Slashdot Mirror

Some universities do have a way. It's through a program called "Ruckus". http://www.ruckus.com/ If you have a university email address you can download all the (DRM-laden mind you) free music you want to, for listening to on your computer as long as that email address is valid. And it's completely legal.

Have you looked in to Ruckus. It's DRM'ed and only runs on windows media player, but it's free for students with an .edu email account if the school signs up for it. Our technet at Kutztown University, Pennsylvania, has a huge banner on their home page saying something to the effect of "stop infesting the campus with your MP3s from torrents, we've signed you up for free music from this service". It seems to be working somewhat. Basically, Ruckus puts a skin on WMP and shows little adds in the bottom of the player, and that ad revenue supports all the music you can download.

Their network is always fast, and I think that if you setup some kind of caching server, you can cut down on bandwidth as music is mostly 'trendy' in the way that youTube links are; someone finds something and tells everyone else to check it out, and then you've got your pipe saturated with fifty copies of the same media.

At any rate, while I don't like DRM, it is a solution that at least gives you the ability to cut down on traffic externally, and internally (from infected machines reinfecting each other - I've seen the network room, most of the rack is lit up like a Christmas tree, solid green, even with hardware shapers and balancers over multiple backbones. They've even got IR on the roof as a failover... it's nuts what morons will do to your network, even when they've got $100,000 of hardware protecting them at the edge).

Ruckus is worth looking in to, IMHO, even if to compare what's on the market or solidify your choice for something else.

The problem is that, mostly, whatever I download is rocketed to the recycle bin within a few plays. Most of what's popular is crap at best. Although, I have found a few bands that have become permanent parts of my collection that I wouldn't have given a spin if I had to pay. If I get "you gotta' hear this band!" from a friend with decent taste, I can download it without shelling out cash I don't have (hrm... books or food this semester... knockoff books from over seas and generic brand ramen, FTW!), for a disc that would end up as a coaster anyways. I'm not a fan of DRM, but if I like the music I end up buying it anyways. Unfortunately, they only have a player for Windows, so my G3 and Linux boxes are lacking support.

Funny that you mention it. If you're a student stuck on a Windows machine (like I am, half of the time):

1. Register for Ruckus.com
2. Download their (piece of complete shit) proprietary "Ruckus Player."
3. Search and download whatever music you want using the service.
4. Strip the DRM from your songs with FairUse4WM
5. Convert them to .mp3 format and put them on your iPod with iTunes.
6. Don't worry about things like this affecting you.

If you have a team of lawyers that you spend tens of millions of dollars on each year sending me a threat that you will take me to court for millions of dollars unless I pay you $5,000 -- I'm going to pay you the $5,000. No matter how justified I may feel I am and no matter how completely innocent of any accusation I may be, the $5,000 is probably a tenth the cost I will end up spending on a lawyer and there is little chance that lawyer will be able to appropriately defend me against a team of lawyers who spend $5,000 on their combined lunches.

I understand this, and I think that's how most people view it. I was, however, thinking about this the other night, and I think that if they sent me a letter, I'd fight it. I don't steal anything anymore (within the spirit of the law, sometimes not within the letter (I have multiple backups of CDs I've bought, stuff like that)) - I'm a Christian. Although I did, admittingly, have a shady past. However, stealing was the least of my crimes.

I would have to get the money from somewhere, or I would represent myself. I know, anyone representing themselves has a fool for their council... But, I would fight it for a few reasons. I don't like being called a criminal; especially by cowards. I don't think you should take the credit or the blame for something you didn't do unless it is for the good of the greater. Furthermore, I think that I could, strictly on technical grounds, defend myself quite well. I'm confident in my skills (Software development major), and I could probably rip apart any 'expert' who would allow themselves to be hired by the RIAA. They would probably beat me into the ground on the political front, although, I think that I could use my technical ability and the hacker (not cracker!)community as a great platform. I could easily show that I have no motive; I use Ruckus and have all the free music I'd like. Lastly, I have a rack of all the original CD's I've bought, (except one which I lost years ago, although I have the album in MP3 - spirit of the law, not letter) as well as my email reciepts for the music I've bought on iTunes.

I just don't think they could really establish me as a pirate. It would take a lot to try to make up that pattern of behavior. That, and, if I got a letter, it would be a wrongful accusation since I don't pirate to begin with.

But mostly, I just couldn't live with myself if I backed down to a bully. Granted, I'd most likely lose, but I'd still know that I showed more spine than a good percentage of the populace. I guess it boils down to it being a personal issue. I guess it would be worth it for me to lose everything I have (broke college student: all I really own is old hardware that I keep fixing to get by) simply to send the RIAA the message that not everyone is spineless, and not everyone is a criminal. What do you do when confronted by bullies? Drop the biggest one as fast as possible and hope the rest leave. As the quote goes, "nothing asserts authority so much as silence".

I understand those who buckle simply because they really do have something to lose; sometimes what you stand for has to take a back seat to providing for your family. The idealist would say no, but we can all be extorted when the right pressure point is found. I happen to be in a position where I can't afford $3K, I don't really have any possessions; for me giving in would be a 'loss', whereas fighting and losing in court would be more akin to a 'tie'.

I guess it's a matter of heart in a head-on collision with the reality of the world we live in. I'm sure I'd fold if they could find the right button to push; but it's very unlikely at this point in time.

IMHO there is no reason to risk it when you can get the music for free legally. Just my $.02

It looks like this could be competition for Ruckus Network, which provides a file-sharing service to [some] universities and colleges.