Napster Ditches the MP3 Format
July 17, 2001
Napster has been in the news quite a bit this past week. First the service goes offline to upgrade the server software and never comes back online. Then the courts say that the service must stay offline until it can promise to block 100% of the copyrighted songs. The very next day, they settle the lawsuit with Metallica and Dr. Dre. Now according to The Register, Napster will be switching from MP3's to their new standard, .nap. The new format will include some kind of digital signature to make sure that the songs are not copyrighted.