Steve Jobs worried about the Zune? In a word: "No."
By Cyrus Farivar 
posted Oct 16th 2006 2:15AM
posted Oct 16th 2006 2:15AM
Any wild guesses as to which big tech exec isn't a fan of the new Zune? If you guessed Steve Jobs, you'd be completely correct; in a recent interview with Newsweek's Steven Levy, Herr Jobs says that he's not at all worried about the Zune. "I've seen the demonstrations on the Internet about how you can find another person using a Zune and give them a song they can play three times. It takes forever. By the time you've gone through all that, the girl's got up and left! You're much better off to take one of your earbuds out and put it in her ear. Then you're connected with about two feet of headphone cable," argues His Steveness. You make a good point, Steve, but we've heard you sing this tune before, like when the original Mac didn't have networking capabilities and you basically told people to resort to sneakernet -- of course, eventually Macs were able to connect with one another. So, we'll agree with you that the wireless capabilities on the Zune kinda suck out of the box, but we'll also bet that you're already at work on some wireless action for a future iPod, no matter how hard you might deny it now.
"... microsoft is the best 100% whatever you like it or not, that's the honest true!"
thanx, there's no better way to start a day than with a good and hearty laugh.
Where's my built-in Bluetooth iPod? I want some of those new wireless Logitech headsets, without plugging in the Bluetooth adapter.
Well, it's clear MS users are not smart, if you got 2 Zunes or iPods, you DON"T NEED to share your earbuds, you just plug your headset in your friends iPod, fast, easy no battery draining wifi, instant gratification ... and no greasy earbud of someone else
shees
ROFL.
If Steve Jobs thinks he can bluff out the Zune he really needs a reality check. Whether you prefer Ipod or not, there's no denying connetivity and network are cool and people want it.
Online games? Xbox Live? Counter-Strike? Come on Steve! People love being connected, even if it's over a laggy famerate swamp!
"Whether you prefer Ipod or not, there's no denying connetivity and network are cool and people want it."
Yeah, because people were DEMANDING sharing over wi-fi before it was announced as a Zune feature, right? Come on.
A majority of people I know that own iPods are dumb college girls, who really couldnt give a shit about digital networking.
and if you told them that the song you shared would only last 3 plays they would say "omg thats so lame"
yes, networking is cool and something people want, but i think we all know that it will happen only if it doesn't suck. and the implementation on the zune sucks.
expect to see iTunes-like sharing capabilities in the iPod soon, e.g. somebody can browse and use your iPod library freely as long as you are around.. exactly the way it works on iTunes.
For those who don't know: iTunes allows you to share your library with the entire local network. The way it works: You turn on sharing. Everybody else on the local network has you machine show up in their iTunes. Simple as that. Zero-configuration for real!
It's just a streaming connection though, so when your machine is gone, your library is gone as well.
So you mean I'm not going to be able to pick up girls with my zune by sending them mixtapes? I was so counting on that one.
Wait a minute, Steve Jobs thinks that sharing earbuds (yech..!!) is better than wireless song-sharing?
Someone please remind him of that when the wireless iPod gets released. And in the meantime, let's all practice safe earbud hygiene.
Zune wireless is not nearly perfect, but it's a first step towards how content will be shared in the future.
frabgod
http://www.zunerama.com
Steve Jobs kind of has a point here though. Admittedly, the wireless sharing of music is a great idea, and a step in the right direction, at this stage, using even 802.11g is a bit too slow to be as practical as Microsoft is saying it is. I just can't really imagine myself trying to send a person a 30MB song in a reasonable amount of time. So, for now, I think Steve really doesn't have a lot to worry about. Maybe like a year or so from now, he'll have to really think of the Zune as a serious competitor, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
30 megabytes? Do you compress your music at all?
lol dude you are clueless. A 30mb file over a 802.11g connection is max 2 secs. Zune will totally pwn the old crappy ipod.
The only people worried about the Zune are all the people who will get fired from Microsoft after the company discovers that the Zune is a failure. Too bad Ballmer is not at risk of being fired.
And claiming that the wireless abilities of the Zune will help it win market share is nothing less than ignorance considering there is no real world application of the wireless abilities of the Zune and will not be any upon its launch.
I wish Jobs could shut up sometimes during interviews... wouldn't it be nice he just answered 'NO.' He would've sounded confident rather than cocky. Now, Apple's PR has to work overtime to fix his blah, again.
Apple doesn't need to worry about Zune. Yes. There is no deal-breaker feature in Zune. Apple needs to worry about the next iPods, and get those out of the door within the next 3 months.
Apple needs to worry about Zune like Bill Gates need to worry about next month's electricity bill.
The Zune isnt gonna kill the iPod. Ofcourse. But damn, everytime I read or see a Steve Jobs interview it just sounds like a sales pitch for people that will believe anything he says. I cant stand hearing anything from that guy anymore. Its all just one huge info-mercial to me. Thats why I cant get into the whole Apple thing. That guy makes me hate the whole Apple scene.
myscrnnm,
wat songs are u sending that are 30 friggin mb's???...are u sending full length movie scores..??...i am music producer and tranfer songs non stop all day and ive never sent a 30+ mb song unless it was wav,multitrack. or a protools session...but who needs wavs(or any of that stuff i mentioned) on a portable music player..??
and the fact remains...wireless interconnectivity is the future..the zune however , has screw it up so far...but downloading songs wirelessly from itunes or MS's store is the next step...obviously...look out for the new ipod in 6 months with that capability.
iWhore, therefore iPod.
Steve and the folks at Apple have to be somewhat concerned with Zune coming out. It will be a major competitor to their iPod, and it would be crazy for them to not be worried. As a business man I think jobs said the right thing for the investors, but the wrong thing to the technology industry. Investors don't want to hear that the iPod is being threatened, or their is uneasiness about the new product. They only want to hear that everything is good and their is no threat from the Zune. Otherwise we would definately see the stock price drop on Monday.
So that's where everything started going wrong. I should've shared my earphones. Damn!
Thanks for the tip Steve.
PEOPLE - Jobs is clearly annoyed that Microsoft beat Apple by being the first to add wireless sharing technology in a mp3 device.
You can tell when Jobs is annoyed. You can tell when he answers reporters - trying to act all like "I'm not worried at all" tone.
MY ASS.
Jobs needs to do a SERIOUS revamp of the iPod - not just change the look of the material and call it "remastered." Brighter screen? Search scroll? THESE ARE NOT upgrades! Hell, Zune's screen is freakin 2x what iPod has right now.
Zune won't flop. It's definitely got something good going on. It's just their first release. In a year or so, Apple's gonna FEEL competition and KNOW it.
If Steve Jobs is smart, he'll know that Zune is a major competition. Zune can play songs downloaded from iTunes, URGE, Napster, and then SOME.
Apple's "trapped" in their little DRM world
'Trapped in their little DRM world'
Ignorance. Apple's DRM is just about the easiest there is to work around.
To get around Fairplay (for songs)
1. Buy a song
2. Burn CD
3. Re-rip cd as MP3/AAC/Lossless/WAV/AIFF
4. THERE IS NO STEP 4.
For data-recovery emergencies:
To copy songs from an iPod to a PC (only works if the iPod is synced with iTunes on a PC)
1. Set explorer to 'Show Hidden & System Files'
2. Import the entire folder x:iPod_controlmusic into iTunes, where x: is the iPod, and all of the music will be properly named and sorted (assuming you have the 'copy to library when added', and 'keep my libary organized' options turned on, or click the 'consolidate library' menu item.
To copy songs from any iPod synced with iTunes using OS X
1. Open terminal
2. type cp /Volumes/IPODNAME/iPod_Control/Music ~/Desktop and press [Enter]
3. The music folder will be dumped to your desktop, and can then be added to iTunes.
4. Delete ~/Desktop/Music once everything has been copied to your library folder
In both cases, iTunes organizes your folders and songs with simple letters and numbers, and relys on the id3 info/library database to display track info. If you have the mentioned options selected/consolidate your library after import then all of your songs will be renamed based on the track name, and placed into the correct artist/album folders inside your library folder.
There are third party apps for copying playlist/playcount/etc info from the database file on the iPod to iTunes as well, at least for mac. Check out iPod+iTunes.
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Don't steal music!
Excuse me? Every single song on the Zune has to be converted and wrapped in Zune's own DRM system that isn't compatible with Microsoft's PlayforSure system that they've trumpeted so you can buy songs from multiple vendors...
and Apple is wrapped up in its DRM? As long as I have MP3's of all my songs, they just play and work... Not on the Zune!
Zune? Bleah: it's a stuff for engineers like all the microsoft's stuf.. ipod is for the rest of us. I want to share my music but I want to do with soul not with a gadget... When Apple will make wifi connection it will do with soul & great interface design.
try the difference:
1) Mac osx vs. Vista
2) B&o stuff vs. hi end hifi
3) Italian design vs. everything else
could you understand the difference? style, design, usability..
Apple is a great company.
and.
Don't blow up on me, but Microsoft is a great company too.
It is only natural that microsoft would make an mp3 player.
Think about it. Vista comes out to the masses in January, it is sleek, well designed (and shockingly similar in appearance to OSX).
Microsoft is getting the design point. Look at the new adds for the zune and for Vista for that matter.
Apple has been a good influence on microsoft.
Watching these companies duke it out is refreshing (and only benefits us... the buyer).
Hey, after I buy my Nintendo Wii, and make the upgrade to Vista next year.... I very well may buy a zune... once the kinks are ironed out.
Yeah, but sticking an earbud covered in earwax into her ear is gonna make her leave quicker than a crappy AAC encoded file sent over a T3 connection.
could you understand the difference? style, design, usability..
...markup?
Nothing says "Dork" like a Zune.
"Apple should be concerned that the Zune is major competition"
LOLOLOLLLL!!!
To all you simple minded twits, OF COURSE Apple considers it competition! If my dick can play and share MP3s, that would ALSO be competition wouldn't it?? Is it going to make a dent in the ipod? LOLOLLLLLLLLL!
Get real you clueless Micromorons!
Read, think then post! Damnit.
He doesn't say it's a bad idea, he only says it's a bad implementation. And he's smack on with that assessment.
There are some real gems of stupid comments here: "safe earbud hygiene" LOL, get that large stick out of your ass. I guess you never ever leave your hermetically sealed bubble, right?
And even better: "Engadget love Jobs, you have advertisements all over your site about Apple." Sure, ads are selected by bias of the site. This is a tech blog, get a clue ...
ipod??? ipod isn't even great compared to creative zen vision m. creative zvm beats ipod features by a mile. Oh wait, ipods got a new version of nano, the red colored ones. What a huge upgrade.
And by the way Steve blowJobs, who wants to hear a song with just one earbud???
moeh ha ha ha ! Steve is peeing his panties for the Zune and he is making stupid arguments why you would not need all those features.
I do not own an ipos because I do not want to be associated with the 'think different' crowd and think it is not good value for money... I will get a zune the moment I see them in the stores though!
uh so you would rather be associated with mediocrity?
Good luck iPod! You're gonna need it. You have hundreds of hungry competitors this christmas...
wow Jake, i can't believe you read this blog and STILL are wrong wrong wrong. the Zune will play unDRMed files just as any iPod will, and legally play only files from Zune Marketplace. The iPod will play DRMed files from iTunes Store. Difference? No, Microsoft copped Apple because they realized PlaysForSure was wiping your ass. So sorry Jake, Not much difference?
I foookin hate Steve Jobs; he's just an arrogant wanker, and saying that people do NOT want wireless sharing... he's either in denial / or more likely; just saying the first stupid thought that came into his head. Sounds like another episode in the MAC superiority complex that ALWAYS crashes down around everyone - networking, mice, intel.. etc etc / what a joke of a man; pathetic and bitter till the end eh Jobs?
"I foookin hate Steve Jobs; he's just an arrogant wanker"
here's proof: http://tinyurl.com/8zkqs
What's he thinking? These guys don't talk to girls. They'll be wi-fi-ing each other.
What's worng with CD burning/Email songs these days?
He should be worried about it, microsoft have shown they can use there billions of dollars to get the market share they want eg. xbox & 360.
"...and you basically told people to resort to sneakernet..."
==================
Speaking of which, it would be nice to share tracks with friends without iTunes having to be installed (or having to resort to third-party software to *upload* tracks from iPod to computer, which Stevie boy doesn't let you do (but a simple concept called USB Mass Storage does)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_mass_storage_device_class
What a concept...
Personally, I don't think the Zune will sell all too well. It has WiFi, which I think is great, but it doesn't utilize those capabilities. Why not connect to the Zune Music Store (whatever it's called) to purchase music or videos or zunecasts or whatever? However, I do think that the second generation Zune will be worth getting.
Microsoft is challenging Apple, and Apple is realizing that it's going to be hard to stay on top now.
I'm still waiting for full-touch-screen iPod Videos, too, btw. If Zune could pull that off before iPod, then, wow, hand the crown over.
iPods suck
"You make a good point, Steve, but we've heard you sing this tune before, like when the original Mac didn't have networking capabilities and you basically told people to resort to sneakernet -- of course, eventually Macs were able to connect with one another."
Um, you're thinking about the iMac, not the original Mac. And Steve told people to use networking because there was no good way to sneakernet with it. The original Macs came out when nobody expected to have networking built into a computer.
For everyone getting up in arms about what Jobs is saying: I don't think it's all that exciting either, but he's a CEO of a company with a massively popular product. Of course he's going to say he thinks his product is the best.
Of course Steve Jobs lied when he said he wasn't worried. Why would he say, " Yes, zune worries me."? , wouldn't that be unfair to Apple and the their fanboys. BTW, zunes wifi sharing capabilities aren't limited only to music, you can share pictures as well (digital photos), movs etc..
I actually had the chance to play with a Zune and let me tell you this thing is a whole lot better looking in person. Its about the size of a first gen Ipod. The screen quality and menus are a sight to behold. It might not take market share away from those who just want an ipod just for the coolness factor but i guarantee hardcore users will be impressed. I know i was and i own a 5th gen ipod.
Take Microsoft's ability to catch virii and add a wireless Zune = Zune viruses rendering them useless in just a few weeks after launch!
wow, some of you really hate jobs. now you know how we feel about ballmer.
I'm guessing most people who are going to buy a zune don't like or have ipods, so how is that supposed to be an ipod killer? it's more like a stab-you-play-for-sure-partners-in-the-back-and-take-your-5-percent-dap-market-share killer.
iPod's are like Tommy Hilfiger was back when I was in middle/high school. It's all about the name...the logo was worth twice as much as the actual clothes were. It's ridiculous people! My phone plays video just as well as any stupid iPod and I can play mine on speakerphone so everyone can hear it...amazing... They should start putting mini speakers on these things, screw wireless sending. But anyway, back to iPod vs. Zune. I think Zune will sell alright in version 1, but once version 2 comes around I think it will seriously start to challenge the iPod. And I mean really...if you're trying to pick up girls by getting them to listen to a song on your iPod...get a life
If Steve Jobs is smart, he'll know that Zune is a major competition. Zune can play songs downloaded from iTunes, URGE, Napster, and then SOME.
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hehehehehheheheh.... aw that's so cute... where did you read that little boy?
iPod to me is more like nokia. Remember 3 to 4 years ago when nokia dominated the cellphone market, look at nokia now.
"Excuse me? Every single song on the Zune has to be converted and wrapped in Zune's own DRM system that isn't compatible with Microsoft's PlayforSure system that they've trumpeted so you can buy songs from multiple vendors..."
No, Zune converts nothing and only applies DRM to file files it shares over WiFi.
"and Apple is wrapped up in its DRM? As long as I have MP3's of all my songs, they just play and work... Not on the Zune!"
all your mp3's will "just play and work" on the Zune just like on the iPod and every other player (save for some incredibly stupid Sony products).
For the person sending 30MB files, my songs are typically 3-5MB and 802.11g is plenty fast for that. At any rate it's more interesting than iPod's sharing option (but only if you know someone else who actually owns a Zune).
Steve may claim that no one wants sharing but we've heard that before. He claimed that no one would want to watch video on an iPod and, prior to that, said that color displays weren't important. Don't forget his recent backpedalling on multibutton mice and, if you're old enough to remember, the claim that color monitors were toys and no serious user wanted one. Of course, macs didn't support color at the time just like iPods didn't support color, then video, and now WiFi. What's surprising is that people continue to believe that he's something other than a shameless marketer. He's just selling what he's got and once Apple implements something similar, Steve will claim they either invented it or they were the first to "do it right" and make it "just work".
Does anyone have any reading comprehension anymore? Did Jobs ever say no one wants wireless networking? All he said was that the zune was going to implement it poorly. Of course the iPod will have it down the road, it's just going to be different, and hopefully better.
"Well, it's clear MS users are not smart, if you got 2 Zunes or iPods, you DON"T NEED to share your earbuds, you just plug your headset in your friends iPod, fast, easy no battery draining wifi, instant gratification ... and no greasy earbud of someone else
shees"
wait, what?
We were responding to a guy who I'm sure is your hero who said that, "You're much better off to take one of your earbuds out and put it in her ear." An "MS user" did not come up with idea that we would have to share earbuds, Steve Jobs did. READ, think, then talk. Way to say Steve Jobs isn't smart, I like it.
that's not proof. wow. he talked about himself for 13 minutes at a commencement speech... you do remember he was asked to speak at it.
All I'm saying is that people who claim wifi is better because they don't want the greasy earbuds of someone for listening to each other library are forgetting the simpelst solution. 2 players, 2 sets of earbuds, direct access to the whole library without waiting to send over music, way faster, no battery drain etc ...
Ah well I shouldn't answer in the first please, especially if you think that the guy you are responding to is reading this thread ;-)
First off, as much as I like my iPod and do not plan on leaving iTunes any time soon, I can still get excited over the release of a new gadget and will definitely check it out. But the idea of "sharing" music just sounds stupid. The entire reason why half the people carry around mp3 players is to avoid actual contact with another live person. I can't imagine this feature being used much even if it expands into this "Live Anywhere" social network.
@ primetime4:
Maybe someone took notice of the fact that people are starting to disconnect from the world, using iPods no doubt, at a time when its all about integration, inclusion, and connectivity. Or maybe they all carry around their iPods so they don't have to put up with your reclsuive, antisocial BS. People have one thing they all share, the love of music. You even listen to music, why not make a friend instead of a blowup doll at home? Surely someone else in this world listens to the same death metal/ hate my parents/polka whatever kind of music as you do. I hope for mankind's sake when you do you aren't capable of reproducing, I can't imagine what a combined generation of you would be like. Just because you're a complete deuchebag who doesn't want to ever talk to another living person doesn't mean the rest of us don't. Asshole.
primetime, zune not only allows sharing of music, but pictures as well and other important useful data. And temper is proof enough that apple fanboys are just as stupid as Steve jobs comment about wifi.
After Steve Jobs' talk of "lover's lips" and Steve Ballmer's going on about being 'touched in multiple places' and 'squirting' I think I need a shower more than an MP3 player. Yecch!
Wow guys, so much hate!
Ok so, what he said was what people wanted to hear, I'm sure he's not as offhand as he comes across in the interview!
Apple does have a big lead and I can't see them throwing it away in being cocky.
He does have a good point about the wireless though, it could take a while to send a song. I just picked a song at random from my library 7.9Mb, bye the time it has been wrapped in DRM and sent with all of the interefernce you'd get if you were on a train of something it could be quite a while.
Also, if sharing is what you want (and you have clean ears) there is nothing wrong with shareing headphones!
I was talking to the new guy in class and found we were both Black Sabbath fans, I was listening to something he didn't have so I passed a headphone and we both listened to it. Theres two sides to sharing, we listened to it and then talked afterwards about whatever and we got on really well. If I'd just sent him a song anonymously from across the room we never would have talked, that's what being social is.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
There's no doubt that in the future sharing will be a big thing, but right now its not practical.
I don't think you're looking at it the way MS or many of the people who find the Zune compelling do.
First - speed. This is 802.11g - 54Mbps - over 6.5MBytes/s max rate. Even assuming a 50% efficiency - that's a 7.9MB song in 3 seconds. This is WiFi - it's been around for years. It's what everyone is already using. It's not new or scary or unknown.
Second - once and for all - the Zune does NOT wrapper music in DRM. The receiving Zune marks the music as 'received' along with the date and time of the receipt and how many times it's been played. It's essentially instant.
Third - I don't know about you - but I don't want someone sticking their earbud in my ear unless I really know them. The Zune has TWO sharing modes: fileshare and DJ. The first simply sends a file (and not just a music file) and lets the person listen to the song 3 times in 3 days (the biggest defect in the system). DJ lets up to 4 people listen in on what you're listening to.
Fourth - you cannot share 'anonymously'. When you send a file, the other person has to accept it. Both you and the other person will see each other's names. Are you the kind of person who just accepts random files from strangers? The DJ service isn't anonymous for the DJ - your name is broadcast.
The idea is that this lets friends share their music fast and immediately. Your friend can walk away with their own copy and listen to it when they have time, and listen to it again up to two more times to make sure they like it - on their own schedule.
The DJ feature lets people share their music stream - the kind of music they like as opposed to the single track. No one else has this on an MP3 player. This is new. I can easily see people listening in to collegues' and friends' music (assuming they share it via DJ mode).
And maybe it's just me, but walking up to your Black Sabbath fan friend and saying - hey - I have a track you have to hear I'll DJ it - and he tunes in and listen on their own Zune and he says 'Wow - I want that - can you send it to me...' and voila, it's on his Zune... It's JUST as social (and a lot cleaner) than sharing earbuds.
Or you're showing a friend photos from your vacation and they say - 'Ooo.. I want a copy of that' - and there it is - on their Zune. That's social.
Ok. Let's put the sharing of music aside. Let's say you have a .pdf file of a manual on your player and your friend with a similar player needs that file. Can you share it with your ipod by lending him the earphones? Wifi is not practical huh? Then theres sharing of pictures, there are a lot of hardcore digital photographers out there. Im sure they would find it useful.
1) To the iPod haters out there... you simply come across as hating anything popular. Don't buy it and shut up already.
2) Don't take his interview comments so seriously, he's not telling people to share dirty earbuds, but that he thinks Microsoft's system is flawed and is about as good as sharing earbuds
3) Apple will most likely integrate wireless, but only when then have a fairly fool-proof/goof-proof system.
4) Do people really think Jobs is going to say in an interview: "Oh yes, I've played with the Zune, it's a much better product than our iPod, it has features that we have been too afraid to implement at this point. The Zune will very likely eat away at our market share." Get real.
5) I own neither and iPod or a Zune.
Peter and Ryan have nailed this on the podcast.
Downloading tacks directly off the internet... COOL
Syncing wirelessly with your computer... COOL
Trading limited use, DRM'd files within a closed market of players... NOT SO COOL
Wireless could be a great feature on a PMP, but at this point the wireless on the Zune is pretty lame. Perhaps, Microsoft will upgrade the Zune at some point to do some cool stuff, but I can't see buying it before then.
Huh? Not to start a flame war or anything, but the original Macs DID have built-in networking. We had ten Macs on a LocalTalk (250 kBps!) network back in 1988. No cards no special cables, just plug the adapter into the serial (RS-422) port on the back of any Mac and add it to the twisted-pair network backbone. And the best part? It just worked.
Check your facts engadget
DRM world?...what are you smoking? Like M$ ecology is any less DRM. Burn and rip your CDs. borrow from your friends, do whatever, but get over the whole DRM argument against Apple, it's old and a myth, and has no legs to stand on. Just because someone buys a damn song ron iTunes doesn't mean you can't just strip the DRM off of it and go on your merry way. I do it all the time, 170 Gigs of music so far....
"Huh? Not to start a flame war or anything, but the original Macs DID have built-in networking. We had ten Macs on a LocalTalk (250 kBps!) network back in 1988. No cards no special cables, just plug the adapter into the serial (RS-422) port on the back of any Mac and add it to the twisted-pair network backbone. And the best part? It just worked.
Check your facts engadget "
agreed, the standard of engadget's editorial has been on the decline.
instead of trying (cos you guys fail most of the time) to sound cool in your short editorials, how about add more content and proof read it to ensure accuracy?
take this editorial for example, Jobs made a comment about one of his competitior's products, i dont see why engadget suddenly feels the need to start talk about how the original macs didnt come with wireless.
do your jobs properly, report the facts, and leave the opinions to the readers.
The part of the S. Jobs quote I found funny was his response to the question about whether the ubiquitousness of the iPod would eventually cause it to become "uncool"
Job's answer was "That's like saying you don't want to kiss your lover's lips because everyone has lips. It doesn't make any sense," said Jobs.
What didn't make sense was Job's answer, which essentially translates to "that's like saying that you don't want an iPod because everyone has an MP3 player.
If every MP3 player out there becomes an iPod, and iPods are ubiquitous, as the reporter suggested, then the answer is Thats like saying that you dont want to kiss your lovers lips because everyone else kisses your lovers lips, even that geeky/uncool kid that she made out with last night.
Steve Jobs, always indenial. The fanboys as well.
People forget that people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are nothing but CEOs... they dont know how half their product lines work. As CEOs their job is to defend and sell their company... and not be the tech guru.
Apple's success with the ipod comes from the concept of KISS (keep it simple stupid). The ipod needs to be simple becuase consumers will not be able to use those bells and whistles. If the KISS theory is true, then the Zune will fail to sell just like the other ipod competitors that claimed to have better features than the ipod.
So it boils down to this: would you prefer to have a stranger 'stick their bud' in your ear or 'squirt' something at you?
I think I'll stay here in my closet and stare out at the world.
So, Jobs complains about over-engineering does he (wi-fi as opposed to simple earbud sharing)? Is this the same Jobs that wants us to spend about 300 bucks on "iTV", a box that wirelessly plays your iPod content on a tv. No thanks, I'll buy a $5 cable, Steve.
Sounds more like a bad case of sour grapes.
It is only natural that microsoft would make an mp3 player.
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they make business software. it is NOT natural that they make Xbox or this Zune thing...
I just realized that ipod is manufactured by inventec a taiwanese company. Zune is manufactured by Toshiba a well known company. Japan > Taiwan.
Steve is concerned, he is also a CEO and as such, will never publicly admit that a competitors product is superior or even remotely threatening.
Look at all the "CE Oh no he didnt" blogs, these guys defend their products often to the detriment of their own brand, but nonetheless they proudly say "PS3 is too cheap" etc. It's not arrogance it's called "I get paid millions of dollars a year to run this place, although I may be a moron, I am a representative of every product and person here". Yep Im going to say a competitors product is superior.
I personally think the Zune will sell well. Microsoft have the hardware expertise (I just hope Zune 2.0 is a clean sheet of paper design) software expertise and money money money. Wifi doesn't make this a compelling device, the ecosystem does. People are getting an Ipod like experience, the "social" aspect of Zune only works when the market penetration is there, until then wifi isn't so important. Of course when 10m zunes are around wifi certainly becomes an integral part of the design/ecosystem.
I'd like to see both sides flourish, competition will only drive Apple/Microsoft into creating better devices for us.
Oh and does anyone really think Apple isn't working on some amazing upgrade to the ipod line? Touchscreen or whatever it is, it will definitely not be a crap ipod 5.5, what a joke, that should have been a quiet upgrade on the Apple store.
This is like the wireless "Friend Finder" on some Nokia phones, to find people in the area who have the bluetooth on to pickup chicks.
Nobody has the phones, so nobody will be sharing.. Same with the ZUNE who the hell Am I going to share the songs with? The one guy i meet in 6 months that has a zune? People think a bunch of hot chicks are going to run around with zunes? Girls love cute, and simple, Girls love macs (they look cute), girls love ipods, and many a PC user has had to buy his girlfriend an iPod.
People have iPods, not Zunes, nobody will be sharing songs, except for a few geeks who meet at some convention.. And even then it will suck.. Wooohhhooo, I gave you 3 songs, but geeks who actually share songs, will have hacked it to share entire libraries.
On the other hand people like hot chicks will be like? "SONG SHARE?" what? I have no idea how that works? what's going on? My iPod is cute.
Wake up people. Steve has ever right to be confident. What do you think the iPod team has been developing for the last year? More of the same iPods? Why do you think the 5.5g iPods seemed like a small bump? Because it was. Steve is waiting for the Zune to launch. And Kill it.
The Video iPod is real, it's awesome, and it's everything the zune won't be... Wait and see.
Things Apple will offer as of January
1) Wireless iPod Syncing.
2) Library Sharing over the iPod (Just like iTunes)
3) Updated iPod Interface Similar to FrontRow
4) HDTV h.264 movies over it's "iTV" System
5) Intergration with cellphones
6) Using the iPod to network with other iPods around you, yes as a social network, with geo-locating and other features.
Engadget peeps, what's with the "His Steveness" and "Herr Steve"? It was annoying 15 years ago with the copy-guy on SNL, please stop it.
What girl you just met would possibly want to put your grody nasty earbud into her ear? That's just nasty. Dumbest thing I read today.
Well Sony wasn't worried about the XBox so I am really interested to see how this plays out. Either way, Apple will have to stop dragging it's feet and do some real development on the iPod for a change.
Wi-fi sounds great and everything, but how much battery life can one expect from a Zune that has been DJing, trading songs, and what not?
The major thing I love about my iPod Nano is that the battery lasts for 14 hours. Which is perfect cause I am not home 12 hours of the day.
Ummm... Macs included AppleTalk at release in 1984. That was a network port built into the hardware and a network protocol built into the OS. Now when did networking become standard in the OS on PCs? Hint, a once important company called Novell made quite a living providing networking.
No mac has ever shipped without networking. Ever.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but not their own set of facts.
SJ, btw, was an advocate of killing sneaker net--Next cubes and imacs were on the bleeding edge of floppyless-ness.
last comment in reference to free radical @ Oct 16th 2006 10:50AM
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