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Microsoft Unveils 'Urge' Music Service

CHaN_316 writes "CNNMoney has an article entitled, 'Gates unveils his Urge.' From the piece: 'Bill Gates aims to take over your living room and late Wednesday he unveiled a new music service and new software to do it. Using an appearance with Justin Timberlake, the Microsoft chairman debuted a new music service, Urge, to directly compete with the iTunes music store and interface. Urge launches with over 2 million tracks for purchase or as part of an all-you-can eat subscription, an option the iTunes music store doesn't have. The offering will include exclusive material from MTV.' Begin the living room wars we must." Confirmation of an earlier story on this topic.

39 of 582 comments (clear)

  1. Urge? by JHromadka · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have the urge to point out that Urge is a stupid name.

    --
    "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." -- John Ashcroft
    1. Re:Urge? by JonTurner · · Score: 5, Funny

      >>Urge is a stupid name
      No shit! Did Microsoft outsource their Department Of The Obvious? They should have caught this one early.

      Better uses for the brand name Urge:
      1. pron site
      2. dating service
      3. street drug
      4. hyper caffinated drink
      5. line of hiphop clothing
      6. condoms
      Can anyone do better?

    2. Re:Urge? by krough · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, it's Overkill.

    3. Re:Urge? by sdpuppy · · Score: 3, Funny
      'Gates unveils his Urge.'

      What I want to know is:
      1) Was he wearing a long trench coat at the time?
      2) When he did it, were the girls on the floor, crying their eyes out in laughter?
      3) re: #2, did he explain this was only version 1.0, wait unless they see the upgrade
      4) Did anyone call the police & report this?

      you see darling, I get these urges...

    4. Re:Urge? by orasio · · Score: 5, Funny

      0 - Portable toilets.

    5. Re:Urge? by PHPfanboy · · Score: 3, Funny

      2 little old ladies are sitting on a park bench when along comes Bill Gates and unveils his Urge. One little old lady had a stroke. The other couldn't reach...

      I thank yow....

      --
      29 mpg. YMMV.
    6. Re:Urge? by Xamataca · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not as stupid as their first option: Purge

      --
      ***Game Over***Insert Coin***
    7. Re:Urge? by Lord+Flipper · · Score: 2, Funny

      you forgot the best part. He says, "hey Lady, ya know what this is???" And she says, "Sure it's like a penis, only smaller."

  2. Urge to... by losman · · Score: 3, Funny

    The only urge Bill should have is to pee his pants and the ass-whooping iTunes is giving him!

    --
    Q: I am short, useless and provide no value. What am I? A: a sig
  3. Well, Bill killed it right off to bat... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Geez...just the mention of him appearing with Justin Timberlake just killed any idea of quality and usefulness I might have had thought of concerning this service...

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    1. Re:Well, Bill killed it right off to bat... by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 5, Funny

      Geez...just the mention of him appearing with Justin Timberlake just killed any idea of quality and usefulness I might have had thought of concerning this service...

      Right. Because the service is clearly aimed at all of us listening to the King Crimson Oggs we ripped from vinyl and now play through our home-modded toaster ovens that we've set up to stealthily leech bandwidth from the Starbucks upstairs in the commercial space above the studio apartment we've converted from the freight elevator,

      Face it, d00d. We are so not Chairman Bill's target audience for this product. I don't even think I could pick Justin Timberlake out of a police line-up.

    2. Re:Well, Bill killed it right off to bat... by kpaul · · Score: 2, Funny

      Insightful?! For crap's sake, would someone please mod this 'hilarious'.

  4. names by donnyspi · · Score: 1, Funny

    Urge? and Vista? Where do they get these ridiculous names?

  5. Rhymes with Purge by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or dirge. Just the sort of hip, radical, urban and bitchin' cool attitude that is so well understood by old white male executives in grey suits.

    1. Re:Rhymes with Purge by Tim+Doran · · Score: 2, Funny

      As usual, The Onion has anticipated this and mocked it for you. One of their better pieces, of late.

  6. MTV? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    you mean they are gonna have reality shows too?
    where are they gonna get the music from?

  7. Justin reaches over by tectomorph · · Score: 3, Funny

    to pull down Bill's breast pocket...yet another Microsoft equipment malfunction!

  8. Why do I have an urge to purge this scourge? by digitaldc · · Score: 4, Funny

    "These (partnerships) will allow you to enjoy high definition content and take that away on a portable media device" for what Gates called both the "two-foot experience and the 10-foot experience."

    Two feet or ten feet, Justin Timberlake still sounds like crap. Whenever I listen to him, I get a temporal lobe malfunction.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  9. I'll bite by o-hayo · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't know about you, but the last thing I want is any of Billy's Urges being aimed anywhere in my living room.

  10. Re:Give us what we went, not what you want to give by User+956 · · Score: 4, Funny

    in a story about a online music shop, that all this DRM is really just shooting themselves in the foot! If it doesn't work on a iPod will it not work on a RIO either? how about a sony walkman? Maybe I should download a copy for free and at a higher bit rate from the internet?

    A great man once said, "I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient."

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  11. There is the critical difference... by CupBeEmpty · · Score: 5, Funny
    Apple advertises using Bono and U2. Microsoft goes with Justin Timberlake.

    Only one of these choices actually makes music. Coincidentally only one of these companies has a successful online music store.

    1. Re:There is the critical difference... by hkb · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh, cry me a river...

      Err no, wait.

      --
      /* Moderating all non-anonymous trolls up since 2004 */
    2. Re:There is the critical difference... by SnarfQuest · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ok, I give up. Which one is it?

      --
      Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
    3. Re:There is the critical difference... by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Funny
      Which one is it?

      It's a trick question, of course. The answer is "neither."

      -Eric

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  12. music player? by potpie · · Score: 4, Funny

    The offering will include exclusive material from MTV

    MTV is involved? So I'm guessing this service won't have any music. ;)

    --
    Esoteric reference.
  13. The reason this is under the "Apple" category by MacGod · · Score: 4, Funny

    The reason, for those who are about to ask, why this is under the "Apple" category, is that this is really an Apple ad in disguise. The slogan practically writes itself: "iTunes: No WMA and No Justin Timberlake as spokesman. What more proof do you need?"

    --
    "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
  14. Urge makes me want to regurgitate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Microsoft will buy MTV. Their new tag line
    changed from:
    'I want my MTV!'
    to:
    'You'll want our MSTV, and you'll like it!'

    Resistance is futile,
    we are the Urge!

  15. Well, by hey! · · Score: 2, Funny

    I guess legal must've ix-nayed "Compulsion".

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  16. Christian rock by SnuffySmith · · Score: 5, Funny
    Microsoft is to computing what Christian rock is to real rock and roll.

    Christian rock is like some youth minister's idea of what rock and roll is: you don't even have Link Wray or the Rolling Stones, no it's derivative boy band music and hair metal. And Urge is like some out of touch dorky software mogul's idea of hip -- aesthetically perfectly paired with Stryper, Petra and Creed.

    ``Have you heard about this totally praiseworthy and righteous new music service, Urge? Rock on! Praise the Lord, man!''

  17. When I have the urge... by noidentity · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...I reach for microsoft.

    (sorry, couldn't resist)

  18. He's the one with his hand... by IAAP · · Score: 4, Funny

    on Janet Jackson's tit.

    1. Re:He's the one with his hand... by Skjellifetti · · Score: 2, Funny

      on Janet Jackson's tit.

      That doesn't help. Who's Janet Jackson?

  19. Re:Give us what we went, not what you want to give by headshrinker · · Score: 2, Funny

    We have this great invention in the UK. It's called "radio". You tune in and you get to listen to music. And better yet, it's free. You even get unlimited listening too. Buy two radios and you can both listen to the *same* station at the *same* time - no extra cost, it's still free!

    Wow.

  20. Re:Give us what we went, not what you want to give by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Funny
    though it will not be compatible with iPods

    Yeah, that's pretty much where I stopped reading. I really need to get some of the drugs they must be using down in Redmond. Delusion like that must be an incredible high.

    I did like the "all you can eat" idea, though. The real question is "If I unsubsrcibe to the service, does every song in my collection just disappear?" If the answer is "yes" then my answer is "no thanks."

    -Eric

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  21. Re:Multiple Computers per Song by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm sat in front of 7 right now, and that doesn't include the NAS that actually stores all my music files.

    There's another 4 in the living room, plus a Showcenter 200 which gets used a lot for playing MP3s.

    I'm maybe not your average user, but 5 uses really isn't a lot. Even my Mac Mini would use 2 (OSX 10.4 and OSX 10.3 boots) for one machine.

    Then again I won't pay itunes prices... my local music store sells the real CDs for less.

  22. Yes, but... by artemis67 · · Score: 4, Funny

    you missed the part where Justin ripped off a piece of Bill's shirt, revealing his nipple shield.

  23. Re:Even more interesting... by cocoamix · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Urge coming soon?"

    Did they just eat some undercooked chicken?

  24. Re:Smart move by Call+Me+Black+Cloud · · Score: 2, Funny

    You're betting that in 30 years Yahoo music service will still be around and carrying music you like, otherwise your investment is wasted.

    Actually, I'm betting that in 30 years the DRM will have been cracked and I'll have all my music burned to holographic cubes or whatever replaces DVDs. :)

  25. Re:Look at the sales numbers... by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 2, Funny

    So, would you rather sell 10 million units of something at a loss or 2 million with a profit?

    You're forgetting about economies-of-scale. MS is obviously making it up on volume.

    --
    It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.