Fuel on the fire... (Score 1)

The shutdown order will accelerate both the development of Napster alternatives and the public's willingness to find and use alternatives. Some folks here pointed out that there's a significant usability gap between Napster and other P2P systems. That's true at the moment, but I'd wager we'll now see consumer-friendly, distributed-P2P alternatives in a matter of weeks. Plenty of developers and consumers are going to take this personally; instead of containing the momentum by cutting a deal with Napster, the RIAA just guaranteed it will never get a grip on the situtation. The only card the RIAA will be able to play is to hunt down and prosecute individual consumers. They just might be stupid enough to try that, and the consequences for the industry will make their Napster problems look like child's play. If this is the record industry's equivalent of Vietnam, then think of the Napster shutdown as the Tet Offensive.