What’s With The Anti-Zune Campaign?
November 26th, 2006
I find it interesting how many blog posts there are out there that slam the Zune device. If you don’t believe me, go to Google Blog Search and do a search for the term “zune”. You will notice post after post that put down Microsoft’s new portable media player. These posts really started popping up with Zune’s release on the 14th of this month, but if you take a closer look at most of them, you will find that they are total and complete garbage. They post negative comment after negative comment showing a comparison between the Zune and an iPod or Zen. Some have been quite responsible with their opinion and backed it up with side-by-side comparisons and great explanations as to why they do not like the Zune. My problem is not with them, in fact I find their input quite useful. I am concerned with the group of people that start spinning negativity strictly because the product is from Microsoft. These radical time-wasters literally worship at the House of Mac or some version of a penguin idol. I’m sure you’ve met people like this, they think their technology is so great and yet they can only prove how great it is by slamming the competition. I guess they will all have futures in politics. They are writing rubbish, trying to sway people away from trying out the Zune instead of simply stating their case using reality and letting the people decide for themselves.
I like my Zune. I find the vertical navigation of the Zune to work better for me than the circular navigation of the iPod. I don’t think that iPods suck or that they are evil because they have a different navigation than what I like. I just think that I like the Zune’s better. I plan on sitting down and doing an indepth comparison on the two players. I want anyone who reads the post to be better informed when they decide to make their purchase. I have no need to go pro-Microsoft or anti-Apple.
The bottom line is simple, don’t fall for the spin being laid by those with an agenda that doesn’t include helping you find what works best for you. Look for reviews that do a fair comparison and do not lean completely on way or another. The truth is that they are both good pieces of hardware. Each on has its own strengths and weaknesses. Any article that completely negates that from either one is biased and cannot be taken seriously. Buy the technology, buy the product, not the hype.
November 27th, 2006 at 4:57 am
I am not anti-Zune; however, Microsoft did some really stupid things with this rollout.
I’ll be positive first. This weekend I played with both the Zune and the iPod. I had never played with either one before. I “got” the Zune interface better than I initially “got” the iPod interface. I also appreciated the tune art displaying on the screen while the song was playing. The Zune also seemed more scratch resistant.
Also, there is already one Zune DRM hack out there. w00t.
Now the negatives…
1. You can’t wifi to and from your computer.
2. You can’t use WMP! Silly.
3. You can’t (without hacks) use the device as an external hard drive.
Honestly, if I could have used WMP, I could have lived with the rest. One of my big pushes against iPods have been the dependence on a special media handling agent client-side. I don’t like iTunes.
I use WMP on a daily basis. If Zune would have integrated well into WMP, then I would have been happy.
But, no. Microsoft blew it.
Now I think the Zune will still be fun once people start hacking the fool out of it. I also think that the Zune is a quality piece of work. However, it could have been an iPod killer, but Microsoft blew it.
November 27th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
yes, i’ve noticed the same type of negative press for the Zune. almost as bad as the PS3 launch press at times.
however, i would have to agree on the few negatives that Davak posted.
but i did not know that you cannot use WMP, that is pretty sad since i use WMP for all of my mp3 devices (from my SE phone to my CompactFlash card in my civic si) and its a MICROSOFT PRODUCT! hahaha..
however, one of the biggest pluses going for the Zune (imo hacking/modding opinion) is the the possibility of hacking it and what can be done after it is (given it is hacked). i am going to have to a few Zune feeds to my google reader it appears!
November 27th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
I am in complete agreement with both of you. The fact that you cannot use WMP is completely mind boggling. However I think Microsoft will fix the other weaknesses with future firmware updates. The hardware is good, but the software is rather lacking and feels kind of clunky. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the device. In the meantime, let the hacking begin.
November 27th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
I’m not a member of the cult of mac, but the Zune is a bad product in comparison with others. I think the anti Zune sentiment highlights the general publics distrust and dislike of Microsoft. Microsoft made it’s bed, and now it’s bedtime.
November 27th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Most people hate microsoft because they all use Windows too much. Probably 90% of the posts on Google blogs if not more use windows and think just because Windows is extremely bad (for its size I think it is amazing. Make OSX a little more popular and I bet you 1 million bucks it would suck just as much as windows does (I don’t care to get into the battle, but it is true))
I love my zune, I love the idea of the WiFi, I think they could have done a few things different. But Apple has had there iPod out for 5 years. I think for a first release of Zune. It is pretty darn good.
- Steve
November 27th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
You can’t use WMP with Zune?
Holy crap…. I had no idea.
That’s gotta be the stupidest move ever. The new WMP is really nice.
November 27th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
btw, found a nice hack on the net at ipod.mods.com
http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/zune-repair-guides.html
replace your 30gb hd w/a 60 or 80gb..
hmm.. now thats really sounding tempting if the OS can be hacked..
November 30th, 2006 at 4:38 pm
One word: Brown?
August 20th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
I dunno about you but the argument about not using it as an external hard drive and basically any argument about not being able to use it as something besides a mp3 player is right on!!!!
Oh wait… That’s right it is an mp3 player… lol i forgot i bought it to listen to music not use it as an external hd. I would buy an external hd for that!