Ruckus sure has taken off fast.
The free online music service, furnished by the Undergraduate Assembly, has 4,100 Penn subscribers not two weeks after its debut, though it has been unofficially available to students for over a month.
But it has detractors as well as supporters, and other schools' experiences indicate it risks losing momentum.
Similar services are offered at hundreds of universities around the country, but a growing number of schools are cutting ties to those programs because of a lack of student interest.
According to the Campus Computing Project - a non-profit that studies how colleges use technology - 7 percent of all four-year schools and 31 percent of private research universities provide a legal downloading service.
Some schools that once offered free music options to their students have backtracked, such as the University of Southern California, George Washington, Purdue and Cornell universities.
"We used CDigix for two years," said Steven Tally, a spokesman for Information Technology at Purdue. "In large part based on feedback from students . we decided not to use it anymore."
Tally added that because of the wide use of iPods, as well as the availability of other legal downloading options, CDigix never really took off on campus, even though it was free for all those living in residence halls.
But while at Purdue only a fraction of the student population ever used the program, thousands of students at Penn have already signed on.
"Ruckus is . like Jesus reaching out from the Internet to give us free music," College sophomore David Marcou said.
Others are equally passionate about their complaints, however, largely stemming from the system's incompatibility with Apple products, leaving those with Macintosh computers and iPods unable to access the service.
Songs also cannot be burned to CD or transferred to portable Mp3 devices unless users purchase a $20 per semester 'Ruckus-to-Go' option.
"The Undergraduate Assembly claims it's a major accomplishment. . But I think it's nothing but a corporate gimmick," said Engineering sophomore Matthew Evans.
He is creator of the Facebook.com group "Dear UA, Ruckus sucks, Try again." The group boasts some 20 members - and wants the UA to know about its extreme displeasure with Ruckus.
"I was disappointed with the Ruckus software," Evans said. "It doesn't work with iPods, which are the most popular Mp3 device . and I'm disappointed I can't burn to a CD."
Wharton sophomore Erik Hickman, a member of Evans' Facebook group, sees even more problems with the service.
"The user interface is very unfriendly, with a lot of advertisements," Hickman said. "The fact that you have to go through an external program to get to the music . it just seems there are too many steps involved."
Student government leaders brushed off students' complaints as "complaining about a free lunch."
"I think some students are disgruntled with its limited ability," said College junior Jason Karsh, the UA's vice chairman of external affairs. "If they don't like it, I encourage them to not use it."
UA Chairman and Wharton senior Brett Thalmann pointed out that those disenchanted with the program are a "very, very small minority of students."
"Many complaints are based on misinformation," Thalmann added. Ruckus "is completely free. There is no negative. This was by far the best option available."
