March 2000
|
newsarchive
|
|
March 2000
|
| back to March 2000 index |
|
|
MP3 trading software given reprieve at Indiana U 23 March 2000 Napster, software that allows individuals to locate and trade MP3 music files on each others’ computers over the Internet, has been banned by several US universities because its use tends to bog down networks. Viewing it as a copyright infringement threat, in December of last year the Recording Industry Association of America sued the tiny San Mateo, California startup that provides the software. Now Indiana University—who previously disabled Napster use—will test a system that prioritizes Napster requests according to vicinity. The system would take a student’s Napster request for Is She Weird by The Pixies, for example, and search first within the university. Only if the song is not found would the search go outside the local area. The test starts Saturday at 6 am. In related news, Napster VP of marketing Liz Brooks announced last week that a forthcoming version of the software will support trading of copy-protected Windows Media Technology 4 music files. A widely available utility, not connected with Napster, allows users to defeat the copy protection. Napster works only on Windows 95, 98, and NT. No Unix/Linux or Mac OS versions are planned. MP3 is the common name for MPEG I, layer 3—a less than CD-quality lossy music compression format. Its primary attraction is that it allows creation of good sounding music files that can be downloaded at least five times faster than CD quality files. | Billboard story | | Live Daily story | | Napster | | top of page | |
| back to March 2000 index |
|
|
Go to Rockbites Home
|
|
|
Copyright © 1998 - 2000 M. Jason. All Rights Reserved.
Rockbites is not for profit and supports human rights. “Rockbites,” “Alternative Daily,” and “global kiosk” are service marks of Rockbites. All names are the property of their respective owners. Send your feedback or questions to feedback@rockbites.com Send your press releases to press@rockbites.com |
|