Napster FAQ's

The information below was provided by Napster. Although this FAQ speaks directly of Drexel University, the information also applies to Drexel's technology partners Cabrini College and Medaille College.

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GENERAL QUESTIONS

Napster improves your music collection by over 1,500,000 songs. Listen to and download all the music you want on up to 3 PCs. Napster makes it easy to find your favorite artists, discover new music and get the latest releases as soon as they come out. Connect Napster to your home stereo and it’s like having a CD changer with 100,000 albums by over 80,000 artists. For a complete list of features of Napster click here. (http://www.napster.com/what_is_napster.html)

With Napster To Go, you get everything that comes with Napster plus you can take your choice of 1,500,000 songs anywhere on your compatible MP3 player. Click here (http://www.napster.com/ntg.html) for a complete list of features of Napster To Go service.

MusicSelect gives you access to Napster during the academic year and allows you to sign up for the other discounted services at your own cost.

Why is Drexel University providing a music downloading service to its students?

Drexel University is concerned that some of its students don't understand that downloading music over computer networks without purchasing copyright permission is both unethical and against the law. The university believes it has a responsibility to do something to change that. Drexel University will continue to try to educate students on this issue and will continue to enforce its strong policies against copyright infringement. At the same time, the university wants to provide legal alternatives to illegal downloading. This service is directly aimed at helping students to understand the issue and providing them with an alternative.

How does providing Napster educate students about copyright?

By making Napster available to its students, Drexel University has provided a convenient way for students to obtain music legally. It is hoped that this initiative will curb the problem of illegal sharing of copyrighted files, while teaching students the concept of copyright and the importance of using legal means to obtain music.

How will the University and the industry deal with students who continue to download music illegally once this new service is in place?

Drexel University has set a nationwide example in enforcing copyright laws as it pertains to network computing. Enforcement of these laws and University policy on network usage will continue at least as strongly as it has in the past.

For residents, the cost is included as part of the ResNet fee; for non-resident students the price is $24/year pro-rated by quater.

October 6, 2005

All Napster subscriptions expire on August 31 each year at which point students will have an option to sign up for Napster for the upcoming academic year.

Napster keeps track of all the songs that are downloaded, streamed and purchased. This allows customers to recover their music if they lose it. Also, this insures that artists and record labels are paid to receive their correct royalties.

The university's role is to provide technical support so that the music service can be efficiently and conveniently served. The university does not monitor, keep records of, or have an interest in students' music collections and downloads, other than to encourage and support legal methods to enjoy music, and to take action against any copyright violations.

You can listen to songs and download all the songs you want. If a song can be streamed or downloaded, it will have a "buy song" status under the 'buy song" column. To stream that song, you can either double-click on it, or you can right click then select "play." To download the song, you must right click on it and select "download song(s)." Neither of these actions cost any additional amount of money to subscribers.

Students can access their Napster accounts from any computer with an Internet connection on or off campus. The performance of music streaming as well as download times will vary depending on the bandwidth of your Internet connection (broadband/128+ kbps is recommended). You are allowed to download songs on up to three computers without additional costs, but can stream from any computer. This means that a student working in a public lab can sign on to his/her Napster account and listen to his/her own playlists while doing work.

Yes you can. You must register for Napster and install the Napster client in the U.S. Once you are registered, the Napster service will work from any Internet connection. The quality of the service will depend on the bandwidth of your Internet connection. Napster recommends 128+ kbps of bandwidth. Make sure the computer you're using meets the minimum requirements.

You can keep the music that you purchased forever. If you own a song, you can burn it to a CD and record it to your hard drive. It is yours forever. The music that is streamed or downloaded (as a tethered download) via this service is "time-stamped" so that it will expire when the subscription ends. This would include any playlists you have created as well. If you rejoin Napster the following academic year, or after graduation, your account will be reopened just as it was when you stopped subscribing.

USING NAPSTER

ALL registered students living in the residence halls are eligible for Napster free through DMS. The cost is incorporated into your ResNet fee. Non-resident students can subscribe for $24/year, pro-rated by quarters.

Click here (http://www.napster.com/use_napster.html) or see the Requirements page for required and optional equipment and software.

Napster is currently only available to Windows 2000 and XP users. With the addition of certain software, Napster may be able to be run on Macintosh computers, but this solution is not supported by Napster.

Over 1,500,000 downloads are available and may be saved on the student's computer hard drive. Students may also purchase copies of songs from Napster to keep forever and burn them to CDs or transfer them to a Napster-compatible MP3 player.

You can listen to all the downloaded songs your hard drive can hold without being connected to the Internet.

Napster does allow you to import MP3s and other digital music. Napster does not monitor, review, or even look at imported songs. It’s your responsibility to make sure that all the music you have is legal.

Napster offers tethered downloads. These full-length files cannot be listened to an unlimited amount of times. The file will be stored on your computer’s hard drive. It is encoded so that it will no longer play once you stop being an active Napster Member. You can only burn these songs to CD or transferred to a portable device when they are purchased. Members can purchase songs for as low as 80¢ a song.

Songs can be burned onto CD for only 99 cents a song, and albums starting at $6.95. Members can purchase songs for as low as 80¢ a song.

If you select "burn song," "buy song," or "buy album," then you will be charged 99 cents per song or the listed price per album. Songs that must be purchased are labeled "buy only." (Note that artists often change a song from "buy only" to "buy song" soon after the release date, so keep checking!)

You can purchase music for $0.99 per song. Members can purchase songs for as low as 80¢ a song.

There are currently two methods of paying for songs. You can either pay within the Napster service by using one of Napster's supported payment methods (such as PayPal or a credit card), or you can use Napster Music Download Cards.

Napster currently accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover Card, JCB and PayPal as payment options.

Napster also accepts PayPal as a payment method. When you make a purchase, you have the opportunity to associate a new or existing PayPal account with your Napster account.

The songs that are identified with a blue font are the most heavily requested songs. Essentially, it's just a way for users to find popular songs quickly and easily.

Napster is currently unavailable on the Macintosh operating system. Mac users may consider using Virtual PC, a software product which emulates the Windows operating system on a Macintosh computer. However, please note that reports are mixed on this solution, and it is not supported by Napster. Some have found it to be satisfactory, while others have not.

The service performs well with a dial-up connection, although faster connections are recommended. If you have a dial-up connection, make sure your settings reflect that. Furthermore, Napster offers free downloads, so instead of constantly streaming a song, download it!

If you have previously setup your Napster account through your university, then you can continue to use that account. However, if you have never registered through your university for Napster, and you already have an existing Napster account, the registration process will require you to create a new Napster account. Keep in mind that you cannot register multiple times using the same e-mail address. If you are currently using your university email address in an existing Napster account, sign into your account, go to My Account, select Member Information, than click the Edit button. You’ll be able to remove your university email address and register another. This will allow you to use your university email address when you create a new Napster university account. If you need further assistance, please contact Napster.

Even if you already have a Napster account (paid, or trial), you will need to create a new account to use Napster through the Drexel University service. Once you have your new account set up, you can import all of your previously downloaded songs using the "File" menu at the top of the Napster application and selecting "Import Songs to My Library" and then follow the instructions provided. If you have playlists in your previous Napster account, you can also import these by searching for your Member name in the search box tool, which will list all Artists, Albums and Paylists associated with your account. Selecting and right-clicking each playlist will give you the option of Saving the playlist to your newly setup account.

Yes, you should be able to register and use Napster anywhere that you have access to the Web, as long as you meet the requirements.

See the Napster Support Page (http://www.napster.com/support) for contact information.

LOCAL CACHE FAQs

The Napster local cache contains a copy of many Napster songs. The cache is a collection of Dell bladeservers located right on campus so access to these songs is blazingly fast.

Streaming is a key feature of Napster. Napster plans to install most of its music on the local cache servers at Drexel to facilitate streaming. There should be excellent service to all on-campus users as the system is implemented in October.

Song selection is based on popularity. The servers are constantly populating and refreshing themselves with the newest or most requested songs.

The local caching server here at Drexel University is available only to people on campus. People who are not on campus cannot access the Napster local cache, but will use one of the many other Napster music servers on the Internet.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Make sure the proxy server is not enabled in Internet Explorer when you are using Napster. If this does not resolve the problem, contact Napster. See the support page for contact information.

There may be a problem with your registration. Contact Napster for assistance. See the support page for contact information.

Here are some things to consider if you are receiving this message:

• A browser security level set to High can not only prevent you from initially signing in but also cause problems with utilizing the Napster service. Try lowering the security level to Medium.

• Make sure that any firewall software that you are using is set to allow communication from the Napster domain.

• Make sure your Internet connection is working: Try using Internet Explorer to browse to another Web site, and check your IE settings*.

To Check your Internet Explorer Settings:

1. Select Internet Options…from Internet Explorer's Tools drop-down menu.
2. Go to the Connections tab and verify that the information is correct.
3. If you use a proxy server, click the LAN Settings …button and make sure the proxy server address is correct. If you are not using a proxy server, make sure this box is not selected. Consult your Network Administrator if you are unsure.
4. Go to the Advanced Tab. Scroll down to the Security section and make sure the Use SSL 2.0 check box is checked.

• Some ad-blocking software, such as AdSubtract, PopUp Killer, or @Guard, may prevent you from signing into Napster and using Help areas unless it is properly configured. Make sure your ad-blocking software is configured to allow URLs from Napster's root: *.napster.com.

• To Check your Internet Explorer Settings:

1. Select Internet Options…from Internet Explorer's Tools drop-down menu.
2. Go to the Connections tab and verify that the information is correct.
3. If you use a proxy server, click the LAN Settings …button and make sure the proxy server address is correct. If you are not using a proxy server, make sure this box is not selected. onsult your Network Administrator if you are unsure.
4. Go to the Advanced Tab. Scroll down to the Security section and make sure the Use SSL 2.0 check box is checked.

If you continue to have problems, contact Napster for assistance.

Try again, and see if the error message matches any of the ones mentioned above in this FAQ. If so, follow the directions in the matching question and answer. If not, try registering again and make a note of the error message. Then use the Napster support form to submit the message describing your experience. Make sure to include the error message.

If you have problems viewing some of the pages in Napster, it may be the result of your pop-up blocker or ad blocker software, and possibly browser* level settings. Some of our pages, like our Help menu, appear as pop-ups.

To solve this problem, disable any pop-up blocking software you may be using and check your browser security level settings. Then try accessing the pages you had problems with again.

• With Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Internet Explorer has an added a feature that allows you to prevent most pop-up windows from appearing over pages you want to view while you're using the Internet. When using Napster, either turn off the pop-up blocker or change your settings to allow pop ups from Napster.

To change Pop-up Blocker settings

1. Open Internet Explorer
2. On the Tools menu, point to Pop-up Blocker, and then click Pop-up Blocker Settings