Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Rise and Fall of Napster

Posted by michael on from the those-who-can't,-write-books dept.

Jedi Paramedic writes "Boston.com has an interesting story about the rise and fall of everyone's favorite file-swapping service. Also the subject of a new book by Joseph Menn, the story goes into great detail about the unfortunate-but-heroic Shawn Fanning and his reluctance to admit that his uncle, who in the end masterminded little more than the lining of his own pockets, had taken advantage of him. From getting screwed in the original 70/30 split with his uncle to his uncle's refusal to loosen his iron grip on the company even at the expense of its very being, the article (and the book) go a long way in chronicling the rise and fall of Napster, and crediting Shawn for not airing the family's dirty laundry. An interesting and well-written read."

11 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. Of course he credits Shawn... by telstar · · Score: 5, Funny
    "crediting Shawn for not airing the family's dirty laundry"
    • yeah .. 'cause if he had, there'd be no reason for anyone to buy Joseph's book.
  2. Um.... by Omicron32 · · Score: 1, Funny

    everyone's favorite file-swapping service

    It sure as hell wasn't my favourite...

  3. I'll skip the article, thanks, in favor of by RLiegh · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...watching the musical!
    Seriously, doesn't this seem a little like 'great expectations' or something (only problem being I'm not sure if GE got made into an musical or if I'm getting it confused with something else. :-/)

  4. Re:sure... by muzthe42nd · · Score: 2, Funny

    i never run a P2P client any more, not for moral reasons though, but because i am on the shittest dial up connection imaginable. I am connected at 4,800 (yes, 4 thousand 8 hundred) bits per second. Do you know how shit that is?

    yes, i am on a 56k modem, thank you BT.....

    --
    Pfft - Sorry, what?
  5. Magwitch Did It! by SHEENmaster · · Score: 2, Funny

    err, the uncle did it.

    In all seriousness, GE sucked. I'd write a longer review, but this about sums it up.

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
  6. When you get the book... by lseltzer · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...please scan it in, OCR it and "share" the contents with others on the net, because I don't think people should have to pay for it.

    1. Re:When you get the book... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      What a waste of time.. I pirate my books the old-fashioned way .. I borrow a copy from a friend or the library!

      Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly criminal, I go to the bookst^H^H^H^H^H^H local pirate's den and read the book without paying for it!

      Actually my local bookst^H^H^H^H^H theft haven has awfully comfortable chairs and a coffee shop. I think they actually WANT you to sit and read books without paying for them. I feel sorry for the CHUMPS that actually take their books to the checkout counter. I just "read and reshelve".. my favorite piracy trick of all!

      Posted anonymously because I have a family, and I want to see them again.

  7. Napster as the internet martyr by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seems though the RIAA succeeded in crushing it in doing so it has created a cultural icon that shall be remembered for years, even decades to come.

    Now, if we could just form a religion based upon the cat-like diety, perhaps we could defeat the DMCA as a form of freedom of Religion :)

  8. Re:Shawn Fanning was heroic? by Usquebaugh · · Score: 2, Funny

    So we can deduce Robin Hood, clue the name, had a better publicist than Napster?

  9. PDF Version? by yintercept · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sounds like an interesting read...Since I am morally opposed to paying book publishers...I was wondering if anyone knew where I could download a PDF copy of the book?

  10. Re:My Audiogalaxy story. by Afrosheen · · Score: 3, Funny

    That rules. Your p2p client is better than your OS.