What is "tethered downloading" and how does it work?

Tethered downloading is effectively a rental of music and is very similar in concept to renting DVDs from a video store. Actually, it is a rental that continues as long as the monthly fees are paid - in this case either by the University or the student. Tethered downloading enables a user to log in to the Napster service from any computer that runs the Napster program and access those songs that have been downloaded. Songs downloaded in this manner can reside on the hard drive of no more than three computers at a time.

Will students be able to save music files to hard drives and/or burn them on to CDs via this service?

Thousands of tethered downloads are available and may be saved on the student's computer hard drive. Students also may purchase permanent copies of songs from Napster and then burn them to CDs or transfer them to a Napster-supported MP3 player via the service.

How much will it cost to burn a CD or download to my hard drive if I really like a song and want to keep it in my collection permanently?

The cost for a permanent download is currently $0.99 per track.

Will students be able to download movie files in the future?

At present, there are no such plans to offer movie files in the future. As technology evolves, however, Penn State will be closely monitoring its impact on the entertainment industry and the demands of our students.

How does Penn State plan to obtain student feedback on this pilot program?

Penn State ran a number of focus groups with students to determine which aspects of online music were most important to them. We also had some students use the Napster service to get their feedback. As the pilot program reaches thousands more Penn State students, we expect their feedback to help us tailor the service even more.

Do you worry that the first couple days back in school students could shut down the university network systems because of high demand for music? How will you deal with this?

The University is taking a number of precautions to minimize the impact so that it does not disrupt normal network service. We do expect network use to be considerably higher immediately following the launch of the service. However, because of the design of the University's network, Internet traffic demands from the residence halls - where this pilot program will be launched - do not impact utilization from other areas within the University.

How will the University and the industry deal with students who continue to download music illegally once this new service is in place?

Penn State has set a nationwide example in enforcing copyright laws as it pertains to network computing. Enforcement of these laws and University policy on network usage will continue at least as strongly as it has in the past.