Oct 23, 2001 05:39 PM
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Alright. napster shut down its doors to all the mp3s you wanted. That isn't the end though. There have been and will be several tools to lay your hands on what you want.
I'm an ardent mp3 fan and use mp3s primarily to sample music and try out new artists. There are two basic software I use to satisfy my craving for music. Both are exquisitely simple and effective.
Audiogalaxy
Audiogalaxy is very different from napster and if you haven't used it as yet, it'll take a little getting used to.
The software: A small module that is like a minibrowser with no address bar or buttons. You can only make a few changings in settings from here.
Download and Install: Simple and fast. It's less than 1 MB and takes very less space. It also gives the option of installing a few free software like gator and bonzibuddy which you can skip.
SearchingYou'll have to goto their website to search after logging in. The search is not a simple one click option. In order to ensure you download the right version of the song, you'll have to choose the version carefully!
Ease of use: Once you get the hang it's child's play. You can queue as many songs as you want and they will download as and when available
Resume support: Probably the best feature in audiogalaxy. You don't need to worry about broken connections and half songs! Everytime you connect it detects where it let off and just continues. An amazing feature.
Interaction: The interactivity is mostly in their website. There are message boards, etc.
Plugins: Couldn't find anything. No skins or a player!
Technical help: There's an extensive tech help and faq section to provide answers to all questions
Website: https://audiogalaxy.com
My score for audiogalaxy 9/10.
Aimster
This must be napster reborn! Everything from the name to the layout is a napster look-alike. If you're familiar with napster and have enjoyed it this is the software you'll need!
Download and Install: I did it a long time ago and have forgotten. It was simple enough though. I don't remember the file size.
The software: A compact version of napster minus the player.
SearchingThere's a search console that you use to search. The list then appears displaying the user, bitrate, time, connection speed etc and you can choose what to download
Ease of use: As easy as napster. It's child's play!
Resume support: Aimster will continue tha napster legacy of incomplete songs! There is no download resume support and it can be frustrating a lot of times.
Interaction: An absolute delight. It invades your privacy, but you can make a buddy list, browse through others' songlists and chat and interact to your heart's content. Cool I'd say!
Plugins: Quite a handful. You can get a lot of skins, etc. I haven't explored this section yet.
Technical help: There's an extensive tech help and faq section to provide answers to all questions
Website: https://aimster.com
My score for Aimster 8/10!
There's plenty of other ways to do it. Download then off search engines and the official mp3.com site, but the above two are probably the best!
