The new service may not go over well with Macintosh and Windows Millennium Edition (ME) users, some of whom feel they were overlooked by the university.
Amy Paliwoda (junior-advertising), who uses Windows ME, said, "My computer is not compatible. I think it is kind of dumb."
Marcelo Molina (sophomore-computer science and business), a Mac user, opposes the new deal with Napster.
"I doubt Apple will ever work with Napster," he said. "Most likely I'll never [be able to] use it."
He added that the university should have asked students what service to use first.
He feels Apple's iTunes would have been a better choice because it works for both Windows and Macs. iTunes is available, however, to students on an individual basis.
Although the Napster service will be available in the spring to students who live on campus, it will not be available to students living off campus until next fall.
Some students who live off campus are not bothered by the wait.
Rob Newmiller (sophomore-finance) said he is willing to wait longer to obtain music legally.
"With the record companies cracking down, it's a nice way for students to download music for free," he said.
But some students are skeptical of another limitation -- burning music onto CDs.
The new service will require students to pay a fee of 99 cents to permanently obtain a song.
The Napster service provides streaming music for free, but will limit the amount of users the music can be shared with.
"It's just renting music," Molina said of the Napster program, due to its limitations.
Some students are clinging on to peer-to-peer programs like Kazaa because it allows music to be downloaded permanently for free, even though it would be considered illegal by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) standards.
Laura Armann (freshman-advertising) is one of these students.
"It's a good deal for students who want to download music but don't want to get in trouble," she said. "I will still use programs like Kazaa because I want to burn songs onto a CD."
Jacquelyn Virgi (junior-biology) agreed, saying, "I'd rather be able to download and burn CDs. It bothers me that I will pay [for Napster] because I won't use it."
Mike Lahm (junior- computer science) is optimistic about the new service, but feels there's always room for improvement.
"I think it's a good step in the right direction," he said. "It's a good idea but not a full solution."
