Valleywag
digital music
Posts Tagged “
Zune
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A moment too Zune
Robbie Bach, overseer of Microsoft's entertainment division, has been trotted out by PR to counter Apple's iPhone buzz. He trots out familiar numbers about Windows Mobile phones outselling the iPhone. (A challenge: try naming one.) And then he undermines his credibility by admitting to having four Zunes. [SFGate]
copyfight
Microsoft says Zune won't filter your home videos, promise
After news that NBC had asked Microsoft to develop content filtering technology to keep infringing files off the Zune spread like wildfire, Cesar Menendez, a Microsoft employee working on the Zune, said there was no agreement between the television network and the technology company to implement any such plan.We think some folks in the industry were expressing hopes for how the entire industry, not just Microsoft, would come to look at content distribution, and some speculation has ensued.In other words, a bit of wishful thinking on NBC's part. More »
copyfight
Microsoft's antipiracy protection may doom video Zune
Part of the deal between NBC and Microsoft to sell television shows to Zune owners is that Microsoft will attempt to build in antipiracy technology that keeps anything you might have downloaded through less than legitimate means off the device. In other words, you can say goodbye to trading MP3 files or videos with your friends on the Zune — instead, you'll have to use officially authorized sources to charge it up with content. How will the Zune know if the video you're trying to download to the device was downloaded illegally or, say, created by you? Until digital watermarking technology improves significantly, it won't, and even then, who knows. So for you lonely Zune owners, prepare to get even lonelier, because the second the company implements this "feature," it can kiss goodbye to what little market share it now enjoys. (Photo by AP/Ted S. Warren)
microsoft
Lonely Zune owner reaches out on Craigslist
While in the strictly platonic section of Craigslist, this anonymous Angeleno writes in a tone more suited to casual encounters, what with the desire to "rocket sweet tracks up each other's Zune slots" and the need for "a hearty and steadfast product." I'm willing to bet my Shuffle against your Zune the author is NBC's Jeff Zucker, and that he wasn't being ironic.
apple
Jeff Zucker's Zune revenge
Having dropped Apple's iTunes store in a dispute over pricing, NBC Universal will soon start selling downloads of TV shows like The Office and 30 Rock for its Zune media player. If NBC chief Jeff Zucker manages to scrape some sales out of Microsoft's handheld also-ran, it will be a miracle — and the surest proof yet that content, not hardware, is king. Don't hold your breath. Microsoft's Zune has always seemed like a parody of Apple's iPod. Want to buy songs? Well, first you buy "points" from Microsoft, which you can then exchange for music at some bizarre exchange rate. Nothing about its user interface seems quite right compared to Apple's polish. The system for TV shows is no better. Though Microsoft also makes the Xbox, shows downloaded to a Zune won't play on the videogame console unless you're adept at fiddling with cables. By going with Microsoft, Zucker is betting that technology doesn't matter, design doesn't matter, and market share doesn't matter. He must really believe in his prime-time lineup. (Photo via Fake Steve Ballmer)
digital music
Yahoo unloads music service on RealNetworks and MTV
The weekend saw the long-rumored sale of Yahoo's paid music service go through. Rhapsody America, a RealNetworks and MTV joint venture, purchased Yahoo Music Unlimited for an undisclosed fee, paidContent.org reports. Word has it Yahoo plans to supplant the service with a free, ad-supported service. To that end, it has purchased the maker of FoxyTunes, a plugin for the Firefox browser which searches for music online. More »
windows
Microsoft kills PlaysForSure quickly, music partners slowly
The Web is deriding Microsoft's decision to rename PlaysForSure, its digital rights platform, as "Certified for Vista." It's actually a rare sign of intelligent life in Redmond's marketing cubes. PlaysForSure never spawned the hoped-for army of iTunes killers, and Microsoft itself created another format for its own Zune, kneecapping any stores foolish enough to adopt PlaysForSure. More »
Zune outselling iPod on Amazon ... but not in reality
Look where baiting Apple fanboys gets you. Yesterday we noted that the top-selling digital music device on Amazon.com was not the iPod but Microsoft's Zune. Commenter deathbychichi made quick work of this assertion.
Look where baiting Apple fanboys gets you. Yesterday we noted that the top-selling digital music device on Amazon.com was not the iPod but Microsoft's Zune. Commenter deathbychichi made quick work of this assertion.
apple
Zune outselling iPod on Amazon
The iPod, which along with the iPhone was to propel Apple's Wall Street value beyond even Google's, is not even the bestselling digital media player on Amazon.com. That laurel belongs to some Redmond, Washington-based company called Microsoft. Heard of it? More »
microsoft
Xbox mastermind wants to own Hollywood
J Allard, VP of Microsoft's entertainment and devices devision and one of the gurus behind the Xbox and the Zune, has some crazy plans that he hopes will put Microsoft on top of entertainment — and it has nothing to do with discontinuing the brown Zune. In his ramblings to Saul Hansell of the New York Times Bits blog, he revealed he's looking to create an entertainment-distribution service that will do all the heavy lifting for content providers. Microsoft's online gaming service and the Zune's Internet interface are built on the same platform. The implication? More »
microsoft
Why Zune won't outsell the iPod
Microsoft wants to buy Musiwave, a company specializing in mobile music services. The deal, among other things, would lay the foundation for a Zune wireless store, matching Apple's iTunes Store for Wi-Fi that lets iPhone and iPod Touch users download songs over the air. This copycat move is just one more sign of what's wrong with Microsoft's Zune strategy. It can't settle on one — so it just winds up latching onto whatever is the hot topic of the day. Here's what Microsoft should be doing instead of copying Apple. More »
supply and demand
Microsoft has lots and lots of Zunes to sell -- or no one is buying
Woot, the deal-a-day online retail site, offered first-generation Zunes for $150 in August — half price at the time. Then in September, Woot offered more Zunes, this time for $129. In October? $99. Are you seeing the pattern yet? Today, Woot is offering black or white Zunes for
microsoft
If you're making money, you're not worth a damn
Microsoft remains in high spirits after its Entertainment and Devices division, responsible for the Xbox and Zune, posted a profit last quarter. This division hasn't made it into the black in years. Papa Steve Ballmer is so proud, he's planning "an upscale campus" for the product group. No doubt Redmond hopes to spur these slackers' performance by making corporate rock stars like J Allard and Robbie Bach feel drunk with power. (Note to Ballmer: Don't take that literally. Actually including a bar may not boost productivity.) What message is Microsoft sending to its less troubled children? If you want nice things, start losing money.
digital music
Beating Apple requires big thinking, but not this big
Doug Morris, head of Universal Music, the most powerful of the four major record-label groups, thinks he has a plan to reclaim the music industry from Apple, maker of the iPod and iTunes. There are scant details and the plan is in flux, but the basic idea, dubbed Total Music, is this: All of the studios will pool their content for online distribution and share in the revenue. The service will be a subscription subsidized by any form of provider: device manufacturers, music stores, cellphone carriers, whomever. The consumer doesn't have to pay for a music service because it's baked in, the music industry finally gets the revenue stream that they've been missing. But we're skeptical. More »
facebook
What would a Facebook music store look like?
Allfacebook.com is reporting a rumor that Facebook will take on Apple's dominant iTunes by introducing its own music store. Few details are provided, save that they are actively looking to hire someone to head the project and discussions with studios have been ongoing. Music applications such as iLike are popular on the social network, and digital music is a natural fit with the site's original college-kid demographic. But could Facebook really pull this off? At this point, we don't really know what a Facebook music store would be. We do know, however, what it's not. More »
2:06 PM on Fri Oct 5 2007
By Tim Faulkner
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digital music
