I found reading a State News editorial to be interesting (“Hard drive,” SN 9/28). I did not know about the attempts from artists to have schools block the Napster server. In realizing my ignorance of the matter which was cleared up by your editorial, I realized the ignorance of all the record producers and universities that are shutting down the Napster server.

Notice how I wrote Napster server and not Napster. Many people do not know of the thousands of servers out there. Although the program Napster connects to the Napster server, there are programs out there - that are free - that can connect Napster to any one of these music-trading servers, some of which have even more music and better connections then Napster’s server. If the university shuts down the Napster server it will only be a minor inconvenience, in which a user would go to these Web sites that offer these programs, download them and then install them - which on MSU’s servers that will only take a matter of minutes.

Some of the programs like Napigator, which is free at www.napigator.com, are specifically designed with the intent of getting around fire-walled servers. In a nutshell, there is not much that the record producers or universities can do about this matter.

The only option to reduce the number of illegally downloaded music files is to stop ripping off the public on CDs. I personally would prefer the CD over an MP3. MP3s are compressed, therefore, they will never that be able to reach the quality of a CD.

The record industry also should stop trying to rip us off for concert tickets too. Paying $50 to see someone perform? This is ludicrous.

In my opinion, the genius of Napster and other music-sharing programs is simply a way of taking back some money ripped off from us in the past. These record giants must conform - they have no other choice but to.

Peter Nadeau
engineering freshman