Listen for less – Online music options have proliferated in the years since Napster, but which service is right for you?
By John M. Guilfoil – Globe Staff / February 7, 2010
Since Shawn Fanning created Napster while he was a student at Northeastern University in 1999, Boston has been a nexus of digital music downloading.
But that world has changed dramatically. Napster still exists, but downloading songs has gone from the shadows to a billion-dollar legitimate business, completely overtaking the compact disc.
Where should you turn to get your favorite tunes? The Globe looked into five of the biggest digital music services out there: Apple’s iTunes Store, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody, Wal-Mart MP3 Music Downloads, and the new Napster.
If you’re part of the legion of iPod and iPhone users, you probably already know about the iTunes Store. Did you know, however, that Amazon’s MP3 download service, which has great deals if you want to buy full albums, integrates with iTunes and Windows Media Player? That means it works seamlessly with your iPod or Microsoft Zune. If you find yourself listening to music at the computer a lot, you could also look into RealNetworks’ Rhapsody service, which offers unlimited live music streaming for $12.99 per month as well as individual songs in MP3 format, mostly 99 cents each.
Lending industry fights overhaul of student loans
By Eric Lichtblau – New York Times / February 5, 2010
WASHINGTON – Last fall, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to private lenders.
President Obama called the idea a “no-brainer,’’ predicting it would take billions in dollars from the profits of private lenders and give them directly to students, and many colleges were already moving to get loans directly from the federal government in anticipation of the next move by Congress.
But aggressive lobbying by the nation’s biggest student lenders has put one of the White House’s signature plans in peril, with lenders using sit-downs with lawmakers, town-hall-style meetings, and petition drives to plead their case and stay in business.
Sallie Mae, a publicly traded company that is the nation’s biggest student lender, with $22 billion in loans originated last year, led the field in spending $8 million on lobbying in 2009, more than double the year before, and other lenders spent millions of dollars more, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
