How come the Napster ruling won’t impact users on the other download sites, per this blurb from ABCNEWS.com:
“Thousands of users are also logging on to independent servers like MusicCity, OpenNap and PowerNap, which use the same server software as Napster but will be unaffected by Monday’s court decision,”
I would think that the ruling would cover anyone using the software Napster uses? Any guesses?
Napster is the one being sued, and any court ruling will affect only them. However, that ruling will be a precedent to sue other people.
Other sites that use the same type of software can be sued separately. If the court rules that Napster is an infringement, then that ruling can be used as a way to shut down the other sources. In other words, instead of having to debate the legitimacy of Napster-style file sharing, the lawyers can merely say Music city is breaking the law, under the terms of the Napster ruling.
Oh yeah.
Another proggy/system to try is gnutella (www.gnutella.com, IIRC). It turns your computer into a fileserver in a manner similar to Napster, but lets you share any types of files you want, and since there is no centralized server to connect to, it seems a lot more lawsuit-proof. Just FTR, however, the quality of the MP3s on Gnutella seem to be much poorer, for some reason (a lot more of them contain clicks and pops).
Or try my personal favorite, LimeWire, at http://www.limewire.com. It runs off the gnutella network, but it actually works!! The original gnutella software was a beta version. This is much much better.