12-11-2006, 01:24 AM
[quote ztirffritz]The form factor should have been re-worked before release. The thing looks like a slab carved out of clay. It must be heartbreaking for the original designers to see what it has become.
The form factor WAS re-worked before release.
Or should I say "worked over."
This is what the Zune *should* have been.
Problem is, somebody at MS had the brilliant idea that the Zune's only chance to beat the iPod was to BE the ant-iPod -- it looks somewhat like it, the marketing and packaging is supposed to be "hip" like it, it's priced exactly like it. They tried to garner "grassroots" support through bloggers and "fan sites," but this was all exposed as the astroturf it was.
My only problem with all this is not that it comes from Microsoft, it's the fact that the Zune only exists to serve the interests of MS and the major record cartels -- MS wants to rule digital media for all time, and the **AA want, as Hyman Roth says in Godfather II, "a partner with whom we can do business," ie kickbacks and the ability to fark over the customers as they see fit.
There is no consumer benefit whatsoever from having this so-called "competitor" to the iPod. None.
The form factor WAS re-worked before release.
Or should I say "worked over."
This is what the Zune *should* have been.
Problem is, somebody at MS had the brilliant idea that the Zune's only chance to beat the iPod was to BE the ant-iPod -- it looks somewhat like it, the marketing and packaging is supposed to be "hip" like it, it's priced exactly like it. They tried to garner "grassroots" support through bloggers and "fan sites," but this was all exposed as the astroturf it was.
My only problem with all this is not that it comes from Microsoft, it's the fact that the Zune only exists to serve the interests of MS and the major record cartels -- MS wants to rule digital media for all time, and the **AA want, as Hyman Roth says in Godfather II, "a partner with whom we can do business," ie kickbacks and the ability to fark over the customers as they see fit.
There is no consumer benefit whatsoever from having this so-called "competitor" to the iPod. None.