Napster Software Not Quite What it was in 1999, but Doesn't Fail to Impress

Napster, the tool that launched the peer-to-peer file sharing movement among myself and my middle school posse, is on the straight and narrow.

The program that was at the center of such a firestorm in the late 1990s has re-emerged, this time with a business plan. Napster, which once allowed users to swap MP3s using direct peer-to-peer connections, is now a viable competitor in the subscription-based DRM music business for non-Apple computers and players.

That is the first thing you should know - Napster's subscription-based music service does not work with any iPod model or the Mac OS X operating system. Napster utilizes Microsoft's Plays4Sure DRM technology, which works with a wide variety of MP3 players from companies like Creative Labs and Windows PCs.

The subscription model works like this - you can download as many tracks as you wish from Napster's database to play on your computer for $9.99 a month. For $5 more a month, you can upgrade your subscription to "Napster To Go" service. With either service, if you stop paying the subscription you lose access to all the music you've downloaded.

The pay scheme sounds cut-and-dry, but unfortunately it is a more complicated tiered pricing system.

Certain songs available on Napster can't be downloaded from the service as part of the subscription - I haven't encountered many, but there are some. For these tracks, you have to either purchase them individually for about a buck or you have to buy the entire album that the track originated from.

It makes sense, but it is a little bothersome - I thought I'd be able to get any track from the Napster library as part of my "To Go" subscription, but alas, that isn't the case.

To burn CDs, you have to purchase the track outright iTunes style. These tracks that you purchase will continue to be playable even if you drop your subscription service.

While the tiered pricing is bothersome, my single biggest issue with Napster is the music selection. Sure, iTunes doesn't have the Beetles, but they have just about everything else I've ever searched for. With Napster, that wasn't the case.

For example, after downloading the software, I found myself having an undeniable craving for a "Cheeseburger in Paradise." Unfortunately, Jimmy Buffet wasn't available on Napster.

"The Dance?" You won't find it - Garth Brooks isn't yet available, either.

I see the virtues of a subscription music service - if you find yourself downloading tons of new music every month, it'll pay for itself several times over. But there again, on down the road if you decide to end the service or heaven forbid Napster goes belly-up, you lose your music collection.

The jury is still out on whether Napster's reinvention will be successful. The software is very solid and feels very comfortable - it isn't trying to rip off iTunes as it has its own style of doing things. I think it works.

All in all, if you want a subscription-based music service and can find the music you want here, I recommend Napster. It is no iTunes killer - but the main reason it isn't is because it doesn't work with iPod.

Napster is available for download from napster.com and offers a seven-day free trial.