Take your Napster to Go for free

Note that there are two great things about

this article in Reuters: 1) their source citation is none other than our own Engadget, and 2) they're re-publishing some news that will break the RIAA's heart: it just ain't that hard to get around Napster To Go's restrictions on CD burning and DIY it for free.

Reuters also notes that "a spokeswoman for Napster said that such endeavors were nothing new and the company was not too concerned." I beg to differ. It certainly *is* a new playing field when you head out to battle with a
$30 million campaign aimed squarely at many folks'
favorite online music store. It tickles me when people fail to realize that (gasp) times change, and people are even more fed up with DRM and other silly protection schemes than ever before. It's not getting better – it's getting worse,
as the word gets out over and over and over and millions of people get sick and tired of being called criminals by
"authorities" they have no incentive to respect. The other thing that's "new" is the continued explosion of grassroots media, which more and more folks turn to to follow what's going on instead of tuning in to the talking head circus. So much so that major media now routinely cites blogs as *their* news sources – just as we've seen here.

Off my soapbox now, but truly, Napster – you were great back in the day when you were grassroots Napster. But when the focus of your $30 million campaign is to convince your potential future customers that they're
stupid, don't be too surprised to find your Napster To Go potentials Got Up and Went elsewhere.