Caption this photo of an odd Apple iPod – Microsoft Zune juxtaposition

152 Comments

Caption this photo of an odd Apple iPod – Microsoft Zune juxtaposition that was shot by MacDailyNews reader Larry Fransson on December 29, 2006 at a Costco store in Tukwila, WA (a suburb south of Seattle):

Related articles:
CNBC: Apple to sell 17 million iPods in US alone in holiday quarter – December 13, 2006
Microsoft expects to sell 1 million Zunes by June – December 06, 2006
Microsoft Zune plummets to 5th place in U.S. digital media player market share with 2.1 percent – December 04, 2006

152 Comments

  2. That would be really funny if that was a case of Zunes being used as a table and not just the Zune display unit. Though it already reinforces the rumor that Costco really wasn’t please with the results of trying to sell Zunes.

    Reply

  4. Costco manager to staff:

    “Put those Zumes, er… Zones… whatever they are in the store room for return and get more of those iPods out on the floor. We’re here to move product, not let it sit gathering dust! No sense wasting a good cardboard platform, though… use it for the iPods. Go!”

    Reply

  11. I’ll tell you what happened. The Zunes sold out which made space for those crappy iPods nobody is buying. That’s an empty case of Zunes on the bottom. Truth hurts, doesn’t it iPod lemmings?

    What’s a store manager to do with hundreds of iPods nobody wants?

    Welcome to the Social.

    Reply

  13. My channel checks indicate that Costco was selling about 500 – 600 iPods per week per store Zunes? Let’s not embarass MSFT more than we have to, except that I can’t help but share this with you:

    Fry’s Electronics reported getting a lot of iPods returned/exchanged after Christmas. They also reported there were far more Zunes returned/exchanged than iPods. The #1 product Zunes were exchanged for…iPods.

    Reply

  17. Zunny,

    Come in now, you need to take your thorazine and lithium carbonate!

    Sorry folks, ever since he was diagnosed with schiziophrenia, paranoid type, he hasn’t been himself. He used to use Macs and create all sorts of wonderful art, but when he bought that brown Zune, he just went bonkers and all he does now is sing Barney songs and smear his feces all over himself and his bedroom!

    Homer! Get the hose!

    Bye now.

    Zune Tang’s Mom

    Reply

  20. Welcome to Social. Socialism.

    Are they talking about Soviet Union? There wasnt any real competition and most of the products sucked. Just like Microsoft. I was their customer for 8 years and after I saw a Mac, I felt cheated. The company promises they’ll give you moon and stars from the sky and closest they’ll ever get is what seems like reaching when they lift their hands while yawning.

    My 5 cents.

    BTW// I can’t wait to see this quarters Zune sales, after all this quarter only has the biggest gift season. Who knows, maybe Santa switched from lump of carbon to Zune.

    Reply

  27. Masa wrote:

    Are they talking about Soviet Union? There wasnt any real competition and most of the products sucked. Just like Microsoft. I was their customer for 8 years and after I saw a Mac, I felt cheated. The company promises they’ll give you moon and stars from the sky and closest they’ll ever get is what seems like reaching when they lift their hands while yawning.

    This reminds me of a Japanese story I read once about a monkey reaching for the moon. (Put Ballmer instead of monkey and oddly enough, it still works.) The monkey tried to catch the moon’s reflection in the surface of the pond and only succeeded in drowning.

    Reply

  32. “Sold Out Of Zunes, so stack all the unsold iPods on top of the Zune rack.”

    Uh, I think you mean – “Not selling Zunes, so send them back to the manufacturer to make room on valuable floor space for products that do sell.” You can’t sell out of a product that doesn’t sell. If by some strange chance in some alternate reality you did sell out, there would be 50 trucks lined up outside Costco ready to restock that mythical Zune selling display.

    Zune Tang – Welcome to the Reality.

    Reply

  34. Caption Entry:

    At Electronic MegaBox International we know that people are choosing iPod over Zune. So that’s what we give them – iPod over Zune.

    Caption Entry 2:

    Once again, Microsoft shows its support for Apple.

    Caption Entry 3:

    Microsoft still builds the strongest display stands.

    Reply

  36. Here’s the math. Apparently Apple sells about 1.3 million ipods a week for the holiday season so in the time the Zune was available, Apple sold approximately 5.2 million ipods. Zune managed to grab a 9% market share for one week and then settle down to 2% for the remaining 3 weeks or sell approximately 38,000 Zunes … since MS was quick to brag they had over 30,000 places selling the Zune …

    http://twice.com/article/CA6390750.html

    so that pretty much works out to ONE per store … if you’re selling Bentley’s, that’s a great ratio and a great Christmas … selling a $250 product – one per store – uh, no so much (and that’s presuming there aren’t a slew of returns).

    I think the ipod is available in 10,000 outlets … you can do that math.

    Reply

  37. I went to a dinner for breakfast this morning and under one of the table feet was a Zune. It was stopping it from being wobbly.

    I thought to myself good idea, I always hated when people wasted a good pack of matches to do that.

    Reply

  38. I saw a Zune on display at Target today. It was the brown one. The fact that they chose this color for their display proves how out of touch Microsoft is. But here’s something you probably don’t know.

    The edges of the brown Zune are translucent, and have a greenish tinge when light passes through. The effect is a brown case with a sickly green border. Yup, brown and green. No wonder it’s the worst-selling model. Who wants a music player that looks like diarrhea?

    Reply

  41. I hadn’t yet seen “A’s” caption back up the thread before writing my entry above. But now that I’ve had a chance to read the full thread more closely, my vote for best caption so far belongs to “A”. Good one… short and sweet, with just the right amount of insult to MS.

    Reply

  48. Love it, and in Seattle no less!

    Welcome to the social (disease)!

    And speaking of quixotic product references, just love the Vista disc boxes with the prominent words on it being “ready for a new day” . . .WTF?
    Sounds like a slogan for a duche or pms product.

    Someone is seriously spiking the reefer they smoke there.

    Reply

  51. Reading zune tang’s posts is like hearing the same joke over and over. Maybe it was funny the first time but hearing the same joke a second, third or fourth time is not funny. It is like watching a toddler do something that causes the adults to laugh. As soon as the toddler notices the adults being amused by his antics he keeps doing them over and over trying to keep them laughing but of course it is not funny twice. The toddler, being merely a toddler, does not realize why the adults quite laughing. We can easily forgive the toddler for his immaturity. Grow up zune tang.

    Reply

  58. This situation simply demonstrates what I’ve been saying all along.

    Just as Microsoft wrote the original Mac OS, they also wrote all the iPod software as well. So it only makes sense to stack the iPods on top of a Microsoft display….

    Ouch, that iMac just toppled over & hit me in the head!

    Reply

  59. Joe “Buster” Blow gets it. Terrific comments as always. Never get tired of the “Zune Tang tells the same joke over and over” post again and again. Keep posting!

    Welcome to the Social.

    Caption: Microsoft’s Zunes sold out due to overwhelming demand. Anyone want to buy a whatcha callit also ran?

    Reply

  60. The Enderle Who Stole Macworld
    Every macmac in San Francisco liked Macworld a lot…
    But the Enderle, who worked just north of the bay, Did NOT!
    The Enderle hated Macworld! The whole Macworld season!
    Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
    It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right.
    It could be, perhaps, that his ass was too tight.
    But I think that the most likely reason of all
    May have been that his brain was two sizes too small.

    But, whatever the reason, his brain or his crack,
    He stood there Macworld Eve, hating the Mac,
    Staring down from his cubicle with a sour, Enderle frown
    At the warm lighted windows below in their town.
    For he knew every macmac way down in Frisco
    Was busy now, anticipating the next kind of nano.
    “And they’re booting their MacBooks!” he snarled with a sneer,
    “Tomorrow is Macworld! It’s practically here!”
    Then he growled, with his Enderle fingers nervously drumming,
    “I MUST find some way to stop Macworld from coming!”
    For, tomorrow, he knew all the Mac-Jills and Mac-Jacks
    Would wake bright and early. They’d rush for their Macs!
    And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
    That’s one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!
    Then the macmacs, young and old, would sit down to an iChat.
    And they’d chat! And they’d chat! And they’d CHAT! CHAT! CHAT! CHAT!
    They would chat about X-Serves, and the new Quad Duo Mac.
    Which the Enderle couldn’t stand, no, no more of that!
    And THEN They’d do something he liked least of all!
    Every macmac down in San Fran, the tall and the small,
    Would stand close together, with their iPods all swinging.
    They’d stand hand-in-hand. And the macmacs would start singing!
    They’d sing! And they’d sing! And they’d SING! SING! SING! SING!
    And the more the Enderle thought of this great Macworld-Sing,
    The more the Enderle thought, “I must stop this whole thing!”
    “Why, for twenty five years I’ve put up with it now!”
    “I MUST stop this Macworld from coming! …But HOW?”
    Then he got an idea! An awful idea!
    THE ROB ENDERLE GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!
    “I know just what to do!” The Enderle laughes till he cries.
    And he made a quick Apple CEO disguise
    And he chuckled, and clucked, “What a great Enderle goof!”
    “With this turtleneck shirt, I’ll look just like the doof!”
    “All I need is a Superpass…” The Enderle looked around.
    But, since Superpasses are scarce, there was none to be found.
    Did that stop the old Enderle…? No! The Enderle simply said,
    “If I can’t find a Superpass, I’ll make one instead!”
    So he got out his scanner and booted his Dell
    It wasn’t a good fake, but would work just as well.
    Then he loaded some sacks and some old Gateway bags
    In a broken down Pacer with expired tags
    Then the Enderle said, “Start damn it!” and the car rolled down
    Toward the hotels where the macmacs lay a-snooze in the town.

    Reply

  62. Part 2 Found this on http://www.yourmaclife.com/article.php/20061215065548315

    All their windows were dark. Fog filled the air.
    All the macmacs were dreaming Mac dreams without care
    When he came to the first little hotel on the square.
    “This is stop number one,” the old Enderle Claus hissed
    And he snuck in the back door, empty bags in his fist.
    He got lost only once, got off the wrong floor
    Then he picked the lock the first hotel door
    Where the little Mac swag bags all hung in a row
    “These bags,” he grinned, “are the first things to go!”
    Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile almost black,
    Around the whole room, and he took every Mac!
    iPods! And iTrips! And Airport Extremes!
    A whole box of iSocks, even the greens!
    Then the Enderle, beaming with pride
    Opened the window and tossed them outside
    Then he slunk to the server and shut down iChat!
    Disconnected the iSight so the screen would be black
    He cleaned out the hard drives, quick as a wink.
    Why, that Enderle even crashed the iSync!
    Then he stuffed all the Macgear into his sack.
    “And NOW!” grinned the Enderle, “I’ll grab the iMac!”
    The Enderle grabbed the computer, and he started to shove
    When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
    He turned around fast, and he saw a small gurl!
    Cindy-Lou macmac, who was fluent in Perl.
    The Enderle had been caught by this tiny macmac daughter
    Who’d got out of bed for a cup of cold water.
    She stared at the Enderle and said, “Mister Steven, why,
    Why are you taking our iMac? WHY?”
    But, you know, that old Enderle was so smart and so slick
    He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
    “Why, my sweet little tot,” the fake CEO lied,
    “There’s a CD in this iMac that won’t burn on one side.”
    “So I’m taking it home to my workshop, my dear.”
    “I’ll fix it up there. Then I’ll bring it back here.”
    And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head
    And he got her a drink and he sent her to bed.
    And when Cindy-Lou macmac went to bed in her gown,
    He went to the window and threw the Mac down!
    Then the last thing he took was the brand new Mac Pro!
    “Let them try to create the next Finding Nemo!”
    Then he went out the window, himself, the old liar.
    Of their cables he left nothing, but some defective FireWire.
    And the one peripheral that he left by the bed
    Was a an obsolete mouse whose circuits were dead
    Then he did the same thing to everyone’s room
    Leaving nary a modem, not even a Zoom
    It was quarter past dawn… All the macmacs, still asleep
    All the macmacs, still a-snooze. When he packed up his heap,
    Packed it up with their iPods! Their cables! Their software!
    The printers! And the burners! The card readers and hardware!
    Two hundred feet up! Up the side of Coit Tower,
    He rode with his load and a feeling of power!
    “Pooh-Pooh to the macmacs!” he was Enderle-ish-ly humming.
    “They’re finding out now that no MacWorld is coming!”
    “They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do!”
    “Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
    Then the macmacs down in Frisco will all cry Boo-Hoo!”
    “That’s a noise,” grinned the Enderle, “That I simply MUST hear!”
    So he paused. And the Enderle put his hand to his ear.
    And he did hear a sound rising over the glow.
    It started in low. Then it started to grow…
    But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry!
    It couldn’t be so! But it WAS merry! VERY!
    He stared down at Frisco! The Enderle popped his eyes!
    Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise!
    Every macmac down in Frisco, the tall and the small,
    Was singing! Without any iPods at all!
    He HADN’T stopped Macworld from coming! IT CAME!
    Somehow or other, it came just the same!
    And the Enderle, with his pundit-feet ice-cold in the fog,
    Stood puzzling and puzzling: his brain all agog
    “It came without iPods! It came without Macs!”
    “It came without laptops, or conference tracks!”
    And he analysed three hours, till his analyser was sore.
    Then the Enderle thought of something he hadn’t before!
    “Maybe Macworld,” he thought, “doesn’t come from the Apple store.”
    “Maybe Macworld…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
    And what happened then…?
    Well…in old San Francisco they say
    That the Enderle’s small brain grew three sizes that day!
    And the minute his ass didn’t feel quite so tight,
    He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light
    And he brought back the iPods! Mighty Mice and the Macs
    And he… …HE HIMSELF…! The Enderle got in on the chats!

    Reply

  64. Too much fun.

    A pod at crossed social “porpoises.”

    For the musically minded –
    Composition of structure and pitch, organized by dominance hierarchy.

    For the buff-head and now boring bozo, Zune Tang –
    Social position of the sub-social and the social status form social conflict.

    or, as the sales guy said –
    “We thought it was ‘juxta good position’ to put em.”

    Happy New Year to all the people at Apple throughout the world.
    Happy New Year to MDN and staff.
    and
    Happy New Year to all MDN posters, yeah even the trolls as well,
    you guys n’ gals have given us all a good laugh and advice in 2006.

    All the best for 2007

    ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />

    Reply

  68. this is stupid. The Zune wasn’t even released a month and everyone thinks the ipod is so superior.

    hm, pros and cons anyone?

    Zune:

    bigger screen / resolution
    music sharing / wi-fi
    wallpaper feature
    smartradio
    lets you see what others are listening to
    message others across the Community from your own Zune

    now what does the ipod have?

    nothing that the Zune doesn’t already have.

    the reason the ipod is popular? cmon, it was the first mp3 player to offer a ton of file size space to hold your music.

    and one more thing.

    its stupid to say the ipod is still better. last time i checked, the ipod is still less in face value to a Zune, what can the ipod offer that can contest with the value of a Zune? or even better? or at all? if i remember correctly, Apple usually hits the dirt against Microsoft. the ipod took what, over 5 years to become popular? the Zune is already popular just from the fact of being the ipod’s competition. in one month.

    sorry, ipods lose. because customers want what everyone else has.

    Reply

  72. Financial Times article headline last week was:

    “Apple unphased by the march of Zune”

    Who were they kidding?!?

    As the picture shows, the “march” lasted all of 2 days while MS employees and friends rabbitis and relations were conned into buying Zune.

    It’s more like a meltdown than a march.

    Reply

  73. I have to say most of the people on this thread are like children: iPod’s better, pause not – Zune’s rocks … and the quibbling just goes on and on.

    Post and say why one is better than the other. I like the post by Zunehacker. Apple is better and Microsoft sucks is not a reason.

    Reply

  78. I went into one of my local electronic stores (Ultimate Electronics) a week ago to buy a DVD player.
    Right in front was a huge iPod display and immediately aft was a collection of add-ons. Could not find a Zune.
    Bought the DVD player and asked the twenty-something young man who was helping me if they had the Zune.
    “What’s a Zune?”, he said.
    I replied: “It is the new MP3 player from Microsoft.”
    “We don’t carry any computer stuff.” Ouch.

    ,dave

    Reply

  82. Zune hacker wrote:
    “bigger screen / resolution
    music sharing / wi-fi
    wallpaper feature
    smartradio
    lets you see what others are listening to
    message others across the Community from your own Zune”
    Dude, it is the same pixel resolution.

    The music “sharing” is three days or three plays regardless of whether there was DRM on it. Useless.

    Wallpaper “feature”? Useless.
    Radio? What if I don’t want a radio? It’s an optional third-party addon on the iPod for those who want it. This also means you are more likely to be allowed to use it on the plane since the receiver can be removed.

    See what others are playing? Invasion of privacy.

    Why would I want to message other people in the same room? Why not walk up to them and talk to them?

    Welcome to the social indeed. How about being social by actually socializing with them directly?

    Reply

  85. Although I am a strong Apple person, please people…!

    Can someone compare apples to apples….

    What was iPod sales their first Christmas Season?
    Although they had no competition (jukebox and a few others)…. that should be what you compare this too.

    What happens if zune increases 2007 xmas 100% from 2006… Apple never did that…
    ummm…. maybe they did.

    scratch that.

    Reply

  86. you know what’s the hilarious part about all this?

    Microsoft owns Apple legally. In fact, Apple’s funding COMES FROM Microsoft.

    buying an ipod? you just supported Microsoft which is behind Apple. didn’t you guys know Apple died by itself years ago, and Bill Gates continued to fund Apple for the sake of competition?

    so much for being anti-Microsoft, lemme know how that works out for you.

    Reply

  91. Jeff Fragoza was arrested earlier today ‘aiding and abedding.’ He claimed Saddam Hussein lived on his suburban street in a suburb of Albuquerque. Shortly after a small crowd showed up, Fragoza led the mob to a county jail where he broke out 6 muslim criminals, but not for long. As soon as the disgruntled Fragoza walked out the door, he was put under ‘citizen’s arrest’ by three Albuquerque residents.

    Reply

  92. Assuming Zunehacker is actually serious and not trying to be funny…

    The screen resolution is the same.
    Music sharing and wi-fi are useless on a Zune because you are not likely to find another Zune user unless you happen to work at Redmond.
    Wallpaper feature – Apple intentionally chose to not have such a feature to keep the user interface sleek and efficient.
    Radio – Apple intentionally chose to not have such a feature because most people use an iPod to avoid radio. But for those who want the feature, there’s a handy FM radio remote control you can buy from Apple or a third party.
    See what others are listening to… – That’s invasion of privacy, not a feature. Plus see wi-fi above. And why would I want to know.
    Message other across the Community – See wi-fi above. And it’s a media player, not an IM device.

    > now what does the ipod have?

    A few example of many…

    A built-in calendar that syncs with the Mac’s calendar.
    A built-in address book that syncs with the Mac’s address book.
    Games.
    Longer battery life (by far especially if that “precious” wi-fi is turned on).
    Software installation that actually works.
    Smaller size.
    Works with Macs AND Windows PCs.
    Availability of about 1000 times as many accessories.
    Choice of other types of iPods (not just “the brick”).
    Not having to deal with Microsoft “points.”
    (People won’t point at you and laugh.)
    And access to the iTunes Store, which actually has videos and podcasts.

    > nothing that the Zune doesn’t already have.

    So you are quite wrong on that point…

    > the Zune is already popular just from the fact of being the ipod’s competition. in one month.

    You must be joking. The Creative Zen and Sandisk Sansa are more popular than Zune. During the first year of iPod, it was only available to Mac users and the market was not mature (nearly non-existant), and despite that disadvantage, Apple will have sold more iPods during that first year (five years ago) that even Microsoft optimistic predictions for the Zune’s first year.

    Reply

  93. ken1w: Great post but i must say you swallow your own crap whole.

    >Message other across the Community – See wi-fi above. And it’s a media player, not an IM device.

    All in the same breath:

    >A built-in calendar that syncs with the Mac’s calendar.
    >A built-in address book that syncs with the Mac’s address book.
    >Games.

    Like you said it’s a media player ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> I also find the lot’s of accessories available feature quite lame. It’s just a matter of time till the Zune gives the iPod a run for it’s money.

    I think smartphones just kick ass. They can do all this and more. I was looking for a reason to buy a ‘media player’ and can’t find one other than space. But that’s fixed with a bunch of SD cards.

    Reply

  94. To Facts:

    The difference is that the iPod’s calendar and address book (and Games) are just software features that do not detract from its primary function (being a great media player). People can use it or not use it; no harm done if they do not use it. The wi-fi stuff (and radio) are hardware features. Everyone is paying the price in terms of higher cost, greater bulk, and reduced battery life whether they use the feature or not.

    Apple choses not to build-in a radio (and provides the FM radio remote control option) and they will no doubt implement “wireless” in an entirely different (and infinitely more useful) way.

    I personally think Zune will be a memory by this time next year. Microsoft could have made it different from iPod in significant ways, and given iPod a run for it’s money. For example, what if you could use the wireless feature in Zune to buy music directly without the need for a computer; you’d still need to be near a local wireless network, but that would have been a key feature iPod does not have and an important one for customers who love music but are computer “technophobes” (there must tens of millions) Instead, it rushed a redressed Toshiba Gigabeat to market with no compelling advantages and many compelling disadvantages, pricing it for 99 cents MORE than the most comparable iPod. And then marketed with commercials of people I don’t want to be, not showing the device itself until the last 1.5 seconds. Microsoft even missed the point that iPod (and Sony’s Walkman previously) are popular because music is personal and the portable players create a private “space” in a crowded world. I’d be embarassed to admit liking some of the tunes on my iPod; I don’t want other people to know what’s on MY iPod. So “Welcome to the Social” is the worst possible tagline for a portable media player.

    Reply

  95. I just went to the Costco in Kona (Big Island, Hawaii) yesterday and saw the display of iTunes Gift Cards (50 songs@$45). They had Zune boxes that looked just like the iPod ones shown in the MDN picture, right inside the same display unit. The iPods were all sold out (the last one, a 30GB black, sold while I stood there). There were three Zune boxes I could see at the front of the display.

    The point is that Costco is selling the Zunes in the same packaging and looking the same as the iPods simply because most people don’t know an iPod from a Zune from a ‘whatever’. They know that the “iPod” name will be a marketing help in selling the Zunes to customers. And with the iTunes logo and artwork in pink/purple all over the display (you can see it on the left of the MDN pic) it’s even worse, since customers will think “iTunes – Zune” as much as “iTunes – iPod”.

    It’s not good, I say. Not good. Zune riding on iTunes and iPod’s coat-tails, customers who don’t know the difference, and Costco who prays on them.

    Reply

  96. one more point:

    The sales lady on the floor in the electronics department at Costco told me that the Zune is a better player to buy than the iPod, because . . . wait, here it comes: it plays more formats of files. WTF?! She also told me that it is equally as popular as the iPod in sales at Costco (which may indeed be true; just think of all those poor suckers who got an “iPod” for themselves or their kids for Xmas only to find a Zune in the box.)

    Typical.

    Now we need to find someone who works for Costco to find out, in the next 30 days, how many Zunes are returned vs. iPods returned, and report the findings.

    Reply

  97. So people are seening Zunes boxes (near iPod/iTunes) and buying it because they don’t know the difference between an iPod and Zune. That’s unfortunately, but I’m sure the Costco will have to deal with all the returns, and we’ll be seening lots of specials on “refurbished” Zunes.

    The picture in this article shows actual iPods sitting on a display for Zunes. I don’t see how THAT would be an advantage to selling anything. Maybe it’s the store self-stockers who did not know the difference!

    Reply

  100. “The sales lady on the floor in the electronics department at Costco…”

    Sales lady??? I shop Costco all the time and have never seen a sales person. It is strictly self-serve. There are people there who work for the manufacturers of products and come to Costco to give demos, samples, etc.

    I was recently shopping for a plasma TV at Costco. I had to ask someone to find a knowledgeable person for me. I talked to that person about TV warranties, and I asked about extended warranties. She told the the Panasonic has a 1 year warranty and if the thing breaks after that just bring it back for a refund. I asked if she was serious and she said that Costco has no-time-limit unconditional returns on everything except computers, which are limited to 6 months.

    I bring this up because Costco will take anything back for any reason – or no reason at all. You don’t even need a sales receipt. So why would they try to trick people into buying a Zune. They will only get in back next week.

    Reply

  104. Nothing but a bunch of fanboys in here. Ill take my Rio or iRiver over either. No DRM, I can DnD old songs that arn’t available on iTunes and their about $200 cheaper. Keep stuffing MS/Apples pockets for XMas!

    Reply

  105. Just goes to show that MP3 players have become so generic that the average person can’t tell the difference any more. It happened with Sony Walkmans too. Originally Sony was the brand to have, Now, if you’re one of the millions of dinosaurs buying a portable cassette or CD player, do you even care who made it?

    Reply

  109. Zunehacker,
    Apple gets its funding from Microsoft? What the hell planet are you on? Are you talking about that stock buy back in the 90s that was more symbolic than anything? I dont’ believe Microsoft even owns those shares anymore, or at least not all of them, and if they did, if was far from enough to “own” Apple.

    If you’re going to spout off like a tool, at least know what the hell you’re talking about.

    Reply

  110. Yea, im going to be a bit general about which Costco I work at. But lets say it’s one of the larger ones in the Seattle area. Just to give you an example of how poorly the Zunes sold, Microsoft actually added an in store manufacturers rebate of $20 to them the week before Christmas.

    iPod rebate? Hell no. We ran out of the 4gb in all colors, the 8gb, and 80gb iPods, not to mention several hundred of those little pink Costco gift cards you see in the photo. Come Christmas Day 120+ Zunes of our original 200 shippment were still sitting locked up waiting for some poor sucker to take them home.

    Want to know who bought most of our Zunes? Microsoft employess who kept coming in telling us Microsoft wouldnt sell them Zunes through the Microsoft store until after Christmas.

    I don’t see why not… no one else wanted them. =)

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  111. It is funny actually, the only feature about the zune that I somewhat like is the fm radio receiver. Wish it had an AM too, as I like sports radio.

    Anyway, years ago when my daughter got her 1st iPod, she also got an iTrip. For those of you who dont know: the iTrip is a low power FM transmitter that allowed the iPod to be played over your car radio. Sure it was somewhat clunky and tough to find an open FM frequency, and today most new cars have an iPod connector, but back in the day it was pretty cool. Well it didn’t take us long to figure out that other cars nearby us on the highway (I am talking pretty close) could also pick up the signal…talk about welcome to the social! We used this iTrip device for a couple of years on those long skiing trip drives with several other vehicles. For those of you who ski, you are aware that radio signals for good FM stations just don’t make it out to the boon docks where the mountains are. We had lots of fun with that.

    That was back in the day when nobody, but my daughter had an iPod. Now, in a family of 6 we have 7 iPods. Just about every other family we know, this Christmas, someone received an (yet another) iPod, or two+.

    As far as the zune, people don’t know about it, and really don’t seem to care. I have a large extended family with numerous high school and college students, and the comments about the zune ranged from “what is it?” to “oh yeah, it’s ugly.”

    The wi-fi feature has potential, but not in the way MS has implemented it. I am not sure about wireless purchases of music, but using it to sync/connect to a computer would be a cool use. (ie. loose the cables)

    Someone also mentioned formats and the iRiver and DRM. Yes the iTunes store comes hindered with DRM, but it is so easy to remove it, and legally. But our iPods are full of nonDRM music that we own. Between the hundreds of CDs that were ripped and loaded, and countless albums that we have over the last couple of years digitized. I cannot understand why people keep perpetuating this myth. PEOPLE THE iPod EASILY PLAYS NON DRM MUSIC. Get over it, move on to an issue that doesn’t show you haven’t done your homework.

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  117. Geez, one friggen picture and the Mac fanboys squirt themselves. I really don’t care for ipods at all, give me a zen anyday. And, given the choice, I’d buy a zune over an ipod simply because I don’t want to be associated with the legions of drooling idiots who’d take anything apple squeezed from it’s giant, festering backside.

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  121. Zune Tune sung Surreptitiously to the Beatles Tune of “Eleanor Rigby”

    Ah, look at all the lonely Zunes
    Ah, look at all the lonely Zunes

    CEO Ballmer picks up the Zunes in the stores where they were once sold
    Lives in a dream
    Waits at the window, wearing the face that he keeps in a jar by the door
    Who is it for?

    All the lonely Zunes
    Where do they all come from ?
    All the lonely Zunes
    Where do they all belong ?

    William Gates squirting the words of a tune that no one will hear
    No one comes near.
    Look at him working. Counting his money at night when there’s nobody there
    What does he care?

    All the lonely Zunes
    Where do they all come from?
    All the lonely Zunes
    Where do they all belong?

    The poor Zune died in the church and was buried along with it’s name
    Nobody came
    CEO Ballmer wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
    Not one was saved

    All the lonely Zunes
    Where do they all come from?
    All the lonely Zunes
    Where do they all belong?

    Reply

  126. Poor doctor spaitso, stuck in his little world of mediocrity and “it’s good enough.” Don’t hate us just because we’re happier than you are. And don’t cry, because some day micro$oft will make something that does actually work. They can’t keep scoring zero forever.

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  127. well the Costco in Danvers MA had big displays of ipods and zoons right next to each other around thanksgiving (haven’t been back since). the ipod display was decimated while the zoon display was completely stocked. nobody wants the lil turds.

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  130. doctor spaitso said:

    “I’d buy a zune over an ipod simply because I don’t want to be associated with …”

    He must be the same guy that bought a Yugo rather than a BMW because he didn’t want to be associated with other people that appreciate value, style, performance, etc.

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  133. Zune sucks, but so does iPod. DRM-enabled players that are restricting my freedom, that can’t read a good audio format like .ogg and that needs by default a program for song trasfert should be banned. Replacement solution ? iRiver, Wizpy. Those are great.

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  137. Apparently, if one finds the photo funny and irony, the only possible reason is that they must be a Mac fanboy”.

    Equally apparent is that the MS lemmings have no fsckin’ sense of humor. That’s a funny pic, and the MS girls get their panties all bunched up. Now THAT’S comedy.

    Yeah, the iPod has DRM. Big deal. Any idiot know that there would be no widespread music download model without DRM. The iPod will play non-DRM music, no problem. It won’t play any other manufacturer’s DRM files. Boo, Apple!

    Fortunately the Zune will play other DRM music besides its own. Oh, wait. It won’t. MS screwed their business partners, who bought into M$’s previous DRM. Gates reamed them good.

    Further MS has the audacity (look it up) to ADD its DRM to your own music. You can’t even create your own music in Garage Band (oh, that’s right) and share it with another Zuni. It’s gone in three days or <three plays>. What kind of crap is that?

    And move that file to one of your other non-Zune players and tell us what you hear. Sounds of silence.

    MS funds Apple? What drug are you on? MS bought some shares, sold them, not long after that.

    I’m sure MS will sell some Zunes to people who hate the iPod because they hate the iPod. That’s a stupid reason to spend money, but it’s their money, I could care less.

    The Zune has some interesting features, though none of them appeal to me. Does it have Bluetooth so I can wear BT headphones? The iPod doesn’t have that so the Zune wins again. Oh, wait.

    Those little Zany Zunis try unsuccessfully to shame anybody who has anything positive to say about the iPod. I say buy what you like. If the Zune is as great as you say, it will be the next iPod killer. (How many times have you heard <i>that??) God knows MS had enough time to study Apple’s model and get it right, right out of the gate. But they didn’t.

    If every MS OS user bought a Zune, Apple would be crushed. Even if every Apple “fanboy” bought TWO iPods, MS would still crush Apple.

    That won’t happen. MS has the resources to keep making a bad product for a very long time, and still not go broke. They’ve had a lot of practice at that.

    If MS makes a superior product I’ll give it a look. I use their keyboards almost exclusively. Now if they can just do that with their OS and apps, I’ll load them on my MacBook.

    The Zune could sell well. There are a lot of users who will see it as “good enough” like VHS. Those not willing to settle will get an iPod.

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  141. “The Zune could sell well. There are a lot of users who will see it as “good enough” like VHS. Those not willing to settle will get an iPod.”

    VHS only sold well when it was the best (at least the best that most people could afford) the market had to offer. When DVD’s came out, how long did it last?

    The iPod is the DVD, and it was out first.

    VHS, DOA. MS, SOL. XTC, REM, NRBQ.

    -c

    MW: ‘once’ (upon a time I could loose myself)

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  142. iPod obviously owns the zune. Microsoft is always trying to beat apple, so they copy apple and STILL fail exept for with windows vista, that pwns because i cant be using a iMac cos of incompatibily issues.

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  143. Stop jumping the gun. Maybe the Zune will crash and burn (like the microsoft wireless products) or maybe it won’t but, The ipod is not the same today as it was when it first came out. It has gone through changes (in size and features) to make it better. Don’t judge something in it’s first months of release, especially if there is already a well established product in the market. I’m not too fond of all the features the Zune has, or at least the way they are implemented but, we all learn from our mistakes. I’m not saying that Ms will make something better than the ipod and prevail, i’m just saying it’s hardy long enough to know yet. If Apple thought their initial ipod was perfect, they would have never made any changes to it.

    I will wait till MS has chance to make the Zune better before I say its at it’s end. If it has been awhile and MS hasn’t improved upon it, well then there is your answer.

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  152. I don’t understand why anybody would buy a iPod over a Zune. Okay first of all the apps on the iPod are pretty much useless unless you happen to like things like a button that says shut up, or a fake emf meter. Not to mention that you need wifi to use the radio and more than half of the apps. However the apps are not the only downside to apple’s iPod, but don’t even get me started on the software “iTunes” which leaves a lot to be desired. I know that iPod may be the top seller when it comes to mp3 players, but that doesn’t mean that Zunes are worthless trash either…

    Reply

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