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Calling Apple, calling Apple. this is how you improve software. Not with the release of a new piece of hardware.

And to Alltel and AT&T and Qwest and Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile and Unicel and U. S. Wireless and Verizon Wireless: This is how you build customer loyalty.

Does this update tie the zune to the new 360 experience in anyway?

It would be really cool if you could play multi player Texas hold em on a few zunes and the 360 at the same time.

@SacredCow Indeed. That plus the Apple secrecy fetish is why my next iPod-like-thing could be a Zune.  But the old ones aren't broken yet.

First thought: "SacredCow" sets a new record: The FIRST to mention Apple in the FIRST comment of a non-Apple article!

Second thought: Nice lipstick.

The announcement was on TV last night or the night before. I was wondering when Paul would post.

I watched a great Zune TV ad from Target. Very impressive. While on ads, two great ads for Dell and HP highlighted Vista. One HP was with Fergie. Dang, what a bod!

lotsa

Yes, being a point release, it's lipstick. In this case, lipstick on a supermodel.

"In this case, lipstick on a supermodel."

Ah, yes. Vapid. Empty. Looks good, but ultimately disappoints.

When Microsoft release Zune outside of the US and Canada it can truly compete with Apple but until it does for many of us Zune just isn't an option. It is a restricted market product.

@techdribble: "When Microsoft release Zune outside of the US and Canada it can truly compete with Apple but until it does for many of us Zune just isn't an option. It is a restricted market product."

There is no way the Zune will compete with the iPod/iPhone music players of this world. They are not going anywhere as far as sales. The ZuneInsider guys stopped posting the NPD figures for the Zune many, many months ago when they realised it wasn't going anywhere.

Notice how much attention they pay to Apple. Nice rounded OS X like buttons.

Let Zune compete worldwide when its ready. Its pretty clear that the Aune team is taking their time developing the Zune and they are doing a good job of creating an ecosystem to discover and share new music.

Is it coincidence that this rolls out the day before the 360 update? me thinks not.

I would literally crap a brick if I could "rent" netflix movies from the 360 then send them to my Zune. I would not even care if they were DRM's. That functionality would kick ass.

How about using the Zune as an additional harddrive for the 360. Zing.

The Zune is a lame duck. Right from the dodgy branding. Zune backwards is "anus", and it means "f*&#ed" in Hebrew. What an awesome product.

blog.wired.com/.../zune-logo-hidde.html

www.cio.com/.../Microsoft_Zune_Name_Raises_Ruckus_in_Hebrew

Speaking of Microsoft's terrible marketing. Check out this classic: hehe2.net/.../microsoft-using-playstation-in-their-ads.jpg

How dumb can they possibly get?

@lotsa: "but ultimately disappoints"

Mike was asking for that comment!  Whether something disappoints depends on your expectations in the first place, and they are always different depending on who you are.

Since Zunes compete directly against iPods, discussing how Apple goes about things is completely in context of the post.  Surely you'd agree that the Zunes are better than iPods for the consumer in this aspect when you get software updates for older devices?  iPods may still be overall better value (depending on who you are), but the Zune is stronger at least in this one area.

@robertsjoe: "There is no way the Zune will compete with the iPod/iPhone music players".

I'm sure people said something similar about iPods when they first came out.  Saying something never will happen is pretty dopey and opens yourself up to looking like an idiot (although you do that pretty well yourself already).

When they go worldwide, we'll see what happens ...

@truffoo0: You have no idea, obviously. Come back when the Zune overtakes the iPod in the world market. You'll be waiting a long, long, long time even before they make a dint in the US. They know they can't win worldwide. The ROI with such small sales doesn't make sense for them. If it was so great, they'd have done it by now. Like I said, you don't hear a word from MS about sales figures of the Zune. Because it has stalled or is going backwards.

>>CNET’s Ina Fried has the details on an announcement to come from Microsoft on Wednesday which would cut prices of its Zune players by as much as 25 percent. While Ms. Fried seems to infer that has to do with tougher economic conditions — it very well may be — lets face it: Microsoft is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the digital music space.

After much chest-thumping surrounding the release of its flash-based players, the sector of the market where an overwhelming majority of players are sold, there still is no evidence that Redmond is gaining any traction with consumers.

Apple still is king, and Microsoft is just an also ran.<<

technologizer.com/.../microsoft-cutting-zune-prices-attempting-to-stay-relevant

For robertsjoe - dont buy a Zune and let those who enjoy it continue to enjoy it. There is no resultion to your argument that the iPod is superior because it is a subjective argument. The iPod and Zune are both media players. One focuses on everything, the iPod and the other focuses on Music.

For some the iPod is preferred, for whatever reason, and for some the Zune is preferred for whatever reason. I am just glad when the Zune came out that there was a better choice out there.

This post pretty much sums it all up for the Zune:

www.alleyinsider.com/.../microsoft-cuts-zune-pricing-won-t-help

@robertsjoe:  You are assuming that everything will always carry on the way it's going, which they won't.  The Zune may never overtake the iPod, and I'm not saying that it will.  What I am saying is that "it definitely won't" is a dumb comment because you have no idea what will happen in the future.  Who knows, Apple may abandon the MP3 player market in which case the Zune could become dominant.

Just like puzder said (paraphrased), everyone is different and has different needs.  Currently the iPod meets many of these needs, but the Zune meets a few that the iPod lacks in.  Just because you hate Microsoft doesn't mean that others can't enjoy a good product from them.

SacredCow:

"Calling Apple, calling Apple. this is how you improve software. Not with the release of a new piece of hardware."

robertsjoe+Ocean+lotsamystuff:

HOW FU@$^&$ DARE YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!!!!

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<and quotes from blogs>

I would agree that this does sound a little desperate. The flash Zunes didn't sell as much as Microsoft hoped they would. In any case, Zune is a solid and surprisingly intuitive music player and the software is a pleasure to use too.

@shark47: "In any case, Zune is a solid and surprisingly intuitive music player and the software is a pleasure to use too."

And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone out in public that's using one.

"And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone out in public that's using one."

I agree and I mentioned that they weren't selling well in my previous comment too. Nevertheless, I like it and think it's a solid product.

"And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone out in public that's using one."

Is this really the best your typical Apple user has to offer?

What the living hell is it to you what people use or not? Are you so void of a life that you really cannot go another second without finding even more creative ways to make a fool out of yourself, all in the name of promoting a brand?

A $#$@!! brand that doesn't give a flying fudge if you die in the gutter tomorrow?

"Vapid. Empty. Looks good, but ultimately disappoints."

Sounds like my review of just about any Apple product.  At least, if you replace the word "good" with "cheap", and the word "but" with "and".

....or is that your description of Steve Jobs (either way)?  ;)

Ripping CD's to mine now.  I settled on WMA CBR 192Kbps.  All of my hardware supports it, it's easy to manage (song storage requirements are easy to calculate, unlike VBR), and it's still better quality than MP3.

BTW:  Paul, have you played Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway?  You never seem to review any from the series.  Much better single-player story than any other WWII game (it's an on-going saga), and it actually has memorable characters (the only other recent non-futuristic war FPS game that does is BF: Bad Company).  I finished it recently.  EXCELLENT game!  Ubisoft is better at getting this storyline and character stuff down than EA.

www.youtube.com/watch

Also, a new game to try:  Mirror's Edge.

Some reviewers are calling it the next Half-Life 2.

Here's the title track in 2 versions:

profile.myspace.com/index.cfm

(track 4 - original instrumental version before the game publisher bought it)

www.myspace.com/lisamiskovsky  

(track 1 - should autoplay....version with lyrics as it appears in game)

@master3: "A $#$@!! brand that doesn't give a flying fudge if you die in the gutter tomorrow?"

Like MS cares? A-ha!

@robertsjoe

"@master3: "A $#$@!! brand that doesn't give a flying fudge if you die in the gutter tomorrow?"

Like MS cares? A-ha!"

Sorry, did anyone say they did? Deosn't look like it.

See, the world is not like some giant see-saw, where claiming that if one company doesn't do something autimatically means another does, or vice-cersa.

"See, the world is not like some giant see-saw, where claiming that if one company doesn't do something autimatically means another does, or vice-cersa."

:-)

Actually, though, the Zune team is pretty good about these things. That's mainly because it's such a small group that's trying to establish itself in the market. The Zune Insider blog guy, Cesar Menendez is pretty good about responding to user questions, comments etc.  Don't know how long that will continue and considering the sales, don't know how long the group will even exist, but we'll see. Other groups like Live Messenger, Hotmail, etc. also listen a lot to customer feedback.

To the apple-minded members of the audience (and, not to discriminate, some of the PC folks), here – you might be inclined to take a lesson or two in communication to enhance your persuasive effect. Begin by asking yourself “what is my goal in writing this post?” I will assume that your goal is to *prove* to others that the products you, yourself, use are of a superior ilk. A noble goal, indeed.

My freshman students can tell me that Aristotle taught us there are three ways that we can do this: ethos (character), pathos (emotion) and logos (reasoning).  Lets interrogate the first and last in this list, as it is unlikely that emotion (should) have any place in our technology choices. Ethos tells us that we are more likely to believe someone who comes off as one who has good character. Haughty combativeness is a losing strategy here, as it fails to connect you with those for whom you are attempting to convince. However, the true test in a debate such as this relies on the strength of our reasoning and evidence. *Notice the “and” in this. Posting articles can be a beneficial persuasive technique, but there needs to be an argument that this evidence supports. Asserting your argument lacks the persuasive oomph that will cause your audience to change their opinions.

Along a similar line, make sure that you evidence actually supports your cause. In a fun little article talking about how the Zune name causes problems for the Hebrew-speakers among us, the author concludes that “while the name is “ridiculous” and close to the bad word, it’s unlikely to be mistaken”. And why is this a particular problem? Go to a free online translation service and check out the German language: scheissen and schiessen. These things happen, we can giggle about it, especially since ‘ei’ and ‘ie’ are pronounced opposite in English and German, and the novice speaker might embarrass themselves. But to claim that technology is somehow inferior, such an argument is hardly going to persuade your audience. Further, this is a “fallacy” or a jump in logic. In particular, you might be interested to look-up what an “ad hominem” is. Avoid these to enhance your persuasive effect!

On this issue of fallacies, watch out, because it seems as though they pervade your arguments. For example, assuming that simply because OSX has rounded button, that any device the follows suit is somehow copying them is a “hasty generalization”. Just because device X and device Y share something in common does not mean that they are in anyway related. The Nazi’s wore t-shirts, after all… what would that say about you?

To put this otherwise – you are doing a disservice to the products that you love by painting a “straw man” (another fallacy we have yet to talk about in class today) of your opponent, as it only shows the strength of your position compared to a weakened and deflated opponent. It is a much better position to argue against the best case for your opponent, and given the strength of your opponent, why you are still correct anyways.

For example, I could argue that the iPod is a great and mature device which caused a new area of technology to balloon. But in terms of what that little box does, there are only a few things that it can do that my zune can’t. For example – use it as hard drive out of the box. But with flash drives on my key chain, I’m not worried about this lack in functionality. Similarly, the built in radio means that I can listen to football games while walking around on Sundays. The ipod can’t do that. Simply jumping up and down about market-share doesn’t make a device a bad one – something that you folks have indicated in the inevitable “Mac v PC” debate.

So – with a redefinition of both the types of arguments, and how to make those arguments, let’s try this again: what are the problems with the Zune 3.1 launch, and why does its launch mean that the ipod is a superior product?

Great news! The best OS in the world is going to become even better. www.macrumors.com/.../mac-os-x-snow-leopard-10-6-due-in-q1-2009

Will leave Vista and Vista 2 in its dust. Well, it's already done so. But even further.

"www.macrumors.com/.../"

Ooooh, looky.  Leopard SP1 RC1 is coming out soon....

Nice lipstick on that Eunuchs pig you got there.

"Apple has said that they would be focusing on both quality and performance in Snow Leopard."

Unlike the beta - Leopard.

"And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone out in public that's using one."

One could say that about the Mac too...

Although I can't help it, we really shouldn't feed this troll.  robertsjoe is the new bonch, slightly less arrogant, but just as annoying.

Waethorn

It's hardly surprising that the "focus on fixes not features" release of OS X will be out in January. Odds are that will correspond with the release of Intel Core i7 based Macs since Apple missed releasing any new desktops in time for the Holiday Season 08 buying season and have to sell Core 2 series while the PC vendors all started selling Core i7 in the last week.

Of course, Apple will spin it as though some "special sauce" in Snow Leopard is needed to take advantage of 8-thread processors. The reality being, of course, that they'll have finally fixed the blocking problems that kept them both hybrid 32/64 bit and unable to multithread efficiently. And, of course, they'll forget to mention that Vista's core is the same one that runs 32-core servers just fine - instead they'll act as though they invented multithreading and we'll see the Mac people in here proudly ignoring history once again.

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