Comments on: All Buzz No Bite – Why Davis Won’t Be Buying A Zune Or PS3

By: Things That ... Make You Go Hmm

Things That ... Make You Go Hmm — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:52:15 +0000

Here’s what critics are missing about Zune…

View my Zune Flickr set (new window)
Like some (most?) of you, I’ve been reading how much the Zune sucks everywhere (Infoworld). Note the first reader and Zune customer comment following that Infoworld story which makes the absurd comparison to …

By: Zune, PS3 and Wii all go on sale week of Nov 13-19, what will availability be like? » Make You Go Hmm

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 17:12:41 +0000

[...] Davis Freeberg is just saying no to the Zune (and the PS3): On Microsoftâ€™s side of the business, theyâ€™ve created a product that supports wifi, but then they strip out all of the functionality that wifi could bring. Instead of ending up with an iPod killer, Microsoft has instead ended up with a music player that wonâ€™t even play their own music files. This is such a joke, that I canâ€™t believe the company is hyping this as much as they have been [...]

By: davis

davis — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 23:03:42 +0000

DRM may be unavoidable, but it should be up to the content providers to be making consumers suffer not Microsoft. If Microsoft had folded as easily as they have with the Zune when they first came out with Media Player we wouldn’t have been able to rip any of our songs to Mp3 or burn backups, or make mixed CDs for our friends. If the content owners want to introduce technology that disables their products from being shared or from being fully utilized that’s up to them. I’ll make my decision as to whether or not to purchase their content, but when Microsoft starts disabling hardware and software because of pressure from the studio fat cats, it completely sucks and it guarantees that I won’t be buying into this hype.

The Zune should have the same capabilities as a laptop, minus the size. There is no legal argument that the studios could make that would prevent them from doing this. The only thing that stops Microsoft in this case is that they are so desperate to get in bed with the content providers that they are willing to play by their rules instead of the customers who will be buying the product. The handcuffs have been put on voluntarily and it upsets me to see a company that was founded on innovation cave to the content providers who want to hold the key to those handcuffs.

By: Harvey

Harvey — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 20:34:12 +0000

I agree that the Wi-Fi capabilities have been handcuffed in the Zune, but some of that is a necessary evil.

No legitimate company will be able to avoid DRM and its responsibities to content providers. If Microsoft’s 3-plays-in-3-days limit is considered crippling, I haven’t heard compelling alternatives that offer the ability to share music interests without violating content ownership.

The Zune’s Wi-Fi feature is a step in the right direction. It will probably evolve and get better as experience grows with it over time.

- Harvey
http://www.zunerama.com