Who's Zoomin' Zune? (THE OFFICIAL MICROSOFT ZUNE THREAD)

Microsoft aren't even compatible with themselves...

double whammy/kiss of death.

saw Zune ad @ movie theatre Saturday. Trying so hard to be hip it was painful. "Welcome To The Social" = worst slogan of all time.

http://www.zune.net/en-us/social/launchparty.htm

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/11/13/business/13zune.1903.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/11/13/business/13zune.3951.jpg

As a side note, I never realized that Alanis Morissette had a song called "Doth I Protest Too Much?" - I'm surprised that this grammatically incorrect allusion to Shakespeare didn't provide even more fodder for the relentless mockers of "Ironic."

Digg This!

One of the key selling points of the iPod (I'd go as far as to say that it's the unique selling point) is that the iTunes store is easy to use. In fact, it's very simple to use. I'd hoped that Microsoft would follow suit with the Zune Marketplace. It didn't.

Apple Matters takes a look at how the Zune Marketplace works and here's how they summarize the process:

The 5 Step Plan To Fill Your Zune With Legal Music
1. Create a free Zune account
2. Register a valid credit card
3. Buy “points” from MS
4. Scratch your head as you try to figure out why you need to buy “points” to buy songs. Why can’t you just use standard American currency? Doesn’t Microsoft accept the Dollar anymore? 5. Say “screw it” and go buy an iPod

The Zune points system works as follows:

$5 = 400 points
$15 = 1200 points
$25 = 2000 points
$50 = 4000 points

For those just wanting to buy a few tracks, it's going to be an pain in the rearThis means that a Zune Point is worth 1.25 cents and a track is priced at 79 Zune points costing 98.75 cents (so ultimately it is cheaper than the iTunes store ;-). So you have to pay up $5 before you can buy a single song. From Microsoft's point of view, that's a good thing because it means that people keep on coming back, but from the point of view of the customer it means giving Microsoft a minimum of $5 for a single purchase.

The points system is also a clever way of hiding the real price of the tunes. It'll be easier for Microsoft to add one point to the cost of a tune that it will be for Apple to add a single cent to the price, even though both would take the price of a track up to the $1 psychological barrier. (Which sounds cheaper to you - 79 Zune Points or 99 cents? 80 Zune points or $1?). It also means that you almost always end up with spare points, spare points that you won't want to waste.

Microsoft's reason for using points is that they can also be used at both the Zune Marketplace and the Xbox Live Marketplace. That might be good for Xbox Live Marketplace users but for those just wanting to buy a few tracks, it's going to be an pain in the rear.

Looks like the band Secret Machines is doing a free show at Pine and 4th at 12pm, right when the worst weather this year in Seattle will start.. (heavy winds, heavy rains)... barely anything on top covering the stage. If you hear of members of the band Secret Machines getting electrified due to water/power shorts, you heard it here first.

It works both ways. Vertically for music, and horizontally for video. The controls (volume, etc.) reorient themselves accordingly.

My thoughts are that the Zune, while a passable iPod imitator, will suffer under the weight of MS' own ineptitude.

x-post

http://www.seattletimes.com right now.

Picture of Bill Gates digging his Zune while The Secret Machines are behind him in rock hair position.

I didn't know John Richards (KEXP) looked like a Beachwood Spark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irylEFW6KLs

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/4217/alltheseub1.jpg

"I got new iPod and my neighbor only got iPod mini. Everyone know it for girls!"

Microsoft says the device won't play tracks or albums bought through existing music services affiliated with its own Windows Media "PlaysForSure" initiative. Those services -- such as Napster, MTV's Urge and Yahoo Music Unlimited -- have been partnering with Microsoft and device makers to try to challenge Apple Computer's iPod and iTunes juggernaut.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/285407_software18.html

i went on a date with a proud zune owner last weekend

how'd the date go, and did she play any music on her zune for you?

Proud Zune Owner

he did not play any music on his zune for me, nor did he have a tattoo

apologies for gender-specificness in previous post, although the mixup is making me think I know someone who might do well with a zune

zune pride parade

met another zune owner today

over the internet?

nah irl! it was v weird

did you guys send each other songs over wifi?

m seeking m zune owner.

fyi j0rdan s i know a dude w/ a zune

i dont own a zune!! "another" was referring to my post upthread about going on a date with a zune owner

oh haha it really made u sound like you were one, ever yearning to make contact with a fellow zuner

uncrowned king of the zunes his lost kingdom his ppl scattered ever seeking to reunite the tattered remnants of his ppl and maybe share some music over wi-fi

ya

let's option that screenplay to max & lamp productions

i have a friend w a zune. i think hes trying to 'think different' (tm apple)

Microsoft Exec Slams Report of Zune Death

please remain calm

Ok, it's finally official.

I"m probably the only person here that has one of these and uses it regularly. It's an 80 gig Zune - the red one with the larger screen. Never used any of the wifi, video, radio, sharing, social bullshit or anything. As a basic mp3 player, it's good. The software is pretty bad, the tagging and all that stuff is slow as hell and doesn't work properly. The headphones were bad - the fabric coating on the wire used to rub against your clothes and send a scraping noise into your ears. I got rid of them almost immediately. The machine itself is nice, the screen and the interface is good, and I can't believe it's still working after 3 years. I'd rather have an ipod but this thing just keeps going.

My ratings
Software: Fail
Headphones: Fail
Features: who cares?
Unit: Pretty good

Software: Fail
Headphones: Fail
Features: who cares?
Unit: Pretty good

That's a beautiful epitaph

so this lives on in software form only.
you buy (or get given one !) a windows phone and suddenly you have no option to use windows media to x-fer music over onto the phone.
instead you have to install zune.
which after a few settling in issues, i have come to like ..
but still, why the break from windows media, as given i use an old school low spec xp laptop, i would much prefer to use wm as its easy on the memory ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ly84e6EaM

I think about this thread title at least 3x/week

Surprised this didn't get a revive last year with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Just get you one of these.

http://www.superwarehouse.com/images/products/Sandisk_MP3.jpg

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 13 November 2006 04:12 (eleven years ago) Bookmark

this is still otm.

Got myself a Zune today

Why (as opposed to getting a modern DAP)? Nostalgia?

It was at a yard sale, didn’t want to miss out on the zune craze