Gateway to preload Napster software

Gateway Computers will preload Napster 2.0 software on their new computer systems.

Gateway, Inc. and Napster today announced that starting next month, Napster 2.0 software — plus 150 great
songs — will be pre-loaded on the hard drives of Gateway’s best-selling consumer notebook and desktop PCs.
 
Gateway also announced the launch of its RipBurnRespect(TM) interactive learning CD-ROM, which is being shipped now to some 3,000 Boys & Girls Clubs of America across the nation and has thepotential to reach three million club kids.
   
This year Gateway has been undergoing a sweeping transformation from a traditional PC maker to a branded integrator — a marketer of digital gear that works together.  These announcementsreflect the central role that online content delivery and protection play in Gateway’s strategy to expand consumers’ entertainment options.
   
At a New York City launch event for the new Napster 2.0 service, Matt Milne, Gateway’s general manager of digital solutions, announced Gateway’s unprecedented initiative to help teenagers understandtheir rights and responsibilities as consumers of online music and entertainment.
   
Long an advocate of consumers’ right to enjoy digital music legally, Gateway has begun distributing a 30-minute animated CD-ROM-based learning program designed to teach kids about the music businessthrough the experiences of a fictitious band, The Hydroliks.  Provided free of charge along with a promotional poster and background information to Boys & Girls Clubs, the RipBurnRespectCD-ROM is a fun, cool way for teenagers to discover how musicians and music professionals in supporting roles earn their living.
   
More information on the RipBurnRespect program is available at http://www.ripburnrespect.com .
   
The new Napster 2.0 is a paid service that compensates musicians and other copyright holders for their work.  Gateway now is pre-installing Napster 2.0 software on its most popular desktop andMedia Center PCs; later this year, Gateway will pre-install the software on every consumer notebook and desktop PC it sells.
   
Gateway is the sole PC maker preloading Napster software and content on its consumer PCs.
   
Gateway demonstrated the Napster software at the New York launch event on its new Gateway 610 Media Center, a sleek, all-in-one desktop design with the appearance of a 17-inch widescreen flat panelTV.  The PC utilizes Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, so its vast entertainment capabilities can be accessed and enjoyed using a remote control from the comfort of a living roomcouch.
   
The Gateway 610 Media Center will begin shipping this month at a starting price of $1,499.