4:45 PM -- Today on Contentinople, online content goes mainstream, and music downloads are free, sort of.

• CBS Interactive takes on the Net in a big way with the close of its acquisition of CNET, making a Top 10 Web property. To go after that opportunity, the division will be reorganized around five key vertical markets: technology, entertainment, sports, news, and business



• RealNetworks's Rhapsody follows Napster and other not-yet-profitable DRM-free online music services with the launch of its online music store. Like other music-sales services, Rhapsody is attempting to woo iTunes users. But full song previews won't be enough to make it the next success story -- the hardware's the key.

And in today's News Bits, online video gets upgraded, IM'd, and watched by more people than before.

— The Staff, Contentinople