Zune reviews
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Just been reading two reviews of Microsoft's Zune player and while it isn't terrible it isn't going to convert any iPod users or be an iPod killer in the stores. The NYT review[^] is a bit biased IMO (I own an iPod too but jeez author, get a life) but it brings up some frankly weird points about the Zune:
- The Zune has WiFi, fantastic. Except you can only use it to send songs to other Zunes. You can't connect to a PC, network or any other WiFi device. WTF?
- You can't use it as an external HD. Sorry folks, no USB drive in Explorer for the Zune. WTF?
- The screen is bigger. Except it has the same resolution as an iPod.
- Real world testing shows poorer battery life than an equivalent iPod (two hours less.) And yet the Zune is bigger and heavier.
- No podcast support from what I can tell. Crikey.
- Songs are $0.99 but you have to buy credit bundles of $5 or more.
- Songs are listed as costing 79 "points" which sounds cool except 79 points will cost you $0.99. Now that is marketing.
- The software media player is seemingly a stripped down Windows Media Player. You can't use WMP with your Zune.
- Getting all your existing music onto a Zune is a long conversion process if it works at all.
The other review[^]. It seems OK but nothing to rush out for.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
Thanks. I was looking into a Zune player but wasn't quite sure. I think I'll stick with my Zen.
only two letters away from being an asset
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Just been reading two reviews of Microsoft's Zune player and while it isn't terrible it isn't going to convert any iPod users or be an iPod killer in the stores. The NYT review[^] is a bit biased IMO (I own an iPod too but jeez author, get a life) but it brings up some frankly weird points about the Zune:
- The Zune has WiFi, fantastic. Except you can only use it to send songs to other Zunes. You can't connect to a PC, network or any other WiFi device. WTF?
- You can't use it as an external HD. Sorry folks, no USB drive in Explorer for the Zune. WTF?
- The screen is bigger. Except it has the same resolution as an iPod.
- Real world testing shows poorer battery life than an equivalent iPod (two hours less.) And yet the Zune is bigger and heavier.
- No podcast support from what I can tell. Crikey.
- Songs are $0.99 but you have to buy credit bundles of $5 or more.
- Songs are listed as costing 79 "points" which sounds cool except 79 points will cost you $0.99. Now that is marketing.
- The software media player is seemingly a stripped down Windows Media Player. You can't use WMP with your Zune.
- Getting all your existing music onto a Zune is a long conversion process if it works at all.
The other review[^]. It seems OK but nothing to rush out for.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
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Just been reading two reviews of Microsoft's Zune player and while it isn't terrible it isn't going to convert any iPod users or be an iPod killer in the stores. The NYT review[^] is a bit biased IMO (I own an iPod too but jeez author, get a life) but it brings up some frankly weird points about the Zune:
- The Zune has WiFi, fantastic. Except you can only use it to send songs to other Zunes. You can't connect to a PC, network or any other WiFi device. WTF?
- You can't use it as an external HD. Sorry folks, no USB drive in Explorer for the Zune. WTF?
- The screen is bigger. Except it has the same resolution as an iPod.
- Real world testing shows poorer battery life than an equivalent iPod (two hours less.) And yet the Zune is bigger and heavier.
- No podcast support from what I can tell. Crikey.
- Songs are $0.99 but you have to buy credit bundles of $5 or more.
- Songs are listed as costing 79 "points" which sounds cool except 79 points will cost you $0.99. Now that is marketing.
- The software media player is seemingly a stripped down Windows Media Player. You can't use WMP with your Zune.
- Getting all your existing music onto a Zune is a long conversion process if it works at all.
The other review[^]. It seems OK but nothing to rush out for.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
Bah, pretty much like any other MS product, it will become good around version 3.0.
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Bah, pretty much like any other MS product, it will become good around version 3.0.
by that time, iPods will have video cameras, word-processors and vibrators built-in.
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Just been reading two reviews of Microsoft's Zune player and while it isn't terrible it isn't going to convert any iPod users or be an iPod killer in the stores. The NYT review[^] is a bit biased IMO (I own an iPod too but jeez author, get a life) but it brings up some frankly weird points about the Zune:
- The Zune has WiFi, fantastic. Except you can only use it to send songs to other Zunes. You can't connect to a PC, network or any other WiFi device. WTF?
- You can't use it as an external HD. Sorry folks, no USB drive in Explorer for the Zune. WTF?
- The screen is bigger. Except it has the same resolution as an iPod.
- Real world testing shows poorer battery life than an equivalent iPod (two hours less.) And yet the Zune is bigger and heavier.
- No podcast support from what I can tell. Crikey.
- Songs are $0.99 but you have to buy credit bundles of $5 or more.
- Songs are listed as costing 79 "points" which sounds cool except 79 points will cost you $0.99. Now that is marketing.
- The software media player is seemingly a stripped down Windows Media Player. You can't use WMP with your Zune.
- Getting all your existing music onto a Zune is a long conversion process if it works at all.
The other review[^]. It seems OK but nothing to rush out for.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
Although I suppose having a dedicated player is kinda sorta maybe neat, I've never really understood what the big deal is about iPod, Zune, or any other such limited creatures. I have a Dell Axim PDA running the MS Pocket PC operating system. Admittedly, the memory card is only 4 gig instead of 30, but it's a rare week that my road trip listening would require more. I see it as the Vette's 12 CD changer on steroids. It also has standard 802.11 wireless, allowing me to control any of the Audiotron music players in my home stereo system via the web among other things. And of course, I can view pictures, play movies, etc. In addition to all of these features, it is of course a PDA, meaning calendar, file system, web browsing, other apps, etc. And what kind of music can I play? Anything you can play on a PC. My library is ripped to wma, but it could just as easily have been mp3. DRM constraints? My personal code of honor. So, maybe I'm just not hip & cool, but I really don't get it. Why on earth would I want to give up all this functionality, embrace the hassle of clumsy and incompatible DRM implmentations and gain little in return for the sacrifices other than the ability to use the iTunes store (with it's proprietary DRM'd files)? Zune? Who cares? But then, that's also what I said about the iPod. P.T. Barnum lives.
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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Although I suppose having a dedicated player is kinda sorta maybe neat, I've never really understood what the big deal is about iPod, Zune, or any other such limited creatures. I have a Dell Axim PDA running the MS Pocket PC operating system. Admittedly, the memory card is only 4 gig instead of 30, but it's a rare week that my road trip listening would require more. I see it as the Vette's 12 CD changer on steroids. It also has standard 802.11 wireless, allowing me to control any of the Audiotron music players in my home stereo system via the web among other things. And of course, I can view pictures, play movies, etc. In addition to all of these features, it is of course a PDA, meaning calendar, file system, web browsing, other apps, etc. And what kind of music can I play? Anything you can play on a PC. My library is ripped to wma, but it could just as easily have been mp3. DRM constraints? My personal code of honor. So, maybe I'm just not hip & cool, but I really don't get it. Why on earth would I want to give up all this functionality, embrace the hassle of clumsy and incompatible DRM implmentations and gain little in return for the sacrifices other than the ability to use the iTunes store (with it's proprietary DRM'd files)? Zune? Who cares? But then, that's also what I said about the iPod. P.T. Barnum lives.
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
Christopher Duncan wrote:
Why on earth would I want to give up all this functionality, embrace the hassle of clumsy and incompatible DRM implmentations and gain little in return for the sacrifices other than the ability to use the iTunes store (with it's proprietary DRM'd files)?
i listen to music non-stop while i'm working - always have. i used to pick 8 or 9 different CDs every morning and bring them to and from work. that got to be a drag. now, i just bring my iPod, and the 300 or so albums it holds are there whenever i want them. but, i typically just set it on Shuffle and let it pick songs at random all day long; it's like having my own personal radio station - and that was totally impossible before. it's really changed the way i listen to music, in ways i would never have anticipated.
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
Why on earth would I want to give up all this functionality, embrace the hassle of clumsy and incompatible DRM implmentations and gain little in return for the sacrifices other than the ability to use the iTunes store (with it's proprietary DRM'd files)?
i listen to music non-stop while i'm working - always have. i used to pick 8 or 9 different CDs every morning and bring them to and from work. that got to be a drag. now, i just bring my iPod, and the 300 or so albums it holds are there whenever i want them. but, i typically just set it on Shuffle and let it pick songs at random all day long; it's like having my own personal radio station - and that was totally impossible before. it's really changed the way i listen to music, in ways i would never have anticipated.
I can put around 120 albums on mine, so it wouldn't hold your 300. However, I have extremely diverse taste in music, and there is no mood that I've encountered where I'd want to hear a cross section of all those styles on any given day. Since having over 100 albums is sufficient for me, it's not worth the loss of other functionality or tying myself to clumsy DRM systems & proprietary music stores. Dedicated players do have greater capacity, but the way these iPods are hyped, you'd think that they represented something fundamentally new and more useful. It's just a bigger hard drive. Not exactly revolutionary.
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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by that time, iPods will have video cameras, word-processors and vibrators built-in.
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Well, you have to remember, this is version 1, remember the first IE Microsoft put out when they figured they were about to miss the Internet boat? Microsoft tries a quick start and enhances over time.
Rocky <>< Latest Code Blog Post: ASP.NET HttpException - Cannot use leading "..".. Latest Tech Blog Post: Replacing Vista System HD & New things learned!
Is that the right approach for hardware though? With all the marketing, hype and ad-spend on the Zune is a second or third round even going to be viable? Apple got it right the first time with the iPod.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
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Although I suppose having a dedicated player is kinda sorta maybe neat, I've never really understood what the big deal is about iPod, Zune, or any other such limited creatures. I have a Dell Axim PDA running the MS Pocket PC operating system. Admittedly, the memory card is only 4 gig instead of 30, but it's a rare week that my road trip listening would require more. I see it as the Vette's 12 CD changer on steroids. It also has standard 802.11 wireless, allowing me to control any of the Audiotron music players in my home stereo system via the web among other things. And of course, I can view pictures, play movies, etc. In addition to all of these features, it is of course a PDA, meaning calendar, file system, web browsing, other apps, etc. And what kind of music can I play? Anything you can play on a PC. My library is ripped to wma, but it could just as easily have been mp3. DRM constraints? My personal code of honor. So, maybe I'm just not hip & cool, but I really don't get it. Why on earth would I want to give up all this functionality, embrace the hassle of clumsy and incompatible DRM implmentations and gain little in return for the sacrifices other than the ability to use the iTunes store (with it's proprietary DRM'd files)? Zune? Who cares? But then, that's also what I said about the iPod. P.T. Barnum lives.
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
It is an interface issue. With an iPod I can grab it and stop it playing music or start it or select a song to play in 3 clicks. With a PDA audio is not the primary function and it takes switching to the right app before I can start interacting with the music. Focused devices work well IMO. It is why I like simple mobile-phones, they do a few things well and don't try to be PDAs, video & audio players or anything else. I actually don't need PDA functionality in my life. So why buy a bulky device that does all of that and does audio playing but less efficiently than an iPod or Zune? It is cool we have both types of devices to suit different people. (I also know of no PDA as small as an iPod nano with as good battery life and plug-in-and-synch software.)
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
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Maximilien wrote:
Paul Watson wrote: Songs are listed as costing 79 "points" which sounds cool except 79 points will cost you $0.99. Now that is marketing. How to shoot yourself in the foot. I can't even start to understand how someone would even think of designing a system like that.
That is roughly equiv to the UK exchange rate in pounds and pence. Jolly nice of MS if you ask me to support the sterling exchange rate.
Blog Have I http:\\www.frankkerrigan.com
Frank Kerrigan wrote:
That is roughly equiv to the UK exchange rate in pounds and pence. Jolly nice of MS if you ask me to support the sterling exchange rate.
Oh you can be sure they will charge £0.99 and not the pound equivalent of $0.99 for songs when it comes to the UK. :)
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
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It is an interface issue. With an iPod I can grab it and stop it playing music or start it or select a song to play in 3 clicks. With a PDA audio is not the primary function and it takes switching to the right app before I can start interacting with the music. Focused devices work well IMO. It is why I like simple mobile-phones, they do a few things well and don't try to be PDAs, video & audio players or anything else. I actually don't need PDA functionality in my life. So why buy a bulky device that does all of that and does audio playing but less efficiently than an iPod or Zune? It is cool we have both types of devices to suit different people. (I also know of no PDA as small as an iPod nano with as good battery life and plug-in-and-synch software.)
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
Paul Watson wrote:
Focused devices work well IMO. It is why I like simple mobile-phones, they do a few things well and don't try to be PDAs, video & audio players or anything else.
Agreed. I had to update my intentionally primative Nokia recently because I wanted a wireless headset. The Nokia had great battery life, no web browser, no camera, no nothing. It was a telephone. The new Motorola is okay I suppose, but comparatively is a PITA to use and the battery life is less than impressive.
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/23/ipod_accessory/[^] *cough* OK then...
Kicking squealing Gucci little piggy.
:laugh:
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Why would you need such a device? Didn't you have that surgery recently where you had RFID chips and all your other technology physically implanted in a place that the kid sister rule prevents me from describing? :)
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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I can put around 120 albums on mine, so it wouldn't hold your 300. However, I have extremely diverse taste in music, and there is no mood that I've encountered where I'd want to hear a cross section of all those styles on any given day. Since having over 100 albums is sufficient for me, it's not worth the loss of other functionality or tying myself to clumsy DRM systems & proprietary music stores. Dedicated players do have greater capacity, but the way these iPods are hyped, you'd think that they represented something fundamentally new and more useful. It's just a bigger hard drive. Not exactly revolutionary.
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
Christopher Duncan wrote:
Dedicated players do have greater capacity, but the way these iPods are hyped, you'd think that they represented something fundamentally new and more useful.
well, for me, the iPod is both useful and revolutionary. and, i enjoy the 'cross-section' effect. different strokes...
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I can put around 120 albums on mine, so it wouldn't hold your 300. However, I have extremely diverse taste in music, and there is no mood that I've encountered where I'd want to hear a cross section of all those styles on any given day. Since having over 100 albums is sufficient for me, it's not worth the loss of other functionality or tying myself to clumsy DRM systems & proprietary music stores. Dedicated players do have greater capacity, but the way these iPods are hyped, you'd think that they represented something fundamentally new and more useful. It's just a bigger hard drive. Not exactly revolutionary.
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
It's not just a bigger hard-drive. It is a focused, dedicated, refined interface for playing music. Better than what you get on a PDA or multi-function mobile-phone. You can get a Porsche Cayenne which does on and off-road, has loads of space, hauls the parents, kids and granny and is very safe (thanks to height and weight.) It will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and smoke many a boy racers car. But you aren't going to pit it against a dedicated road machine on a track nor would you pit it against a dedicated 4x4 vechile off-road. It might sound strange but I get pleasure from using an iPod. It is elegant and aesthetically pleasing. It is like other Apple hardware which just feels right. The interface is thought through and does one thing very well. I tried to explain this to a friend who thinks people who buy Leica cameras are crazy when you can get a Canon EOS 400D for $3,500 less.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
Dedicated players do have greater capacity, but the way these iPods are hyped, you'd think that they represented something fundamentally new and more useful.
well, for me, the iPod is both useful and revolutionary. and, i enjoy the 'cross-section' effect. different strokes...
Chris Losinger wrote:
different strokes...
Agreed. :)
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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I can put around 120 albums on mine, so it wouldn't hold your 300. However, I have extremely diverse taste in music, and there is no mood that I've encountered where I'd want to hear a cross section of all those styles on any given day. Since having over 100 albums is sufficient for me, it's not worth the loss of other functionality or tying myself to clumsy DRM systems & proprietary music stores. Dedicated players do have greater capacity, but the way these iPods are hyped, you'd think that they represented something fundamentally new and more useful. It's just a bigger hard drive. Not exactly revolutionary.
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
If you don't want DRM, I simply buy the CD, or buy from an site that legally sells without DRM. I find that most of the music that I listen to ( techno of various styles ) can be bought in high quality ( 320 or even WAV ), and those are not mainstream music, and for the more commercial stuff, I can find the CD locally at about the same price as the online download. I rarely buy from iTunes ( the only DRM store I use ).
Maximilien Lincourt Your Head A Splode - Strong Bad
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It's not just a bigger hard-drive. It is a focused, dedicated, refined interface for playing music. Better than what you get on a PDA or multi-function mobile-phone. You can get a Porsche Cayenne which does on and off-road, has loads of space, hauls the parents, kids and granny and is very safe (thanks to height and weight.) It will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and smoke many a boy racers car. But you aren't going to pit it against a dedicated road machine on a track nor would you pit it against a dedicated 4x4 vechile off-road. It might sound strange but I get pleasure from using an iPod. It is elegant and aesthetically pleasing. It is like other Apple hardware which just feels right. The interface is thought through and does one thing very well. I tried to explain this to a friend who thinks people who buy Leica cameras are crazy when you can get a Canon EOS 400D for $3,500 less.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.
Paul Watson wrote:
It might sound strange but I get pleasure from using an iPod.
Oh. http://www.codeproject.com/lounge.asp?msg=1751814#xx1751814xx[^] Understood. :-D
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
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Paul Watson wrote:
It might sound strange but I get pleasure from using an iPod.
Oh. http://www.codeproject.com/lounge.asp?msg=1751814#xx1751814xx[^] Understood. :-D
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com
:laugh: No wonder she keeps borrowing the damned thing...
regards, Paul Watson Ireland FeedHenry needs you
eh, stop bugging me about it, give it a couple of days, see what happens.