In the likely chance that you haven't visited Napster.com lately, check it out because they have some really cool animations featuring the Napster logo/mascot. The sequence of cartoons tell the metaphorical tale of Napster's troubled past, and where it is headed in the future. There are only four cartoons so far, but the site implies that there may be over 20 more to come.

I, for one, have high hopes for Napster's future. I remember seeing a glimpse of the "for-pay" version they were working on way back when — and it looked promising. With Apple proving there is a future in legitimate paid music downloads, and with the incalculable "brand equity" of the legendary Napster name, theirs (whoever THEY are, at this point - a division of Roxio, I believe) is an enormous market to lose. My hope is that, in all the time that has been spent determining Napster's legal fate, their programmers have been plugging away at the Killer App for music downloads. They've had PLENTY of time to "get it right". Though I love the iTunes music store, there's a special place in my heart (and those of millions of others) for that little cat with headphones — and the Napster Bits animations are brilliantly designed to take advantage of that. Check them out.