Napster and Gnutella MP3

Napster

Napster is often credited for starting the whole phenomenon of people who choose to download music online. It was one of the first peer-to-peer based networks that allowed users to share their MP3 libraries with other users from around the globe. From this "music sharing" came the issues of piracy and illegal downloads.

Instead of having music files stored on a single server, the files were mutually shared among all users who are currently online. In this way, users are downloading and uploading segments of the same file at the same time. If you have already downloaded half of a music file, for example, you are effectively sharing that half with everyone else while you are receiving the other half.

Eventually, because Napster was facilitating the transfer of copyrighted material, the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA) filed a lawsuit in December 1999 against Napster. Because of the increased publicity, Napster actually got more popular as a result, but in March 2001, Napster was ordered to prevent the trading of copyrighted music on its network. The entire Napster network was shut down in July 2001.

Napster Pay Service

Napster, its brand, and its logos were eventually purchased by Roxio. They took on the Napster name to market their own music service, but instead of setting up a peer-to-peer network where people actively share their MP3 music, Napster became a pay service for downloading legal music. This is the Napster that exists today and business has been reasonably successful, despite the rise of rival legal music download services like iTunes.

The primary Napster service is subscription-based, offering unlimited listening and downloading for $9.95 a month. This is for music that can be played on a computer. If you wish to transfer these songs to PlaysForSure-compatible portable MP3 players, you'd have to opt for Napster To Go, which costs $14.95.

Alternatively, there is a pay-per-track Napster service known as Napster Light. There is also Free.Napster.com, which is an ad-based online music streaming service, as well as Napster Mobile, which allows users to browse through and play music through a compatible cell phone.

Gnutella Music Sharing

Unlike the original Napster that had a centralized network to which all users connected, Gnutella developed a de-centralized system wherein individual users would connect through a series of "nodes", which were really just other users. Gnutella is the third most popular file sharing network on the Internet. In the beginning, all users were treated equally and in order for someone to find a particular song, they'd have to hop through a series of "nodes" to get the MP3 file that they want. Because users would connect and disconnect continually, this made for a very unstable system.

Eventually, the developers behind Gnutella created a revamped system wherein there were ultrapeers (in more contemporary language, these users could be thought of as the equivalent to "seeders") and then there were leaves (as in multiples of the word leaf). New users and sporadic users would be leaves, whereas senior members who stayed online would be ultrapeers.

Because the Gnutella network is decentralized, it is very difficult to shut down completely without restricting access to every node in the network. It is a fundamental impossibility.

Which is Better: Napster and Gnutella MP3

Just like most other things, there really is no black-or-white response to the question as to whether the Napster or Gnutella MP3 sharing system is superior. With the current Napster, you can be assured that all your downloads are perfectly legal and virus-free. However, there isn't nearly as much in terms of free content available on Napster. By contrast, Gnutella is less regulated and can fall into a legal gray area. There is also an increased risk for computer viruses, worms, and malware.