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MSFTs "iPod Killer" Readied for Europe
rocketjam writes "Reuters reports that the first hardware to run Microsoft's "iPod Killer" software will be available in Europe in the second half of 2004. MS has been working with several manufacturers, and is expected to introduce a device which will play movies and songs as well as store digital photos through Microsoft's yet-to-be-unveiled Portable Media Center software. A spokesman said 'We think this is going to be one of the hot devices for Christmas 2004,' The players are expected to sell for between about $700 to $800. They will play MP3s as well as audio and video recorded in Microsoft's digital format. The player will be significantly larger than the iPod in order to accomodate a video screen. A Jupiter Research analyst, Mark Milligan said 'By definition, (the devices) just don't have widespread appeal', and he doubts the devices would change the consumer electronics landscape in any way."
Definitely, and Archos is not exactly selling these things like hotcakes.
Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
it's already been done in a smaller package. the Archos av320 is already available and works pretty well.
Why read the article when I can just make up a snap judgement?
Archos has been doing this for some time, at half the cost with open formats compatible with multiple platforms. I personally have one of their first video capable models, the Jukebox Multimedia 20gb, and use it on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows - same files for audio and video, no DRM other than common sense and respect.
Any spoon would be too big.
Why would I spend $700 for something that is bigger and heavier than my $300 Sony Clie?? It plays MP3s and videos. (I love showing people Golem accepting the MTV award.)
I can get several CDs on an 128MB memory stick and play them in my car using an RF adapter. The MS product does provides more disk space for video, but with the recent advances in micro drives, it's only a matter of time until they start becoming more common in PDAs.
I thought MS was supposed to be better at creating loss leaders <cough> XBox </cough >
I rarely read replies, it's my opinion and if you thought about your opinion a little more, I'm OK with that.
Apple was NOT the first company to have an MP3 player
Nowhere does the parent post say they were.
Slashdot is more a point-of-view than a news gathering organization. This story originated at Reuters, which is a news gathering organization.
Slashdot is more like your local newspaper: it takes stories from a variety of locations (often wire services) which are relevant to you (determined by geography in the case of your local newspaper, or technical interest in the case of Slashdot). Yahoo does the same, but it's pretty catholic in its tastes. Slashdot gets its stories from a variety of sources: wire reports (often via other media), journals, blogs, press releases, and sometimes just people finding out interesting web sites (though that hardly counts as nes most of the time)
In all likelihood, the story originated as a press release from Microsoft, rewritten by Reuters into a news article, and then rewritten again as a Slashdot story. Slashdot adds very little: a bit of commentary, and sub-categorizations (Microsoft, Music, Business, Media).
The commentary is biased, but you wanted it biased: you came here for the Slashdot-esque view of things. You could read the Reuters feed yourself, but you'll probably read a lot of stuff you don't care about. You could even subscribe to get the press releases directly, but you'd really hate that.
Must... not... feed... troll..
Argh!
They got it a long time ago--that's why their OS natively supports clicks from three mouse buttons + a scroll wheel and can be programmed for more by people who make mice with more buttons. Safari even supports the middle-click as opening a new tab and Expose can be connected to any of the mouse buttons from the control panel.
If you don't like the single button mouse then buy your own. I have a kensington studio mouse and have been very happy with it.
Integrate Keynote and LaTeX
for the $700 - $800 price tag, you could buy:
a portable dvd player price = $200
a gba sp platinum and games price = $150
an i-pod price = $300
and still have enough cash left to buy some new shoes and a crapload of quesadillas . . . if you're into that sort of thing.
** Chigusaaa!!! You're the coolest girl in the WORLD!!! **
In fairness, I see nothing in the article to indicate that Microsoft itself is the source of the term "iPod Killer." Yes, the phrase appears in quotation marks, but only in the reporter's text. It does not appear in the verbatim quotes from the Microsoft representative. The term may be be the reporter's own invention. Microsoft's marketing department is usually more sophisticated than this, since the term obviously sets them up for a fall.
There's a new driver called SideTrack which allows you to program a soft button into your trackpad. That is, you can set the physical button to either a click or right click and set a tap on teh trackpad to the opposite. It also adds scroll zones to the sides.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
For $778, you could have gotten a Dell notebook with a 40GB drive ($699 for 20GB).
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
According to an Apple Insider article, Apple is already ahead of this game. They will deliver sooner, at a lower cost, and very likely a better product. Guesses (aren't they always with Apple?) include an intro around April 28 for the first anniversary of the iTMS.
Sources: Apple readying 4th-generation iPod
(snip) While sources could not pin-point a specific day or month of introduction, they said the soon to be released player would boast a 50GB hard disk capable of holding 12,500 songs and carry an approximate cost of $499.
Unlike the recent capacity-centric revisions to the iPod line, the 4th-generation iPod will host a number of architectural advancements and new features. Most apparent, sources say, is the presence of a 2-inch color screen for displaying photos stored on the pod, from the palm of your hand.
The player will reportedly also adopt a video output jack that will allow users to connect their iPods to television sets, sources said. Meanwhile, no mention was made in regards to an output jack capable of relaying audio to a home entertainment center. (/snip)
1. It plays movies in WMV and audio in WMA. So where am I going to get the WMV movies?
And if I have to rip the movies myself with an unofficial DVD, will I still go to jail/get fined?
No, with this device that will be just fine. It comes with an agreement that will make any previously illegal activity now legal.
[/sarcasm]
RTFA:
2. Battery power? I'm seeing 3 hours - seriously? iPod killer with 3 hours of battery power? That's like the Sega handheld devices that were going to kill the Gameboy with 3 hours battery power.
What's the question?
Where in the article did you read 3 hours?
3. TV out? Suppose I do pick it up and put movies on it so when I'm at a friend's house we can watch something. Can I have a TV-out so we don't have to scrunch around a tiny little screen?
RTFA:
I have a HUGE collection of MP3s/AACs, and I have yet to run into space problems on my 15 gig iPod...
It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
I moderate therefore I rule!
--
Hey you idiots...it's spelled i Pod not "Ipod" or "IPod"!!!!! Grrr this pisses me off so much you wouldn't understand!!!!
I used my USB Logitech Mouseman Traveller (3 buttons + scroll) quite a bit when I bought my iBook out of fear, but I eventually found the trackpad to much more usable (except for FPS games of course). I only use the USB mouse for my Inspiron 8200 notebook now. The trackpad on my Dell is no where near the quality of the iBook's trackpad.
The thing that lots of people don't realize is that you really don't need more than 1 mouse button when using a Mac, because the programs are oriented around 1 button. Command-click is the closest thing to a right-click and works perfectly with the flow of things since your left hand is already on the keyboard. The Mac interface is all about the Command button first, and the pointing interface second...IMO anyway.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
My Pocket PC already plays MP3s and MPEGs and I have it for over a year plus does all the stuff that a pocket pc does. It uses crappy yet sometimes functional Windows Media Player (I guess I could download something else but I am lazy). And with Beyond TV I can watch TV shows and movies on it on the train. Oh and it only cost me about $100 when I bought it. With SD cards getting more and more capacity I see no market for the "IPOD Killer" at all.
Most manufacturers other than apple (Rio, iRiver, Nueros) have been adding vorbis support to their hd players. Apple is just higher profile.
It's the smaller your cellphone was, the hipper you were. Those fashion store clerks were holding phones the size of a tic-tac.
linux runs on a ipod!!!
so why????
stop supporting microsoft with pirating their software!!!!!
A portable video device just doesn't sound too good when you can buy a laptop with almost the same price! ;-)
Only people interested in this would be porn enthusiasts who don't care about MS bugs with 40-50gb of porn with them to tag along! heh
Lord of the Binges.
Actually, the iPod *does* have DRM.
The m4p files are still encrypted on the iPod, they are just encrypted with the iPod's key instead of the PC's key. Yes, you can copy files to any iPod from anyone's iTunes collection (so long as that song is registered with that copy if iTunes), but have you tried to get such an m4p file back off the iPod again? Even if you could just copy the m4p back off, it'd be encrypted with the iPod key instead of the PC key.
-Serp
Or, to put my argument another way, tell me you don't want one of these.
I know I'd knock down my own grandmother to buy one of those. Granted it's just a mock up and the technology might not all be here yet, but you have to admit that's way better than a normal ipod.
No one's suggesting you're gonna watch movies while jogging. While jogging, you'll leave the screen off to save battery and just listen to music. But next time you're on a long plane flight or you're killing time away from home, you can bust that baby out and watch that episode of the Simpsons you tivoed but never got around to.
it's called a portable dvd player! albeit without the built in hard drive, but how long until someone decides to add a tiny hard drive to the portable dvd players? i would also imagine that some portable dvd players have mp3 decompression, if not, how much harder would it be to add that?
i went in to pep boys and they were selling 7" lcd portable dvd players for 250$ add 100$ for a portable 40 gig hd (oem price), another 150$ for R&D into adding mp3 decompression, a basic ui, and physical design. for 500$ there is something that equals this "ipod killer" AND has a built in DVD drive AND is cheaper.
"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams"
Just one example
So why would I buy this $700 thing? So I can spend time uploading video and audio to it to remove the inconvenience of carrying around a folder of disks?
I just don't get it... and neither does M$ or any hardware company that thinks this Media Player thingie is in even remotely the same category as the iPod Mini.