Auctioneer to play Napster's last waltz

21 Nov 2002 15:11

The failed song-swapping company follows the lead of Excite@Home and Webvan, as its computers, furniture and other memorabilia head for Dovebid's auction block

Computers, furniture and memorabilia from failed music-swapping company Napster will go up for auction next month.

Dovebid is hosting the auction, which will be Webcast on 11 December. Beyond the standard hardware, which includes routers from Cisco, computers from Apple and Dell, and Hewlett-Packard printers, there are hats, shirts and mousepads featuring the company's logo.

Napster's peer-to-peer technology allowed music fans to swap files, in what some have claimed was an illegal manner. Although its service was wildly popular, the company never did develop a winning business model.

Beset by lawsuits, Napster filed for bankruptcy in June. Roxio, which makes CD-burning software, acquired Napster's intellectual property, including its technology patent portfolio, earlier this month.

Its hard assets will be auctioned off next month. Interested bidders can get a peek at the items on 10 December at a preview in San Jose.

Auctioneer Dovebid has handled the flotsam from a number of recent high-tech and dot-com sinkings, including those of Internet access provider Excite@Home and online grocer Webvan.

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Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,2126324,00.htm