Student leaders will finally announce the official debut of the free music-subscription service Ruckus with an e-mail to students today.
The official site, which allows users unlimited music downloads, went live last Thursday.
Users have been able to sporadically access a test version of the service since late August as contract negotiations between the University and Ruckus were pending.
The finalized version features a personalized home page for Penn users as well as other Penn-specific amenities. Contract discussions were finalized last week, said Undergraduate Assembly Vice Chairman of External Affairs and College junior Jason Karsh.
"I think the UA has done a good job of bringing a viable, legal downloading option" to students, Karsh said.
As of last night, the site had over 1,000 subscribers. The Undergraduate Assembly has planned a publicity blitz, which starts with today's University-wide e-mail, according to UA Chairman and Wharton senior Brett Thalmann. The UA will also use its Facebook.com group to spread the word.
Although there are 1.5 million songs to choose from, students cannot transfer any tracks from their computer to a portable Mp3 player unless they purchase a Ruckus-To-Go option, which costs $20 a semester.
Ruckus is not compatible with Apple products, meaning that those with Macintosh computers and iPods will not be able to take advantage of the service.
"I expect it to be popular among those with PC's," Karsh said. "I also expect some people to get mad because it doesn't work for Macs."
