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November 13, 2007 10:05 AM PST

Zune Fan Fiction

by The Macalope
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Does anyone know what the hell they're putting in the water cooler over at ZDNet?

Because.... damn.

Larry Dignan (does anyone know which one is Larry in that picture? Is he the sysadmin, the college professor or the metrosexual? [UPDATE: In comments, Larry says he's the sysadmin. Who had sysadmin in the pool?]) has seen the future, friends! And the future is...

ZUNE!

Actually, the Macalope suspects that Dignan drank a few too many Zimas and fell asleep watching Superman II and the line "You will bow down before Zod! You, and one day, your heirs!" seeped into his brain stem and festered like a Ceti eel and he's just trying to get it out.

Yes, the Macalope knows he's mixing his sci fi movie references.

At any rate, Dignan seems to have awaken with fevered visions of a future where the Zune rules supreme.

However, the Zune's big breakthrough came courtesy of Apple, which bet entirely on music and video downloads. The company's reluctance to offer a subscription service turned consumers away from the iPod...

Ha-ha-ha!

Oh, wait, he's serious.

Yes, the Macalope has long heard about how subscription and ad-based music systems vill take over ze virld! And so far the leading player and store have neither.

Maybe people really want subscription services. The Macalope doesn't, but maybe everyone else does. The problem is, no one apparently cares enough to give up cool hardware that works better in order to get it. Dignan's apocalyptic vision for the iPod's future fails to address this.

Meanwhile, Department of Justice proceeding against the iPod/iTunes link hampered decision making at Apple.

Uh-huh. Just like it did with Microsoft and Windows leading to its complete overthrow in the operating system market and...

Wait, what?

Dignan is clearly no Hiro Nakamura. Or maybe he is and just hasn't realized that the future he's jumping to is an evil future where everything has gone completely haywire and Microsoft is run by Sylar.

Hey, it could happen.

Well, in the world of Zune fan fiction.

Back to Dignan's future.

According to a new report from the NPD Group, a leading consumer and retail information company, sales of Microsoft's Zune are outpacing Apple's iPod by a 5 to 1 margin.

But then Steve Jobs saved the cheerleader and reality was restored.

The End.

Boy, and they have the nerve to call us craaaazy zealots?

Sure, the Zune is getting better and, sure, Microsoft has deep pockets. But the Zune's got a pretty big hole to dig itself out of and drawing little pictures on the back of it isn't going to cut it.

Let's face it: the only real way Dignan's silly vision of the future comes to pass is after the headlines read "STEVE JOBS RETIRES".

But if we're playing Dignan's game, all we have to do is stand Peter Petrelli next to Jobs for a minute so he can pick up his reality distortion field and then...

Oh, great, now the Macalope's doing it!

DIIIIIIIGNAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!

Mythical beast and rumormonger extraordinaire, the Macalope writes about all things Apple for the CNET Blog Network. Read more at The Macalope: An Apple blog. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

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Hey Macalope, I'm the sysadmin (I hope)
by ldignan November 13, 2007 10:16 AM PST
Glad you enjoyed my fictional piece. I noticed you were doing it at the end. Cheers.

Larry
Reply to this comment
Riiiiiiiight?
by The Real John Muir November 13, 2007 11:16 AM PST
?but where were the friggin' zombies? Won't someone *please* think about
the zombies!
Reply to this comment
To quote some more movies...
by Macalope November 13, 2007 11:19 AM PST
The Macalope wasn't exactly *enjoying* it, Larry!

Well, OK, maybe perversely.
Reply to this comment
ZDNET is Told to Hate Apple
by jbelkin November 13, 2007 11:19 AM PST
ZDNET has it out for Apple - they proved that before the iPhone came out but this does take the cake because it's riddled with inaccuracies ...

"Department of Justice proceeding against the iPod/iTunes link hampered decision making at Apple."

NO SUCH PROCEEDINGS. There is a class action lawsuit but this is America - you can sue the dry cleaners for $26 million for losing your pants ...

Zune is being outsold to the iPod more like 9 to 1 in the HARD DRIVE MP3 player category ONLY. Overall, the numbers are pretty telling. It took MS over 400 days to sell 1 million Zunes. It takes Apple 9 days and EVERY 9 days to sell a million iPods ...

http://2aday.wordpress.com/2007/06/19/zdnet-really-really-really-hates-apple-the-iphone/
Reply to this comment
Screams....
by STrRedWolf November 13, 2007 12:05 PM PST
Um, wouldn't it have been better to howl "VEEEENKKKMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNN!" instead? ;)
Reply to this comment
Does anyone actually own a Zune?
by iamdogfriend November 13, 2007 3:15 PM PST
I mean, I've seen the dusty displays in Circuit City and Fry's Electronics, but
I've never seen a live person handling one. I'm sure Ballmer's kids probably
have one or two each, but did anyone else ever purchase one?
Reply to this comment
No, no, it's "ZDvorakNet"
by johncwelch November 14, 2007 9:00 PM PST
That's what I'm calling it from now on.

Paul Murphy is STILL ranting like a starving crackhead about some mystical
ZFS/Time Machine relationship, and evidently, can't google "Leopard DTrace"
No, really, here:
http://www.bynkii.com/archives/2007/11/just_when_i_thought_i_wouldnt.ht
ml

He shows up in the comments, like some kind of herpes sore.

He also thinks that appealing to my inner MacMac will somehow make me be
on his side....



...he is wrong.
Reply to this comment
They're selling like hotcakes.
by ripragged November 16, 2007 11:43 PM PST
Huh. I have seen exactly one (1) Zune in use by an actual human being. I'm in a production of Peter Pan. There are at least a dozen girls in their mid- to late-teens. There is one that has an mp3 player that is not an iPod. It isn't a Zune. The rest have Shuffles, Nanos, and Minis. If Zunes are outselling iPods 5-1, it must be happening in Wisconsin or North Dakota.

All the teeny-boppers in this neck of the woods use iPods.
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About The Macalope: An Apple blog

Born of the earth, forged in fire, the Macalope was branded "nonstandard" and "proprietary" by the IT world and considered a freak of nature. Part man, part Mac, and part antelope, the Macalope set forth on a quest to save his beloved platform. Long-eclipsed by his more prodigious cousin, the jackalope (they breed like rabbits, you know), the Macalope's time has come. Apple news and rumormonger extraordinaire, the Macalope provides a uniquely polymorphic approach. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

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