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Why Microsoft's Zune Scares Apple to the Core
BoredStiff writes "Computerworld has an article examining Microsoft's plans to launch a competitor to the Apple iPod, the wireless media player called Zune. The article lists five reasons why Apple may fear the Zune, and why it won't be as easily smacked down as the dozens of mp3 players before it have been. The Zune isn't just a music player, the article argues. Think of it as a portable, wireless, hardware version of MySpace. With the Zune, Microsoft is trying to launch a consumer media 'perfect storm.'" From the article: "Microsoft will make the movement of media between Windows, Soapbox and the Zune natural and seamless. The Zune interface is just like a miniature version of the Windows Media Center user interface and is very similar to some elements of Vista. Apple fans are overconfident in the iPod because Apple once commanded 92% of music player market share, a number that has since fallen to around 70%. About 30 million people own iPods. But Microsoft owns more than 90% of the worldwide operating systems market (compared with Apple's roughly 5%), representing some 300 million people. The company expects to have 200 million Vista users within two years."
As a proud owner of a MacBook, this is the funniest thing I've seen on Slashdot in longest time.
The article lists five reasons why Apple may fear the Zune, and why it won't be as easily smacked down as the dozens of mp3 players before it have been.
The Zune interface is just like a miniature version of the Windows Media Center user interface and is very similar to some elements of Vista.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
*wipes tear from eye*
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Good one!
Thank you apple fan boy :)
Charles Wyble System Engineer
you're a fan boy because you're getting worked up about this.
Yeah! No one in his right mind would display passion if he wasn't an apple fan boy! Apple fan boys are stupid! Apple fan boys suck!!
Nanny-nanny-boo-boo!
WINDOWS MONOTONE FOR LIFE!!!!
I mean:
[windows monotone for li--BSOD]
Suck a lemon?
Theres about 200 million computers sold each year nowadays (http://www.pegasus3d.com/total_share.html)
So what? How many years did it take XP to cross the 50% line? Five years on it's barely crossed 80% of the Windoze market share. IDC estimates there are only 400,000,000 XP users today. Each new version of Windoze has taken longer to penetrate because each has been that much more outrageously bloated than it's predecessor. If nothing else has changed, it will be shocking to see so many Vista users in two years.
Changes make their target even less likely. M$'s established users have had enough of the upgrade train. 95 to 98 was bad, 98 to XP was worse and XP to Vista is freaking impossible. You can only fool people so many times and they have plenty of options now. Free alternatives are not only good enough, they are better in many ways. Even if you don't want to go free, you can go Mac and not spend as much as Vista will require. Worse for M$, a large portion of the new computer market is going to come from Europe and the developing world and free software enjoys tremendous advantages there. M$'s language support can't hold a candle to free software even where people have the money to be owned by a US company. Where people don't really have money to waste on basic operating software, free software rules. M$'s growth potential is strictly limited and their user base will collapse soon after Vista flops. The monopoly is based on lies which will vanish in two years.
It's all downhill for M$ now. Most people realize the M$ monopoly is in trouble. It's supposed strength is not going to sell Zune, which will be yet another failure of theirs to own the entertainment market. That failure is another punch to the M$ monopoly myth. It can't happen soon enough.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.