Zune 3.1

Does this update tie the zune to the new 360 experience in anyway? It would be really cool if you could play multi player Texas hold em on a few zunes and the 360 at the same time.

First thought: "SacredCow" sets a new record: The FIRST to mention Apple in the FIRST comment of a non-Apple article! Second thought: Nice lipstick.

lotsa Yes, being a point release, it's lipstick. In this case, lipstick on a supermodel.

When Microsoft release Zune outside of the US and Canada it can truly compete with Apple but until it does for many of us Zune just isn't an option. It is a restricted market product.

Notice how much attention they pay to Apple. Nice rounded OS X like buttons.

The Zune is a lame duck. Right from the dodgy branding. Zune backwards is "anus", and it means "f*&#ed" in Hebrew. What an awesome product. http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/08/zune-logo-hidde.html http://www.cio.com/article/25802/Microsoft_Zune_Name_Raises_Ruckus_in_He...

@lotsa: "but ultimately disappoints" Mike was asking for that comment! Whether something disappoints depends on your expectations in the first place, and they are always different depending on who you are. Since Zunes compete directly against iPods, discussing how Apple goes about things is completely in context of the post. Surely you'd agree that the Zunes are better than iPods for the consumer in this aspect when you get software updates for older devices? iPods may still be overall better value (depending on who you are), but the Zune is stronger at least in this one area. @robertsjoe: "There is no way the Zune will compete with the iPod/iPhone music players". I'm sure people said something similar about iPods when they first came out. Saying something never will happen is pretty dopey and opens yourself up to looking like an idiot (although you do that pretty well yourself already). When they go worldwide, we'll see what happens ...

>>CNET’s Ina Fried has the details on an announcement to come from Microsoft on Wednesday which would cut prices of its Zune players by as much as 25 percent. While Ms. Fried seems to infer that has to do with tougher economic conditions — it very well may be — lets face it: Microsoft is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the digital music space. After much chest-thumping surrounding the release of its flash-based players, the sector of the market where an overwhelming majority of players are sold, there still is no evidence that Redmond is gaining any traction with consumers. Apple still is king, and Microsoft is just an also ran.<< http://technologizer.com/2008/11/18/microsoft-cutting-zune-prices-attemp...

This post pretty much sums it all up for the Zune: http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/microsoft-cuts-zune-pricing-won-t-help

SacredCow: "Calling Apple, calling Apple. this is how you improve software. Not with the release of a new piece of hardware." robertsjoe+Ocean+lotsamystuff: HOW FU@$^&$ DARE YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!!!! ...

@shark47: "In any case, Zune is a solid and surprisingly intuitive music player and the software is a pleasure to use too." And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone out in public that's using one.

"And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone out in public that's using one." Is this really the best your typical Apple user has to offer? What the living hell is it to you what people use or not? Are you so void of a life that you really cannot go another second without finding even more creative ways to make a fool out of yourself, all in the name of promoting a brand? A $#$@!! brand that doesn't give a flying fudge if you die in the gutter tomorrow?

Ripping CD's to mine now. I settled on WMA CBR 192Kbps. All of my hardware supports it, it's easy to manage (song storage requirements are easy to calculate, unlike VBR), and it's still better quality than MP3. BTW: Paul, have you played Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway? You never seem to review any from the series. Much better single-player story than any other WWII game (it's an on-going saga), and it actually has memorable characters (the only other recent non-futuristic war FPS game that does is BF: Bad Company). I finished it recently. EXCELLENT game! Ubisoft is better at getting this storyline and character stuff down than EA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ_q2NGXusQ Also, a new game to try: Mirror's Edge. Some reviewers are calling it the next Half-Life 2. Here's the title track in 2 versions: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendi... (track 4 - original instrumental version before the game publisher bought it) http://www.myspace.com/lisamiskovsky (track 1 - should autoplay....version with lyrics as it appears in game)

@robertsjoe "@master3: "A $#$@!! brand that doesn't give a flying fudge if you die in the gutter tomorrow?" Like MS cares? A-ha!" Sorry, did anyone say they did? Deosn't look like it. See, the world is not like some giant see-saw, where claiming that if one company doesn't do something autimatically means another does, or vice-cersa.

To the apple-minded members of the audience (and, not to discriminate, some of the PC folks), here – you might be inclined to take a lesson or two in communication to enhance your persuasive effect. Begin by asking yourself “what is my goal in writing this post?” I will assume that your goal is to *prove* to others that the products you, yourself, use are of a superior ilk. A noble goal, indeed. My freshman students can tell me that Aristotle taught us there are three ways that we can do this: ethos (character), pathos (emotion) and logos (reasoning). Lets interrogate the first and last in this list, as it is unlikely that emotion (should) have any place in our technology choices. Ethos tells us that we are more likely to believe someone who comes off as one who has good character. Haughty combativeness is a losing strategy here, as it fails to connect you with those for whom you are attempting to convince. However, the true test in a debate such as this relies on the strength of our reasoning and evidence. *Notice the “and” in this. Posting articles can be a beneficial persuasive technique, but there needs to be an argument that this evidence supports. Asserting your argument lacks the persuasive oomph that will cause your audience to change their opinions. Along a similar line, make sure that you evidence actually supports your cause. In a fun little article talking about how the Zune name causes problems for the Hebrew-speakers among us, the author concludes that “while the name is “ridiculous” and close to the bad word, it’s unlikely to be mistaken”. And why is this a particular problem? Go to a free online translation service and check out the German language: scheissen and schiessen. These things happen, we can giggle about it, especially since ‘ei’ and ‘ie’ are pronounced opposite in English and German, and the novice speaker might embarrass themselves. But to claim that technology is somehow inferior, such an argument is hardly going to persuade your audience. Further, this is a “fallacy” or a jump in logic. In particular, you might be interested to look-up what an “ad hominem” is. Avoid these to enhance your persuasive effect! On this issue of fallacies, watch out, because it seems as though they pervade your arguments. For example, assuming that simply because OSX has rounded button, that any device the follows suit is somehow copying them is a “hasty generalization”. Just because device X and device Y share something in common does not mean that they are in anyway related. The Nazi’s wore t-shirts, after all… what would that say about you? To put this otherwise – you are doing a disservice to the products that you love by painting a “straw man” (another fallacy we have yet to talk about in class today) of your opponent, as it only shows the strength of your position compared to a weakened and deflated opponent. It is a much better position to argue against the best case for your opponent, and given the strength of your opponent, why you are still correct anyways. For example, I could argue that the iPod is a great and mature device which caused a new area of technology to balloon. But in terms of what that little box does, there are only a few things that it can do that my zune can’t. For example – use it as hard drive out of the box. But with flash drives on my key chain, I’m not worried about this lack in functionality. Similarly, the built in radio means that I can listen to football games while walking around on Sundays. The ipod can’t do that. Simply jumping up and down about market-share doesn’t make a device a bad one – something that you folks have indicated in the inevitable “Mac v PC” debate. So – with a redefinition of both the types of arguments, and how to make those arguments, let’s try this again: what are the problems with the Zune 3.1 launch, and why does its launch mean that the ipod is a superior product?

"http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/18/mac-os-x-snow-leopard-10-6-due-in-q1-2009/" Ooooh, looky. Leopard SP1 RC1 is coming out soon.... Nice lipstick on that Eunuchs pig you got there.

"And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone out in public that's using one." One could say that about the Mac too... Although I can't help it, we really shouldn't feed this troll. robertsjoe is the new bonch, slightly less arrogant, but just as annoying.

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