Ruckus FAQs:                                

- Student, staff and faculty accounts – who’s free and who’s not?

- How long can students access their Ruckus account? Are the free downloads just for a trial period?

- After the free period, do students get to keep the library they have built?

- How do I find out what my USAO-assigned student email address is?

- Which operating systems can run Ruckus?

- What are the computer requirements?

- Will Ruckus work with Windows Vista?

- Does Ruckus work on Macintosh/Apple machines?

- Do I own the music and movies I download?

- Can Ruckus users burn music CDs of Ruckus music?

- How can I move my Ruckus-downloaded music to my mp3 player?

- Do I have to live on campus to get Ruckus?

- How do I purchase a Faculty and Staff Music subscription, Movie subscription or Ruckus-To-Go subscription?

- How is Ruckus legal?

- How many songs does Ruckus have in their collection?
 

Student, staff and faculty accounts – who’s free and who’s not?
Student accounts are FREE and will let students download unlimited music (on multiple computers if they wish). Students have to pay a fee to download movies/video content. Staff, faculty and alumni do NOT have the option of using Ruckus for free. That’s Ruckus’s standard policy. Ruckus is free for all USAO college students with a USAO-assigned student email address (e.g. stujohndoe@usao.edu). Faculty and Alumni are asked to pay. For pricing, they can create their own account at www.Ruckus.com, sign in, and then click on "My Account". Ruckus has received distributing rights from recording companies and artists to only allow college students to download their music for free.

How long can students access their Ruckus account? Are the free downloads just for a trial period?
Students may keep their Ruckus account as long for as they remain at USAO. The music downloads are free as long as you are a qualified student. You may be required to click an activation link (sent to your USAO student email address) to confirm that you are still a student at the beginning of a given academic semester or year.

After the free period, do students get to keep the library they have built?
The free service is only available while an individual is an enrolled student. Once students have graduated, they can choose to keep their library by subscribing to Ruckus's alumni offering for a nominal fee once they graduate. If they subscribe to the alumni offering, the licenses for their library will be reacquired, allowing them to retain their library.

How do I find out what my USAO-assigned student email address is?
By now, most if not all of the USAO student body has figured out that they are entitled to a free USAO email address that they can use for the duration of their enrollment at USAO. FYI, once you graduate, you can request an alumni email address which is also free. Instructions for setting up your USAO student email address can be found here: http://www.usao.edu/infoservices/USAOemail.htm

Which operating systems can run Ruckus? 
Ruckus is only available for Windows XP (SP2) and Windows 2000 platforms. Usage on Windows XP requires Windows Media Player version 10 or higher and usage on Windows 2000 requires Windows Media Player 9 or higher. No Linux or Mac platforms are supported.

What are the computer requirements?
Any computer with a browser can log into Ruckus.com. However, only PCs running Windows XP or 2000 can are able to play music and movies. The specific PC requirements are as follows:

Will Ruckus work with Windows Vista?
Although not officially supported yet, Ruckus’s current Vista tests look promising. The Ruckus Player will install on Windows Vista, just keep in mind that troubleshooting support is limited. The major drawback is that Microsoft has not released an installer for Windows Media Player 11 for standard US versions of Vista, which is what the Ruckus Player is built on. Ruckus is unable to fix many common problems due to the lack of a Windows Media Player 11 installer for Vista. 

Does Ruckus work on Macintosh/Apple machines?
Apple Macintosh OS users cannot use the Ruckus service at all. Unfortunately the music-encryption required by the record companies that makes subscription music possible does not work for the Mac, even on the Windows Media Player for Mac. Ruckus cannot create a Mac version of their client until Microsoft Windows Media subscription DRM becomes available for the Mac. That is a limitation of the Apple Macintosh proprietary architecture, hence Apple Macintoshes or iPods are not compatible with DRM technology. Apple uses another proprietary technology to encrypt and copy-protect digital media. Nonetheless, the community features of Ruckus.com, such as adding friends, reviewing, recommending and their articles will still work on a Mac, however playing Ruckus movies and music will not. If someone has an Intel based Mac, they can visit http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/ to learn how to run Windows XP on it. Another alternative is Parallels Software International Inc.'s Parallels Workstation. Both products are in Beta today and even though people have run Ruckus on both products, Ruckus currently does not support any configurations that can run Ruckus on Boot Camp or Parallels Workstation.

Do I own the music and movies I download?
No. Music files you download are protected by DRM (digital rights management), so they're licensed to you for 30 days. A "Renew By" date in your music and movie libraries indicates when the license for each downloaded title will expire. If you are logged into Ruckus and play an expired song, the license will renew automatically. You can also manually renew the license by right-clicking the title and selecting "renew license." You can renew a track as many times as you like as long as you are a Ruckus subscriber. If you cancel Ruckus, you will no longer be able to renew your licenses.

Can Ruckus users burn music CDs of Ruckus music?
The music you download by default straight from Ruckus cannot be burned as music CDs. That’s a built-in feature of the encryption on the songs beacsue the license agreements Ruckus has with record labels prohibit burning songs to CDs since CDs can be easily copied and given to non-Ruckus users. However, Ruckus has a partnership through Buy.com to offer burnable songs at 99 cents a track (or less!). You can purchase burnable songs through the Ruckus page by clicking on the CD icon next to the track you are interested in. Keep in mind these are different files and must be downloaded separately than your Ruckus music.

Can I move my Ruckus-downloaded music to my mp3 player?
If you are looking for portability via mp3 player, you can do that using a service from Ruckus called "Ruckus to Go". Ruckus to Go is Ruckus's additional service that makes it possible for you to transfer your Ruckus songs to your mp3 player so you can take them anywhere. This service has to be purchased separately from Ruckus for a nominal fee per semester. Before purchasing Ruckus to Go, make sure your portable player is compatible. Ruckus offers compatibility with “Ruckus to Go” on “PlaysForSure" Subscription compliant players for download and subscription. Ruckus offers a list of such devices at http://www.ruckus.com/newuser/devices.html. Apple iPods do not use the “PlaysForSure Subscription” standard so they will not work with “Ruckus to Go”. Simply put, you can’t copy your Ruckus-downloaded music on to an Apple iPod but Ruckus will let you download your Ruckus-downloaded music on to a Windows-Media (.wma, .wmv) friendly portable media player (like a Palm Treo for example). Once moved to the portable player, music will play for 30 days before it needs to be re-synched with your PC in order to renew the license. For additional information on instructions for transferring your music using "Ruckus to Go", please click here.

Do I have to live on campus to get Ruckus?
No, you don't. If you live off campus, you will have access to Ruckus.com and the Ruckus music library. But, to get movies you will have to go on campus and connect to the campus network. If you are off-campus, you will not have access to download movies through Ruckus. All Ruckus movies are stored locally on the campus network provider’s cache (i.e. OneNet) which is accessible only behind the school's firewall. Currently it is illegal to distribute movies over the public internet. Therefore movies from Ruckus can only be downloaded on a local campus intranet, even if the Ruckus user has paid for the movie download service. Downloaded music can be played on your PC for 30 days (movies can be played for 5 days), regardless of whether or not your PC is physically connected to the campus network. After the 30 days, the license for the song automatically renews itself as long as you are still subscribed to the Ruckus network with your USAO email address.

How do I purchase a Faculty and Staff Music subscription, Movie subscription or Ruckus-To-Go subscription?
Subscriptions are purchased directly from Ruckus (www.ruckus.com) via a secure, online credit card transaction.

How is Ruckus legal?
In an effort to prevent piracy of the copyrighted content distributed by its system, and in an effort to enforce subscription rules, Ruckus employs Microsoft's Digital Rights Management (DRM). Ruckus content is encrypted with DRM making it playable only when it has a valid license, and only Ruckus users can acquire a valid license to play the content by logging into the Ruckus service. Licensed content can be played using any media player that supports DRM (Ruckus, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, DRM supported portable players, etc.). Once a music license has been acquired it will last 30 days before expiring and you must then re-acquire the license. A movie license will last five days before it needs to be renewed. Renewing a license does not mean you have to re-download the content.

How many songs does Ruckus have in their collection?
Over 3 millions songs from major and independent artists and labels. You can use the Search box below to see if your favorite artist or album title is available for download from Ruckus:

Disclaimer: This information reflects the Ruckus service deployed at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma as accurately and completely as possible. Future offerings will be updated on this page when available

© University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
1727 West Alabama, Chickasha, Oklahoma USA 73018
Phone: Chickasha: (405) 224-3140      
Last Updated 30 Jul 2008 08:37 AM