Word: napstering
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Friday, in a San Francisco courtroom, Napster wriggled out of the guillotine yet again - in exchange for getting its hands chopped...
...David Boies, who's getting more accustomed to legal surrender these days than he'd probably like, announced in Judge Marilyn Patel's courtroom Friday that Napster would this weekend install a "filter" designed to prevent users from downloading any of the 6,500 infringed-by-Napster-users songs that the Recording Industry of America has been kind enough to provide. Negotiations will continue next week, but the war would seem to be over...
...those users float away like partygoers when the beer runs out. The deadbeats and moochers, of course, will leave anyway, and there are plenty of alternatives (albeit not so user-friendly) out there. But a sizable portion of those 64 million really read Playboy for the articles - er, use Napster for the selection and convenience - and will stick around because deep down, they'll feel better if they kick in a few bucks for the privilege of access to the world's largest record store...
...already voted with its checkbook; the other four major labels may see this as the last best time to join in, now that Napster is at its peak of popularity and staring at the business end of a judge's gavel. Once those users scatter, they won't be back - but they won't be back in record stores either...
...Napster has its technological act together - and after changing the music business forever, how hard could charging for it be? - now's the time to raise the curtain...