The imminent end of Napster has caused a massive surge in the number of users of the alternative filesharing programs. Unfortunately the vast numbers of sharing utilities out there has caused great confusion and a loss of content focus.
Look out for our upcoming Filesharing section, which will attempt to assess the pro's and cons of these utilities. Through the message forums we can also try to reach an agreement on which programs are best.
The evolution of the filesharing idea has already led to specialised filesharers, Rapigator is used mainly for mp3's, EDonkey is devoted to Divx and VCD's and many of us know what Pronster is for...
Much in the same spirit has been the re-emergence of mp3 Websites. Specialised sites have popped up focusing on various music genres.
The latest to catch our eye is
TRAXX. During our visit we noticed they had reliable downloads for Dance, trance, techno, club, pop, rap & punk music.
Many such specialised sites are bound to pop up offering a much needed alternative to Napster.
As Napster is slowly withering away, its millions of users are looking around desperately for the next step. The memory of the DBN (Days Before Napster) is still there.
The mp3 acquisition process in the DBN was more or less the following:
-Search for the required mp3 in an ftp search engine ie Oth.net or audiogalaxy.
-If the track was located you would attempt to log into the ftp(s), using an ftp program such as bpftp or LeechFTP.
-If you actually managed to get on you had to look around through endless directories and drives.
-If you were lucky enough to locate your song you could either begin download or start uploading if the ftp was ratio.
Following this account we hope we can wave goodbye to those days FOREVER...