[shavei7]

another attempt of MS to compete with Mac...specifically iPod. it's been released but i don't see that much hype... for one thing, it's more expensive than iPod, two, it doesn't have as much feature as iPod. but it's only the first version... lots of space (and time?) for improvement ;) in the meantime, i'm sticking to iPod

[thebookish]

That competition will never end, they will try and try until one of them is totally down, what make Ms try to make something like ipod, they will never get better than Mac in that. I hope they could just focues in making Windows better, that shoul boost their sellings.

[shavei7]

concentrate on windows? not a chance. if they make Windows bug free (which is next to impossible) then they won't be making as much as they are making right now.

[thebookish]

Originally Posted by shavei7

concentrate on windows? not a chance. if they make Windows bug free (which is next to impossible) then they won't be making as much as they are making right now.

You're so right, this is a conspiracy, Only to get more money, I just wish if the whole world would change to Open sources like Linux, Life would be much better, well not for Bill

[mann3r]

Business is something like putting upgrade on your product, was it? Who knows this can surpass Ipod in the future and can be the talk of the town.

[shavei7]

Originally Posted by thebookish

You're so right, this is a conspiracy, Only to get more money, I just wish if the whole world would change to Open sources like Linux, Life would be much better, well not for Bill

and definitely not good for the MS employees...

[Eric]

I posted this on my blog last week.

---------------------------------------

Meet iPod, the Zune Killer

When I first started posting about Zune in all of my blogs, I just knew it would only be a matter of time until Microsoft, known for its brutal money making tacticts, would fall flat on its face. I didn't know how, but I knew it would happen.

The release of Zune, the "iPod Killer" as Microsoft called it, stirred quite a buzz when it first announced its near future entrance. As it turns out, that buzz is being killed before it could even take flight.

We'll discuss most of the mistakes here in this post, but let's start out with the big gun.

On Spetember 14th, Cesar Menendez, a Microsoft employee who is working on Zune and posts as the "Zune Insider", committed the big Microsoft sin by telling the truth to the community of consumers who were pleading for answers on what sounded at the time to be a possible major player in the media device market.

This question was posed on another thread in Cesars blog.

"I made a song. I own it. How come, when I wirelessly send it to a girl I want to impress, the song has 3 days/3 plays?"



The M$ sin takes place when Cesar responds.

Good question. There currently isn't a way to sniff out what you are sending, so we wrap it all up in DRM. We can’t tell if you are sending a song from a known band or your own home recording so we default to the safety of encoding. And besides, she'll come see you three days later. . .



First of all, what's up with all this "safety" talk? Since when do we need Microsoft to help us pee and tuck ourselves in at night? Bad form Cesar. When trying to market a product you shouldn't treat your peers as if they're a bunch of kids that have no idea what they're doing.

I assert that M$ did it partly for their OWN safety, but they'll never word it that way. What company would want the public to know that it caves to the demands of the almight music industry?

Think about it.

To further dig itself into the mud, Microsoft is getting ready to start blatantly violating the Creative Commons License with its use of DRM in the new Zune.

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What happens if someone tries to protect a CC-licensed work with digital rights management (DRM) tools?

If a person uses DRM tools to restrict any of the rights granted in the license, that person violates the license. All of our licenses prohibit licensees from “distributing the Work with any technological measures that control access or use of the Work in a manner inconsistent with the terms of this License Agreement.”


CC FAQ

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Why would any artist want their music shared? Viral marketing. A lot of indie bands and musicians post free mp3 downloads on their websites with the intention of having fans download them and share them with their peers. This is a perfect way to market yourself when you have little or no money and you don't have any backing from a record label. It's highly productive and its now a widely used technic in marketing and branding a virtually unknown.

I have a lot of experience with this because I listen to a LOT of DJ mixes and I get them for free. Usually from the DJ's own website. I then post about them in forums and such, therefor providing the DJ with new website visitors, possibly new customers for other products that he/she/they offer. I get free music, the producer of the music gets a bigger fan base.

What Microsoft is doing is it's telling you and I that we cannot share these files. This is clearly a violation of CC, as well as a huge blow to their Page Ranking campaign of building the idea that Microsoft wishes to promote the "community" feel in what it does.

So much for that.

Another reason I feel Microsoft might have jumped on this DRM bandwagon is because if you can't share a file, chances are you just might have to go to their store and buy it. I thought Bill said we were going to see some changes? This looks like the same old M$ to me.

To further expand on that last point, Zune will NOT support PlaysForSure subscription services and will not play previously purchased WMA DRM songs from MSN Music, Napster etc. etc. This is pretty much a "screw you" attitude to all the past M$ supporters who have paid hard earned money to use the services Microsoft provides. Microsoft wants you to spend it all over again. Start from scratch with our new "iPod Killer".

Yeah, right.

Mac/Linux users think you're getting a break? Think again. Cesar admits there is NO support unless you use THEIR systems. It's just like when they tossed us Firefox users to the dogs by not allowing any downloads, updates, or extensions through their website unless you use IE. Talk about a bunch of crybabies...

I predict several things will happen.

#1 - If Zune does come out with DRM, it will go down in flames and we'll quickly start seeing litigations.

#2 - If we see litigations one of two things will happen. A) Microsoft will summon its platoon of lawyers and do what it always does... blame the user for sharing copyrighted material. Many Microsoft yuppies are running around the web saying "don't blame the company, blame the user", but they fail to remember what happened when Napster and friends tried that argument. It didn't float. That being said we are talking about M$ here so who knows what could happen. The justice system is a joke anyways. I wouldn't be surprised either way. B) If Microsft wins, then get ready for all kinds of software firms to start launching file sharing tools. If they win, then a precedent will be set and from that point on it will be very difficult for music industries to go after software creators.

#3 - iPod will come out swinging with wifi and NO DRM. iPod already has firm footing, and I never once doubted their abilities to stand their ground against Zune, but now they have a chance to shoot the super star wannabe right out of the sky.

Nice job Microsoft. As always, you've managed to piss the Internet community off with little or no effort.

Meet iPod, the Zune Killer.

My two cents... :)

[shavei7]

Good question. There currently isn't a way to sniff out what you are sending, so we wrap it all up in DRM. We can’t tell if you are sending a song from a known band or your own home recording so we default to the safety of encoding. And besides, she'll come see you three days later. . .

seriously? how did this person got hired at MS anyway? what with the 5-7 hour long interview... they still managed to let a few people like this get through. LOL. it's like calling a plumber to fix your shower and when the plumber can't fix it, he says "there's really nothing that can be done until after 3 days. besides, you'll just get dirty later so why take a shower?". next to the "dude, your Dell exploded" this has got to be one of the stupidest thing an IT company could do... or happen to them.

[ScottHughes]

Zune is inferior to iPod. However, Microsoft has a lot of money. Additionally, there's always room for re-releases and upgrades. I woudldn't expect this battle to happen too quickly.

[Eric]

Originally Posted by ScottHughes

Zune is inferior to iPod. However, Microsoft has a lot of money. Additionally, there's always room for re-releases and upgrades. I woudldn't expect this battle to happen too quickly.

Yeah, but, iPod will also have new releases and upgrades.