+StevoFC MVC Posted October 2, 2003 MVC Share Posted October 2, 2003 (edited) The new legal music downloads service was scheduled to go live before Christmas, but with the test launch set for next week, it should be fully operational in November. Napster is expected to have some 500,000 songs available, the largest collection to date, dwarfing the 200,000 that Apple's iTunes Music Store kicked off with. There is as yet no indication whether the service will be available outside the US. Neither, at the time of writing, are there any details of what each song download will cost or what restrictions will be placed on it. Roxio acquired Napster's assets - and high-profile brand - last November, for $5mn after the file sharing sevice was shut down after a protracted legal battle with the record industry. Napster 2.0 will have to compete with a swathe of similar services that have been launched this year, including iTunes, Music Match and Real Networks' Rhapsody, none of which have yet surmounted the licensing issues that would allow them to operate outside the US. In that respect, Roxio appears to have taken a leaf out of Apple's book. Acknowledging that tight integration with the Mac operating system and built-in compatibility with the iPod are major factors in iTMS's success, a special version of Napster 2.0 will be available through Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition and Samsung is to produce a new portable music player designed specifically to integrate with the service. BBC News Article Edited October 2, 2003 by StevoFC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal2002 Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 The new media center support for this looks great. it looks as if you will be able to download right from the remote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+StevoFC MVC Posted October 3, 2003 Author MVC Share Posted October 3, 2003 yeah it looks like it will be sweet. i doubt i'll ever use it though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebsh Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 wow... someone from Pittsburgh, so close to here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kryptonik Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 PC wants to be just like Mac... Anything new? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted October 3, 2003 Veteran Share Posted October 3, 2003 PC wants to be just like Mac...Anything new? ;) And you come to this conclusion how? There were pay services on the PC before iTunes came along. They just didn't last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kryptonik Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 PC wants to be just like Mac...Anything new? ;) And you come to this conclusion how? There were pay services on the PC before iTunes came along. They just didn't last. But this one actualy uses the capabilities of Windows. Like having it built into the Media Player thing. ;) Oh well, lets not fight over this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts