Napster on Dell laptops
p2pnet news view Music:- File sharing application Napster showed how the corporate music industry could be catapulted from the physical 1990s into the digital 21st-century.
But Big Music is all about control, total control; and about ownership
Napster the independent application was killed off and ultimately resurrected as a corporate distribution product.
But despite massive promotion by the labels, who tried to shoe-horn it into American teaching institutions with Penn State University as the first, Napster never even made it off first base and has been lurching from one financial crisis to another ever since.
Napster is, however, still Napster, with 100% of its value tied up in the name, and in the latest element of the grim seven-year ( so far) fight to force it into popular usage, Best Buy, its current owner, has forged a deal with Dell to have it ‘bundled’ with Dell laptops.
‘Bundled’ is, of course, a euphemism for trying to ram ‘product’ down peoples’ throats — whether they want it or not.
“Napster has signed a deal with Dell to bundle 12 months of access to its streaming music subscription service on Inspiron and Studio laptops,” says Music Week, going on:
“The package is worth $60 (£38) and includes 60 free downloads. The qualifying devices will be sold initially in the US through Best Buy, the parent company of Napster, but will be available through Dell’s website from next month.”
In May last year, Napster boss Chris Gorog (right) turned his sights onto iTunes, praying the user-funded iPod online loader would, “lure iPod users and turn around Napster`s sliding fortunes, said the Associated Press.
It`s great that we have finally gotten here, the story had Gorog saying. It is really the beginning of a level playing field, which I think is essential for Napster, but also for the health of the digital music business in general.
Riiiiight. 
Good luck with that, we said then.
Good luck with Dell, we say now.
Music Week – Napster to come bundled in Dell laptops, October 2, 2009
shoe-horn it – `The courtship is complete`, April 23, 2004
turned his sights onto iTunes – Napster looks to Apple for salvation, May 20, 2008
Associated Press Napster rolls out all-MP3 download store, May 19, 2008
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October 3rd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
yet another reason to not buy a Dell.
why don’t they concentrate on reason that people would want to buy a Dell – like high quality components that don’t break down in the first year (which they do), reliable service from help desk and service contracts when the pc breaks down (which it will), and no bundled junkware/spyware/adware?
my second pc was a Dell. my mistake. my first was a Compaq. my first mistake. my third is made by a local professional private pc technician.
NEVER BUY OFF THE SHELF is the lesson i learned.
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Craputers
http://www.cexx.org/craputer.htm
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Craputers
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/paradoxsm/97
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
There is a program called PC Decrapifier and they have both free home version and commercial version available.
I buy parts and build computers myself (no crap at all), and I can’t tell much about the program though.
But when I went to the official site of the program, I got this news in the Google news informer on the right:
Bloatware
Napster announces Dell partnership
Pocket-lint.com – 02 oct 2009
Certain laptops in the Studio and Inspiron ranges will be sold with a Napster icon on the desktop and a bit of bloatware called Dell Dock that’ll let you …
October 4th, 2009 at 2:22 am
Wow, when will Napster finally die? It was only good when it wasn’t infected by corporate motherfuckers.
I will keep downloading music from P2P sites until these corporate no-life assholes start selling music in lossless (FLAC) with no DRM and less than 1 buck each song! A little money is better none!
October 5th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
As a current napster To subscriber I may be in a mon0rity but yes, some people who love music do love the convience of a subscription model and i openly admit that. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, its an alternative music liffestyle.
October 5th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
mon0rity=minority (blame the cat on the lap while trying to type)