macnn/electronista
10/16/2007, 10:10am, EDT
Tuesday, October 16thNapster 4 brings web player to Mac, Linux
Online music store Napster on Tuesday took the wraps off of version 4.0 of its service, a major overhaul which the company says will remove some of the need for Windows as well as improve the actual service itself. The update makes the service one of the first to offer an almost completely web-driven version of its library. While users will still have the choice of downloading Napster songs and using them in Windows Media Player or a PlaysForSure-capable handheld, the web will let users with subscriptions play any song from a web jukebox application. Users will have the choice of listening to full albums or songs and will see their saved library transfered to the web portal, giving them access to their playlists and already selected music away from a home computer. The browser version also changes the playback format to a more universal Flash audio format; Mac and Linux users can listen to (but not download) tracks from Napster's store for the first time just by having the standard Flash plugin installed, the company touts.
The change also brings automix, a new music discovery stream similar to Pandora that provides the option of listening to hours' worth of music related to a desired song. Billboard charts, pre-made playlists, and themed radio stations are also available more easily in the fourth version of Napster, according to the company. Fees for accessing the service changed and require Napster's unlimited subscription service to unlock both the web player and any continuous audio stream features. Tracks are still 99 cents each to download for Windows users.
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I was never able to try Napster properly before. Not long ago they advertised free unlimited songs but in fact you could only play a song 3 times and that's fine but then they made the sample rate about 1/4 the real thing so it was as bad as an Amazon preview. Now who would bother with that? That's all I ever knew of Napster before this so I assumed that even when I paid I got poor quality audio. They didn't say otherwise anywhere! They eventually went to not supporting Macs at all even through the web browser. Nice price and maybe a good collection, I don't know, I can't see or try anything in their catalog now without giving my credit card. I never trust this b/c I assume if they have to do this then they've made it difficult to cancel.
By contrast, Rhapsody ($12.99/mo) allowed me to try as if I were a paying user for the first 25 songs. I can't remember if they allowed me to do this anonymously or not (probably not) but I sure didn't have to give my credit card until I could hear how it sounded and try how well it worked! They also still allow you to browse their catalog anonymously.
Neither allow you to use on an iPod. Rhapsody only allows you to use it on their Sansa Player for $14.99/month but only if you have a PC. No Macs for this nor their own iTunes-like standalone player.
Nonsense! Rhapsody allows me to play all songs, keep playlists, even my own Library sorted by artist and album. Napster is actually one of the last. I don't want to sound like a Rhapsody shill, because they aren't perfect, but Napsters is pathetic. At this rate let me know when they have version 14 out if they survive that long.