June 24, 2009 11:24 AM PDT
Prizefight: Napster versus Rhapsody
Napster has come a long way since its inception as a file-sharing service 10 years ago, and there is little doubt that without it, Rhapsody wouldn't exist--at least not in the form we enjoy today. Now, thanks largely to the fact that most competing services gave up on the game and passed their subscribers over to the two remaining companies, these music subscription companies are rulers of the roost when it comes to paid streaming. But who will come out on top when we pit Napster and Rhapsody against each other in five bone-shaking rounds? Read on for the answer.
For more than five years, Jasmine France has covered a variety of tech products for CNET--from scanners to keyboards to GPS devices--but she's happiest where she is now: sitting atop a pile of MP3 players, "testing" every music service known to man, and jamming a variety of earbuds in every shape and color into her absurdly small ears. E-mail Jasmine.
Donald Bell is an electronic musician, a veteran record store employee, and a fearless hardware hacker. He's also CNET's Senior Editor for MP3 and digital audio.
Jasmine France is CNET's resident digital audio doyenne, writing and editing product reviews, crave blogs, and feature stories on all things MP3. And if you need advice on headphones, she's your girl.
Second, not enough people care about the music you talk about. If they did, the market would adjust itself, and that particular music would be implemented. I saw this happen with the 'Comedy' genre, and both services now have a decent Comedy line-up. That's just economics 101, deal with it. Can't keep everyone happy.
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by xoltaros
July 2, 2009 12:19 PM PDT
- I agree that the price is what "Rounds-Out" the whole bowl of worms. However, regarding Rhapsody's' software inconsistencies: The new Rhapsody.com Flash based player streams MP3 at 64 K BPS. While the old Rhapsody.com active x player streamed AAC at 128 K BPS. The 64 K BPS sounds terrible [ if you have wondered why your Rhapsody sound quality has dramatically dropped; well-here is possibly, and probably, the answer you seek to get your old Rhapsody sound back!! . ] Go to: http://real.lithium.com/real/board/message?board.id=Rhapsody_MP3_Store&thread.id=399. Check out that web page. A Rhapsody Technician explains the issue and then gives a solution which may help [probably will-my emphasis] It also gives a click-on to download the Old Rhapsody 128 K BPS engine. Mine sound great again now that I have downloaded the old engine!! Try it in my opinion. You can always go back to the newer engine if you disagree with me that it sounds bwtter. GOOD LUCK!!
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