All-you-can-eat portable music plans have been the silver lining of the dark, Digital Rights Management (DRM) cloud for years. Napster To Go is the first major service supporting Microsoft's Windows Media Digital Rights Management 10 technology, allowing for unlimited downloads for a single $15 monthly fee.

The service is not without its problems, most of which stem not from the anxiety of having your music collection unplugged should you stop paying but from technical hang ups. Still, Napster To Go offers affordable and practical way to fill up all the extra space languishing inside your fancy music player.

The Cable TV of Music

Within the first few days of Napster To Go's launch, many copyfighter bloggers were up in arms about the simple fact that Napster To Go's music downloads expired when you stopped paying the monthly fee. In fact, if you don't connect your portable player to your computer (or any computer with the service) at least once a month, the files on the player expire.

Of course, this furor was misguided, because this limited use is what makes Napster To Go possible, at least from a licensing perspective. The major record labels wouldn't give you free access to their million plus songs if they thought you could just download them all and stop subscribing. Still, there's a certain honesty to Napster To Go's DRM licensing scheme that even Apple's iTunes Music Store downloads lack. Just remember that no matter where you purchase DRM music from, there's no ultimate promise that you'll be able to use the files in every way you choose for as long as you want.

If you like subscription models like cable television or Netflix, Napster To Go is a good value-especially if you've got the fat bandwidth necessary to download (and re-download) the music from Napster's servers.

Catalog Confusion

Unfortunately, the unlimited plan isn't without its shortcomings. Some are understandable: a limit on how many portable devices you can use per account (three) and no ability to burn Napster To Go tracks to disc. However, there's another drawback that's much more annoying.

Some tracks are "Buy Only," which means you'll have to spend 99 cents to download the song if you want to listen to it (although you'll gain all the rights benefits, like CD burning, that purchasing entails). If it were album-by-album, it wouldn't be quite as frustrating, but many albums have one or more songs that are "Buy Only," while the rest of the album can be downloaded under the terms of the Napster To Go monthly fee.