So let me get this straight... you get access to a large selection of music with mildly annoying DRM for free but if you want a non-expiring version, then you have to pay for it?
If you think this is poor, woe betide you when you get out into the "real world" as you'll find out that no-one here gets free unlimited downloads in that way and, shock horror, also has to pay for non-expiring versions of the music they like.
Personally, I think its a bit much you complaining about something for free which is obviously being paid for by someone else, but there you go.
Now, it's been a while since I've been in school (I Graduated in '96), but I do remember when Napster and all these other distribution services started to offer this force-fed "crap" to colleges, that the deal was "Yea, we'll float you for a bit, but you need to chip in...". The after-effect, which you may or may not know, is that a little known fee called "Student Activities Fee (SAF)" goes up. And on top of that, there is NO WAY to say "Mr. College Sir, I don't want this." What was even worse, is that if you had a Mac (I had one, and most of my roommates had Macs; Heck the Dorm's computer room was all Mac), you were SOL. You paid for a service that you can't Opt-out of, and could not use. (This was also an issue when pro-lifers didn't want SAFs to go to pro-choice groups, and other vast ideological different groups didn't want funds going to their opposition)
I don't think that there would be as many complaints if schools said "This is an optional Service that we offer, at a discounted rate..." and were upfront with all the pros and cons, (i.e. No Macs and no iPods) and made it optional. That IS something I get in the "Real World". I can make my choice for what ever service I want, and I can CHOOSE with my almighty $$.
The Bottom line is: It's not free, and they don't even give you a chance to say No.
Slashdot Mirror
Now, it's been a while since I've been in school (I Graduated in '96), but I do remember when Napster and all these other distribution services started to offer this force-fed "crap" to colleges, that the deal was "Yea, we'll float you for a bit, but you need to chip in...". The after-effect, which you may or may not know, is that a little known fee called "Student Activities Fee (SAF)" goes up. And on top of that, there is NO WAY to say "Mr. College Sir, I don't want this." What was even worse, is that if you had a Mac (I had one, and most of my roommates had Macs; Heck the Dorm's computer room was all Mac), you were SOL. You paid for a service that you can't Opt-out of, and could not use. (This was also an issue when pro-lifers didn't want SAFs to go to pro-choice groups, and other vast ideological different groups didn't want funds going to their opposition)
I don't think that there would be as many complaints if schools said "This is an optional Service that we offer, at a discounted rate..." and were upfront with all the pros and cons, (i.e. No Macs and no iPods) and made it optional. That IS something I get in the "Real World". I can make my choice for what ever service I want, and I can CHOOSE with my almighty $$.
The Bottom line is: It's not free, and they don't even give you a chance to say No.