 |
A
Legal Option This Just
In: Ruckus is no longer providing its music downloading service. Additional
information will be posted as it becomes available.
Think illegal peer-to-peer
(P2P) file sharing services are your only worthwhile options? Think again.
There are dozens of legal music and movie subscription services with extensive
song and show collections available at reasonable prices – you just
need to know where to look. A few of the most popular are iTunes, Napster,
and, at this university, Ruckus.
Here are some
of the benefits of the Ruckus service:
Free access
to songs in the Ruckus music library, which are available for download
and playback on up to two computers
Social networking
features like playlist-sharing, and University of Maryland-specific
download popularity lists
Low-cost subscription
programs that allow you to make your downloaded songs portable on a
compatible MP3 player
The option
to purchase and permanently own individual tracks for 79-99 cents or
full albums for about $9.99 so you can keep your music after graduation
or transfer tracks to CDs or MP3 players
|
 |
The
best part about Ruckus is that it is 100 percent legal. Other tempting
alternatives – such as underground peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing
networks – are often illegal and can land you in serious trouble
if you get caught using one. And unfortunately for you, the likelihood
of that happening is becoming more and more plausible. In fact, the university
receives Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaints regularly, and has
also forwarded nearly 40 "pre-settlement letters" to students
from the RIAA. The university can do nothing to protect you should you
be charged with copyright infringement (a federal offense). Consequences
of such crimes are severe – they range from hefty fines to felony
convictions – so please think twice before engaging in online piracy.
Think Ruckus might
be just right for you? Visit www.oit.umd.edu/musicservice
for more information or for opening an account. You’ll be glad you
did!
|