Microsoft Zune

[unknownuser]

I know I should wait for the second gen, but I will most likely end up buying it on Nov. 14

 

[Gamma Ray]

$250? You can get a Wii for that price

...You can get a lot of different products for that price.

 

[hippie_hunter]

See, I don't think Microsoft is really after iPod/iTunes Music Store share, to be honest. I think they're REALLY after the smaller percentage of the market that's NOT owned by the iPod, which is pretty substantial dollars on it's own and is fragmented by players like Creative and Sandisk. It won't take much for even a subpar player and experience to steal that little bit of marketshare away from those particular players, in all reality. The iPod may be something they're looking to unseat as a really long term goal after they've refined their product and music store, but this first version of that effort's not gonna do it. Rumor has it that their price point for this thing is higher than Apple's price points and they're trying to figure out a way to get the cost down on it and that's why they haven't released a price structure for it.

jag

I personally think that Microsoft is just doing it to compete with Apple one of the companies that Microsot hates.

 

[jaguarr]

I personally think that Microsoft is just doing it to compete with Apple one of the companies that Microsot hates.

Well, M$ admittedly can't keep their fingers out of ANY business that's hot. Console games are hot? Oh, let's buy out Bungie and make the X-Box. Wireless keyboards and mice are hot? Okay, let's make those. Search engines are hot? Okay, let's make one to compete with Google. MP3 players are hot? Okay, let's make one of those, too. M$ makes quite a bit of change off their Mac editions of Microsoft Office among other things, so they don't hate Apple quite as much as they'd like you to believe.

jag

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

yup^^^

 

[Man-Thing]

Both the Toshiba bigabeat and 80 G ipod have the same editor's rating on cnet.
The Toshiba has an 8.0 user rating, while the ipod has 7.6. Not to mention you can get the Toshiba for about 100 bucks cheaper. I think the gigabeat/zune is the way to go (unless you like following trends).

 

[Man-Thing]

Well, M$ admittedly can't keep their fingers out of ANY business that's hot. Console games are hot? Oh, let's buy out Bungie and make the X-Box. Wireless keyboards and mice are hot? Okay, let's make those. Search engines are hot? Okay, let's make one to compete with Google. MP3 players are hot? Okay, let's make one of those, too. M$ makes quite a bit of change off their Mac editions of Microsoft Office among other things, so they don't hate Apple quite as much as they'd like you to believe.

jag

Oh the HORROR!!!

How dare a company try and grow!

 

[Spidey-Bat]

...You can get a lot of different products for that price.

But a video game console that has really advanced technology costs as much as an MP3 player. That's really nuts.

 

[Gamma Ray]

Well, M$ admittedly can't keep their fingers out of ANY business that's hot. Console games are hot? Oh, let's buy out Bungie and make the X-Box. Wireless keyboards and mice are hot? Okay, let's make those. Search engines are hot? Okay, let's make one to compete with Google. MP3 players are hot? Okay, let's make one of those, too. M$ makes quite a bit of change off their Mac editions of Microsoft Office among other things, so they don't hate Apple quite as much as they'd like you to believe.

jag

So I guess you think GOOGLE copied "Archie", the original internet search engine. And Apple made the iPod well after the first MP3 player, the MPMan F10, came out in 1997.

Not that I like Microsoft that much that I have to defend it, but every company is guilty of "cashing out" on other "original" products.

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

But a video game console that has really advanced technology costs as much as an MP3 player. That's really nuts.

ok lets not fool ourselves here, it has a new controller, and the tech for it has always existed, its just being used in a controller. and the console itself is'nt that advanced...at all.

 

[unknownuser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4sZNqD_YWI

I love the UI

 

[Gamma Ray]

ok lets not fool ourselves here, it has a new controller, and the tech for it has always existed, its just being used in a controller. and the console itself is'nt that advanced...at all.

Exactly. They're all the same.

 

[jaguarr]

Oh the HORROR!!!

How dare a company try and grow!

Grow by buying out the competition in order to break into a business they simply don't want another company to own (Virtual PC)? Grow by losing money on every unit sold in an effort to undercut the competition and take the lead spot in a particular area (X-Box)? Grow by copying everything their competition does only changing it ever so slightly to (hopefully) avoid lawsuits and then enforcing ridiculously overpriced and complicated licensing and support programs (Windows)? Grow by engaging in monopolistic and bullying business tactics to the point that the governments of the U.S. and the European Trade Commission file sanctions and take action? Grow by lobbying politicians to gain unfair business advantages that their compettion doesn't have? I see.

Growth is one thing. Being unscrupulous and lacking in ethics (and possibly stepping outside the boundaries of the law) is another. Particularly when it's done out of greed and a desire to be number one in every hot trend that comes down the pike. The bad news for M$ is that attitude has left them spread too then and unable to really do any one thing extremely well, so their competition winds up besting them most of the time, anyway.

jag

 

[jaguarr]

So I guess you think GOOGLE copied "Archie", the original internet search engine. And Apple made the iPod well after the first MP3 player, the MPMan F10, came out in 1997.

Not that I like Microsoft that much that I have to defend it, but every company is guilty of "cashing out" on other "original" products.

Actually, in a roundabout way, Google did copy Archie and improved upon it. However, they didn't do so solely for the reason that they just didn't want anyone else to corner that market (and the associated dollars), which is usually Microsoft's main apparent motivator. Google had a genuinely better technology that they formed their company around, because they saw a niche that wsan't being filled by the other search engines. M$ has been pretty damn blunt about the fact that they simply want to compete with Google and that's really the only reason they're getting into the search engine business.

jag

 

[Gamma Ray]

In the end it's all about money, so don't think one company cares more about consumers than the other.

 

[Revolver_Ocelot]

I just broke my ipod video, and i'm thinking of buying another next week
The things are so goddamn fragile.

 

[unknownuser]

I just broke my ipod video, and i'm thinking of buying another next week
The things are so goddamn fragile.

How did u break it?
I have used my girlfriend's a few times and it did not seem as fragile as it is made out to be

 

[jaguarr]

In the end it's all about money, so don't think one company cares more about consumers than the other.

True, but in the end some companies aren't quite as a-holish as others.

jag

 

[Revolver_Ocelot]

How did u break it?
I have used my girlfriend's a few times and it did not seem as fragile as it is made out to be

I think it got wet
I was in the jacuzzi and I had the ipod outside. Some water must have splashed and then seeped in.

 

[War Lord]

I'm generally not impressed with any of the music players, but I don't listen to music.

 

[Man-Thing]

Grow by buying out the competition in order to break into a business they simply don't want another company to own (Virtual PC)? Grow by losing money on every unit sold in an effort to undercut the competition and take the lead spot in a particular area (X-Box)? Grow by copying everything their competition does only changing it ever so slightly to (hopefully) avoid lawsuits and then enforcing ridiculously overpriced and complicated licensing and support programs (Windows)? Grow by engaging in monopolistic and bullying business tactics to the point that the governments of the U.S. and the European Trade Commission file sanctions and take action? Grow by lobbying politicians to gain unfair business advantages that their compettion doesn't have? I see.

Growth is one thing. Being unscrupulous and lacking in ethics (and possibly stepping outside the boundaries of the law) is another. Particularly when it's done out of greed and a desire to be number one in every hot trend that comes down the pike. The bad news for M$ is that attitude has left them spread too then and unable to really do any one thing extremely well, so their competition winds up besting them most of the time, anyway.

jag

Typical viciticrat attidtude... "Let's hold back the smart people who take initiative, so the one's who are a lazy can catch up".

It's not "greed" if it's a LUXURY ITEM!!! You see I NEED food, I NEED water, I NEED clothes, I NEED a home, I do not NEED a computer. My life can maintain itself without a computer. Sure it's a nice thing to have, but it's NOT A NEED. NEEDS are things you must have in order to survive. I can pick myself up and continue living if my computer quits working, so griping about a luxury item as if it's an absolute necessity is ludicris.

You have no idea what a monopoly is if you believe "M$" is a monopoly. Apple still exists, Linux had their go and pretty much anyone who wants to start their own OS is capable to do so with hard work and funding. Don't give me "monopolistic" when it's clear they aren't.

I still don't understand why people who obviously say they HATE corperations still pick their little favorites and applaud them as the "little guy". The object of any company is to make dough and lots of it, because of this when they succeed, they grow. It's not "M$'s" fault Apple isn't on their level. It's not Wal-Mart's fault K-Mart is not as succesful. It's Apple's fault, for not being ahead of the curve.

 

[jaguarr]

I think it got wet
I was in the jacuzzi and I had the ipod outside. Some water must have splashed and then seeped in.

You doused it with water and then cursed it for being "fragile"? Umm...electronics and water are usually a bad combination, dude.

jag

 

[Man-Thing]

I just broke my ipod video, and i'm thinking of buying another next week
The things are so goddamn fragile.

Two stupids don't make a smart.

 

[jaguarr]

Typical viciticrat attidtude... "Let's hold back the smart people who take initiative, so the one's who are a lazy can catch up".

By my estimation, the way Microsoft does business really marks them as the lazy ones, to be honest. They've held back a great deal of innovation through acquisition. The automobile industry does the same thing. They get away with it not because they are the best or have the most worthy technologies or products, but because they are granted special advantages their competition is not. I never said I hate corporations. I said that I hate unscrupulous business practices, which Microsoft has in spades.

jag

 

[Revolver_Ocelot]

You doused it with water and then cursed it for being "fragile"? Umm...electronics and water are usually a bad combination, dude.

jag

No, a small amount of water got on the surface.
My PSP could probably survive a nuke blast on the other hand.