Audio Video News

In the beginning, there was Napster, and it was good, albeit illegal. Over the years the file-sharing pioneer went legit and became a subscription service. Now Napster is looking to improve its game by untethering its 770,000 subscribers from its proprietary software. Soon Napsterites will be able to access a library of five million tracks from any net-connected computer without downloading the Napster application itself. Welcome to Napster 4.0.

Features include Napster automix, which generates a custom playlist based on the track currently playing; music discovery tools, including Billboard charts, genre pages, new releases, radio stations, staff picks, and other subscriber faves; preprogrammed playists; and access to exclusive content.

In another significant departure, Napster now supports Mac and Linux.

Via Napster to Go, the company has long offered the flexibility of bumping music to portable players. Supported players include Creative Labs, Samsung, and Toshiba models. For AT&T cellphone users, there are also supported phones like Samsung's Blackberry-like BlackJack.

Napster subscriptions start at $9.95/month, one year, unlimited. For those who sign up for a year at $14.95/month, Napster throws in a free 1GB flash memory player. The player is Napster-branded; previously Creative and iRiver players were offered as bait. Napster also offers a limited free service with content streamed at a low bit rate.