Mon 17 Sep 2007
Ruckus is now available at USF
Posted by Eric Pierce under Services , mail.usf.edu , Blog@USF , News , WebMail_SysNews
As part of USF’s on-going efforts against copyright infringement, the University has signed an agreement with Ruckus, a digital entertainment network designed to provide students, faculty, and staff with a legal, safe, and community-based way to explore and share music and movies. For more information on how to use this service, please click on the link below or go to http://www.ruckus.com .
Signing up is simple: all you need is a USF email address.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I can’t believe you’re promoting this to students as “free and legal”. That’s a joke. After getting to the final account set-up page they tell you that after a three day free trial, your credit card will be charged $8.99/month automatically. You are essentially lying to and tricking USF students.
September 19th, 2007 at 11:05 am
The basic Ruckus service is free for current USF students. Alumni, faculy, and staff can use the service for a fee.
September 20th, 2007 at 7:39 am
The only time you have to pay Ruckus anything, or even give them your payment information, is if you want sync rights. THat is, if you want to be able to put their music on your mp3 player (not Ipod compatible, however). But if you only want it for your computer, Ruckus is great. I love it.
September 27th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Is there a specific program to make it Mac compatible.
September 27th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Not that I know of. And if there is one, I don’t think it’s legal..
September 29th, 2007 at 1:58 am
Yes, this doesn’t really mean much to mac or linux users. I think it’s pretty ironic that the title of this page is “Unix Systems Group: Ruckus is now available at USF”
October 1st, 2007 at 9:43 am
I agree that this is a joke. With Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, and others offering DRM-free music, the fee part of this is never going to fly. As for the free, people still like to have the music always available, so I doubt people will use it as anything more than music discovery. Other things of this nature already exist, so it’s just hype.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:33 am
This is a total joke. I hope the school did not give any money to this company. This is totally useless to anyone that doesn’t use Windows and to anyone that doesn’t use a Zune as their portable music player. I think the school needs to drop this relationship and quit trying to fool students into using these type of services.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:34 am
While Ruckus may not have any use for Mac and Linux users, keep in mind that Windows is a more popular platform. Also, Ruckus works for more mp3 players than the Zune. I have a Creative Zen Vision:M and it works fine with mine (at least it would if I bought the subscription).
I agree that it’s not “free music” like advertised. However, at least it gives you an opportunity to listen to thousands of full albums without having to purchase them. It’s a great tool for discovering new music and expanding your music library. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Ok I am wrong on the DRM fact Creative does use Microsoft DRM so it would work, But how many people have something other then an Ipod? And I would bet that there is a very high number of Mac users at USF. I would say the % of non-MS users at USF is close to 33% so this excludes 1/3 of USF. Drop this and drop it now and get something that is actually open like the University system is supposed to be.
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:47 pm
USF didn’t pay anything extra, Ruckus is available to just about anyone with a “.edu” address. While you may have little to no use for it, that doesn’t mean that Ruckus itself isn’t a good program.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
yeah i think this is pretty lame idea/service. but really why dont you fight about it on a comments board…
November 30th, 2007 at 12:43 am
Ruckus is actually a good player if you just want to listen to music so if you really want to put it on an iPod then stop using Ruckus and check out something else and stop arguing about it here.
December 21st, 2007 at 6:34 am
you could prolly run ruckus through crossover or something of the sort if it’s that much of a bug up your ass.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:49 am
Looking for a Mac compatible version ? Thanks, Dave
January 6th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I don’t understand why people are complaining about this, or getting angry, specifically. You don’t have to use Ruckus if you don’t want to. It isn’t like USF is “pushing” this on us, they’re just informing us of an alternative to illegal downloads.
January 6th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
There is no reason for complaint. Mac users can either a) Run the program in Bootcamp if they wish to use it so bad or b) Request future support of thier OS from Ruckus
For those upset about the music there is really nothing to complain about there either. It grants month licenses to any music you want - a great way to try before you buy. If that puts too much of a squeeze on you try finding music elsewhere.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:26 am
Interesting article. Good to know that people are opening up to newer ideas. Let’s make is more accessible to Mac users.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:34 am
I am constantly listening to music, so Ruckus is great for me
January 25th, 2008 at 2:21 am
The above contents are very useful! Thanks for the Wonderful Information
January 30th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
What is the point of having a free service to download music on your computer if you have to pay to sync it? The whole point of downloading music is so you can put it on your mp3 player or burn a cd. If you just sit around in front of your computer and listen to music I feel sorry for you. I need my tunes on the go, and would prefer to get them for free.
January 30th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Its free music downloads. No, you cannot put it on your Ipod, who cares. Some people have Gigabytes upon gigabytes of music on their HDD, for their personal enjoyment. If you want your music to go, then pay for it, simple as that.
However, if you dont have an mp3 player, or dont care about having your music mobile, this is really a great service.
So far Ruckus has treated me to 30 gigs of music, free of charge. Its DRM’d but its still free. Stop complaining.
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Ruckus is bogus. The music is formatted for Zune, a knock- off of i-pod, and expires after a few months. Don’t let them fool you- P2P is the way our generation is changing the way we share and communicate, they are trying to keep us thinking and acting in the old ways.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
they spam email. i get nearly 100 per day.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I heard USF got sued for a small fortune because students were downloading free music, thus forcing the university to go with Ruckus and implement mesasures that prevent the further downloading of free music from more popular sites. I would imagine USF get’s a cut of the action, but don’t they always? I see this as just another reason to graduate asap!
April 11th, 2008 at 3:23 am
Thanks for the information. Glad to know that the service is free for current USF students.
Cheers,
Asia’h Epperson
June 11th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Fhew..
Scared me there a second, thought it was a charged service.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Hey, I don’t know why everyone is complaining. We all know there’s a way of getting things done, so just get em done if you’re gonna cry about it.