The university has signed a contract with media provider Ruckus Network, Inc., marking its second attempt in the past two years to offer students a free, legal music downloading system that would serve as an alternative to illegal file-sharing programs.
Ruckus digital music service succeeds CDigix, the previous downloading service offered by the university, with free access to a library of three million songs - a million more options than its predecessor.
Ruckus' features include $15-per-semester access to a movie and video library and a social networking component that allows students to build personal profiles. But the service will be incompatible with Macintosh computers, a problem that CDigix also experienced.
The new system comes at no additional cost to the university or to students, except "to the extent that a small number of university staff are dedicating a portion of their time to this program instead of other projects," according to an Office of Information Technology press release.
Both part-time and full-time students will be available to use Ruckus, while alumni can maintain existing accounts for $8.99 per month. University faculty and staff will also be able to use the service at $8.99 a month, said Ellen Borkowski, director of academic support for OIT.
Because it's the only music downloading service supported by advertisements, Ruckus maintains a low rate, said Chris Lawson, director of corporate development at Ruckus Network, Inc.
The university first offered a legal music downloading alternative to students in 2005, after illegal file sharing on the campus became evident to school authorities. OIT officials and students began considering Ruckus after CDigix folded in April, according to the OIT press release.
While downloading music from Ruckus is free, many students are turned off by the 79- to 99-cent fee required to burn songs onto CDs or transfer tracks to MP3 players, a similar complaint during CDigix's run.
Ryan Rudden, a senior economics major, said it is unlikely he or other students would benefit from Ruckus because of the costs.
"The charge is comparable to what iTunes or any other music library would charge you, and that begs the question, 'Why bother with it?'" he said.
Despite Ruckus' expanded music library, the service will have to compete with other downloadable free services like LimeWire, file-sharing programs like DC++ and Internet radio services like Pandora.
Contact reporter Lindsay Kalter at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.
Be the first to comment on this article!
Log in to be able to post comments.