| View this article at: http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/10/16/napster.40/ |
Tuesday, Oct 16, 2007 10:10am
Napster 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. |
