You thought John’s rant in PC Magazine was tough. This review makes his sound like praise.
Yes, Microsoft’s new Zune digital music player is just plain dreadful. I’ve spent a week setting this thing up and using it, and the overall experience is about as pleasant as having an airbag deploy in your face.
“Avoid,” is my general message. The Zune is a square wheel, a product that’s so absurd and so obviously immune to success that it evokes something akin to a sense of pity.
The setup process stands among the very worst experiences I’ve ever had with digital music players. The installer app failed, and an hour into the ordeal, I found myself asking my office goldfish, “Has it really come to this? Am I really about to manually create and install a .dll file?”
You’ll find that the Zune Planet orbits the music industry’s Bizarro World, where users aren’t allowed to do anything that isn’t in the industry’s direct interests.
[…]
Typical, selfish user: How does your convenience help make money for Universal?
If, for some strange reason these reviews don’t keep you from buying the future doorstop, there’s a way to bypass Zune’s WiFi sharing DRM.
Aside from the Zune’s massive faults, Microsoft (and others) don’t get it. The iPod is as much software and infrastructure as it is hardware, and it is as much a philosophy as it is anything. Microsoft can’t strongarm their way into this field because the users have an actual choice.
Users have an actual choice today, but give it a little while and Microsoft may have the last laugh. All that nonsense about catering to the music industry might make it impossible for Apple to continue their current deals with the record companies. If the iTunes Store isn’t as attractive to users then it helps to level the playing field for the Zune. Making superior products irrelevant by controlling the market around them is the MS way of life. Why do you think people use Windows, IE, and WMP?
I don’t have a Zune but rather invested in iPODs because of #1’s points above – iPOD+iTunes just works wonderfully and I’m a Windows user.
I was hopeful Zune would provide broad content support so that I purchase content from multiple vendors. It turns out to be just another MODE (My Own DRM Ecosystem).
Zune just solidifies my commitment to iPOD+iTunes as much as I cringe a bit in growing my Apple only DRM content.
I had not read much about Zune because I have been an iPod user for the past 2 years or so. My iPod is not a receptical for stolen music, it’s where I keep my library of CDs and music I have purchased from iTunes.
iTunes isn’t perfect, but it is a good medium for reasonably priced music that I can take with me. Universal Music is not going broke any time soon. I look forward to the days when I can pay ARTISTS directly for their works.
But I digress…
I saw the Zune in ads, but I have no desire to buy one. Between Sirius Sattelite radio and my iPod, I don’t need one. When my iPod dies, I’ll replace it with another iPod. (and no, I’m not a Mac user)
What boggles the mind is that somebody important at microsoft must have looked at the product and given it his or her blessing; somebody must have read a business plan that showed how it could be a successful product. And that somebody must have believed it, or else not cared that it would fail. Should be fired for being either monumentally stupid or apathetic.
At least Plays4Sure had some kind of chance, allowing different business models and manufacturers into the business. Zune is just silly.
#3, try transferring your songs to your work PC to listen music to, or, your laptop. Make backups for future use.
You are still being DRM’ed, but at least have functionality within the iPod + iTune confines, but not outside of it, unless you do the Digital to Analog to Digital conversion to create totally “free” MP3 songs.
I know people that do it, when they realize that the songs they bought at 1$ US ea won’t last forever and have limitations.
You use a double-ended stereo minijack from the iPod into your PC’s soundcard input. Lots of free programs that will Rip the analog signal into MP3, but that’s a lot of work (naming your file, artist, album, for each song).
So why pay for DRM digital songs, that you have to D-A-D convert in order to save/copy, when you can simply buy the CD at the same price and convert that to free MP3’s. Or just buy from AllOfMp3.com and save all the hassles.
Interesting Quote, Terry Demonte radio host on CHOM 97.7 FM Montreal this morning, saying how our generation, the 40yrs+ age group, are the most loyal in repurchasing music in the new formats.
However the teens+ are the most notorious file swappers.
I purchased the Heart artist & Heart album at least 3x, on tape, CD, MP3 (because I couldn’t find my CD 15 yrs later). Not counting the Greatest Hits CD and again under MP3.
I’ll never buy a device that limits me, and the iPod sure does. The Sandisk e250 is really cool. My current MP3 is a RCA Lyra 40 gig.
#4, as far as Sirius is concerned, is it worth the monthly $? I have difficulty paying for hardware that is locked with a monthly usage fee. If the hardware was free in exchange for a 1yr contract, like cell phones, I’d try it.
I took a look at one at Best Buy the other day and my favorite feature has to be the scroll wheel that isn’t a scroll wheel. Guess I’ll be replacing my dead 3G iPod with a new 5G… not that I had planned buying anything else besides.
#2
People use Windows, IE and WMP because they are right there in front of their faces and have no concept of finding something that doesn’t suck. They don’t even know they suck!
#6 If you have a Mac, you can legally strip the DRM from iTMS songs with iMovie and QT Pro. There is even a nice 3rd party app out there that automates the whole process.
I think the larger point is that while you will never get away from DRM while recording industry profits are involved, Apple has done more than anybody to make their DRM scheme as unobtrusive and unhampered by usage restrictions as possible to end-users.
Microsoft defines a complete failure as “version 1.0.”
“These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it,” said Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music Group. “So it’s time to get paid for it.”
Well, if they are getting paid for it now, does that mean the lawsuits are going to stop?
6. “I’ll never buy a device that limits me, and the iPod sure does. The Sandisk e250 is really cool. My current MP3 is a RCA Lyra 40 gig.”
I agree. I bought the Sansa e260 based on Dvoraks comments on Crankygeeks, and I love it. It has more features than a comparable iPod (FM tuner, expansion, voice recorder), and works flawlessly. AND I work for an Apple dealer. For me its about versatility.
to anyone that says “the ipod limits me” you’re an idiot. It doesn’t,
iTunes does though. The iPod is just compatible with it. The ipod is compatible with a bunch of non-drm’d formats, and it is easy to copy music on and off (not quite as easy at it could be, but easy).
Plus the huge ammount of 3rd party software (including hacks) make it even better.
So how does it limit you?
A sacrifice? Do you suppose the Zune was released to take the heat and inevitable bashing of Windows Vista and or Office 2007?
I happened across the Zune display at Target over the weekend. While the kiosks for other devices, like iPods and gaming consoles, were crowded, the Zune was deserted. Bad sign.
I played with it a while. It has a beautiful sharp screen and the UI seems adequate. What got me was the way they presented the device. It was locked down into fixed plexiglass holders that prevent you from picking it up and holding it, and you can barely get to all the buttons. When you play videos on the Zune, they run in landscape mode, while the UI and menuing are in portrait mode. So as soon as the video starts playing, you have to crank your head 90 degrees to watch it. The kiosk prevents you from having any real experience with the device. Dumb.
“So how does it limit you? ”
FM tuner, voice recording, memory expansion slot, easily replaceable batteries. Price.
Nuff Said?
14: my son’s laptop hard drive crashed and died, along with his iTunes Library, exclusively content ripped from our own CDs. So we loaded iTunes on the new laptop, and it gave us one option: delete everything on the iPod if you want to use it on this computer.
That’s a pretty severe limit in my book….off to find that crankygeeks article, I want a player for xmas.
#14 Not an idiot at all, and that’s such a broad subject. So let’s just say when it comes to Tech, I’m no idiot. Why such a negative response?
Yes you are limited with an iPod, compared to any other USB device that reads MP3’s and other formats, thus a similar device. Just read the other posts.
Give credit where it’s due, the iPod made it simple for non-Geeks to play music digitally on the go. Plus it does so with handcuffs – that’s what DRM is. Do you really want to pay twice for the same song?
19. I’ll never understand why iPod users think the iPod is the end all/ be all of MP3 players. Just the battery issue is enough to turn me away from them.
20,
The beauty is that you are free to buy the device of your choice, as is everyone else. Isn’t the free market wonderful?
The only reason Microsoft is successful is because they are a monopoly. The Zune was introduced outside of their monopoly so it will fail. Maybe if they spend Xbox money to promote it would succeed. It may take 20 years but here starts the downward trip for Microsoft.
I gave up on my brand new PocketPC because the file transfer software (activesync) would never work right. Why should I buy another item that uses proprietary technology?
Its simple:
CD->Rip->Mp3->Generic Player->Done
I even get my CDs free from the local library. You think any of today’s youth knows what that is?
#3
I do back up my iPOD content on an external drive. Also, I have successfully transferred all my content to completely new Windows PC’s build w/o any issue. Really, I have no issue with the iPOD/iTunes – it works flawless every time and it give me all the flexibility I need or want..
I can play/share purchased content with up to 5 authorized PC’s – that’s plenty for me. I can burn CD’s and stream all I want. If I ever need to transcode content content, I guess I can do an analog capture but I have never found the need.
regards
Zune is playing nice with regulations….restricting its usage is obviously intended.
You do realize that 1 week after launch the wonderful developer community(worldwide) has already released patches to overcome those annoyances…hehe…
you also realize by now that most MS smartphones are potential zune phones, and no you do not need to buy a new phone, just wait for the software updates…
I do not own a potable, but if I was to buy one, the Zune would be at the bottom of my list. I was at a store on the day after and no one had even touched them. Their advertisements of the Zune have been moronic at best, as well.
The ideal player would be easy to use, run on easily replaceable or rechargeable batteries, and wouldn’t use proprietary front-end software and you could just cut, copy, and paste the media in through the OS shell. It would also support the installation of media codecs. (such as FLAC or DIVX)
Also, no DRM would exist on this device.
Why do iPod owners constantly bitch about the Zune’s DRM? The iPod is just as DRM-O-Licious itself.
Also, am I the only person who noticed this guy works for Macworld? He’s got a vested interest in slamming the Zune.
For those of us who aren’t going to pay for DRM-laden music anyway, the issue is completely friggin’ moot. And my video looks really tasty.
Ill stick to my XM radio, and pay the 12 bucks a month. All the content is streamed to me. Also I have people like Bob Dylan and Tom Petty doing my playlists for me. A way better situation than amatures such as myself putting together the playlist.
And If I want to keep the song, I just hit record on sound recorder. None of this apple craptastic shit of plugging things in, or making coffee coasters(which will eventially go to the likes of RIAA as a blank media tax).
I don’t get it, satelite radio is superior in every conceivable way to mp3 players, or for pay file sharing services, yet people are willing to do all this crap just so they dont have to pay for radio, makes no sense to me at all….
#15 – A sacrifice? Do you suppose the Zune was released to take the heat and inevitable bashing of Windows Vista and or Office 2007?
Comment by Dude — 11/27/2006 @ 10:22 am
No… Because that sounds to much like the kind of Scooby Doo scheme you expect from bad fiction… Not what a real company would do. Besides, Microsoft has been bashed into a 95% desktop marketshare, so I don’t imagine they need to hire former Bond villians for their marketing department.
#22 – The only reason Microsoft is successful is because they are a monopoly.
The only reason Microsoft is a monopoly is because they are successful. 🙂
#21 – The beauty is that you are free to buy the device of your choice, as is everyone else. Isn’t the free market wonderful?
Comment by Smartalix — 11/27/2006 @ 2:09 pm
Not really. The free market would work better if consumers were free-thinking. Because consumers are often lemmings, inferior dominates superior and our options are severly limited.
I read this review and don’t have a lot of faith in it. The guy writing it was just too angry. The article was filled with negative, subjective adjectives like “humiliating”. Shrill, angry reviews are best ignored.