RuckusNetworks
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Ruckus music service calls it quits
While there's clearly demand for downloadable music, there's clearly not enough of it being funneled to Ruckus Network. The oft forgotten music service -- which somehow reckoned it could take on the likes of Rhapsody, Apple, Microsoft and countless others in the saturated digital download space -- has officially folded. Quite honestly, we're shocked that it managed to hang on for this many years, though we suppose its demise was always just a matter of time. Ruckus' homepage now directs to the image you see above, giving the four avid users no indication of whether any partial refunds or gratis hugs will be given out. Rest in peace, Ruckus -- we're sure you'll find comfort in knowing that you were already dead to 99 percent of us.[Thanks, nizzy1115 and Gabriel]
Ruckus Network offers "free" stipulation-laced tunes to college students
Some folks just don't know when to quit, and apparently, Ruckus Network falls clearly into that category of beings. Looking past the brutal failure at American University and the growing data proving that stipulation-laced music simply doesn't fit in at college campuses across the nation, Ruckus is giving this idea one more go, and this time, it's 100-percent kinda-sorta gratis. While it's not too unusual to hear of indie / unsigned bands being distributed for free, this new deal supposedly offers up "major label bands" without charge to students holding an email address that ends in ".edu." The service will be completely ad-supported, and doesn't require any official "vow of support" from a university itself, and for alumni / faculty registering with their educational email, a $8.95 per month charge will purportedly be levied. The catch, however, is that the "free music" can only be played back on the person's PC, and transferring it to a DAP -- which must support DRM-WMA, by the way -- will run students $4.99 per month. Aside from this music rental fee, the service completely shuns Mac, iPod, and Zune owners, leaving us to wonder just how effective the service could be if the terms were even remotely attractive from the start. Regardless, the rigid service is available now for the few folks interested, but from the looks of things, we doubt it'll reverse the fortunes of Ruckus Network.
