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Major Napster Revision Includes Mac, Linux Streaming   printer  

A major revision of Napster has been released which features an easy-to-use interface and, for the first time, allows Mac and Linux users to stream Napster tunes.

On October 15th, 2007, Napster unveiled a major redesign of the service with the launch of Napster 4.0.

Current Vanderbilt Napster users can get the new version by going to www.napster.com and checking for the latest version. Or, continue using your current version with full functionality. Napster 4.0 is backwards compatible with previous versions.

New users will automatically receive the latest version of the Napster software when they register.

In addition to a fresh design, easy navigation and intuitive user interface, Napster 4.0 has lots of new features:

• Napster automix, an innovative automated music recommendation/discovery tool that finds and plays tracks like the one you’re listening to, based on community recommendations. With a single click, automix tees up hours of related music, streaming a customized playlist based on the Napster community’s musical preferences.

• Easy access to music discovery tools, including Billboard charts, genre pages, new releases, radio stations, staff picks, other subscriber’s music collections, and more.

• Pre-programmed playlists across a variety of genres and themes and the ability to easily create and view your own playlists.

Napster 4.0 now gives Mac and Linux users the ability to stream music from the industry’s leading subscription service, including unlimited, on-demand access to Napster’s massive catalogue of 5 million songs.  Any University subscriber can access the web-based service by going to www.napster.com on FireFox 1.5 or higher, or Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.

The Napster 4.0 client user interface mirrors the web-based service. PC-based subscribers can use the client to manage their music collection, rip and burn purchased tracks to CD, and use Napster to Go to transfer tracks to a compatible portable device.

For more information about music services at Vanderbilt, see Digital Life .