3 posts tagged “microsoft”
While catching up on the latest gadget posts on CrunchGear, I came across this funny video of Steve Jobs battling against Bill Gates. Considering the fanaticism with these companies, I think everyone can find something humorous in this skit. Boot up!
I received my pre-ordered Zune last week. My initial reaction was to maybe send it back after reading some of the negative press on the device. But I decided what decent gadgetrati would do so without the official road test. So here’s what I’ve found with my experience.
The device itself is quite good compared to my experience with my former iPod. The interface is amazingly aesthetic, rich, and very usable. I love the FM tuner that also picks up digital information cast by upgraded stations. Its great to see the station call letters, FM channel, Station genre, Song and artist information. The Zune’s navigation d-pad works great and I prefer it over the iPod click wheel. The simplicity in the buttons and navigation make it easy for even the most novice user. The only con that I have found with the player itself is maybe the album art that becomes fuzzy when enlarged. However, this cover art is being downloaded from sources like the CDDB at a specific size that wasn’t necessarily designed for display at larger sizes. So I don’t necessarily fault the player and its easy to overlook as no one really watches cover art throughout the song track.
The real problems that I discovered with the device were the accompanying Zune Marketplace software. The installation took over an hour and required a system restart. You also cannot select which drive to install the software and it automatically installs to the drive the O/S is installed. After installation, I connected my Zune and the software recognized the player and displayed the appropriate model (color). On initial connection, the player requires a firmware update to enable the Wifi capabilities. I had big problems with the firmware update, it would start and then the application would not respond. I had to restart the software 4 times and finally the firmware update ran properly and completely. Unfortunately, after the update the software no longer recognized my player as connected (even though the device displayed “Connected”). I had to restart again. To complete the firmware update, you much create a name for your Zune device. To access the marketplace. you must create a Zune ID and Live ID. I already had a Live ID, but all these registrations could be annoying to another less patient user. Now into the marketplace, you have to purchase songs/albums through the use of this archaic points system. And its difficult to easily calculate how much you are paying for a particular album. Microsoft needs to overhaul this system entirely and implement a local currency model. Search and downloading tracks was seamless and quite good. Previewing tracks takes about 10 seconds versus my experiences of about 3-4 seconds on iTunes. The marketplace has the content but has the opportunity for enhancements such as listing most popular tracks by artists, reviews, etc. Although there is a charts section built-in. Another major oversight is the lack of video. There are no video downloads in the marketplace. I have to believe that this is something Microsoft is quickly working to resolve and complete the necessary deals with content providers. Synchronization to the device was quick, easy and no issues occurred.
All-in-all, the Zune device is great and works very well. The majority of issues are part of the Zune Marketplace software. That is good thing as the software can be easily updated and modified as necessary to accommodate its initial shortcomings. Microsoft has the opportunity to leverage their strengthen in software to fix and enhance the application to make the Zune device a viable option in the marketplace.
I am very excited for the next gadget in my technology collection. I have placed my pre-order with Amazon.com for the new Microsoft Zune. I chose the brown version. Some have mocked my love of the Zune and in particular, the brown model. But I'm no fan of the iPod. I use Apples at work in addition to PCs and while I like both systems, I've never been that enthused by the iPod. The advanced features in the Zune with FM tuner, WiFi, song sharing and FM transmission as well as the competitive price of $249.99 made me decide it was the player best suited for my needs. Now, regards to the brown color, brown is in, baby. As any good designer will tell you...Mocha and Chocalate are the hot colors this year. Green still is popular too. And well, my family name is Brown. So I found the brown Zune with Green trim to be my favorite option. I'm sure I'll get some slack for the decision but I don't feel the need to conform to others tastes. The Zune will be launched on November 14 and I expect it to be a hot item for the holidays. Dare to be different!
