Commentary: Why Napster Isn't That Big of a Deal

Sure Napster did revolutionize the way users share files over the Internet, and give netizens and music lovers everywhere a vehicle to trade songs and the like. However, that certainly does not make the software the be all end all of file sharing. This summer, which is approaching quickly, will turn Napster from the free service it once was into a money making business model, and Napster users everywhere are freaking out about it.

Not too long ago Napster was a big deal. But then those guys over at Nullsoft, the ones that make that llama-whipping software Winamp, developed a new protocol they called Gnutella. This was, and still is, an unstoppable force. Because it is Peer-to-Peer rather than a central server system like Napster, no one thing can bring it down.

And techie geeks are victorious again! No one can stop techie geeks, because they always find a way to get what we want, get around any security, and find what we're looking for. We should be proud to be nerds.

Now, I'd like to say that the more technically inclined individuals, or the majority of people who visit BetaNews, certainly know where else to look for filesharing. Its no big secret that there are about a million other programs that do the same exact thing just as well, if not better. The problem here is our less technically inclined friends.

Thats right, we all have them. Those that ask you to come over and fix their computers because they are totally clueless as to why the Internet is not working even without the ethernet cable plugged in. Trust me, I've seen that before. These people need our help, and we should be more than willing to help them for the good of humanity - or just to have access to their music as well.

So, what I'm trying to say here is tell your friends to stop all the whining and moaning about Napster possibly being shut down or having to pay for it. I'm tired of reading about it in the newspapers and hearing computer newbies talk about it over their Starbucks coffee and Abercrombie outerwear.

Let's face it, we can be man (or woman) enough to admit that at least 95% of Napster use is to pirate and illegally trade music so you don't have to pay for it. We're all guilty of it, and we know it. I'm not being self righteous here, because we've all done it, but plain fact is its illegal. I agree that music companies could bring down prices of CDs and the like, and that maybe Napster hasn't hurt CD sales, but its still illegal. It's just like warezing software, only smaller files.