NAPSTER Memories

I could never bring myself to use it -- one, because I did think it was stealing; two, I was always scared that I would actually be downloading some virus instead.

 

You can still do it if you look around.

 

Never really used Napster. Got on board more during the Kazaa/Limewire years.

My then-girlfriend had a wired high-speed connection in her dorm in 1997. Her school was, surprisingly, way ahead of its time.

 

I never downloaded songs. I didn’t want Metallica knocking at my door.

 

Used it quite a bit back in those days. In fact, I spent a tremendous amount of time a few years ago putting all of my .mp3s onto Google Music (and then later YouTube music). Because everything needs to be perfect, I went through every single song (over 10,000) and updated the album cover and metadata (yeah, obsessive, but I figured if I do it once I won't have to do it again). Many of those Napster-era songs had incorrect song titles ("Spinning Wheel" by BS&T was listed as "Painted Ponies") and other things like that. Remembered Limewire, forgot about Kazaa. Think we should do a "Things you remember about '90s internet" thread, because I'm sure there is a bunch.

 

Did the same thing (albeit with a much smaller collection) with my mp3s years ago. It's what former agate guys do, I reckon.

 

Haha, karma is a bitch!

 

Purged 1,500 MP3s in a single swoop one day when I got panicky about getting nailed.

I've always regretted that.

 

Never did any of them. Copyright issues and virus concerns.

Have about 3,100 tracks on my laptop, and roughly 2,000 on my phone. The CDs are on shelves in a spare bedroom in case something goes wrong with one or both.

 

Is there a future for owning music?
CDs are already getting phased out. A lot of new computers don't even come with a CD drive.
Apple has either eliminated the iTunes store or it hasn't, it's hard to tell.
Apple has also discontinued the iPod, which was a popular storage device.
Streaming is obviously the way they want to steer people, which means not only don't you own a physical copy of an album anymore, you don't own a digital copy. Makes me wonder if, 5 or 10 years from now, the entire concept of buying an album or even a song will seem as archaic as making radio mix tapes.

 

iTunes Store is now Apple Music. You can still buy individual songs.

There was no reason for Apple to sell both iPhones and iPods when iPhone storage increased. I think the base iPhone model is now 64g. My iPod (think it was a 3) was 30g. I have 4,000 songs and I never came close to filling either.

 

I'll spend $300 or $400 for an iPod Touch, but would rather not spend $1,000 for a new iPhone and an extra $50 a month for a beefed-up data plan. Guessing I'm not the only one in that bracket.
I bought a new iPod Touch last year after they discontinued them, so I should be good for a few years. Guess I won't have a choice when it becomes obsolete or starts to break, though. I've been thinking of buying one more and just putting it somewhere safe until it's needed, but I'm worried it'll be obsolete when that happens in 2026 or 2027 and I will have just wasted a few hundred dollars.