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Comments: 472 +- Microsoft Launches the Zune on Thursday September 14 2006, @02:35PM
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Zonk
on Thursday September 14 2006, @02:35PM
from the zune-slayer-of-ipods-eater-of-souls dept.
from the zune-slayer-of-ipods-eater-of-souls dept.
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Doug-W writes to mention an Engadget post about Microsoft's launch of the Zune. From the article: "Not a lot of surprises in the specs department, but they've confirmed the basics we've known for a while, like WiFi, 30GB of HDD, built-in FM, a 3-inch screen and the basic music, pictures and video playback. They also finally let slip the screen res -- an unsurprising QVGA -- and some better news on the codec front: the Zune supports h.264, MP3, AAC and WMA. As for ballyhoo, wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing is where the real action is at, and it works pretty much like we've been hearing: you can share a full-length track with a friend, and they've got three times to listen to it over a three day period, after which they can flag the song for purchase on the Zune Marketplace -- unless they're an unlimited 'Zune Pass' subscriber, of course."
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How will... (Score:5, Funny)
Reality of "wireless sharing" (Score:5, Interesting)
And slapping on the usual DRM shackles won't change this. Most likely, make it much worse and harder to stick to the general public.
The Name (Score:3, Insightful)
Available in black, white and... *BROWN*? (Score:5, Funny)
Steve Jobs: "Here's our new iPod Nano! It's available in black, white, silver and shiny green and pink!"
Steve Ballmer: "Oh yeah? Well, here's Zune! It's available in black, white and this stylish turd-brown!"
Steve Jobs: "Brown, huh? You got it in beige as well? Or tweed? How about a nice Argyle pattern?"
Steve Ballmer: "Fuck YOOOOOUUUU!" [throws chair]
Good ol' MS. Always as stylish and tasteful as ever.
Re:Available in black, white and... *BROWN*? (Score:4, Informative)
Brown? Microsoft's design director for the project, Chris Stephenson, explained the shape and scheme is "to make it less cool and sleek, but actually warm and silky."
"Who in their right mind would
Emphasis mine, but I think he hit it on the head.
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Re:Available in black, white and... *BROWN*? (Score:4, Funny)
'cause everyone creates brown products. I like the read the newspaper when I create mine.
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Re:Available in black, white and... *BROWN*? (Score:5, Funny)
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Two things I care about with this (Score:5, Interesting)
Price & battery-life
Bit of a pity that:
"The Zune-to-Zune sharing feature may not be available for all songs on your device, and works only between Zune devices within wireless range of each other. This feature allows recipients to play full-length sample tracks up to three times in three days. Recipients cannot resend music that they have received via the sharing feature."
Simon.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Two things I care about with this (Score:4, Interesting)
> Price & battery-life
Maybe because what you see are three photos of a *prototype* device that is not even in production and nobody knows when it will be?
So these are really just few photos that say nothing.
> Bit of a pity that:
> "The Zune-to-Zune sharing feature may not be available for all
> songs on your device, and works only between Zune devices within
> wireless range of each other. This feature allows recipients to
> play full-length sample tracks up to three times in three days.
> Recipients cannot resend music that they have received via the
> sharing feature."
Yeah. Great feature.
Also I am suspicious of this wifi stuff. I know wifi is right now quite complicated to use, and it uses lots of battery power (it was not designed especially for low power consumption). Also I wonder about how those devices will autoconfig to work ad-hoc flawlessly.
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The imporant question at M$ (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The imporant question at M$ (Score:5, Informative)
The rumored price is $300 for the 30 GB version. The 30 GB iPod is $250. So, pretty much, same pricing strategy.
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Is it really a launch?? (Score:5, Insightful)
Killing the MP3? (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, I know they claim to play an mp3, but the devil is in the details. As in they will likely make it very inconvenient to use mp3's. Kind of like how easy it is to open may formats in MSWORD, but very difficult to use anything other than
The thing I'm interested in seeing is the wireless sharing. I don't think the average mp3 player consumer -wants- sharing, but I'd be very interested in them proving me wrong.
What's even more interesting will be the first virus transferred from zune-to-zune.
It's microsoft. It had to be said.
If they only renamed it the "Wii" it could be... (Score:5, Funny)
Song-sharing? (Score:3, Insightful)
So let me get this straight... if I have a Zune... and my friend has a Zune...
I can send them a track. Presuming the units sync up, and wireless works, and the phase of the moon is correct, because wireless is still basically tin-can-and-string at times...
Lame. Useless. Unless my friend and I both decided to take a risk and go out and get one of these doohickies each, how would this situation ever come up? Even if you find another Zune owner, what are the chances he also shares you musical interests?
Re:Song-sharing? (Score:5, Funny)
That's simple. There's only 100 songs at any given time that you should have any interest in, and they're kept in a convenient list called the Billboard Top 100. If your music hasn't been on the Top 100, then you have no business listening to it.
After all, if people were interested in totally different types of music, the record companies would have to spend too much money marketing and producing all these different groups and artists. So it's better now that we all just listen to the same music.
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Re:Song-sharing? (Score:4, Insightful)
While I can't personally say I'd use this feature much (since I'm long since out of school), it seems to make perfect sense for these types of groups to desire such a feature. I also could see sharing a new song occasionally with a friend so they could purchase it themselves if they wished (since song use is limited). All in all -- this seems more like a "demo song" feature intended to increase music sales (much like listening to samples of songs on the iTunes store, but you get to take them with you).
You don't design a product assuming no one will buy it ("if I find another zune owner") -- you assume it will be a smashing success because of all the great features you've implemented.
And really -- wireless in an open-air area, ad-hoc, works great -- like cell phones!;) You're using it to share a song with someone right in front of you! Your comments (generously modded "insightful") show a distinct lack thereof.
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But does it support (Score:4, Insightful)
As of yesterday, it's a must have
Box art? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Box art? (Score:4, Informative)
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Check out the second picture... (Score:5, Interesting)
I have walked/jogged/biked/fled from that area thousands of times and it is *not* anywhere you want to put your feet in the water...the water itself is unbelievably polluted, and unless the pic is doctored, or somebody spent a month cleaning up the area, the dude is walking on broken glass, rusted everything, and stuff that can't be identified, and maybe that's for the best.
I'm not sure what to message to take from the pic: "Take a life threatening chance: buy a Zune!" comes to mind.
3rd party improvements to follow: (Score:4, Interesting)
Probably shortly to follow, either a firmware update that adds more codecs, or a software app that transcodes to whatever Windows format is being used for video on that platform.
Next, a web-browser that can take you to various pages you have saved as favorites.
Finally, complete Linux port.
Any other good ideas?
Obligatory... (Score:5, Funny)
"bullshots" (Score:3, Funny)
Someone give those ClearType guys a raise!
Classical MS action... (Score:5, Insightful)
It does not even has branding on it. Just the look of it is not sufficient for branding - look of iPod is a brand itself, this looks like an iPod clone.
Actually I am used to MS strategies like announcing LongHorn with all WinFS and great stuff that just yet still is not here. So I take this announcement like usual. I will think that this is anything worth looking at when I actually can touch one.
Also I have some concerns, especially with:
1. The interface. Those *three* photos look nice but they do not tell anything about how the device works? Is it easy to use? I've used MS PDA (PocketPC) and it was horrible. I am with Palm now which is somewhat less horrible - so I don't se MS mobile products as quite easy to use or reliable.
2. Those ad-hoc wifi networks - how it is going to work? I've used MS PDA with wifi and it was pain. Actually wifi is quite painfull as for now (especially in MS arrangement). So how they are going to wifify those devices? IMHO wifi is not quite good for establishing such semi-PAN networks - BlueTooth is. But wifi - it is a hog on battery for sure.
So conluding - this is not something real. These are few photos even without branding (forget specs, pricing, performance and so on). So it is nothing actually - just to say "hey wait (like few months... or years) and we will have something like iPod is right now!", "don't buy iPod right now - wait (like months... years) for our mythic device" etc.
Quite unfair but at least in this market we know who rocks with launches that are real launches for real existing products and services...
Clarifying the "Plays For Sure" incompatability (Score:5, Interesting)
Full Article Here" [engadget.com]
E: "PlaysForSure was the thrust of Microsoft's strategy until the announcement of the Zune. How does PlaysForSure fit into Microsoft's strategy going forward?"
MS: "...There's another class of consumers that just want to get digital media, and they just want to be able to go to one store and have it all..."
E: "Wasn't that the point of PlaysForSure?"
MS: "...Zune says there is no choice; you get a Zune device, you hook it up to the Zune service, and it just works."
Yikes! I thought the iPod was evil because Apple didn't give me a choice...now it seems no choice is just what the doctor ordered! How stupid does Microsoft think we are?
What makes this a product "launch"? (Score:4, Insightful)
All I see here is a half-assed response to Apple's new iPod product launch a couple days ago.
Re:Let me be the first to say... (Score:4, Insightful)
One thing that we're all still wondering is how will people control the thing? I haven't seen one explanation for how the center "wheel" (if that's what it is) works. I think we'd all like to see a screenshot of the menu/control systems...
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Re:Let me be the first to say... (Score:4, Informative)
I think it was confirmed a while back (via an FCC filing or something) that it's not actually a wheel, just four buttons arranged to look like a wheel. The clickwheel without the wheel part.
Makes sense, as Apple does have a patent on the clickwheel design, and I was wondering how MS was going to get around it when I saw this. Simple enough; the wheel is not a wheel.
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Re:Let me be the first to say... (Score:4, Insightful)
You know what else Apple has? Something I haven't seen mentioned in the first 120 comments on this post?
The Dock connector.
Apple's trump card, the 30-pin dock connector and it's communications scheme is par of their defense against other players stealing marketshare.
Want to plug your iPod into your new car? Next model year (which starts, ah in a few weeks), you'll be be able to buy a car from any of roughly 3/4 of the world's automakers that has a built-in iPod dock. The offerings this year aren't bad, either.
I see the requisite oval connector shape on the Zune (since they just couldn't stop at copying Apple's buttons and wheel look), but it's unclear what kind of dock connector they're using. If Apple has an exclusive deal with AMP, you can pretty much write the Zune off (as well as for other reasons, like the "what were they thinking?" color choices of white, black...and brown).
So, to sum up:
Apple has convinced everyone and their brother to put a dock connector in cars, boomboxes, camera connectors, etc. ad infinitum.
Zune does not have a dock connector, and can't use any iPod accessories, including those that come with a "Steering" wheel.
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Re:Let me be the first to say... (Score:5, Insightful)
Give me a break. There is a huge difference between coming out with a proprietary technology that SOLVES A PROBLEM and being able to successfully promote it vs. calling OEMs on the phone and saying "Ship Netscape and Die".
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I imagine lots of people care (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft's markets are largely saturated and under increasing pressure from FOSS and other products. And that's not a good story to tell investors. Microsoft hasn't had a killer product for a while and it's a company that thrives on growth. They need new brands badly because the ones they have are aging, and old brands, while good in financial and insurance markets, are not so good in consumer and high tech markets.
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
And no, I don't consider zune's wireless sharing to be even the "next little thing." It's like trying to take on Kimberly Clark (maker of Kleenax) by selling your own brand of facial tissue. Sure, you can make money, you might even take some of their market share, but you will never be Kleenax. You have to find a new niche if you want to be the next big thing.
Re:is it enough? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:is it enough? (Score:4, Interesting)
> a success compared to the more-respected apple?
I'm still waiting for a portable player that meets my, admittedly demandinging, feature checklist. Doesn't look like Zune is in the running.
1. Must be able to run Rockbox. No vendor, especially Microsoft, is going to release a perfected firmware first try or even tenth try, and will move on to the next product long before the bugs are squashed and certainly before I am ready to buy a new unit. At least with something like Rockbox I could fix a really annoying bug myself if all else failed.
2. Must be able to support a wide range of codecs I am interested in and am able to rip to. MP3 is of course a given, but FLAC is important to me, especially on a HDD based player. OGG would be nice, but wouldn't be a deal breaker. I understand why many don't do it, nobody is doing it in a DSP yet so software only playback eats CPU and battery. AAC and WMA can exist, although I won't be using either of them. Video on a 2-3 inch screen is of zero interest for me, but if it doesn't bloat the physical size or kill battery life I'm neutral on it.
3. Must have a user replacable battery. Period, full stop.
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Re:is it enough? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:is it enough? (Score:5, Informative)
Who told you that? There are plenty:
FLAC players [sourceforge.net]
Vorbis players [xiph.org]
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Re:is it enough? (Score:4, Insightful)
Second, what about the accessories? Right now, my iPod can be fully controlled from my Pioneer car stereo through their interface (and it charges the iPod for you too). Think they'll offer the same for Zune players? What about all the other iPod-related devices that have cropped up like clock radios with iPod docks, voice recorder add-ons, and digital camera storage adapters?
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This ought to be good! (Score:5, Funny)
You'd rather give money to Microsoft over Apple.
All of Slashdot is pulling up a chair, make it a good one!
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Re:This ought to be good! (Score:4, Insightful)
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Not enough for me (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't have any WMA media. I do have iTunes Fairplay media. It doesn't support that.
Further, all these "Features" are typical MS lies - the file sharing won't work with all media, It may have a screen that is 0.5" larger but will it play movie content? Are you sure?
It doesn't even support MICROSOFT'S VERY OWN "PLAYS FOR SURE" DRM!!!!
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
(Good manners prevents me from describing what you will look like.)
Re:This ought to be good! (Score:4, Funny)
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perfect for the brown sound (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:This ought to be good! (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd rather choose [insert object here] based on how well it performs the functions I require than whether or not "everyone else has one."
It amazes me how image conscious geeks can be. A large subsection of geek culture will go to such extreme lengths just so that they can brag that they don't fit in. And then they complain because nobody understands them...
It's ridiculous.
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Re:This ought to be good! (Score:4, Insightful)
i know a lot of people who bought the ipod solely because it's apple and apple is cool and if you say otherwise, you're (as you said), an idiot.
the zune has more features than the ipod already built into it. it's not the same thing everyone else has. it supports more formats than the ipod. it (according to a review i read last week) has a more intuitive interface than the ipod. sounds to me like the apple fanboys are just whining that microsoft did something right.
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Ad-hoc wireless sounds nice, but I'm sure its going to have a major bug that everyone is going to exploi
Re:what about sharing your own stuff? (Score:5, Interesting)
They've already hinted at it, saying that only "certain" files can be shared.
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