Mac Users Complain: No Napster, Bad Journalism.

What’s in a name? Napster was once the king of illegal music downloads. Now they want to unseat iTunes Music Store and the iPod by calling users and customers “stupid.” What do Mac and iPod users think of such tactics?

Chris Gorog, CEO of Napster, says, “It’s stupid to buy an iPod.” How did Mac and iPod users respond?

Mac user and reader “poster” expressed it this way:

“Desperate men often act foolishly. I think the Napster CEO is a prime example. But isn’t it supremely ironic that Napster of all brands, is trying to make money renting music, when the old Napster allowed you to download music for free and keep it forever? Sheesh. Does this guy not have a single ganglion in his skull?”

That was one of the nicer comments. Here’s another from Mac user “cirron:”

“I have over a thousand CDs, now on my iPod. I can’t imagine renting, by the month, any music. What happens when I stop renting---ALL MY TUNES DISAPPEAR!!!  DUH! “

You’re not the only one. Reader “samkass” took a more philosophical view of the Napster-iTunes debate:

“I just thought it was funny that your article ran with an ad that ranted against buying iPods for teenagers.”

“As for Napster, it’s roughly the equivalent of an internet-based XM or Sirius where the songs “hang around” longer.  As those services are finding out, unless they can land exclusive content, most people won’t bother.”

“If they’re based on a broadcaster-style royalty (as opposed to a sale-based royalty,) it’s possible Napster’s cost basis will be lower and they could actually stay in business or turn a small profit.  But we’ll see if that model flies in the long term, especially when the DRM is cracked and/or easily circumvented.”

Hmmm. Is it possible to crack the DRM that Napster To Go uses? Apparently, it’s much easier than you think. Since there’s a free trial about all you need is a couple of friends and access to a PC connected to the net.

Start your downloads and Click Here for the step-by-step.

Tera devoted some bits to a ridiculous article by Tonny Briggs of the Daytona Beach News Journal regarding the Mac mini. From the article it was obvious that Tony didn’t actually try a Mac mini and couldn’t have spent more than 17 or 18 minutes on the article bashing Apple’s diminutive Mac.

What did other Mac users have to say about Tony’s article and Tera’s response? One reader posted this series of Comments. By the numbers…

“First of all, everyone who lives around Daytona knows that the newspaper is nothing but fish wrapper.”

“Second, his motives were transparent and you played right into his hands.”

“Third, I’m sure you know that virtually NO newspapers are right-wing, so that comment didn’t anger him. You missed the mark.”

“Fourth, I’ve lived in Florida for a long time and even in the conservative parts (of which Daytona Beach is NOT one), the journalists are as far left as they come.”

“Fifth, braying your politics only brings out the more knowledgable (and usually rightist) political hounds.”

“And as for media/government collusion, you might want to see Matt Drudge. He’s exposed hundreds of links between the mainstream news and the American left. So don’t even start with discussions about “softballs” when the overwhelming majority of the press spends its days throwing softballs and excusing all manners of vile, treasonous, and evil behavior.”

And I thought we were talking about Macs.

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