Zunewatch 2007
The head of Microsoft’s Zune project, Bryan Lee, resigned last week, no doubt to “spend more time with his family” or to “pursue opportunities outside the company,” or whatever else they say when your project tanks.
Oh, I’m sorry-did I say the Zune tanked? Silly me. Let me re-assert my bloggeristic neutrality and unbiased eye. Ignoring for the moment the many signs that industry watchers can point to that would hint at less-than-stellar numbers for Microsoft’s “iPod Killer” (note to electronics manufacturers and gadget press: At this point, be advised that calling an MP3 player an “iPod Killer” is tantamount to the kiss of death), I would like to conduct a simple experiment. How long will it be before I spot an actual Microsoft Zune “in the wild,” so to speak?
Microsoft’s slogan for the Zune is “Welcome to the Social,” which apart from being an absolutely horrid slogan, seems to be a reference to the Zune’s ability to “squirt“-again, an absolutely horrid (sorry… reasserting neutrality again) term for sharing songs via the Zune’s wifi feature. The idea is that if two Zune users meet, and one says, “Hey, check out this song!” the one guy can transfer it to the other Zune wirelessly and the second guy can enjoy it to his heart’s content. Well, as long as his heart’s content is 3 plays or 3 days, regardless of whether the song is copy-protected or not. Oh, and if the song was purchased from Zune Marketplace, then about half of them won’t work either, due to the Zune’s absolutely horrid DRM and licensing scheme (MUST…. RE-ASSERT… NEUTRALITY….).
OK, so here is the point of my experiment: If I had a Zune, and I wanted to use this unique “squirting” feature, I need to find another person using a Zune. I live in the Los Angeles area of California, so it’s not like I trying to spot one on a desert island, so one would think that this is a reasonable test. So I am going to count the days until I actually see a Zune “in the wild.” Here are a couple of ground rules:
I am not going to actively seek anyone out, by going up to them and asking if they have one. The social aspect of the Zune involves a certain amount of spontaneity, which is tainted by asking people if they have one. I have to observe the Zune being used in the course of normal events.
It doesn’t have to be someone I know. It can be someone at the gym, on the street, on a bus, etc.
Zunes in stores don’t count.
People in the media who might have a professional reason to have one for reviewing purposes, for example, do not count.
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Dear Microsoft Minions,
I’m not an Apple zealot. I own a Mac, but, because there’s a sh_tload of Windows compatible software out there, it probably makes more sense for most people to use Windows. I know that this is gonna sound a little petty, but, other than viruses and bloated software, the thing that I can’t stand about Microsoft stuff is how cheesy it looks. And Zune looks like another example. It looks like they sat around at a bar doodling their version of the iPod on cocktail napkins, threw together a quick PowerPoint presentation, and fell in love with their own idea.
Bill Gates is the world’s richest man. He should visit some people on Apple’s design team and offer them a few million to work for him. Maybe that way he could get a decent looking product. I’m not even mentioning ease of use because I don’t own an iPod. I don’t want one because I only listen to music in my home or in my car. But I’ve lusted for one in my heart. I’ve almost talked myself into buying one on more than one occasion because they look so cool. And each new one looks cooler than the one that came before.
However, I suspect that an iPod is easier to use as well. I suspect that Zune is to the Windows Media Player what the iPod is to QuickTime. Have you ever tried scrubbing (moving the currently viewed or heard part of something backwards or forwards in order to locate something in it quickly) with the Windows Media Player? Forget about it! Apple stuff isn’t just pretty to look at; form and function are interdependent.
OK. I guess I got a little zealot-ish, but I’m not prejudiced. Some of my best friends use Microsoft stuff.
Tootles,
Mr. Monkey
[...] Zunewatch 2007OK, here’s an interesting challenge. Find someone who is actually using a Zune out in the wild. It’s been almost three months since Zune was released and still no sightings. That’s sort of strange when you consider that Steve Ballmer claims Zune already has a 20% market share. But then Ballmer’s the guy who uses Excel to manage his calendar. His math might be a little fuzzy. reddit_url = ‘http://www.medialoper.com/columns/the-daily-loper/daily-loper-303/’; By Lopy The Loper | posted in The Daily Loper Tag at del.icio.us | Incoming links [...]
[...] Mr. Alex continues to crank out some excellent content on one of the best new blogs. Starting with an article about the Zune project lead "leaving" Microsoft in Zune watch 2007, Mr. Alex has started an Official Geekfoolery Zunewatch. "The Official Geekfoolery Zunewatch 2007 tally is as of February 12, 2007 is 43 days, zero Zunes." Brilliant! [...]
[...] Original post by Mr. Alex [...]
[...] Earlier this month, I began Zunewatch 2007, based on the idea that if I wish to use the social aspect of the Zune–you know, “Welcome to the Social“–then I would want to see what kind of people are buying and using the Zune “in the wild.” Although the Zune was released to the public in November 2006, out of consideration for the holidays, my Zunewatch countdown didn’t start until January 1, 2007. Here now is my update as of March 1, 2007, or Day 60: [...]
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[...] Meanwhile, an quick update on Zunewatch 2007, my experiment to see if the signature feature of the Zune, its Wifi capability can be used. Microsoft intends that Zune users will gather and share music in social settings, hence the brilliant (ahem) marketing slogan “Welcome to the Social.” My goal is simply to count how many Zunes I see “in the wild” so I would know how many other people out there I could meet and swap songs with. Because that’s all the Wifi on the Zune is good for, basically, and without other Zune users, it’s a bit like having one walkie-talkie. [...]
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[...] No, I think in the interest of fairness, the iPhone needs to be put on iPhonewatch 2007. This is similar to my currently still-running experiment, Zunewatch 2007, which is to say, how long will it take before I see a real live iPhone “in the wild” in an actual consumer’s hands, being used to make a phone call, or perhaps something less pedestrian and more suited to the many wondrous powers of the iPhone, say, making a phone call and curing cancer. [...]
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[...] Zunewatch 2007 update, no Zunes sighted, despite Microsoft claiming to have sold a million of them. Interesting, Apple sold nearly a half a million iPhones in a weekend, and I’ve already spotted two iPhones “in the wild.” [...]
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[...] First, despite Microsoft’s claim to have sold more than a million Zunes, a figure that’s worth about 10% of the hard-drive based player market, I have never, ever seen a single person using one in public. I began Zunewatch on Jan 1st to see if it would be worthwhile for me to get a Zune to use their signature wireless music sharing feature. My thought was that if I could go up to strangers and say, “Hey, check out this song” and transfer it to them by wifi (aka “squirting”), well, that would be a something I could not do with my iPod. [...]
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