During the 2006 fall semester, plans of joining a free music software service were being discussed among the university’s administrators. The two tentative programs included Ruckus and Cdigix.

By signing an agreement with Henderson, Virginia-based Ruckus Network, Inc., all UT students would be able to legally download any music in the 3 million-track library. However, any pending plans about becoming part of Ruckus have been temporarily dismissed for two main reasons.

First, Ruckus is not entirely free. In order to burn tracks onto a CD or import them to a MP3 player cost between 79 and 99 cents.

Although the Student Government understands the desire for free music, they feel that Ruckus is not worth the extra money.

Additionally, I.T. has vocalized some concerns with the service.

Tracey Potter, Director of Network Services, explained that while investigating Ruckus last November, issues of spamming and deceptive internet marketing tactics inhibited further pursuit of joining the particular music software.

After eliminating Ruckus, attention was focused on Cdigix, a downloading system similar to Ruckus.

Unfortunately, Cdigix decided to concentrate on academic technology services instead of a music-downloading service for colleges.

So, what is the future for legally downloading music at the University of Tampa?

“Ruckus is open in the fire wall so students can create an account.” Potter noted.

Furthermore, if Ruckus’ previous spamming problems are resolved and I.T. notices an increased number of students creating Ruckus accounts, they are open and willing to look into Ruckus again or alternative music programs.