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Zune
Jul 21, 2007 8:00:10 GMT
Post by dodrudon on Jul 21, 2007 8:00:10 GMT
Does anybody have a Zune? I got a free one yesterday as part of a brainwashing campaign but hey wash my brain away if you keep giving me awesome free stuff! Anyways, if you have one, any idea what to do with it....?
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Zune
Jul 21, 2007 9:13:41 GMT
Post by requiem on Jul 21, 2007 9:13:41 GMT
What in the world is a Zune?
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Zune
Jul 21, 2007 9:36:35 GMT
Post by dodrudon on Jul 21, 2007 9:36:35 GMT
Okay.... apparently Microsoft has a LONG ways to go with the Zune... (and indeed they do). The Zune is Microsoft's MP3 player. Though it does directly compete with Apple's iPod, the Zune seeks a different niche in the market, mobile and connected entertainment. Anything, anywhere, anytime. It's currently reeked in DRM, if you download music with their service, once you unsubscribe, you can no longer listen to the music you downloaded. The Zune is going a huge redesign for the second generation, and the third generation is really gonna shake things up. What sets the Zune apart from the iPod is that it has WiFi. The WiFi's potential is HUGE. Unfortunately, the Big Labels have imposed a restriction: any music transferred over WiFi can be played only 3 times, in 3 days, whichever comes first, at which point the file can never be accessed again. In fact, some songs you aren't even allowed to transfer.... So: 1) Don't buy a Zune unless you're willing to hack it, or play by their (many, many, many restrictive) rules. 2) Err, I don't know why I made a list, I can't remember what else I was gonna say. So far I've been able to: 1) Use it as a USB drive (accessible from My Computer, I'm disgusted I had to hack it to even let me do this, this should be DEFAULT on ALL players....) 2) Put YouTube and Google Video clips on it with ZuneMyTube, a single click downloads the current video you're watching into the My Videos folder, also automatically converting the file to .wmv, one of the few supported video formats (it also parses the website for the name of the video, very excellent) 3) Read books on it using a Text to JPEG for PSP program that converts text to pictures so you can load them on to portable devices (I'm currently transferring 1535 pictures of the first book of the Icewind Dale trilogy by R. A. Salvatore) 4) Get the Zune to support more audio and video formats (yet to be tested) Does anyone have any other ideas? Have I missed something? I can read books on it so that makes me freaking happy... Oh, and rest assured, Microsoft doesn't plan to let the ancient Big Labels push them around with DRM forever, they just need a bigger presence in the market and more clout before they can push back.
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Zune
Jul 21, 2007 20:05:01 GMT
Post by cathedralmaster on Jul 21, 2007 20:05:01 GMT
Oh, and rest assured, Microsoft doesn't plan to let the ancient Big Labels push them around with DRM forever, they just need a bigger presence in the market and more clout before they can push back. LOL When CEO Steve Jobs issued his open letter calling for an end to DRM, Microsoft said the total abolition of such protections would be irresponsible, since they are needed for subscription music and other new business models. However, the software maker said Wednesday that it does plan to offer DRM-free music from EMI and others.news.com.com/2100-1041_3-6173307.htmlIt will probably be a near meaningless gesture, a token nod in Apple's direction in order to keep there more gulliable customers from jumping ship. Especially considering that Microsoft has been one of the main voices touting the benefits of DRM for years now: news.com.com/Ballmer+touts+DRM+to+customers/2100-1025_3-1000411.html
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Zune
Jul 21, 2007 21:13:27 GMT
Post by dodrudon on Jul 21, 2007 21:13:27 GMT
You're right, it's probably not feasible to have NO DRM whatsoever on a wifi-enabled device, but what Jay Allard (who was giving the talk and giving away the Zunes, he's the CTO of Microsoft's Entertainment division) implied was that he didn't plan on letting the Zune be SO bogged down with DRM.
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Zune
Jul 22, 2007 2:22:17 GMT
Post by DragonChyld on Jul 22, 2007 2:22:17 GMT
What the hell is DRM?
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Zune
Jul 22, 2007 22:09:54 GMT
Post by bhao on Jul 22, 2007 22:09:54 GMT
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Zune
Jul 23, 2007 0:42:51 GMT
Post by dodrudon on Jul 23, 2007 0:42:51 GMT
Ouch.
Digital Rights Management. It's basically this nifty thing that keeps you from making full use of the music you just bought.
For instance, say you download a song to your Zune. Theoretically, you now OWN the file. You have the song on some .mp3 or .wma or some other format. Now you want to burn this song to a CD so you can listen to it in your car. However, DRM steps in, saying nope, you can't access this file. You can ONLY access the file in the ways the DRM says you can: listen to it on your Zune, or play it through your computer on the special Zune Media Player. Oh, and if you ever cancel your subscription, all the songs you downloaded during the time you were subscribed are now useless, because you are no longer allowed to listen to them. The Zune stops playing them, the ZMP stops playing them.
Welcome to the world of DRM, brought to you by The Big Labels.
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Zune
Jul 23, 2007 1:08:23 GMT
Post by DragonChyld on Jul 23, 2007 1:08:23 GMT
So what happens if you put your own music on the Zune?
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Zune
Jul 23, 2007 4:00:04 GMT
Post by dynneroth on Jul 23, 2007 4:00:04 GMT
I know it will never happen because, as a whole, we are a bunch of lemmings, but I say screw the CEOs and marketing teams at the big record labels. Yes, artists deserve payment for music you and I listen to, but to have to continue to pay for it is ludicrous. I do not have to continue to pay for a painting I hang on my wall, which is essentially the same thing as purchasing music to listen to.
I hope others will join me in saying, "Under no circumstances will I pay for a piece of art more than once unless I lose it or destroy it. I will not have money extorted from me by the threat of having music I enjoy taken away."
I hope music sales plummet as a direct result of this tripe in crap gravy being served to us.
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Zune
Jul 23, 2007 5:01:30 GMT
Post by dodrudon on Jul 23, 2007 5:01:30 GMT
Yep ^^.
In fact, with the RIAA stupidly suing the artist's biggest customers, the money is going to the lawyers and RIAA and not the musicians [citation needed].
@dc, if you put your own music on there it's fine. The Zune won't do anything to it. It doesn't protect videos or pictures either.
It also syncs with your computer, so any music not on your computer that's on the Zune is deleted. It uses a weird guest system too. A workaround is to directly access the Zune using registry hacks and ignore the syncing program altogether.
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