Napster versus iPod - Is Napster Better than iTunes?

So, Napster finally unveiled their latest and greatest attack on the iPod. Again, it totally misses the point of why people like the iPod but I'll leave that for later.

Napster: you RENT

I have had an iPod since May 2003 and my wife got one in 2002. In that time, we've purchased nearly 50 tracks. That's right $50 spent on iTunes. It's just a bit shy of that $10,000 Napster claims you'll spend - in fact, the only way to describe their statement is to say that it's an outright lie and their underlying assumption is that -you- are stupid. Nonetheless, both of our iPods are full. How you ask? Well, we have an extensive CD collection and we both prefer to have a CD with non-compressed music to touch, feel and more importantly, own!

Napster: didn't download this month, sorry, you still PAY

To arrive at their $10,000, they believe that you will only fill it up by buying individual songs from the store. That's a very unlikely situation (just ask 10 random iPod users and reach your own conclusion). The far more likely scenario is that you'll do what we did, buy a song here or there and otherwise, use your existing collection. Under the Napster scenario, you pay $15 each month regardless of whether you download new music. So, if one month I spent $10 at iTunes, the next 2 months, I might not buy any music. With the iPod, I spent $10 in 3 months - with Napster, I paid $45 because of what I call the Napster tax. Regardless of whether or not you got new music, you pay the piper. Great deal? I didn't think so.

Napster: you can't BURN

Napster and Microsoft think that rentals are the way to go. Well, anyone who has the inclination to fill up a player with thousands of songs is likely a hardcore music fan with a large library... and I refer you to the above paragraph. They want to own their music. Paying Napster in perpetuity is not my idea of ownership. I want to burn my music collections to CDs and yes, I want to share them with my friends.

Napster: stop paying... say bye-bye to the music

You see, they think that having lots of choices is better. Yes, choice is good but what happens when none of those choices work without hassles? What Omar Shahine (a blogger at MS) and Paul Thurrott and ultimately, Bill Gates don't realize is that after 20 years of computing, people are finally sick and tired of the hassles that come with being wired or going digital. I think the massive interest in the iPod and the second looks Apple is getting is because people are holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, someone other than Microsoft can offer them a solution that just works... and to most people's delight, the iPod plus iTunes just works!

Napster: having trouble, not our problem - call someone else!

And sadly, Microsoft simply doesn't get it. We're tired of products that create more hassles. We're tired of relying on the brainy neighbor that can fix whatever happened to the Windows installation. We're tired of pop-ups pushing porn in front of our kids. We're tired of your inability to make their life easier and no matter how cheap you make a Windows machine, eventually, it's going to succumb to all those virii and malware. We're tired of each company pointing the finger at someone else when something doesn't work. Ever heard this: "It's not a hardware problem, it's a software problem. Try calling XXX or reinstalling Windows." Argh!

There's a reason why we love our iPods! They're easy and more importantly, a pleasure to use. When was the last time anyone said that about a technology product?