Homestar Runner Wiki Forum

Not too long ago, Microsoft announced their entry into the mp3 market, the Zune. This might be the best chance for someone to compete with the iPod, which, last time I checked, has 80% of the mp3 market.

So what do you think of the Microsoft Zune?

So good?

Or no good?

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The Zune has a weird name.

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So is the Wii, but people are still going to buy that.

As for the Zune...I'm not too sure. I was thinking about getting a iPod, but I need to do some research on this so I can compare the two.

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i don't think it's going to work.
Microsoft hasn't been everyone's favorite giant corporation.

I'm kind of so-so on this. ONce it releases and enough time has elapsed for a general feel, then I'll consider buying it. If it's good and less than $50. Though I think the latter is impossible to more impossible.

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I would get it except for one thing: $249.99. Oh well. I'll save up. This seems cool.

Well, I do like the giant screen, number a)it's not the iPod, and 2)it's aboot $100 more than the iPod. I has a feeling that this we won't even remember this by Christmas.

Why compete with the iPod? Why should anyone try? No one's gonna beat out Apple in the iPod market. (SEE! I just used "iPod" to describe a generic product that can also be named something other than "iPod"! Just like Kleenex![Seriously, I keep hearing it be used generically.])

In 2 years the Zune will be dead. Along with all the other iPod "competitors".

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Ya know, if you're going to go into the market that your greatest rival in the computer industry practically invented, you might wanna come up with more of an original design. Just sayin'...

We have a breakthrough!

Instead of just moving the buttons, how about people try to do something different?

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OK, here's why I think Zune just might work.

I mean... it's Microsoft. Someone mentioned that it's not everybody's favorite big corporation, but the big corporation thing is it's biggest asset. Most of the computers in the world run Microsoft Windows. What's to prevent Microsoft from seamlessly integrating Zune into the rest of the computer? Launch a hyperlink, and it goes to Microsoft IE. Launch a Media Player, and it goes to Windows Media Player. What's to prevent Microsoft from hawking the Zune at every one of these outlets? (Imagine the next generation IE that opens up directly to the Zune store. There's already something on Media Player that does something similar.)

Also, one of the most annoying aspects of iTunes is that .m4p format it uses for its music. .m4p files won't play in Media Player, which I use for most video applications and which I actually prefer over Apple's standard iTunes environment.

Notice this is a distinctly different situation from the Xbox (though, when you look at it, Xbox isn't doing so bad either). Xbox doesn't sync to a Windows computer. Zune does. And Microsoft can be pretty ruthless when it comes to trouncing rivals that run applications on their OS.

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Despite all this, I voted "No good."

Why?

The Zune is friggin' ugly. I mean, seriously, Microsoft needs to hire some decent product designers.

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What about their standard QuickTime environment?

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Certainly there are alternatives to Media Player. I'm just saying that Microsoft already has Media Player installed on Windows and several people, including myself, prefer it or are used to it. I'm saying that this could be the advantage Microsoft can use to break into the mp3 player market.

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