As much as I enjoyed his blog, it doesn't sound like he's being honest with that one (or at least he's repeting info that isn't true). The Zune will support PLAYBACK of video from day one. It even ships with music videos. Zune just won't be selling videos/movies to consumers from day one. If you follow the links, the bit "the Zune won't immediately have video playback capability" is just a quote from another article, not a quote from a MS person - they don't say that in their interview and I have yet to see a MS quote that says that.
Blimey!, Ballmer must be an Oompa Loompa! We must throw him in the chocolate river! Ohno! He's been squirted into a Zune! What have we done! What have we done! Bring on the nasty squirrels!
Both ads and timetables come from the content owner, not from Apple. So problems caused by Comedy Central would not apply to other shows on iTMS.
Well duh. If Apple had their way, everything would be commercial free and up there concurrently with the airing of the episode.
The point is: if Apple can't ensure that the product is commercial-free and delivered on time, I don't care whose fault it is, I'm not using iTMS.
Moreover, as I should EXPECT for things to be on time and commercial-free, I should be NOTIFIED of exceptions before I purchase the episode. This is especially true considering iTMS was first pitched to users under the idea of on-demand and no commercials.
And to keep it on topic: I wonder if a PlaysForSure company will have TV shows like Apple does, and if so, will they have un-skippable commercials?
Apple should really put their foot down and insist that if networks want to sell their shows, they should be commercial free. I'm disappointed that they allow that.
MS makes money on every game sold for Xbox, whether they worked on the game or not. That helps subsidize losses on hardware (but in the case of xbox, not anywhere close to enough).
Selling songs online isn't that profitable, not to mention that many users just buy the player and rip cd's (or pirate the music). They won't break even until cost of manufacturing drops. And at that point, Apple will have dropped prices even more.
Disclosure: I'm not an Apple or iPod hater either.
Thanks for the disclosure, but from your webpage regarding games for the iPod ... I think you are mistaken in your assertion that Apple missed in not opening the SDK's to third parties right away. Not all of the games were developed by Apple. Apple must have had to release the SDK's to some of the other games vendors - we just don't know about them yet. I think alot of those enabling capabilities and apps haven't come to the light of day, but are being worked on in many basements around the country.
You wrote:
"This is an opportunity for Microsoft, and one we hope it capitalizes on. Specifically, we hope that Microsoft will:
Release - soon - an SDK for Zune.
Partner with the legions of game developers who are frustrated with Apple's closed iPod environment.
Help those developers sell their apps through Marketplace.
Create an environment of creativity and nurturing."
Have you used a Zune yet? When has Microsoft ever created an environment of creativity and nurturing for anyone? I'm sure Creative feels nurtured now that Zune won't work on Plays for Sure?
"Consider the area of games alone. Zune has a beefy processor, a beautiful 3" screen, great audio, and a control pad - a complete platform for some serious gaming."
Again, have you played a game on a Zune yet? The day MS finally opens its SDK to everyone, Apple could do the same and then it would be game over.
Since we are still in the Model T time period of mp3 player story, I think Apple wants to finish refining the architecture and code-base before letting developers add lots of apps that will just have to be re-coded when new versions are introduced. Microsoft will have to wait a bit too, before the platform is stable enough to let others tweak with it.
Palm did a good job of making an open model for third party developers, but in someways it became so successful that every time something new was added (color, etc.), you had to upgrade your apps to make it worthwhile. I wonder if Palm had been able to keep everything in house for a few extra years whether the PalmOS would have been made more powerful to stave off WindowsMobile. Who knows?
I would love Apple to open up both the iPod OS and FrontRow to third parties right now, but I'm guessing the market needs to wait for the platform to evolve a little bit longer. If Microsoft jumps the gun, it may self-limit its future development - kinda like staying with DOS too long.
Good luck with your website, but don't put too much of your heart into the Zune "marketplace" because it isn't going to change the minds of many iPod owners, much less change the world.
With the current Internet & politics scandal happening now in the US, squirt really is a very unfortunate choice of words to bring to public consciousness.
Yeah, masturbation has been getting a real bad rap recently
Seriously though, a absolutely horrendous choice of words. Who else but Ballmer would come up with that rubbish.
You must think in terms of very concrete features that add to quality, while adding as little to production costs as possible.
You have to think in terms clickwheels, aluminium, screen brightness, battery life, thinness, scratches (oh my), album art, clicks-per-action...
Uh... wasn't Apple the company who had this scratch problem? My front row remote has lots of scratches, and I really don't use it that often. And I'm handling it with care. The new nano was a good move.
Album art... have you seen the Zune interface. Wonderful... huge album art, looks very clean, nice integrated. Into the whole interface.
What do you mean by clicks-per-action?
I think the sharing feature will be quite a feature to most customers, more than things like screen brightness or scratch-proof-ness (I guess that gets important when you notice that it's a problem on your player).
That being said, the "maybe we'll put advertisement on the player on day or another" thing is really putting me off. That and DRM.
The brown player actually looks quite nice I think, it's something different, not as striking as most of the nanos colors. Not everyone likes that.
I think what is meant is the number of clicks needed to perform a basic task. It's kind of the idea that makes it an efficient user interface. How many clicks does it get to just start playing? How many clicks does it take to start a given playlist? I'm not sure iPod is as great as it could be in that regard, I think the video section is a bit of a mess, at least my biggest compliant is that "video playlists" can have ordinary audio files in the list and they aren't marked as such in the listing. If I wanted to play audio files, I'd go back to the Music section. It's kind of a slight-of-hand because Zune isn't allowed to have a click wheel, and that makes scrolling a lot easier, so clicks-per-action would probably give iPod an unfair advantage because scrolling might not be counted.
Thanks for the disclosure, but from your webpage regarding games for the iPod ... I think you are mistaken in your assertion that Apple missed in not opening the SDK's to third parties right away. Not all of the games were developed by Apple. Apple must have had to release the SDK's to some of the other games vendors - we just don't know about them yet. I think alot of those enabling capabilities and apps haven't come to the light of day, but are being worked on in many basements around the country...
You raise a lot of good points, and particularly about the problems Palm had (or at least Palm owners had) when the many homegrown apps out there were tied closely to specific OS versions.
I think that problem could be even more severe with Zune, in that it seems that Microsoft is planning to expand Zune features over time through firmware upgrades. So from an apps development point of view the OS and firmware could be a moving target.
Thanks, McGregor. I'm going to keep at the website but I know what you mean about the chances of Zune - or any product - breaking into a market that has a category-killer like iPod.
I think what is meant is the number of clicks needed to perform a basic task. It's kind of the idea that makes it an efficient user interface. How many clicks does it get to just start playing? How many clicks does it take to start a given playlist? I'm not sure iPod is as great as it could be in that regard, I think the video section is a bit of a mess, at least my biggest compliant is that "video playlists" can have ordinary audio files in the list and they aren't marked as such in the listing. If I wanted to play audio files, I'd go back to the Music section. It's kind of a slight-of-hand because Zune isn't allowed to have a click wheel, and that makes scrolling a lot easier, so clicks-per-action would probably give iPod an unfair advantage because scrolling might not be counted.
I was thinking about that too. But after seeing a Zune video, I am convinced that it will probably have less clicks per action than ipod.
video isn't very entertaining, but it does give alot of information. ( pay close attention to the way the menu is laid-out, no more clicking back 2-5 times everything is handled on slides )
Comments
Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong.
From Buck's "Zune vs. iPod Myths" link:
As much as I enjoyed his blog, it doesn't sound like he's being honest with that one (or at least he's repeting info that isn't true). The Zune will support PLAYBACK of video from day one. It even ships with music videos. Zune just won't be selling videos/movies to consumers from day one. If you follow the links, the bit "the Zune won't immediately have video playback capability" is just a quote from another article, not a quote from a MS person - they don't say that in their interview and I have yet to see a MS quote that says that.
Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong. Ooomph chicka ooompha chicka, bong-da-da-dong-da-da-dong.
Both ads and timetables come from the content owner, not from Apple. So problems caused by Comedy Central would not apply to other shows on iTMS.
Well duh. If Apple had their way, everything would be commercial free and up there concurrently with the airing of the episode.
The point is: if Apple can't ensure that the product is commercial-free and delivered on time, I don't care whose fault it is, I'm not using iTMS.
Moreover, as I should EXPECT for things to be on time and commercial-free, I should be NOTIFIED of exceptions before I purchase the episode. This is especially true considering iTMS was first pitched to users under the idea of on-demand and no commercials.
And to keep it on topic: I wonder if a PlaysForSure company will have TV shows like Apple does, and if so, will they have un-skippable commercials?
...Developers Developers Developers Developers
Developers Developers Developers Developers...
perhaps thats all that goes on at microsoft, squirting........ mental cases
Making fun of Ballmer's stage presence is just childish.
Nonetheless....
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m6rqXHX3O48
Young FrankenSteve
Now THAT is AWESOME. Nice work to who did it.
that picture of balmers face...........
My cats just lost the ability to mate
OMG, I think I just soiled my pants!!!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
Maybe we should flood North Korea with that image - bet that would make then dismantle
.
Why is everyone so up in arms? All Ballmer wants to do is squirt stuff (er, content) in millions of kids' faces.
I wouldn't think they would care. They spent umpteen millions getting Xbox developed and promoted - and it will probably pay off for them eventually.
Same with Zune I would think.
Disclosure: I write da blog for www.Zunerama.com
Disclosure: I'm not an Apple or iPod hater either.
I have to think Microsoft is losing money on each Zune player. . . unless Toshiba is giving them a heck of a deal..?
I wouldn't think they would care. They spent umpteen millions getting Xbox developed and promoted - and it will probably pay off for them eventually.
Same with Zune I would think.
Microsoft's Xbox unit has yet to turn a profit (in fact, its lost billions), so that might be a bad example to cite.
Oh, and way to plug your site, dude. Sigh.
.
Selling songs online isn't that profitable, not to mention that many users just buy the player and rip cd's (or pirate the music). They won't break even until cost of manufacturing drops. And at that point, Apple will have dropped prices even more.
The future looks pretty ugly for zune.
Disclosure: I write da blog for www.Zunerama.com
Disclosure: I'm not an Apple or iPod hater either.
Thanks for the disclosure, but from your webpage regarding games for the iPod ... I think you are mistaken in your assertion that Apple missed in not opening the SDK's to third parties right away. Not all of the games were developed by Apple. Apple must have had to release the SDK's to some of the other games vendors - we just don't know about them yet. I think alot of those enabling capabilities and apps haven't come to the light of day, but are being worked on in many basements around the country.
You wrote:
"This is an opportunity for Microsoft, and one we hope it capitalizes on. Specifically, we hope that Microsoft will:
Release - soon - an SDK for Zune.
Partner with the legions of game developers who are frustrated with Apple's closed iPod environment.
Help those developers sell their apps through Marketplace.
Create an environment of creativity and nurturing."
Have you used a Zune yet? When has Microsoft ever created an environment of creativity and nurturing for anyone? I'm sure Creative feels nurtured now that Zune won't work on Plays for Sure?
"Consider the area of games alone. Zune has a beefy processor, a beautiful 3" screen, great audio, and a control pad - a complete platform for some serious gaming."
Again, have you played a game on a Zune yet? The day MS finally opens its SDK to everyone, Apple could do the same and then it would be game over.
Since we are still in the Model T time period of mp3 player story, I think Apple wants to finish refining the architecture and code-base before letting developers add lots of apps that will just have to be re-coded when new versions are introduced. Microsoft will have to wait a bit too, before the platform is stable enough to let others tweak with it.
Palm did a good job of making an open model for third party developers, but in someways it became so successful that every time something new was added (color, etc.), you had to upgrade your apps to make it worthwhile. I wonder if Palm had been able to keep everything in house for a few extra years whether the PalmOS would have been made more powerful to stave off WindowsMobile. Who knows?
I would love Apple to open up both the iPod OS and FrontRow to third parties right now, but I'm guessing the market needs to wait for the platform to evolve a little bit longer. If Microsoft jumps the gun, it may self-limit its future development - kinda like staying with DOS too long.
Good luck with your website, but don't put too much of your heart into the Zune "marketplace" because it isn't going to change the minds of many iPod owners, much less change the world.
With the current Internet & politics scandal happening now in the US, squirt really is a very unfortunate choice of words to bring to public consciousness.
Yeah, masturbation has been getting a real bad rap recently
Seriously though, a absolutely horrendous choice of words. Who else but Ballmer would come up with that rubbish.
You must think in terms of very concrete features that add to quality, while adding as little to production costs as possible.
You have to think in terms clickwheels, aluminium, screen brightness, battery life, thinness, scratches (oh my), album art, clicks-per-action...
Uh... wasn't Apple the company who had this scratch problem? My front row remote has lots of scratches, and I really don't use it that often. And I'm handling it with care. The new nano was a good move.
Album art... have you seen the Zune interface. Wonderful... huge album art, looks very clean, nice integrated. Into the whole interface.
What do you mean by clicks-per-action?
I think the sharing feature will be quite a feature to most customers, more than things like screen brightness or scratch-proof-ness (I guess that gets important when you notice that it's a problem on your player).
That being said, the "maybe we'll put advertisement on the player on day or another" thing is really putting me off. That and DRM.
The brown player actually looks quite nice I think, it's something different, not as striking as most of the nanos colors. Not everyone likes that.
What do you mean by clicks-per-action?
I think what is meant is the number of clicks needed to perform a basic task. It's kind of the idea that makes it an efficient user interface. How many clicks does it get to just start playing? How many clicks does it take to start a given playlist? I'm not sure iPod is as great as it could be in that regard, I think the video section is a bit of a mess, at least my biggest compliant is that "video playlists" can have ordinary audio files in the list and they aren't marked as such in the listing. If I wanted to play audio files, I'd go back to the Music section. It's kind of a slight-of-hand because Zune isn't allowed to have a click wheel, and that makes scrolling a lot easier, so clicks-per-action would probably give iPod an unfair advantage because scrolling might not be counted.
Thanks for the disclosure, but from your webpage regarding games for the iPod ... I think you are mistaken in your assertion that Apple missed in not opening the SDK's to third parties right away. Not all of the games were developed by Apple. Apple must have had to release the SDK's to some of the other games vendors - we just don't know about them yet. I think alot of those enabling capabilities and apps haven't come to the light of day, but are being worked on in many basements around the country...
You raise a lot of good points, and particularly about the problems Palm had (or at least Palm owners had) when the many homegrown apps out there were tied closely to specific OS versions.
I think that problem could be even more severe with Zune, in that it seems that Microsoft is planning to expand Zune features over time through firmware upgrades. So from an apps development point of view the OS and firmware could be a moving target.
Thanks, McGregor. I'm going to keep at the website but I know what you mean about the chances of Zune - or any product - breaking into a market that has a category-killer like iPod.
- frabgod
I think what is meant is the number of clicks needed to perform a basic task. It's kind of the idea that makes it an efficient user interface. How many clicks does it get to just start playing? How many clicks does it take to start a given playlist? I'm not sure iPod is as great as it could be in that regard, I think the video section is a bit of a mess, at least my biggest compliant is that "video playlists" can have ordinary audio files in the list and they aren't marked as such in the listing. If I wanted to play audio files, I'd go back to the Music section. It's kind of a slight-of-hand because Zune isn't allowed to have a click wheel, and that makes scrolling a lot easier, so clicks-per-action would probably give iPod an unfair advantage because scrolling might not be counted.
I was thinking about that too. But after seeing a Zune video, I am convinced that it will probably have less clicks per action than ipod.
Zune Walthrough
video isn't very entertaining, but it does give alot of information. ( pay close attention to the way the menu is laid-out, no more clicking back 2-5 times everything is handled on slides )