In early summer 2007, the University of Maryland joined the University System of Maryland in a multi-institution agreement to offer Ruckus Network, Inc.’s digital entertainment service to faculty, staff, and students. Undergraduate and graduate students have free access to more than 3 million music tracks and, for a nominal fee, more than 4,000 movies, television shows, and music videos.

Ruckus is also available to University of Maryland faculty, staff, and alumni for a subscription charge of $8.99 per month. By paying a fee, university employees can have access to a virus-and-spyware-free service that offers more than 3 million legally downloadable songs, as well as television shows, movies, and a robust social networking component.

Faculty and staff at Maryland can begin using the service immediately by visiting www.Ruckus.com, clicking on “Join Ruckus,” and entering a valid umd.edu e-mail address. Educators who would like to use the service for educational purposes in the classroom will have access to free accounts. Please contact Ellen Borkowski (eyb@umd.edu) for more information.

In addition, OIT is facilitating the arrival of iTunes U on campus, which will give faculty, staff, and students easy access to educational and informational content such as podcasts. It will also provide iPod users and members of the Macintosh community with additional sources of legal audio and video content.

More information about the University of Maryland’s legal service offerings is available at www.oit.umd.edu/musicservice.