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Microsoft Launches the Zune
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."
... who cares?
Ignore this signature. By order.
Mentioned is mp3 support for the new Zune... which brings to mind a question, what is an assumption about mp3 support? This is related to a recent "panic" when I found the version of Winamp I was ripping from only allowed me to create VBR mp3s, and I was not sure if my player supported VBR. Nowhere on the web could I find mention it supported anything other than simply "mp3", though it is a very new machine.
Short of ripping some tracks and transferring to give a listen I had no idea. Thankfully, my player does support mp3 VBR, though I've yet to confirm the rest of the players in the household also do.
The reason I ask, I've come to the conclusion unless something is explicitly stated , you cannot make any assumptions about functionality, or even "accessories" for that matter.
Consider, the player I have, which I absolutely love, so much so, I bought another for our daughter. Interestingly and to our surprise, the exact same player came in a smaller box. I figured better packing. Hmmmm, nope. The unit now comes without the AC adaptor for recharging. You can only charge the new units with the power from the USB connection unless you order the AC charger as an extra.
I know this wanders a bit off topic, but, I just wonder how many others have experienced the assumed, e.g., "VBR" compatibility for an mp3 device to find it can't paly VBR.
That aside, gotta love some of the comments on the article page -- e.g., one complains about Apple needing to also get a wide screen for their device... funny, I guess "wide screen" can be a fairly relative description.
The widescreen stuff looks kind cool!
Although it sounds good, do people hate microsoft so much (thanks to windows) that it will not be a success compared to the more-respected apple? Or will ipod fatigue set in as people look for the next big thing, giving a decent boost to sales? Microsoft have always been fairly decent with hardware manufacturing (original xbox appearance and controller aside), and I would not be averse to getting a zune over an ipod.
Warhammer forums
the brown Zune look with the blue screen of death?
Here's a hint on all these ad-hoc wireless networks. We also have another ad-hoc wireless network. We call it air, and it can transmit vibrations from one person to another! Seriously, I've had my DS for awhile, and I've never suddenly found a person to play wireless with. Unless you have bells and whistles going off to indicate another person is around (and I'm not going to sit around at a "looking for" screen), it's a solitary thing.
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.
Good job, Zonk! You made it through an article about an MP3 player without having to use the phrase "iPod Killer" even once! See how easy that was?
...
*pats Zonk on the head*
Now if only you could do that for the 500 other articles you edit with "iPod Killer" in them
Is it just me or is Zune a terrible name?
"Technology.....the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it." Max Firsch
I guess it's for all those Microsoft customers who wear brown suits and brown shoes.
Really, how stupid do they think people are? They really are the RIAA's bitch, that 3 days of being able to share a song is crap. Do they know people have been sharing music before their fucking Zune without drm, and people have bought what their friend have?
Sorry, I don't see anyone that downloads mp3s from filesharing being able to afford a Zune (or iPod), so why are they so intent on making sure your friend has to buy it? Right I forgot, this is the RIAA's device, not Microsofts or the customers. They still don't get that people want the music for themselves, not "permission to use it on one machine" ect. I give this a big itsatrap and call stupidity. And oh ya, no thanks DRM.
Not that Apples keep trying to innovate, but hurrah for what may be some real competition. Mostly, yay for letting me listen to non-podcasted NPR, as long as its reception turns out okay.
I would expect h.264-compatibility to be coupled with something better than QVGA. Maybe it's a price-point thing. Or perhaps this is the "core" system.
Brown? Seriously? It's meant to be a cutting-edge, fetishistic techno-gadget, and they offer it in fucking brown?
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.
You must think in Russian.
... and neither are mentioned, as far as I can see:
... as well...
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.
Physicists get Hadrons!
What about the Zune is so revolutionary that it makes a person not want to buy an ipod or throw away their current mp3 player for the Zune.
Klingon Software is not released, it escapes, inflicting terrible damage onto the enemy as it does
It actually looks quite sexy. I wish the "sharing" aspect allowed for a longer period, such as a week, but I guess they figure most people woudn't buy alot of music if they could listen to it for that long.
The key will be both battery life and ease of use, which it's going to have to meet or beat the ipod if they want any marketshare.
Is this really a launch? Can they be purchased today?? No? Then this isn't really a launch then is it? I can order a new Nano and it will be here in a few days to a day. Zune's probably ain't going ot show up until November.....
Gorkman
Wireless. More space than an iPod. Awesome.
...the rest of the world that isn't so maliciously bent on overly criticizing every single idea that comes out of Redmond. The people who just care about the music and not all this bitter debate about who's "better" than who (as if the entire world are experts on quality).
People who want to see something new, not (unlike a certain other company that made product announcements this week) the same old crap with more storage, a smoke-and-mirrors attempt at gapless playback, different colors (again), and an idea that's already been done for years, and a still-overly-restrictive DRM system.
The color of shit for a shitty product with a shitty name; all Microsoft's products should be brown.
When will these zune things be in the bargin-bin so I can unshittify one by installing linux?
I'm an huge fan of Apple's products. I'm typing on a MacBook Pro and I love my 1G Nano. But after Apple's disappointing announcement this week, I have to say that Microsoft is now the technology leader in the portable player market.
/.ers put MS down today, I have to congratulate them. Nice design, nice features, great competition. Hopefully this will push Apple that much harder.
Ad-hoc wireless is a huge feature. The widescreen looks great. I have to admit that this Apple fan has, for the first time in years, a little bit of Microsoft envy.
I know, I know. It is yet to be shown that the Zune + Windows delivers a great user experience like the iPod + Mac. iTunes and its store make the whole process seamless. The Airport Express and AirTunes are great features.
But, like I said, while other
Alright you simply have to explain this one.
You'd rather give money to Microsoft over Apple.
All of Slashdot is pulling up a chair, make it a good one!
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
Because it will decimate every other mp3 player brand besides apple, I wonder if this isn't a play to destroy the concept of owning your music entirely.
.doc.
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.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
what if me and my band record stuff on the computer and throw the mp3 on the zune, and then share it with a friend, does he still only have 3 times to listen to it, and then unsucsessfuly try to download it off the marketplace?
If they only renamed it the "Wii" it could be on Slashdot three times a day.
It may not be earthshaking news, but there's a lot of people who care - every person who owns MS stock. Microsoft has to keep pursuing new markets and Zune, like it or not, is one of their plays to get into a new market and keep the money flowing. (Of course, if they insist on losing money like they are with Xbox, that story may change.)
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.
"It's real and we can touch it, so least we know where we stand." - Jack Burton
To get around the 3-plays-in-3-days nerf, couldn't you just not let the song play all the way through? I know the iPod firmware (and iTunes as well) doesn't count a song as "played" unless it finished playing the last bit...
That is the stupidest feature I have ever heard of. Did they do any market research that led them to believe this was something people actually *wanted*? And that it worked the way they would want it to work?
...and he can listen to it for three days before it self-destructs?
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?
It's a strange world -- let's keep it that way
The idea behind h.264 is to use more computing power (or more likely in this case dedicated ASIC) to give a better picture for your size bitsream--at any resolution. QVGA is nice because it is 4:3, and is thus more compatible than the huge array of widescreen ratios. 320x240 is a pretty well recognized standard--you'll see a lot of video recorded natively at this resolution.
While I think it actually looks pretty nice, I as well as many iPod owners will never make the "switch" to a player like this for one reason: iTunes. I can take or leave the iPod itself. It's nice but I've had terrible luck with quality and have gone through about 5 of them. It's not been a perfect relationship. However, I LOVE iTunes. I use it daily and since I bought my iPod I have bought hundreds, maybe a thousand songs through it. The inability of another player to play these songs (without going through alot of trouble to remove the DRM) is a show stopper for me.
"I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability."-Oscar Wilde
Gapless playback?
As of yesterday, it's a must have
Summation 2
Well, that's overstating it a bit. But I would have thought that all the money being poured into this thing they (M$) could at least come up with something original. Instead they put out a product that is orthogonal to it's nearest competitor.
Lame in my opinion. Oh well. Perhaps a quick hack to turn the WIFI feature into something cool...
so all players that support mp3 should also support it.
Wow, those QVGA screens sure do blow up nicely, without any pixelation!
The irony is that the only way I would buy it is if it supported ogg.
So soon?
It's seems Microsoft will finally launch something on time and as promised. Must be the begining of the post Gates era.
Got MILF? It does a body good!
If anyone is wondering what the box art will look like, here it is
Summation 2
...the white model. The happy couple are frollicking in ... the east river of New York City. That's the Manhattan bridge in the background, and they're esentially right below and slightly west of the Brooklyn Bridge.
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.
I've got a £30 1gb mp3 player. It works perfectly, supports mp3 and wma, and I'm not especially worried if I lose it.
A Zune, a Zen, or an iPod are all very expensive, and I'd worry about lazing on a beach with them, or doing something that risks damaging them, like jogging (what with me being clumsy and all). Hence my sticking with cheap players.
What interests me is the idea of a disposable mp3 player that I can buy in packs of ten and chuck when they get ragged or worn out in some way, or just not care if I lose them.
Besides, I'd be willing to bet that a disposable mp3 player would pretty soon have analogues of the most populer features of these expensive players.
This makes no sense whatsoever.
:P
A Microsoft player supporting H.264 and AAC?
Microsoft is fighting a big battle AGAINST both formats with WMA Pro and VC-1. It makes little sense for them to release a player that supports them. It's would be like Intel adopting AMD64, but instead of it being out of necessity, doing it voluntarly.
I don't believe a word of it. Next news item: Microsoft releases Word for Linux
1st will likely be a means of sharing over wireless without the self-destruct "feature".
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?
There is no mod option "-1: Disagree" for a reason. "Overrated" is not an acceptable substitute. Post something instead.
I can't wait to do my first turdcast with a brown one.
1. They're like 5 or 6 years too late to the party.
2. Brown? What kind of color choice is that?
3. Most crucially, it doesn't run LINUX.
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
Wireless. More space than a Nomad. Lame.
You must think in Russian.
I find it amazing that, according to their press photos, The Zune's 320 x 240 screen is so amazing that it can display what appears to be five times the number of pixels it actually has.
Someone give those ClearType guys a raise!
Assuming you can get the wireless networking to even work (with Microsoft's ad-hoc networking history that is NOT a given) how long do you think it will be before the first Zune virus appears?
Also, since the thing supports MP3 and AAC and uses USB to connect, why won't Microsoft support the Mac? It should be trivial to do, and it would eliminate so many complaints about it being a "closed" system. Obviously iPod supports Windows for the market share, but Apple can legitimately claim that they have the only product that supports Mac and Windows.
A quick tip.
If they are short on brown, you can buy a white one and stick it up your ass.
welcome,
AC
Here http://malfy.org/
Will this thing be able to run Rockbox? Or a version of Linux, like iPodLinux? That's the only way I'd ever buy one of these, and then only if the price is really good. I won't buy a player without Ogg support.
I do have to give them credit for keeping the front of the device clear of any stupid logos or brand names. I don't see an ugly "Microsoft" logo or anything else there, just the screen and the controls. But the brown is horrid.
They day is not over yet, we have plenty of time for a repost or two.
just a ghost in the machine.
I'm on my 2nd iPod, a 60GB 3G.
.mac account to share pictures with me. So cool yes, useful, not so much.
This zune looks pretty nice. Not that I'd ever watch more then a music-video or clips people email (or snag off video-websites) on either the Zune or a video iPod. (I might put a DVD movie on it and play the movie to a friend's TV, however). The picture sharing looks very cool. However, most people I know either email, use flickr, or use their
What concerns me is battery for both the big color screen and the wifi. I know when wifi's powered up on my laptop the battery doesn't last near as long.
But coming this product coming from MS? I find myself impressed. Especially after watching the Zune video on YouTube.
http://slashdot.org/~tf23/journal
Well the *photos* do look nice. But nobody have seen the device in wild so they can be as well 3DStudio renders. :) Typical for MS they announce something like it is real - Zune is unreal as for now. Where can I get one? Where can I read independent review of one? Etc. Etc. Etc.
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...
Engadget recently interviewed an MS Corporate VP regarding the Zune and how Microsoft explains the lack of supporting "Plays For Sure". The resulting statements from this Microsoft Exec are truly worrisome:
Full Article Here"
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?
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
no wireless. less space than a nomad. lame.
/wait.
for a minute there, i lost myself...
I spent a few years as an analyst where I had to review and massage sell-through data on computer stuff in retail and distribution.
Outside of HP, MS decimated the top-3 in a category when they entered. I saw it with keyboards and mice for sure.
MS (apple too) has a habit of killing competition in a category after it becomes big enough for them to enter.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
I can't buy one (not that I would if I could). I can't find anything but a presskit on Microsoft's website. There's no Zune website. There's no mention of pricing, nor when the things will be available.
All I see here is a half-assed response to Apple's new iPod product launch a couple days ago.
Absurdity: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion. -- Ambrose Bierce
For the record - a quick skate around google found this list of supported 'add-ons'....
Cars!
Umbrellas!
Underwear!
Warships!
Dildos! (SFW)
When the Zune get's its own warship extension, then i'll start believing it has a chance.
Also, Microsoft's reputation to the public at large, seems to encompass little more than "The company that make my computer crash", whereas Apple actually have a well-earned consumer-friendly image about them. Maybe this will change, but I just can't see it right now.
throw new NoSignatureException();
microsoft zune - better than oral surgery in a construction yard
i support the right to offend.
The whole "Zune-to-Zune" sharing thing seems like a gimmick. I also have a Nintendo DS, and I've never kept it in "Standby mode" and met anybody. I have arranged with friends to play against them, but it was always planned. Unless a large number of people own Zunes and there are a sizable number of people within the range of the Zune wi-fi thing, there's a slim chance you'll happen to bump into someone and listen to the song that will change your life. If you go through the trouble of meeting up with someone to listen to their music, just put the album on a flash-drive or a portable hard drive. Maybe it will make ignorent consumers think "Hey, this is the same P2P thing that Napster got busted for. I am so "on the edge!"", which might result in sales numbers. But hey, competition is good for the iPod. I'm interested to see how it will do (After all, the iPod isn't exactly 'feature heavy' either).
If that's a click wheel on the front then it'll do fine. The main reason that so many people seem to prefer iPods is that wheel interface. That said, the brown is UGLY.
Dude, read the specs. Its 320x240. The screen is 3" as opposed to the iPod's 2.5".
The animated video on comingZune is pretty odd, and, if you ask me, pretty disturbing. I've already seen a couple of different people who think that the rabbit is going to bite the head off the little guy ... I could see it happening. Not sure what marketing genius came up with this one ...
That is one ugly device.
It's 50 more dollars than the equivilent iPod, plus it doesn't have the "cool" factor. The only thing that the Zune really has going for it is the built in wireless, which I feel really isn't that great of an addition for a music player.
Daniel
They have not even announced pricing and availability yet.
Incase you're wondering if the port on the thing will be physically similar to the iPod's, it doesn't look like it.
Pictures: small or large
http://slashdot.org/~tf23/journal
I for one, will LOVE to have this device as soon as it is available. IF it has automatic synching. I subscribe to Yahoo Music Service (it was cheap when paid for the year in full), and the biggest complaint I have about the service is that I have to synch my portable player at least once a month or the subscription goes dead. And that always seems to happen when I am not near my PC or laptop. If this device can automatically synch my subscription by itself every month, so that I do not have to worry about it. That alone would make it a must buy for me. I couldn't care less about song sharing, I already have access to all the songs I want.
in 5, 4, 3 ...
Is Microsoft blazing a trail for "share with a friend", as long as the original is legitimately "owned" (like buying a CD) and the friend doesn't give a copy to anyone else?
There's lots of technology and social technique that could be thrown at ensuring that happens, not just MS DRM. But the biggest impediment is the total lack of any legal clarity that we still can exercise the same rights on a network to share with a friend that we have when we loan a legit copy of a CD, or play one at a party.
--
make install -not war
...by most consumers, I'd bet.
This just doesn't look like an iPod killer to me.
Physically, it looks cheap.
Feature-wise, there's nothing compelling. The wireless feature seems not well thought out and is so limited I doubt most buyers would have that as the top reason to purchase.
And, without a distribution system like iTunes, why would an iPod owner or even a 1st time buyer choose a Zune?
Some others have made points about accessories. That's a good question; what's available from MS? 3rd party support? Retailers signed up to give over shelf space?
Repair policy!
My wife had the screen on her iPod Mini crack while under warranty. Had a brand new unit from Apple in 72 hours. I bought a Shuffle like day one and it malfunctioned about 8 months out. Apple shipped me a new one and I returned the old one...in the same box...at their cost. Got the Shuffle in 48 hours! I opened both cases on the Apple site in about a minute with no hassle whatsoever.
What will Microsoft offer? Do they have the equivalent of AppleCare?
If they (MS) were smart, they'd have made the wireless work for an optional headset. No cords or dongles hanging from your player. Extra bucks for the "upgrade" from earplugs. Maybe they should let the Xbox marketing folks loose on this.
No...I don't think Steve Jobs will lose any sleep...or money...over Zune.
I am my own gestalt.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3609953966 5548298
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
write a program that can send itself from zune to zune, imagine the chaos, oh make sure it can check the color of the zune casing so it doesn't effect turd brown zunes and then everyone has to be as uncool as each other. Also I predict the new word for fecal matter will be zune, i.e. "I left a massive zune in the toilet"
If you don't like MS or Apple, but form onte of the other outfits.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Ofcourse i didn't RTFA, but does anyone know how exactly that songsharing works? Can you only share songs that you bought online? Or can i also share mp3's that i uploaded myself? Do they get DRM added to them after i send them also if they didn't have it in the first place?
What if i made the song myself? can i share it unlimited with other people or is that 'play 3 times and self-destruct' rule still in place?
comes in 3 colors, basic grey, apple white and shit brown
(yes i know i suck at spelling fell free to correct my grammar and/or spellin i dont care, im still not going to change
Choosing such an unstylish colour can mean only one thing: Microsoft have finally discovered the brown note.
"I tried the Zune, but it gave me the sh*ts - so I bought an iPod instead."
I think the Wifi is a winner. I would possibly get something like this for internet radio. But I choke on the idea of Windows/MS device. I'm sure this could run Linux, but running Linux on an MS device is not enough for me.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
...there's the FM radio remote. I want AM radio. I use an iPod to get away from the crap on the FM dial, the real content (traffic, news, talk) on radio is on the AM band.
Not only is the brown color an odd choice, but I love the picture of the happy couple standing in the water.
:)
That shot was taken at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge (I believe) in NYC. So the happy couple is playing in the East River -- not one of the cleanest waterways in the world. You can see the nice murky water at their feet
Oh and also, as someone else pointed out, those pics and text seem awfully hi-res for a QVGA display
Supporting more file types is irrelevant to me. I want it to support THE FILE TYPES I USE.
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!!!!
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
I've got the iAudio M3L. Plays atleast for 24h continuously... I couldn't be bothered trying longer. :)
You don't need any software at all. When you plug the device in, it recognises it as a harddrive. Runs on every OS and Computer aslong as it's got USB support. Throw some music on there and you're good to go. you can use software if you want, with the music library and all, but I've got my music nicely sorted in various directories, so I wouldn't know how a music library would be beneficial for me, but to each his own I guess
The M3 supports, amongst others, OGG, FLAC, and the standards.
It has a built-in FM radio, memo recorder recording to mp3 format, can record from any source thru jackplug straight on mp3 etc etc etc...
See www.cowon.com for more info on these players.
Manuals are your last resort only
If they didn't there would be plenty of people who would not consider a Zune because it would mean having to rerip large CD collections that are already in AAC format. Apple avoids this same thing by giving iTunes the ability to convert WMA files to AAC format. Microsoft's solution is better becuase you don't lose audio quality from transcoding to another lossy format.
Supportting H.264 has to do with the video iPod having the same format/resolution. There are many programs available that will convert DVD's and other computer video file formats to mpeg or H.264 at the resolution the iPod can support. Microsoft can now make use directly from this work being done for the iPod's benefit instead of having start an uphill popularity effort to get others to write the apps on their own accord. They could release a utility themselves, but that might cause some legal snafus they don't want to get involved with about ripping DVD's.
This is a good thing for consumers as it helps establish de facto standardized (non-proprietary) formats that can be used on a variety of players.
No street date, no pricing, no list of retailers, no public demos, no music store, no anything but photos and a press release. Whether they call it "launched" or not, Zune is still vaporware.
0 1 - just my two bits
That's not the only color it's available but personally I applaud MS for releasing turd brown as an option. Now if they do a special "Ween Edition" turd brown - it'll be the perfect player to enjoy the brown sound on, especially if it has "Poop Ship Destroyer" engraved on it.
Sometimes my arms bend back.
either that, or I'm a slow typer :P (one post down) :)
Manuals are your last resort only
It's old, not very funny, and has been beaten to death.
But it is a Slashdot tradition, damnit!!!!
Wireless.
More space than a nomad.
Cool.
Personally I think a limited edition Ween turd colored zune would be the perfect player to enjoy the brown sound on. They could bundle the album Pod as a poke at Apple.
Sometimes my arms bend back.
Wireless? More space than a Nomad?
Definately not lame!
Beige? Beige! The Player of choice for somebody like Tony Blackburn...
OK Hipsters, I'll get my cool flares on and boogie on down to the disco in my Ford Capri...
Your Zune Player has decided that it has lost the will to live, the battery will now explode in five seconds.
I forget, is Zune the door keeper or the key master?
------ How can making people laugh lead to bad karma?
If they only renamed it the "Wii" it could be on Slashdot three times a day.
They were going for the other side of the "coin".. hence the brown color. -Qyiet
Seeing as most people don't replace the keyboards and mice they get with their computers, the PC manufacturers are by far the keyboard and mouse leaders.
Microsoft may be the leader in selling keyboards and mice as keyboards and mice, I would expect that less and 10% of keyboards and mice in use are made my Microsoft.
One significant feature of the Zune/Windows experience may be that you don't need to shop at only one store (iTMS). Amazon Unbox already has portable device features built into their video service. Others will likely spring up soon.
Only one of those stores needs to have a seamless "Zune/store experience" for it to be a success.
Wifi? More space than a Nomad? LAME!
Where's support for OGG?... I prefer something better than an iPod, if this guys innovate then they will winners, but this is a copy, and is coming too late.
ghostbar page.
what garbage.. why bother?
Besides, did microsoft get a special license for this from *all* music content copyright holders? If not, is still illegal.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Yeah, but the OEM ones aren't going to show up on his sell-through data because they don't have a separate SKU.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
How about -5 ignorant. Not only have select people been beta testing the hardware, there are videos on the net (even linked from the article) of the Zune in action.
I still prefer buying CD's and ripping them to buying on iTunes or similar because of the lack of DRM. If I have my large collection on un-DRMed mp3's, can I share them? Or will microsoft think I'm doing something naughty?
...you don't have to worry about getting mugged for it.
Can I also note that IMHO any kid who bought something called a 'Zune' will find himself in a living hell.
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
Following the announcement Balmer was spotted, signing to his wife, "Zune Zune Zune, Let's go back to my room."
It's one of context.
Zune doesn't have to be revolutionary to succeed (which is good for MS, 'cause it isn't).
All it needs is to integrate a little better with the MS media household than Apple's product does. And that, I'm sure, it will do.
Aside from having de facto market share in the desktop OS market, MS has two things going for Zune: XP/Vista Media Center, and Xbox 360. If Zune is seen as an extension of these, and not as some vain attack on the iPod, I think it stands to do quite well among the users who have already invested in other elements of the MS-based media system.
Your mind is clear / The things that you fear / Will fade with how much you / Believe what you hear
Will I be able to upload my MP3 collection from Linux, MacOS, or older versions of Windows?
I know the creative players don't connect like a normal flash drive, which means you need to use special software to connect to the PC. This has ment that initially there was no way to connect creative players to Linux or Mac PCs.
Dissed and dismissed (by Microsoft's Fanboy-in-Chief, no less) in the best comment so far on Zune's music sharing capability:
"The gimmick appears to be wireless interaction with other Zune users. Since I expect there to be about six of these by the end of the year, this could be sort of a waste of time."
Contrary to popular belief, most of the working world loves Microsoft.
Fully qualified, that is most of the working world over the age of 50, who's employers are in the Fortune 100, who had a large portion of their 401k put in M$TF without their permission, who still get their news from the broadcast networks, all of those people, still think M$ will be here in ten years. They also hate their computers and know it's M$'s fault. Really. Even the least informed and most vested of long time computer users know that M$ is second rate. They only think M$ will be around because they are used to seeing big dumb companies beat the marketplace and the law. IBM and friends give them pause, because they know that IBM knows computer excellence.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
How will the brown Zune look with the blue screen of death?
Natural.
SNAFU, VISTA. Can you tell the difference? Six years to failure and counting. Zune, like previous M$ music services, will sink without a trace in short order.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Apple has a similar lock in to the digital music player, that Microosft has on the desktop. All peripherals work with iPods. Car manufacturers provide integarted ipod controls in their vehicles. And a LOT of people are using iTunes out there, which the Zune won't support because iTunes doesn't do WMA and any Microsoft DRM.
Still, competition is good. I'm sure future iPods will have a wide screen and wifi built in. This will just cause Apple to have to innovate all the harder.
Personally I don't see the Zune taking off, with so many other choices out there such as Creative, RCA, Samsung. Name brands like the Rio and the Zen are very well known names, but still don't sell as well as the iPod. And Microsoft is not known for it's outstanding consumer electronics. I could see people waiting to see what Sony's new MP3 player is going to be like, I don't know if anyone is going to patiently wait to see what Microsoft's MP3 player will be like.
Andy
Yeah, but does it run linux?
"A witty saying proves nothing." -- Voltaire
Just like the ipod was a complete and utter failure because it has DRM?
No, Zune will sink just like the new Napster and other utterly forgetable M$ music services. In case you missed it, they sucked so bad that even no one wanted them, even after being forced to pay, despite M$'s OS advantage and prevalence of cheap, compatible players. DRM sucks, M$'s brand is the worst and people know it. A whoop-de-do wireless network that only shares temporarily with other Zunes will contribute to the well earned bad reputation.
In fact, M$'s entry to the device market will hasten the demise of WMA. If M$ pulls it's usual strategy of "knifing the baby" or "cutting off their oxygen", both phrases from M$ emails, they will drive other device makers away from WMA. This will strengthen device maker support for less encumbered formats like mp3, ogg and flac.
Contrary to popular belief, iTunes is not doing that much better. People still overwhelmingly purchase their music in forms that are not DRM encumbered. DRM is damage and people route around it.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
I'll bet all of Microsoft's partners who designed to the PlaysForSure standard are real happy about this. Microsoft lobbies all of them to adopt PlaysForSure because that's Microsoft's strategic direction and it's what everyone is going to be using... while Microsoft quietly develops their own product that goes off in a completely different direction.
Remember when Microsoft was (successfully) getting everyone else to develop for OS/2 while they themselves were developing for Windows?
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
For starters, no one will care that much. It's Microsoft. Microsoft is about as fresh and exciting as a slice of white bread with peanut butter spread on it. Mmmm... peanut butter.
...yet.
That's besides the point. By this time Zune has it's launch for the 2006 holiday season, Apple will most likely debut their new 16:9 6G iPod with larger storage capacities than 30GB, a touchless scroll wheel, etc. WiFi? Don't know, and honestly don't care enough
Reading Microsoft's press release was the most stale thing I could do. It was almost like Ben Stein wrote the damn thing. Though I give kudos to Microsoft for giving it a good try. Maybe I'll be wrong and iPod will lose that much momentum, and Microsoft will lead the pack. But I doubt it. If Microsoft gains anything by the launch of Zune, it's to witness the fall of Creative, Toshiba, Samsung, iRiver and the like in the portable music player market. But in order for them to have "the edge" on those other companies... they need to give the consumer something else they haven't seen yet. I say, put a toaster, a portable toothbrush, a Swiss Army knife, or even a small compartment for those poo-poo bags people have to carry around to clean up after their dog on a city walk. That, my friends, would give Microsoft the edge over the rest.
The only reason I wouldn't want it, is the fact that in a year's time, my Zune will have to have 3 different Antivirus programs, and 4 spyware programs installed for using it via WiFi, filling up a quarter of it's total capacity. Just can't bring myself to do it.
Any bets on how many days after the Zune hits store shelves until somebodies got a booting no-hardware-mod-neccessary variant of the linux kernel running on it? And how many days after that before we see a mini-distro with DRM rippers already installed? Any bets on when we'll see the first Zune specific virus that propogates via a buffer-overflow problem in the wireless card driver? Or WMF-style trojaned music? I can see it now.. someone comes up with a uber-mod that plugs into a laptop so you can overwrite that BoomCar's Zune with the "Chipmunks Sing Disney Classics - Polish Language Variant." Maybe if we're lucky it'll lock the volume control on maximum? Heck, I'd buy one and leave it on autoscan just for the sheer joy of frying speakers.
anyone ever hard of ogg format? it's consumes less diskspace and has better quality sound than mp3, the downside is that no-one has ever heard of ogg and never gave it a try.. such a shame.
Dude, are you kidding me?
I *totally* would've gotten my Nano in argyle.
That would've rocked!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Ok I am no m$ fan. I am the exact opposite most times.
However I think M$ is doing a good thing by bringing the first legal large music sharing forum ( still mired by DRM I must admit), but this is a great first move.
I cannot believe we have to knock them for everything.
Just my 2 cents.
just my personal opinion of course, but that thing looks pretty bad ass.. i think i'll buy one.. i think the mere trendiness of ipods is the whole reason i dont want the damn thing.. atleast with a Zune, I can still be a geek instead of a "cool guy" like Apple likes to portray in their commercials..
*plays the Apogee theme song music*
Most people, even Apple fanboys, have mostly non DRMed MP3 in thei music players, legally obtained (ripping from CDs, but also increasingly from music stores and independent artists that are smalling the coffee, lik emusic).
A player that would not recognize this reality would be dead at birth.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
While I think the sharing could be nice if it works well the biggest problem with it is that sharing is only useful if alot of people actually get a Zune. After all what use is sharing if you have no one to share with. And it seems unlikely to me that Zune will be able to take a significant porportion of the market given the current dominance of the iPod so I dont see the sharing feature being a feature that would get much use...
Will they become teh r0x0rrz on the streets and in the subways? Is brown the new white? seriously.
Zune? Zuuuuune? Who came up with that one? Were they so damn neurotic about branding lawsuits resulting from using some variant of tunes that they had to make up a word that rhymes with "tune". Microsoft Music Player would have 20 fold better than "Zuuuuune". "Hey dude, you enjoying your Zune- you tard!" With the money they got in the bank, my descendents are going put up with that company's lousy products for the next 200 years until they go out of business. God spare us all!
You don't have to be smart to use a Mac, you just have to be smart enough to buy one
"Brown's the color of poo." - Christopher Artemis Griffin
"Come on, let's go drink till we can't feel feelings anymore."
Do you have a mod for the same?
If not, just shut up and quit complaining.
"Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
final post!
the apple fanboys are just whining that microsoft did something right.
Microsoft doing something right still has yet to be seen with this product. Apple established the iPod's dominance in the market from the get-go with a superior software interface. For those who can remember the Diamond Rio, the software for loading mp3s onto the devise was a major pain in the a$$ to use. It was like a 3 step process to simply copy some songs over. Apple made it drag-and-drop simple.
With Microsoft's UI track record, I don't have high hopes for an elegant software interface.
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
First of all, Microsoft hasn't launched the Zune. They haven't even announced launch date yet! I'm surprised noone here has linked to this blog, which is from an employee Microsoft and answers (or at least postpones) some of the questions people are raising here at /.
Including: battery life (not known yet), whether you can or not send a song you make with WiFi (yes, you can, but everything sent by wifi is protected by the 3 days/3 plays rule, because there's no way for them to know whether a song is copyrighted or not), and probably others.
The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
So.. does that mean there could be a hack (or the user is stupid enough to let everyone "see" their files)?
I mean is MS usually leaves all its ports open on its OSes, then by default that means your "beacon" is on to let everyone know you can be hacked!
So you are predicting people aren't going to want to share the music on their personal music players with their friends.
Even if that prediction turns out to be incorrect, which it seems so obvious to me now that you've said it, you are then saying that it will be useless because wireless technology is basically impossible.
Fucking brilliant.
Just wondering, does the Zune come pre-installed with spyware, virii etc or do we have to wait for an update?
Well, they named it Zune which lets it be on Slashdot three times in three days.
^_^
There is a lot of difference between a "supported format" and an easy-to-use, encouraged format. Microsoft can make it hell to use/buy mp3s, while still technically "supporting" them. If you and others buy into their system, and start using their proprietary formats which take away your rights, you can be assured that they'll do just that, if they haven't already. It's been the microsoft pattern for a very long time.
If they had a clue, they would pop in to google and find a torrent with 50000 ring tones in a zip file.
Spend the money on booze instead kiddies.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Seriously, teenagers, esp girls, groups of 4-8 of them and lunch time, bingo share share , oh Lucy, listen to this new track, BEEEEEEM, zapo
If your >40, then dude, todays youth is more wired on than you old timer.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
CD players can do gapless, circa 1986 etc.. whenever...
;-)
Its part of the spec, unless its burned in that way, ie, listen to dj mixes.
ipod gapless is long over due, someone decided to think for more than 3 hrs to figure out how to do it, but
go throught 17 forms and 6 managers before that feature request got approved and budget assigned.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
You, my son, are in the wrong place if you think that no one here has ever heard of ogg vorbis. And, btw, there are lots of media players out there that support ogg vorbis, iRiver, samsung, cowan. Check out this baby.
Salut,
Jacques
Apple - B&W and sweet colors
MS - B&W and shit
Let's face it, this machine is sub-par.
It's like Vista. It has no killer features. It has few, if any compelling features. It does not have a compelling price point. The esthetics are poor-quality rip-off of a previous generation of iPod.
This thing is not beautiful, it's not revolutionary and it has "worse than Apple" DRM written all over it. I mean, this is MS, they could've done something different something better. Instead, they've again decided to clone, and this one is going to cost them. It will be flop, they won't make any money, shareholders will be angry and team members will leave for jobs at Google.
And there will be no wonder (from Slashdot at least) as to why the whole thing failed: Poor execution.
Who remembers the UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC). These things were supposed to have the power of a small laptop in a kit the size of a paperback and cost less than 1k. At least they get points for revolutionary thinking (size, thumb inputs), but then they suffer from Poor execution. The units cost much more than 1k. The two that lauched had average esthetics and poor design: one of the two had a flimsy stand, both had so-so battery life, ports were poorly laid out and important ones were missing (no video out?). The weren't light or terribly thin, so thumb-typing can be impossible for some. Plus, the size of the thumb buttons doesn't scale, so people with smaller thumbs couldn't ask the system to "make a smaller keyboard".
The Zune has all of the makings of something even worse than the UMPC, and that's pretty bad.