Microsoft Zune

[DopefishLives]

Anyone have one? I'm curious what everyone thinks about it and the way MP3 players are going.

I purchased one but I wont see it until next week so until then I borrowed my friends so I could get acquainted with it. Initial impressions are great, the casing is sturdy and comfortably sized, the control layout is simple and elegant without intruding too much on the iPod design and the screen is large, bright and clear. The 'doubleshot' casing is my favorite part of the exterior where you have a primary color (brown) and the outline is illuminated by the secondary color (green) to offer an interesting visual effect when looking at it. The menu navigation is similar to the iPod but some will find it slightly more cumbersome without the 'wheel'; I personally prefer the Microsoft arrangement.

The one thing that has brought me some disdain is the Zune software but it is mostly from not knowing its inner workings just yet. Many of my faults for it have waned as I worked with the software more.

I still have many hours of play in front of me to see what really sticks out but so far I am fighting for the future of open Wi-Fi so that I can browse the net or at the very least connect to ZuneMarketplace from Wi-Fi capable areas and download/buy music while out and about. Limiting it to device-to-device communication only saddens me.

_Kris

 

[DeathFromBelow]

It looks like a great piece of hardware, but they completely screwed up the software side of things.

It doesn't meet Microsoft's own "PlaysForSure" certification.

You have to use a separate Zune media player/transfer software, and I don't believe you can play files you download from the Zune service in any other software.

The wi-fi feature is castrated. You won't be allowed to transfer some of the songs you can download. Plus, it adds DRM to anything you send. The other person can only listen to what you send them three times. You cant use it to download songs, sync-up with your computer/home network, or to surf the internet either.

I'm waiting for someone to hack it and fix the software. Until then, I still love my Cowon X5.

 

[DopefishLives]

Yea, the only thing I can say is that I think Microsoft intentionally went against their PFS in order to stir up controversy in the DRM world. Gates has publicly stated his disdain for current anti-piracy methods and I think the BS with UMG has sort of pushed Microsoft over the edge. They don't want to directly go against them as it would appear as bad business practices but I look at it as the first steps in DRM going away, at least in the light of a better replacement that doesn't infringe on the legitimate music buyers.

The Wi-Fi I think will definitely be opened up by someone, if MS themselves don't wake it up with a firmware update later on.

_Kris

 

[Martyr]

Yea, the only thing I can say is that I think Microsoft intentionally went against their PFS in order to stir up controversy in the DRM world. Gates has publicly stated his disdain for current anti-piracy methods and I think the BS with UMG has sort of pushed Microsoft over the edge. They don't want to directly go against them as it would appear as bad business practices but I look at it as the first steps in DRM going away, at least in the light of a better replacement that doesn't infringe on the legitimate music buyers.

The Wi-Fi I think will definitely be opened up by someone, if MS themselves don't wake it up with a firmware update later on.

_Kris

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/how-to-bypass-the-zunes-wifi-sharing-drm-217042.php

you know microsoft made it.