before, and some Apple acolytes are raving maniacs who would sacrifice human hearts if Jobs asked them to.


Only if there's a free G5 in the bargain... :D

[ITR 81]

Well it's app that 90% of Mac users don't want. I still like buying music and rather not do rentals.

How about folks stop complaining about services overseas. Apple is working on this for next yr. If you want to buy now just get a US Credit Card.

[pbreit]

You all should probably try Napster before commenting on its quality. It's acctually quite well-done and in some respects better than iTunes. The DRM is similar to iTunes. I think Apple would continue to compete effectively against Napster, especially with the Pepsi deal and if the McDonalds thing comes through. Having a decent competitor on the Mac like Napster will keep iTunes on its toes.

[j33pd0g]

I may be out of the loop here, but in what respects is it better than iTunes?

[arn]

Originally posted by ITR 81
Well it's app that 90% of Mac users don't want. I still like buying music and rather not do rentals.


Napster's model is the same as iTunes. you can buy music.

They just happen to have the subscription option.

arn

[ITR 81]

Thanks I didn't know that.

Most folks I've talk to have told me the service is buggy so alot folks don't like it when they try it.

I actually today just got 2 more PC guys to buy iPod even though they were refurbished models..they got sold on it. I asked them about Napster and they said everyone says to get iTunes at college beause it's better. So thus far I've gotten almost 15 folks to buy an iPod this yr and 10 folks to buy a Mac. Alot folks are really turned off right now how MS is putting out bounties for virus makers and not patching it's OS and apps. Big thing going around alot PC users is Mac users have no viruses and Apple fixes issues fairly quick which MS doesn't.
Sorry I got off topic again...

Napster good if it's good app. But if it has all the bugs PC users are complaining about then I don't seeing it becoming anything great with Mac users since we have iTunes.

[Chealion]

If it comes to Canada, I'd give it a whirl to see how well it is, but from my experience with browsing the iTMS (but unable to buy :mad:) from the frozen north has been quite the pleasure. Until that time comes, I'm using my government given loophole to download songs for free.

[rotorblade]

Does anyone know if iTMS gift certificates work for users outside the U.S. ?

[Sailfish]

This is a copy of a post on Slashdot


"Did you even live through the dot-com bubble? Do you remember when sites like Yahoo!, Excite!, and the other titans of ad-based revenues (or lack thereov) were huge for a while and had hundreds of other companies trying to do the exact same thing fully well knowing that revenues would be slim to none? And after a few years the only services left were the ones that made a real name for themselves, brokered real, money-making partnerships, or that sold their soul to the devil?"

"That's exactly what I see going on here: We've got iTunes, MusicMatch, Napster, Wal-Mart, MTV, and the others on the horizon that are all going to enter into a market that their accountants probably would advise against but they still do it to try to get a foothold in a new and emerging market. Expect many of them to die off unless they get a viable business model to back up their technical requirements. Apple's got the iPod, Napster has their $9.99 subscription service, and the others have...."

"It'll be interesting to see the Internet music bubble burst in a year or two. In the meantime I'll keep buying music from iTunes."

That sums up my reasoning right there.

[earlopogous]

This can only be good for us, and bad for napster. It will one more reason that will not be in peoples minds to not buy a mac. The more apps that the mac has, the better, especially big ones like this.

On the other hand, this seems to be a pretty stupid move by napster. They are going to loose money developing it, and noone's going to buy. iTunes is sooo much better than napster, its unbelievable.

We have nothing to loose and everything to gain, keep these kind of ports comming!

[Wash!!]

Originally posted by zeron
If the service allows you to sync up with sub $100 MP3 players, I might try using it. I love the iPod just can't afford it for the amount of music I have.

you can pick a 5gig or a 2gen ipod for about $150 on ebay.

[Raidiant]

I think this thread is just a good model of why nobody port stuff to OS X.

[Sayhey]

I have to cast my vote with those who say this is a good thing. The more folks who write programs for the mac the better. Even when the use WMA format. I'm all for the mac world growing and these kind of choices are part of that. Not that I'm going to use napster anytime soon.

Here is an example of why this is good. Suppose I'm living in Canada and trying to make a decision on what computer to buy. Now suppose that a critical part of that decision is access to on line music and a player that can work with my computer. Would you want me to be forced to buy a wintel machine in order to get what I want? I don't know if napster is availible yet in Canada, but the point still stands. Don't put roadblocks in front of people trying to buy a mac!

[Dippo]

Originally posted by Raidiant
I think this thread is just a good model of why nobody port stuff to OS X.

I just don't quite understand what you mean? :)

[arn]

Originally posted by Java
That would be nice if you didn't have to pay extra to transfer your music to another computer. So, PC users who want to transfer their music are out of luck unless they want to fork over more money. See how Napster really works?

This is not true. Lets get this straight - for songs you buy - it works *just like iTunes*.

arn

[arn]

Originally posted by Fitzcaraldo
Choice is fine, But to say that supporting Propriety Standard improves choice?
......
I have no interest what so ever in supporting closed standards, I only wish that this logical desire were shared and understood by more.


Many things Apple produces are "closed".

arn

[arn]

Originally posted by hulugu
But, I'd really prefer the whole zealot term for the Mac community would go away

Then people need to stop posting about things they do not understand. Have you used Napster 2.0?

It's clear from many posts here complaining about "not wanting to rent music" - people don't understand how Napster works.

Napster rights = iTunes rights.

PLUS, Napster gives you the opportunity to subscribe on a monthly basis if you choose to do so.

arn

[MorganX]

Originally posted by arn
Napster's model is the same as iTunes. you can buy music.

They just happen to have the subscription option.

arn

And apparently they will allow you to download your purchased music more than once which is nice. I don't see that you can re-download iTMS purchases and I need to. A few songs I just purchased twice (lost a backup CD waiting for iTMSfW.)

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by rdowns
Probably that most Mac owners don't own an iPod. Just a guess.

Well yeah most don't, but some do, don't they...

I mean even if they don't... why screw yourself... the iPod is the #1 MP3 player...

Exponent -- Napster sucks because they stole the name of a good product and made it from a decent way of getting new music genres into a frikken downloading service.

Anyone who wants REAL Napster look over here (http://www.mac-p2p.com/napster-opennap/)

beta... arg, sad stuff, they would have so many problems, okay Napster, you would have to get the files to work, the DRM to work, have it compatible with Quicktime, IF NOT iTunes!

arn -- The difference is when you have a subscription plan and then cancel... where do your songs go?
Listen an unlimited number of times as long as your subscription is active.

Up in smoke? You betcha! After that, what happens?

As for Sabenth, Chealion, and the countless others who want music services in their countries it would be great... but its not Apple, Or Napster you should get mad at, get angry at the record labels, heck get so mad to call them...

Call them and tell them to stop delaying survice out of the country.

Both services seems ok deals... I just want to know what happens when you cancel, are they still on your hard drive?

Can you listen to them?

:confused:

[chapstickaddict]

I'd just like to point out that, in Friday's Daily Collegian (PSU's newspaper), Napster President Mike Bebel was quoted as saying that testing has been done using virtual PC on a Mac but its success has been "hit and miss."

If they were working on porting Napster to Mac why the hell wouldn't they have just said that they were (even if it was -way- down the pipeline) instead of saying that Mac users basically can't use the service no matter what lengths they go to?

[hulugu]

Originally posted by arn
Then people need to stop posting about things they do not understand. Have you used Napster 2.0?

It's clear from many posts here complaining about "not wanting to rent music" - people don't understand how Napster works.

Napster rights = iTunes rights.

PLUS, Napster gives you the opportunity to subscribe on a monthly basis if you choose to do so.

arn

Yes I have actually, I always fiddle before I complain, like I said I'm judgemental, not a zealot. Napster is buggy, unintuitive, the differences between subscriptions aren't clear, some songs can be bought, some can only be streamed, some cost more than others, partial albums, etc. It has all the problems of iTunes, ie partial albums, and none of the benefits. And, it uses the WMA codec which sucks bar none. We did a comparison at work one day, playing iTunes AAC and then a WMA and we could hear the difference, the WMA has all sorts of strange artifacts in the sound that shouldn't be there. So, yeah Napster 2.0 sucks. So does BuyMusic.com. iTunes is great, easy to use, has a burgeoning catalog and uses a nice codec. Would I like more from iTunes? Hell yeah, but I'm not going to get locked into the crapitude of WMA just so I can use a coopted version of Napster.
I reiterate that its great Napster wants to port to OSX, but I won't download it to my TiBook, and I won't use the Windows version either.
But that's because the program is crap compared to another program, not because iTunes happens to be Apple's. I hope this helps Apple because it's my platform of choice and whatever legitimacy it can gain is ultimately good for me (more developers, better support on the whole, etc.)
If I was a full-time Windows user and I said Napster sucked you wouldn't call me a Zealot then would you?

[Sabenth]

Sorry for blowing off steam i have let this one get to me ... I see it like this we end up with several services and that you have a choice its as easy as that .. what works for you use it.. what dosnt work dont use .


That might be the best opton

[Yoc]

Sorry, but there is a mistake on this news : Windows Media Player 9 is here, you're right, but it doesn't implement the 7.0 version of Microsoft DRM. The version used is the 1.3, as Windows Media Player 8 did. Nothing has changed on this side.
So, a Mac version of Napster would only be possible if Microsoft update DRM on the Mac.

[David R]

Personally, I welcome Napster 2.0 to the Mac.

Choice is always a good thing. It'll create competition in this market.

Personally I'd be excited to see the streaming service come to the Mac. I use Rhapsody at work on my XP box. I do not want to buy songs, but for $10/month I have access to hundreds of thousands of songs and full albums to listen to while I work. It's awesome. I wish I had the same access at home. I've often wished I could use my subscription at home.

[bcsimac]

As much as Steve says 'We make and do the whole widget" is as much as Mac users say Apple is the only one who can do it right. We are sometimes as bad as Steve is.

Originally posted by Exponent
What's with all the making fun of Napster coming over to the Mac?!?! It's another option, and options are good - if it is useful, use it, if it isn't, DON'T!

Would all of you Mac zealots prefer developers find us so insignificant that they laugh at the concept of a Mac port?

Sometimes I really wonder about the Mac community

:rolleyes: