NAPSTER ALTERNATIVES:
NOT SO EASY, NOT SO GOOD

With Napster's future uncertain, the crack (on crack?) hitsdailydouble.com staff test-drove other music-swapping services to see just how different the post-Napster landscape will be. Since this was all done in the name of "research," we hope the RIAA will understand.

Looking to see how they compared, we attempted to download Nelly's "Country Grammar" using other file-sharing sites and software—Gnutella, Opennap, Scour, Imesh, CuteMX and Napster itself. All tests were done here at the hitsdailydouble.com HQ using relatively fast computers on both DSL and T1 connections. Times are approximate, but relative to each other. Your results may vary. Check with your doctor if you experience discomfort or bleeding.

First up was Scour.com. The site was down when we tried to access it, saying "We've maxed out our bandwidth!" but it redirected us to its Scour Exchange (SX) site, where we were able to download its controversial software. It took about three minutes to download and install the Beta version. Searching on SX is similar to Napster. In no time we found a copy of "Country Grammar" and downloaded it in less than two minutes. No wonder the RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America are suing Scour for the same reason they went after Napster.

Next we tried Imesh. When we searched for Nelly, we got an error message saying that the server was too busy. Guess we're not the only ones trying to find an alternate service.

Third was Opennap. Either we're even dumber than we get credit for or it's really hard to use. First you download a Zipped file, then you install it and make changes and stuff. That's where we had problems. And if we can't use it, what's the, ur, average person going to do? Same thing with the similar Freenet.

CuteMX took down its Napster-like service earlier today.

We'll confess that one of the brighter staffers here at hitsdailydouble.com already had Gnutella installed on his computer, but he couldn't get it to work today. Yesterday, 1.2 million people went to Gnutella's main downloading page at Wego.com, so that's most likely just a temporary problem.

Using Napster, "Country Grammar" took about five minutes to locate and download—slower than normal because of the frenzy to download before the then-looming midnight deadline.

In the interim, we'll be hoping for a break in the downloading traffic, trying to figure out how to load the "Country Grammar" MP3 into a Rio player and continuing to wade through the media frenzy. As the Guy in the Goggles says, "Have a great dang weekend."