I have not seen or used a Zune, but at least one Apple expert I respect and listen to on MacBreak Weekly podcast speaks highly of it. In fact, he uses it instead of an iPod because he prefers the subscription model.
So not everyone thinks it's a bad idea. Just not enough. I think the reason Zune failed has as much to do with Apple momentum as it does with quality or features. Too little too late for MS.
As for me, I have stopped using my iPod because its function has just been rolled into my iPhone. Why carry two devices?
MS may be going the same route. The Zune music player functionality is just being rolled into the Windows 7 Phone. So while the hardware may be going away, the software isn't.
Of course this all begs the question whether or not MS's phone will survive the fierce competition. They're going to need to offer some serious reason why one shouldn't go with Apple or Android, or even HP/Palm. The Windows "halo effect" is long gone.
Shareholders in Micro$loth will demand Ballmer be ejected by the end of 2011. The new CEO, charged with improving shareholder value, will then move to breakup the company a'la Motorola.
Microsoft will be gone as an entity by the end of 2012. It's just too bad it takes so long for thieving bastards to get their due.
Of all the dumbass things Microsoft have done over the years, I would vote releasing a Zune in brown as the second dumbest thing.
The dumbest obviously is Balmer being appointed CEO.
What do you think second dumbest is?
I'm not sure the brown color by itself would have been quite so bad, but at the same time Ballmer was talking about "squirting" songs - put the two together, and double yuck!
I liked Zune software much better than iTunes!!!! Please Apple, fix that "user experience"!!!!!
I agree. I own and love my ZuneHD. The media experience was unparalleled. ZunePass is an awesome service and I get to listen to tons of new music. I'm not sure why some Apple fans rejoice..multiple vendors in a marketplace create competition and keep prices under control. What happened when Apple got into a dominant position? they boned any developer with their subscription tax. No dominant vendor is good for competition and competition. Microsoft and Google keep Apple on their toes.
I love my iPad, iPhone, and Macbook Pro...but the ZuneHD is/was an awesome product that I enjoy quite a bit.
Microsoft's direct effort to challenge Apple's iPod, introduced in 2006 under the Zune brand, is being abandoned after a failure to gain traction in the market.
The death of Zune comes as quite a shock to me? I thought it had already kicked the bucket.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson
Of all the dumbass things Microsoft have done over the years, I would vote releasing a Zune in brown as the second dumbest thing.
That's its natural color, as it comes out the end of the assembly line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson
The dumbest obviously is Balmer being appointed CEO.
May he hang on as CEO for as long as it takes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockarollr
You would think that Microsoft would be the one to get the software end of things going the best. After all, they are supposed to be a software company.
ROFLOL
Haha, <gasping for breath/> that's a good one! Hadn't heard that one before!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RMBootneck
Absolute dumbest was appointing Ballmer in the first place. The only good product on his watch has been Kinect.
Accidents do happen!
Quote:
Originally Posted by brentbordelon
What Microsoft should do is QUIT trying to catch up with everyone else and start focusing on something new and different like they did 20 years ago.
Haha, you're funny! Twenty years ago they were copying Apple et al, and blatantly ripping off intellectual property from small companies who couldn't afford to litigate against them. That's what they've always done, and i think that's all they know how to do. But it's a different environment, and those old tricks don't play so well today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brentbordelon
That's the only chance they have of ever being as good as they once were.
Then they haven't a prayer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson
As a side note, I've thought of another dumbest thing Microsoft ever did. If you were to look at it from the point of view of a Microsoft shareholder, I would think giving Apple money to keep them going in 1997 was pretty stupid.
I'm not sure Apple wouldn't have survived without that. What a lot of folks don't know is that Apple saved M$'s ass a couple decades prior. M$ was teetering on the abyss of bankruptcy when Apple came along and gave them a contract to write AppleSoft BASIC. Had Apple chosen to develop that in-house, nobody would have ever heard of Bill Gates or Microsoft.
I agree about Windows Phone 7 - I had a look at a colleagues and was really impressed with it. It does some things really nicely.
Kinect is pretty cool too. There's lots of other applications you could see that technology be used for.
As a side note, I've thought of another dumbest thing Microsoft ever did. If you were to look at it from the point of view of a Microsoft shareholder, I would think giving Apple money to keep them going in 1997 was pretty stupid.
Lol now that's the dumbest suggestion ever. MSFT gave apple money because it didn't want to be broken up.
I have not seen or used a Zune, but at least one Apple expert I respect and listen to on MacBreak Weekly podcast speaks highly of it. In fact, he uses it instead of an iPod because he prefers the subscription model.
So not everyone thinks it's a bad idea. Just not enough. I think the reason Zune failed has as much to do with Apple momentum as it does with quality or features. Too little too late for MS.
As for me, I have stopped using my iPod because its function has just been rolled into my iPhone. Why carry two devices?
MS may be going the same route. The Zune music player functionality is just being rolled into the Windows 7 Phone. So while the hardware may be going away, the software isn't.
Of course this all begs the question whether or not MS's phone will survive the fierce competition. They're going to need to offer some serious reason why one shouldn't go with Apple or Android, or even HP/Palm. The Windows "halo effect" is long gone.
apple is trying to do the subscription thing as well. There was an article on it several weeks back.
I think the Zune pass with ten free songs per month was a great deal. There are other subscription services out there that don't offer free songs. Pandora is a popular service. I listen to it sometimes as well as Last.fm, AOL Radio, and iTunes Radio.
It would be interesting if Microsoft would configure their software to work with iPods and the other iProducts. When I eventually get an iPhone 5 I just might subscribe to it.
If I were to own a portable music player it would be the Sansa Fuse. I would choose that one solely because it works with Linux and FLAC.
I hate Vista therefore I avoid using any other product from Microsoft. Will MS become a game company that also has office software? Windows 7 was not impressive at all. It is on the computers at one of my jobs and it is slow and clunky just like Vista. It doesn't crash with the limited software I used, but even running Outlook the thing was a snail. My old XP computer with a 1.8 GHz Celeron processor was faster than the 2.4 GHz Dual Core Intel processor running Windows 7.
I use Ubuntu with a dual boot Vista. Ubuntu runs so much faster than Windows 7, Vista, and it equals Leopard. Sure it has bugs and needs lots of plug ins. Why complain IT'S FREE! How can MS compete with something free that does a better job than their $189 package? If more people had friends who could hook them up with Ubuntu, MS Windows 7 would just die.
With Zune dead and Apple growing, will manufacturers start looking for a different OS supplier? Some tried Linux for a while. Maybe they'll switch to Chromium if Google can ever get it going, or did they give up on it by now?
I asked myself, "what the heck is Microsoft Bob?" I'd never heard of it (that I recall). So a quick trip to the Wiki.... Bob was "intended to be a user-friendly interface for Microsoft Windows." WTF? Wouldn't it have been better if they made a good user friendly version of Windows to begin with?
Herein lies the crux. Nobody gave a crap about Microsoft. EVERYONE wanted to be compatible with IBM (end users... banks, insurance companies, gov't agencies, etc). It may have been genius and cunning on Bills part, or dumb ass luck, or a combination, but when Microsoft got the rights to develop DOS for IBM... they were just handed the keys to control the entire market. So they were pretty much lazy from the very beginning and really weren't interested in making good products. (XBox & to some extent Excel being the only decent products)
They controlled the market through sheer force and screwed society as a whole for 20 years. Now the market is changing, users have real choices for products that are much better. Microsoft has yet to learn how to innovate their way out of a paper bag.
Microsoft is likely to continue on this downward slide for some time... and I'll shed no tears. Who knows, they may eventually even be bought up by someplace like Google or Facebook.
ROFL!! Yes, there can be no doubt, it failed only because of the reasons AI wrote about.
From everything I read the Zune it actually was reasonably good hardware. They had a great music subscription system, Zune Pass. All the music in their library for $15 bucks per month, plus you get credits to buy 10 songs each month.
I think the Zune failed primarily because of Microsoft's horrible marketing and of course, Apple's market dominance (well deserved be that as it may).
-kpluck
I thought this too, but then I actually used the thing. It wasn't half as good as advertised. The screen wasn't good, and the UI was terrible (but pretty). The same is true with WP7. I just don't like the UI (although its lickably good looking). Its really easy to get lost, and its really hard to tell where you have to go. And its filled with swiping, which of all the iOS gestures, is my least favorite. It just loses to the pinch, and the reverse pinch because there is no better way to achieve what those gestures achieve. A simple button to move onto the next page is far more efficient than swiping around. A swipe is necessary on a large contiguous page, like a website, and unfortunately, the WP7 UI is designed the same way, for no good reason other than looks.
I have also seen other less tech savvy folks use it, and get really confused about how to do things. I honestly think its the Zune syndrome. Fanbois are the only ones buying it, and well then obviously the reviews will be good.
On the other hand, I have to give tremendous credit for MS for making the best looking mobile OS and not just blindly imitating the iPhone, a la Android. And while I will never grow fond of the swiping, there is great potential in WP7 if they think out the user interface more thoroughly.
Comments
So not everyone thinks it's a bad idea. Just not enough. I think the reason Zune failed has as much to do with Apple momentum as it does with quality or features. Too little too late for MS.
As for me, I have stopped using my iPod because its function has just been rolled into my iPhone. Why carry two devices?
MS may be going the same route. The Zune music player functionality is just being rolled into the Windows 7 Phone. So while the hardware may be going away, the software isn't.
Of course this all begs the question whether or not MS's phone will survive the fierce competition. They're going to need to offer some serious reason why one shouldn't go with Apple or Android, or even HP/Palm. The Windows "halo effect" is long gone.
Microsoft will be gone as an entity by the end of 2012. It's just too bad it takes so long for thieving bastards to get their due.
Of all the dumbass things Microsoft have done over the years, I would vote releasing a Zune in brown as the second dumbest thing.
The dumbest obviously is Balmer being appointed CEO.
What do you think second dumbest is?
I'm not sure the brown color by itself would have been quite so bad, but at the same time Ballmer was talking about "squirting" songs - put the two together, and double yuck!
I liked Zune software much better than iTunes!!!! Please Apple, fix that "user experience"!!!!!
I agree. I own and love my ZuneHD. The media experience was unparalleled. ZunePass is an awesome service and I get to listen to tons of new music. I'm not sure why some Apple fans rejoice..multiple vendors in a marketplace create competition and keep prices under control. What happened when Apple got into a dominant position? they boned any developer with their subscription tax. No dominant vendor is good for competition and competition. Microsoft and Google keep Apple on their toes.
I love my iPad, iPhone, and Macbook Pro...but the ZuneHD is/was an awesome product that I enjoy quite a bit.
Competition is good, folks...
Microsoft's direct effort to challenge Apple's iPod, introduced in 2006 under the Zune brand, is being abandoned after a failure to gain traction in the market.
The death of Zune comes as quite a shock to me? I thought it had already kicked the bucket.
Of all the dumbass things Microsoft have done over the years, I would vote releasing a Zune in brown as the second dumbest thing.
That's its natural color, as it comes out the end of the assembly line.
The dumbest obviously is Balmer being appointed CEO.
May he hang on as CEO for as long as it takes!
You would think that Microsoft would be the one to get the software end of things going the best. After all, they are supposed to be a software company.
Haha, <gasping for breath/> that's a good one! Hadn't heard that one before!
Absolute dumbest was appointing Ballmer in the first place. The only good product on his watch has been Kinect.
Accidents do happen!
What Microsoft should do is QUIT trying to catch up with everyone else and start focusing on something new and different like they did 20 years ago.
Haha, you're funny!
That's the only chance they have of ever being as good as they once were.
Then they haven't a prayer.
As a side note, I've thought of another dumbest thing Microsoft ever did. If you were to look at it from the point of view of a Microsoft shareholder, I would think giving Apple money to keep them going in 1997 was pretty stupid.
I'm not sure Apple wouldn't have survived without that. What a lot of folks don't know is that Apple saved M$'s ass a couple decades prior. M$ was teetering on the abyss of bankruptcy when Apple came along and gave them a contract to write AppleSoft BASIC. Had Apple chosen to develop that in-house, nobody would have ever heard of Bill Gates or Microsoft.
I agree about Windows Phone 7 - I had a look at a colleagues and was really impressed with it. It does some things really nicely.
Kinect is pretty cool too. There's lots of other applications you could see that technology be used for.
As a side note, I've thought of another dumbest thing Microsoft ever did. If you were to look at it from the point of view of a Microsoft shareholder, I would think giving Apple money to keep them going in 1997 was pretty stupid.
Lol now that's the dumbest suggestion ever. MSFT gave apple money because it didn't want to be broken up.
I have not seen or used a Zune, but at least one Apple expert I respect and listen to on MacBreak Weekly podcast speaks highly of it. In fact, he uses it instead of an iPod because he prefers the subscription model.
So not everyone thinks it's a bad idea. Just not enough. I think the reason Zune failed has as much to do with Apple momentum as it does with quality or features. Too little too late for MS.
As for me, I have stopped using my iPod because its function has just been rolled into my iPhone. Why carry two devices?
MS may be going the same route. The Zune music player functionality is just being rolled into the Windows 7 Phone. So while the hardware may be going away, the software isn't.
Of course this all begs the question whether or not MS's phone will survive the fierce competition. They're going to need to offer some serious reason why one shouldn't go with Apple or Android, or even HP/Palm. The Windows "halo effect" is long gone.
apple is trying to do the subscription thing as well. There was an article on it several weeks back.
Sheldon
It would be interesting if Microsoft would configure their software to work with iPods and the other iProducts. When I eventually get an iPhone 5 I just might subscribe to it.
If I were to own a portable music player it would be the Sansa Fuse. I would choose that one solely because it works with Linux and FLAC.
I hate Vista therefore I avoid using any other product from Microsoft. Will MS become a game company that also has office software? Windows 7 was not impressive at all. It is on the computers at one of my jobs and it is slow and clunky just like Vista. It doesn't crash with the limited software I used, but even running Outlook the thing was a snail. My old XP computer with a 1.8 GHz Celeron processor was faster than the 2.4 GHz Dual Core Intel processor running Windows 7.
I use Ubuntu with a dual boot Vista. Ubuntu runs so much faster than Windows 7, Vista, and it equals Leopard. Sure it has bugs and needs lots of plug ins. Why complain IT'S FREE! How can MS compete with something free that does a better job than their $189 package? If more people had friends who could hook them up with Ubuntu, MS Windows 7 would just die.
With Zune dead and Apple growing, will manufacturers start looking for a different OS supplier? Some tried Linux for a while. Maybe they'll switch to Chromium if Google can ever get it going, or did they give up on it by now?
For both MSFT and MMI.
Of all the dumbass things Microsoft have done over the years, I would vote releasing a Zune in brown as the second dumbest thing.
The dumbest obviously is Balmer being appointed CEO.
What do you think second dumbest is?
That stupid paper clip they put in word trumps all.
Of all the dumbass things Microsoft have done over the years, I would vote releasing a Zune in brown as the second dumbest thing.
The dumbest obviously is Balmer being appointed CEO.
What do you think second dumbest is?
- Kin
- Windows ME
- "Windows, Not Walls" $300 million advertising campaign against Apple
- "developers, developers, developers, developers, developers," (ad nauseum) by a sweaty, bald guy.
... and steaming!
... SOZ(X)... As in slower than smoke on ....
Microsoft "bob". Truly amazing.
I asked myself, "what the heck is Microsoft Bob?" I'd never heard of it (that I recall). So a quick trip to the Wiki.... Bob was "intended to be a user-friendly interface for Microsoft Windows." WTF? Wouldn't it have been better if they made a good user friendly version of Windows to begin with?
Herein lies the crux. Nobody gave a crap about Microsoft. EVERYONE wanted to be compatible with IBM (end users... banks, insurance companies, gov't agencies, etc). It may have been genius and cunning on Bills part, or dumb ass luck, or a combination, but when Microsoft got the rights to develop DOS for IBM... they were just handed the keys to control the entire market. So they were pretty much lazy from the very beginning and really weren't interested in making good products. (XBox & to some extent Excel being the only decent products)
They controlled the market through sheer force and screwed society as a whole for 20 years. Now the market is changing, users have real choices for products that are much better. Microsoft has yet to learn how to innovate their way out of a paper bag.
Microsoft is likely to continue on this downward slide for some time... and I'll shed no tears. Who knows, they may eventually even be bought up by someplace like Google or Facebook.
ROFL!! Yes, there can be no doubt, it failed only because of the reasons AI wrote about.
From everything I read the Zune it actually was reasonably good hardware. They had a great music subscription system, Zune Pass. All the music in their library for $15 bucks per month, plus you get credits to buy 10 songs each month.
I think the Zune failed primarily because of Microsoft's horrible marketing and of course, Apple's market dominance (well deserved be that as it may).
-kpluck
I thought this too, but then I actually used the thing. It wasn't half as good as advertised. The screen wasn't good, and the UI was terrible (but pretty). The same is true with WP7. I just don't like the UI (although its lickably good looking). Its really easy to get lost, and its really hard to tell where you have to go. And its filled with swiping, which of all the iOS gestures, is my least favorite. It just loses to the pinch, and the reverse pinch because there is no better way to achieve what those gestures achieve. A simple button to move onto the next page is far more efficient than swiping around. A swipe is necessary on a large contiguous page, like a website, and unfortunately, the WP7 UI is designed the same way, for no good reason other than looks.
I have also seen other less tech savvy folks use it, and get really confused about how to do things. I honestly think its the Zune syndrome. Fanbois are the only ones buying it, and well then obviously the reviews will be good.
On the other hand, I have to give tremendous credit for MS for making the best looking mobile OS and not just blindly imitating the iPhone, a la Android. And while I will never grow fond of the swiping, there is great potential in WP7 if they think out the user interface more thoroughly.
Maybe they can license the "squirting" part to someone else...
Porn stars maybe?
Edit: Nevermind. I was thinking biological instead of technological.
- "developers, developers, developers, developers, developers," (ad nauseum) by a sweaty, bald guy.
Interestingly, if you look up "sweaty bald guy" in the dictionary there is a picture of Ballmer!
I liked Zune software much better than iTunes!!!! Please Apple, fix that "user experience"!!!!!
Evidently, you were in a very tiny minority.