I was just about to send a letter to the editor for them to correct that. 30MB would be a complete turn off, and would taint perception of the device even before it's released.
No one and I do mean NO ONE looks chic with a brown <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.teckmagazine.com/content/view/631/43/" target="_newWindow">http://www.teckmagazine.com/content/view/631/43/</a> portable media player that's shaped like something out of the toilet.
I've never seen anything other than Windows Media Player supports WMAPro. It's a shame, because it's a promising codec. Encoding takes about 10 times longer than WMA, so I'm guessing that battery life would suffer while decoding, but I don't know why Microsoft developed it if it's not going to be pushing it into devices.
Mostly, WMAPro seems targeted at 24-bit, and surround. Both would be useless in Zune. The few 2-channel, 16-bit settings that WMAPro does have are low-bit rate.
If you want high-quality Zune-compatible audio, you should probably go with regular WMA, 2-pass VBR @ 160 Kbps or higher.
Rather than WMAPro, I'd like to see Microsoft pushing out WMA-Voice. With the amount of podcasts I listen to, it would be quite useful. I'm also hoping for Ogg Vorbis support as well, as it allows true VBR (which WMA, AAC, and MP3 do not), and better sound quality than WMA in my experience.
If you rip a CD with WMP or the Zune app the option to add DRM to the music will be on but can be turned off in the prefs. For what we know at the moment the Zune itself will not add DRM tot unprotected music.
Playing AAC is a big plus because iTunes can be used for those with an iPod and a Zune. its still not clear if it play's them or has to be converted first.
They just don't call it DRM. The only way the RIAA would let them do any sharing is through some sort of rights management. The 3/3 rule IS DRM. How do you do this without adding DRM to a file? It may not be applied when you load the track on your player, but it does do it when you transfer it.
And I'll bet dollars to donuts there's some code in there to track "handshakes" between players and for this to be serruptitiously uploaded somewhere, sometime. It can be used for copyright "protection" (i.e. lawsuits) and for marketing. If I owned a Zune I'd compare what others shared with me and any music marketing I received. I'll bet there's a direct corelation. Am I paranoid? You bet. But MS has a long history to cause paranoia.
It comes in brown... so that automatically means you can only find them in brown, right? Oh wait, forgot that it's an ADDITIONAL color to the other colors and you don't ever have to buy a brown one. Of course all MS haters like to bash an OPTIONAL color because they have nothing geniune to complain about?
I don't trust Forbes. Even when accurate, their articles seem to have a great amount of editorial bias, or at least more than I'd care for in news.
It was widely reported that Zune may attach DRM to non-DRM'd files. These reports were all complete speculation, and not based on any news that ever came out of Microsoft.
For all of Zune's development, there's been a lot of group-think, echo-chamber reporting. An editorial would say, "Microsoft should do this," and the bloggers would start blogging about it. Then, it would appear in "legit" news stories as, "Microsoft is expected to do this."
This doesn't seem to fit in with Microsoft's traditional, undercut the competition pricing. Why would anyone pay the same price for an iPod knockoff when they could just get an iPod?
By only allowing an iPod to work on an Apple computer... I can use any mp3 player with Windows. All these complaints of Microsoft being anti-competitive, I'd expect someone to bring this up instead of giving lipservice to Apple.
Nobody forced or is forcing you to buy an iPod. You have a choice so stop griping about it as if you don't.
Last time I checked it was a free country. You would have had to either typed an order online or physically travelled to a store selling Apple Products to make a purchase. Sounds like a choice and a preference to me.
and with the wireless and all the extras your battery life is going to be 15 minutes... but hey you buy the Microsoft car battery carrier accessory to go with this "portable".
I heard this crazy sucking sound while I read that post...
Is anyone with an iPod capable of objectively reviewing a different MP3 player? I think I'm gonna have to say no on that one.
It has way more features than an iPod, a nicer screen, and is virtually the same size (-barely- larger because it has a bigger screen and WiFi). I think that's worth 99 cents.
So the Zune doesn't come w/ headphones? You have to buy them separately?? Man are they gouging people with the accessories. If I buy a music player I expect to be able to use it out-of-the-box. Do I have to buy a dock to d/l music to it from my computer as well?
For ten bucks, I'll sell you a Zune conversion kit for your iPod.
Your iPod already has headphones and dock so the $10 iPod to Zune conversion kit contains pre-cut wood tone contact paper and a black permanent marker for coloring your scroll wheel.
First, skipping the headphones is just cheap. Second, you've never heard a complaint about the playback on an iPod. Why not? Because Apple protects the iPod by making sure you get very good quality ear buds. A crappy pair will leave you with a bad impression, which you will be sure to tell your friends. Third, Apple was GENIUS with their ear bud design. When I got an iPod back in '03, strangers would ask how I liked it after they recognized my COOL white ear buds. MS could have done the same, except they can't even spell Industrial Design, nevermind understand what it means.
This also tells you the kind of thinking that likely went into the overall design of what's under the hood, too. Caveat Emptor.
Do we need another card and new money for everything? Is there an accounting reason here, or just trying to convince us that we're not spending actual money? And why aren't they XBL points? I don't get it.
You buy these points and then it doesn't matter to M$ if you ever turn them in. They have ca$h in hand and now you must convert the funny money later.
Like buying a gift certificate and then it sits in your drawer for two years. The company sold you a piece of paper and you forgot to get your product. Or like getting something "free" on rebate but you never send in the paperwork.
Maybe these points expire at some point? Maybe you can't transfer them? Maybe you buy a bunch all at once and get hit by a bus the next day?
So since there will never be a complete 100% conversion of all M $ funny-money into real product, they can advertise a lower price which is subsidized by the people that never use the pre- purchased points. It's like a built-in bonus for them.
This is a deceptive ploy to try and sound cheaper that iTunes. Zune tunes are 79, iTunes are 99. It doesn't matter that one number is funny money and the other is US currency.
It's insulting that Microsoft thinks we are that stupid. It's alarming that they may be right.
however it is useful for kids. my kids don't have credit cards, but I can buy points for them.
Would have preferred to just "put money" in their "Microsoft accounts", but then I suppose there would be confusion about it being real money and the ability to withdraw, etc.
The other problem of course is that we are an iPod/iTunes household and it would be nice to have a common points system to pay for content there as well.
The idea is the same as behind the chips at casinos, if it isn't really "money" then people are a little looser with it. Points may be psychologically easier to spend.
They seem to be using the same ploy as casinos use. The idea is that because they aren't real "money" the chips (or in this case, points) are easier to spend or use.
Just speculation, but Microsoft has hinted many times that the wireless features of the zune will be upgraded. "Zune Points" will be a great feature to have people used to if say they want to add the ability to purchase music from a wireless hotspot. Kind of hard to punch you credit card info into a zune, nor would I want my info stored in an mp3 player.
The so-called new points system isn't new at all. People have been using it on X-Box Live for quite a while. The Zune seems to have been a long time comming since the points system was already in place as many other in place current services.
"A Zune Pass will cost $14.99 a month, or $44.97 for three months.
There will also be the option of purchasing individual songs ... A single song will cost 79 points, "the equivalent of 99 cents," ... people will be able to buy points in the denominations of $5 for 400 points, $15 for 1,200, $25 for 2,000, and $50 for 4,000. That makes $1 worth about 80 points"
So, price per point? Monitarily, if 80 points is $1, then each point is worth roughly $0.12. But it depends on whether or not you're including the fact that you've just become a slave to micro$loth. I guess if you're dumb enough to accept this funny money conversion so they can play number games with you, then you might be dumb enough to not recognize the bondage you're tied into.
I wouldn't touch one of these disaster areas with my worst enemies limbs. Trading files through wi-fi sounds nice, until you realize this is the same company that can't secure a single application they have produced over the last 20 years. And we thought viruses were a problem now! Just wait until this mess hits the streets!
Where have you been living? iPod only works with a Mac? Any iPod will work with windows (thanks to 3rd party tools) and newer iPods work with windows out of the box.
The zune doesn't seem to have anything great about it. Microsoft missed a chance by making a portable player that would compete with the Nano, but instead went for the iPod with the smaller adoptee rate. Yeah sharing is maybe the one feature that could hurt the iPod but i'm sure microsoft loused that up as well.
And 79 points = 99 cents? Maybe there's a formula in excel that will help me keep track of that...
I've owned several mp3 players and absolutely hated the "push button" based navigation on every one of them (click a "down arrow" once to scroll from one artist to the next, tap it a bunch of times to scroll down several, etc.) until i bought my current iPod Nano. Does anyone know if Microsoft will use a "real" wheel on the Zune or is it just another unit with four buttons that just are layed out to look like a complete circle.
It's really amazing to me that there are now a bunch of devices that try this gimmick. Look at the LG Chocolate phone or any number of mp3 players out there and they've gone to great lengths to make sure their buttons LOOK like a real wheel. But as far as I know, only the iPod really lets you "scroll continuously" the way a wheel mouse lets you scroll on a long webpage. Actually the Rio Carbon did too, and the original Rio Riot. Strange that almost no manufacturers have been willing to go up against Apple and implement a "real" scrolling type of interface. Sure Apple's lawyers would jump on them, but in the end Apple wouldn't have a leg to stand on, the Rio RIot had a scroll wheel way before the iPod came out. I'd think even Steve Jobs would have a tough time convincing a jury he actually invented the wheel!
It is just 4 buttons, as someone else pointed out, but if you click and hold the button, it scrolls. Personally I like the speed at which it scrolls and a big letter appears showing you where you are in your library. The cool thing is that when you switch into landscape mode for video viewing, the buttons buttons change, so while play was on top in the vertical arrangement, it will be on top again in the landscape arrangement.
Zune doesnt have a click wheel, it has buttons layed out to look like a circle. But the feature is better than iPod's click wheel. To scroll down several songs u dont have to push the button several times, u just have to hold it down. The longer u hold it down, the faster it scrolls. Its better than the iPod where u have to keep on rotating ur finger round n round. The click wheel has definitely got to be the dumbest thing Steve Jobs ever made. (I definitely dont need any finger exercises)
the manufacturers of the MP3 players could easily create a program for OSX to transfer songs, but they dont (to my knowledge) because most people who own apple computers use iPods. it wouldnt be profitable for the companies to design the software.
I think MS will make it compatible with Mac. Microsoft never had a problem making their stuff compatible on other operating systems. U can even run a Windows OS in dual boot configuration on a Mac. But can u do the same with Mac OSX on a machine with windows? No!! Its Apple that has a problem with giving others rights. Well....if the iPod wasn't made compatible with Windows, all the iPods would still be sitting on shelves in the stores. Steve Jobs knows how to make good products....but he sure doesn't know how to promote them. iPod+iTunes...all they do is steal ur money and make it hard for u to share music.
I'm neither an MS fan nor a Zune advocate - So far, that is, since no one's actually seen the devise - but the press releases have been pretty much unimpressive (in my humble opinion).
My comment here though is about "You". Your reference to mentally challenged children was totally uncalled for. You might as well throw in some racial, ethnic and religious slurs while you're at it.
No Thanks, I'll Pass on Zune. iPod is it, Zune is ....!
Attention Microsoft,
No thanks! I'm sticking with Apple iPod, its been nearly flawless. That is alot more than I can say for any Microsoft product that I have owned or operated. I'm fed up with your crapy code, viruses, bugs, crashing, and ..... Why, why, why would I consider buying something else from Microsoft? NO THANKS. Apple already has the best product in the space and we all know it.
I think this thing looks pretty nice. I like how the buttons/pads take up a small portion of the front panel leaving most of the room for the screen. The iPod wheel takes up about half the space, maybe more.
MS would have a much easier shot at the iPod if they had launched Zune a couple of years ago.
Today, the iPod is THE mp3 player to most people. It certainly is to 70+ percent of the auto manufacturers that sell cars in the U.S. and is to many that sell cars in the rest of the world.
They will not only have to get a lot of accessory mfgs behind them, but also overcome the advantage of iPod/iTunes for almost everyone that buys a new car in the next several years.
It appears Zune will be another black hole that eats a lot of the money MS makes from Windows and Office like its XBox sibling. I wonder how happy MS stockholders will be with that?
You mean like when they did MSN to compete with Yahoo as an internet portal? Can we say, "Still not working?" Sometimes Microsoft reminds me of a judge at the county fair. They're sticking their fingers in every pie and tasting the results. The thing is, they're not baking the pies, just sticking their fingers in them.
MS DOS says "Checkout that Apple GUI " *"Bling"* - We control most of the desktop market so far - Let's do Windows (They keep trying but they're still playing catch up)
**Might seem irrelevant to the thread but lets keep going**
The Internet's cool - "Netscape" Browser is REALLY cool AND it's free! *"Bling"* - We control most of the desktop market - Let's make our own "FREE" browser - We'll call it an "integral part" of the "Windows" OS, that way we can bury those (Netscape) guys AND control the Internet. (They're still trying to control the Internet).
Whoa - check out that Java - That really works good on the Net! *"Bling"* We control most of the desktop market - Let's change Java just a little bit - We'll call it - Hmmmm - ".Net" - Get it? - works well on the "Net"? - BUT - our version will work best with Windows only - not other operating systems. (That one didn't work - they got squashed in litigation.)
What? - People are actually watching TV on their computers now. *"Bling"* We control most of the desktop market - Let's buy a national television network - how about NBC - we'll call it MSNBC! The thing is even though people watch (and have been watching) newscasts from ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, CSPAN, YouTube, Yahoo, Google, MySpace, Etc. - If you use a Mac you can't watch a video newscast on "MS"NBC because it requires WMP 10. MS stopped supporting WMP for the Mac at WMP 9. Now it's what - WMP 11? How hard would it be for MSNBC to also support "RealTime", "QuickTime", "WMP 9", "Java" or ALL of them - YOU get to choose! Not hard at all since ALL OTHER Major News Outlets let you do that.
But "MS"NBC is obviously only worried about "Controlling The Formats". Bottom line? - You don't use Windows you can't see this!
Games - a company named Bungie used to make games primarily for the Mac *"Bling"* - Let's buy Bungie and have it primarily make games for the Xbox.
Oh yeah - the Xbox - MS decided Sony & Nintendo were reaping too much profit that rightly belonged to MS so they decided to go into the Home Video Game Market. MS wants to take on Yahoo & Google - MSN MS wants to take on YouTube - SoapBox MS wants to take on iPod & iTunes - Zune MS decides THEY are the expert on computer & Internet Security (ROFLMAO) sorry, one more (ROFLMAO) tears are coming out of my eyes. If I don't stop I'll probably **** my pants (ROFLMAO!)
W3C? F**k 'em - they don't care about standardized web formats - it's MSIE or the highway Bud - they make they're own standard - other browsers like it or not.
As I said in the title: technewsjunkie's got it totally right: "This is about controlling FORMATS"
Bottom line Bill Gates was never happy JUST being the richest man in the world via his Operating System "MicroSoft" Noooo - He needs to own it ALL!
Manage updates with the Download App
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.teckmagazine.com/content/view/631/43/" target="_newWindow">http://www.teckmagazine.com/content/view/631/43/</a>
portable media player that's shaped like something out of the toilet.
I'm thinking of switching from AAC to WMAPro.
Mostly, WMAPro seems targeted at 24-bit, and surround. Both would be useless in Zune. The few 2-channel, 16-bit settings that WMAPro does have are low-bit rate.
If you want high-quality Zune-compatible audio, you should probably go with regular WMA, 2-pass VBR @ 160 Kbps or higher.
Rather than WMAPro, I'd like to see Microsoft pushing out WMA-Voice. With the amount of podcasts I listen to, it would be quite useful. I'm also hoping for Ogg Vorbis support as well, as it allows true VBR (which WMA, AAC, and MP3 do not), and better sound quality than WMA in my experience.
It will be interesting to see if MS ends up in court over this. From what I've read, applying DRM to Creative Commons music is a copyright violation.
IMO, MS is going to have to drop the price a lot more if they want to unload this things.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=236497" target="_newWindow">http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=236497</a>
Sorry, that piece of FUD has been shot down.
What will be made up next?
to the music will be on but can be turned off in the prefs. For
what we know at the moment the Zune itself will not add DRM
tot unprotected music.
Playing AAC is a big plus because iTunes can be used for those
with an iPod and a Zune. its still not clear if it play's them or has
to be converted first.
them do any sharing is through some sort of rights
management. The 3/3 rule IS DRM. How do you do this without
adding DRM to a file? It may not be applied when you load the
track on your player, but it does do it when you transfer it.
And I'll bet dollars to donuts there's some code in there to track
"handshakes" between players and for this to be serruptitiously
uploaded somewhere, sometime. It can be used for copyright
"protection" (i.e. lawsuits) and for marketing. If I owned a Zune
I'd compare what others shared with me and any music
marketing I received. I'll bet there's a direct corelation. Am I
paranoid? You bet. But MS has a long history to cause paranoia.
It was widely reported that Zune may attach DRM to non-DRM'd files. These reports were all complete speculation, and not based on any news that ever came out of Microsoft.
For all of Zune's development, there's been a lot of group-think, echo-chamber reporting. An editorial would say, "Microsoft should do this," and the bloggers would start blogging about it. Then, it would appear in "legit" news stories as, "Microsoft is expected to do this."
There isn't a PMP that works on a Mac that has those features and felxibility. And we're stuck with only the iPod, which kind of sucks.
so stop griping about it as if you don't.
Last time I checked it was a free country. You would have had to
either typed an order online or physically travelled to a store selling
Apple Products to make a purchase. Sounds like a choice and a
preference to me.
Confusing point system. Subcription model that hasn't worked for anyone else.
Yawn. Pass. i'll stick to my iPods.
be 15 minutes... but hey you buy the Microsoft car battery carrier
accessory to go with this "portable".
Is anyone with an iPod capable of objectively reviewing a different MP3 player? I think I'm gonna have to say no on that one.
It has way more features than an iPod, a nicer screen, and is virtually the same size (-barely- larger because it has a bigger screen and WiFi). I think that's worth 99 cents.
Ridiculous ...
Your iPod already has headphones and dock so the $10 iPod to
Zune conversion kit contains pre-cut wood tone contact paper and
a black permanent marker for coloring your scroll wheel.
never heard a complaint about the playback on an iPod. Why
not? Because Apple protects the iPod by making sure you get
very good quality ear buds. A crappy pair will leave you with a
bad impression, which you will be sure to tell your friends.
Third, Apple was GENIUS with their ear bud design. When I got
an iPod back in '03, strangers would ask how I liked it after they
recognized my COOL white ear buds. MS could have done the
same, except they can't even spell Industrial Design, nevermind
understand what it means.
This also tells you the kind of thinking that likely went into the
overall design of what's under the hood, too. Caveat Emptor.
ever turn them in. They have ca$h in hand and now you must
convert the funny money later.
Like buying a gift certificate and then it sits in your drawer for
two years. The company sold you a piece of paper and you
forgot to get your product. Or like getting something "free" on
rebate but you never send in the paperwork.
Maybe these points expire at some point? Maybe you can't
transfer them? Maybe you buy a bunch all at once and get hit by
a bus the next day?
So since there will never be a complete 100% conversion of all M
$ funny-money into real product, they can advertise a lower
price which is subsidized by the people that never use the pre-
purchased points. It's like a built-in bonus for them.
It's insulting that Microsoft thinks we are that stupid. It's alarming that they may be right.
however it is useful for kids. my kids don't have credit cards, but I can buy points for them.
Would have preferred to just "put money" in their "Microsoft accounts", but then I suppose there would be confusion about it being real money and the ability to withdraw, etc.
The other problem of course is that we are an iPod/iTunes household and it would be nice to have a common points system to pay for content there as well.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/0.RSLID?mco=59413922&nclm=iTMSCardsCertificates" target="_newWindow">http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/0.RSLID?mco=59413922&nclm=iTMSCardsCertificates</a>
what's the big deal here?
Kind of hard to punch you credit card info into a zune, nor would I want my info stored in an mp3 player.
"A Zune Pass will cost $14.99 a month, or $44.97 for three
months.
There will also be the option of purchasing individual songs ... A
single song will cost 79 points, "the equivalent of 99 cents," ...
people will be able to buy points in the denominations of $5 for
400 points, $15 for 1,200, $25 for 2,000, and $50 for 4,000.
That makes $1 worth about 80 points"
So, price per point? Monitarily, if 80 points is $1, then each point
is worth roughly $0.12. But it depends on whether or not you're
including the fact that you've just become a slave to micro$loth.
I guess if you're dumb enough to accept this funny money
conversion so they can play number games with you, then you
might be dumb enough to not recognize the bondage you're tied
into.
I wouldn't touch one of these disaster areas with my worst
enemies limbs. Trading files through wi-fi sounds nice, until you
realize this is the same company that can't secure a single
application they have produced over the last 20 years. And we
thought viruses were a problem now! Just wait until this mess
hits the streets!
The zune doesn't seem to have anything great about it. Microsoft missed a chance by making a portable player that would compete with the Nano, but instead went for the iPod with the smaller adoptee rate. Yeah sharing is maybe the one feature that could hurt the iPod but i'm sure microsoft loused that up as well.
And 79 points = 99 cents? Maybe there's a formula in excel that will help me keep track of that...
It's really amazing to me that there are now a bunch of devices that try this gimmick. Look at the LG Chocolate phone or any number of mp3 players out there and they've gone to great lengths to make sure their buttons LOOK like a real wheel. But as far as I know, only the iPod really lets you "scroll continuously" the way a wheel mouse lets you scroll on a long webpage. Actually the Rio Carbon did too, and the original Rio Riot. Strange that almost no manufacturers have been willing to go up against Apple and implement a "real" scrolling type of interface. Sure Apple's lawyers would jump on them, but in the end Apple wouldn't have a leg to stand on, the Rio RIot had a scroll wheel way before the iPod came out. I'd think even Steve Jobs would have a tough time convincing a jury he actually invented the wheel!
"First off, that scroll wheel you see? That's not a wheel. It's just four buttons arranged in a wheel formation. "
But the feature is better than iPod's click wheel.
To scroll down several songs u dont have to push the button several times, u just have to hold it down. The longer u hold it down, the faster it scrolls. Its better than the iPod where u have to keep on rotating ur finger round n round. The click wheel has definitely got to be the dumbest thing Steve Jobs ever made. (I definitely dont need any finger exercises)
for OSX to transfer songs, but they dont (to my knowledge)
because most people who own apple computers use iPods. it
wouldnt be profitable for the companies to design the software.
Does the Pope where a funny white hat?
Can't play on other devices.
No flash players to use.
At least apple's iTunes can use used on both mac and windows and already has ishuffle, nano and new itv.
Its another Microsoft monopoly building up.
Beware.
I don't own an ipod.
And i still prefer ipod+itunes.
Microsoft never had a problem making their stuff compatible on other operating systems. U can even run a Windows OS in dual boot configuration on a Mac. But can u do the same with Mac OSX on a machine with windows? No!!
Its Apple that has a problem with giving others rights. Well....if the iPod wasn't made compatible with Windows, all the iPods would still be sitting on shelves in the stores.
Steve Jobs knows how to make good products....but he sure doesn't know how to promote them.
iPod+iTunes...all they do is steal ur money and make it hard for u to share music.
no one's actually seen the devise - but the press releases have
been pretty much unimpressive (in my humble opinion).
My comment here though is about "You".
Your reference to mentally challenged children was totally
uncalled for. You might as well throw in some racial, ethnic and
religious slurs while you're at it.
I'll just use a basic slur - you're an a$$hole.
'Nuff said - **** off
;-)
No thanks! I'm sticking with Apple iPod, its been nearly flawless.
That is alot more than I can say for any Microsoft product that I
have owned or operated. I'm fed up with your crapy code, viruses,
bugs, crashing, and ..... Why, why, why would I consider buying
something else from Microsoft? NO THANKS. Apple already has the
best product in the space and we all know it.
Oh well, a fool and his money are soon parted!
Today, the iPod is THE mp3 player to most people. It certainly is to 70+ percent of the auto manufacturers that sell cars in the U.S. and is to many that sell cars in the rest of the world.
They will not only have to get a lot of accessory mfgs behind them, but also overcome the advantage of iPod/iTunes for almost everyone that buys a new car in the next several years.
It appears Zune will be another black hole that eats a lot of the money MS makes from Windows and Office like its XBox sibling. I wonder how happy MS stockholders will be with that?
MS DOS says "Checkout that Apple GUI "
*"Bling"* - We control most of the desktop market so far - Let's
do Windows (They keep trying but they're still playing catch up)
**Might seem irrelevant to the thread but lets keep going**
The Internet's cool - "Netscape" Browser is REALLY cool AND it's
free!
*"Bling"* - We control most of the desktop market - Let's make
our own "FREE" browser - We'll call it an "integral part" of the
"Windows" OS, that way we can bury those (Netscape) guys AND
control the Internet. (They're still trying to control the Internet).
Whoa - check out that Java - That really works good on the Net!
*"Bling"* We control most of the desktop market - Let's change
Java just a little bit - We'll call it - Hmmmm - ".Net" - Get it? -
works well on the "Net"? - BUT - our version will work best with
Windows only - not other operating systems. (That one didn't
work - they got squashed in litigation.)
What? - People are actually watching TV on their computers now.
*"Bling"* We control most of the desktop market - Let's buy a
national television network - how about NBC - we'll call it
MSNBC!
The thing is even though people watch (and have been watching)
newscasts from ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, CSPAN, YouTube, Yahoo,
Google, MySpace, Etc. - If you use a Mac you can't watch a video
newscast on "MS"NBC because it requires WMP 10.
MS stopped supporting WMP for the Mac at WMP 9.
Now it's what - WMP 11?
How hard would it be for MSNBC to also support "RealTime",
"QuickTime", "WMP 9", "Java" or ALL of them - YOU get to
choose!
Not hard at all since ALL OTHER Major News Outlets let you do
that.
But "MS"NBC is obviously only worried about "Controlling The
Formats". Bottom line? - You don't use Windows you can't see
this!
Games - a company named Bungie used to make games
primarily for the Mac
*"Bling"* - Let's buy Bungie and have it primarily make games
for the Xbox.
Oh yeah - the Xbox - MS decided Sony & Nintendo were reaping
too much profit that rightly belonged to MS so they decided to
go into the Home Video Game Market.
MS wants to take on Yahoo & Google - MSN
MS wants to take on YouTube - SoapBox
MS wants to take on iPod & iTunes - Zune
MS decides THEY are the expert on computer & Internet Security
(ROFLMAO) sorry, one more (ROFLMAO) tears are coming out of
my eyes. If I don't stop I'll probably **** my pants (ROFLMAO!)
I'm OK now. Uh Hmm, Security <chuckle>, <chuckle>,
<breath> - OneCare
W3C? F**k 'em - they don't care about standardized web formats
- it's MSIE or the highway Bud - they make they're own standard
- other browsers like it or not.
As I said in the title: technewsjunkie's got it totally right:
"This is about controlling FORMATS"
Bottom line Bill Gates was never happy JUST being the richest
man in the world via his Operating System "MicroSoft"
Noooo - He needs to own it ALL!