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then whats the point in making it at all if your just gonna bring it out in the states? honestly this must be somekinda tax dodge cos this is gonna sink worse than the titanic

It's because other countries have stricter polluting standards than the U.S.

I think MS know already that there is no sense in running anything other than a pilot scheme. The probably regret giving it so much attention and publicity already.

Compounding failure on failure is depressing, even if you are worth $260bn.

Yo', Blair.

But we think there are things that can be done better. One of the big trends, broadly, not just in music, is around social networking and the ability for people to exchange and share information, ideas, music and experiences. It's a new business for us and we're enthusiastic about it. We'll see where it goes.

Yawn.

If MDN would quit giving Microsoft free advertising for the Zune, it won't even make a dent on the internet, much less retail sales.

But now it appears they are afraid and iPod users may be tempted to take a look at it. Just like the survey says.

In my countrys, Microtop testes the Zune.
Many peoples confused, look too much like poop.

Seriously, I can't imagine ONE person buying one of these.

What possible rationale would a buyer have, except for deliberately being a contrarian who "hates" iPods?

I think Microsoft knows that the Zune will disappear faster than a corndog at a Hilton Family Reunion.

I'm sorry MDN.

"It's a new business for us and we're enthusiastic about it. We'll see where it goes".

Wow. That statement doesn't exactly exude confidence, does it now?

I wonder how MS shareholders feel about that.

One thing about "social networking" and "communities" is that they form rather spontaneously. They are not the result of a marketing campaign.

M$ will likely fail in their attempt at creating their social network.

Quote: "If MDN would quit giving Microsoft free advertising for the Zune, it won't even make a dent on the internet, much less retail sales."

Rabid Dog, I think any Zune news here reaches a dead end. Though admittedly I'm curious to SEE the brown brick in person, I highly doubt that I, nor any other MDN reader (who isn't a M$ planted Troll here) is going to run out and buy a Zune.

Only a huge sloth company that has run a myriad of focus groups, would actually coin the phrase in their marketing material "social networking."

Yes, it is clear they think they can market this ability with Zune's wireless capability, as it is the only thing the Zune has that is different to the other obese Zune, aka the Gigabeat...

What is so bizzare, is how MicroSoft's ad agency can't seem to figure out how to message the social networking thing within their marketing pieces, so they decided to just say it directly.

That is a advertising 101 no-no, but they did it anyways.

This type of campaigning will continue to deliver M$ fewer and fewer returns on investment. It's post TV kids, wake up!

In my countrys, "social networking" is oral sex.
You see my movie today, OK?

Last night I wastched CNET's "First Look" at the Zune. The reviewer rarely mentioned the competition, rather uncritically reviewed its "features", and I had to wonder... Is he looking at what I'm seeing? Watching it in action, rather than in a glossy still, was an eye opener. To me it looks cheap, cheesy, totally lacking in refinement - like the half-baked prototype it is. The fact that the reviewer indicated he *likes* the brown may tell you something. I expect Microsoft to promote the hell out of it through such gullible, sympathetic, journalists.

In other countries, the dog pooper scoop law is different than over here in the states. I guess Microstuff wants to sniff the market here first to see how the territories reacts before they dump it overseas. In NYC, the pooper scoop law is very strict(they fine you with $$$), as in Paris it is very loose restriction.

Apple is really strong in the US. Zune has zero chance.

@ megamac.

That is VERY FUNNY stuff. (scratch)

what about us Canadians? Don't we deserve a chance to not buy a Zune too?

Finally the USA behaves like an ally and keeps its mistakes to itself. Now if you could just do the same with Prezzdent Chimpy McFlightsuit, we'll be happy…

"...I can't even necessarily tell you if."

Wow.
That's some marketing.
Can you feel the passion that Microsoft employees have for their products?
It seems so very exciting!

"Maybe we'll launch some products, be we have to see if anyone wants them, because, well, none of us really do, so we're not sure how many people we can trick into buying them. If it's not a lot, we might just bag the whole thing."

I love all the esoteric feel-good BS about sharing 'ideas'. Pu-leeeeze.
MS has never been concerned with such things.
It's all about...
Show Me The Revenue Stream.

I haven't seen it yet.
Neither will they

-c

MW: 'become' (squirts from bees)

Winnie, are you making a funny about me?

Yo, Blair. How are you doing?
G8 conference, St. Petersburg, Russia, Jul. 17, 2006

I can't get over the feeling that the whole Zune project is actually *designed* to fail.

I mean it's too perfectly awful;
Who is this product for? Who is the person that wants to be part of this experiment because they just hate Apple so bloody much? What? Who are these people?
I mean, when your CEO actually uses the word 'squirt' to describe THE ONLY FEATURE YOU HAVE on the competition, the only feature you even bring up...
That's just off the bloody map, folks.
That's 'Prince William' talking.

I'm thinking, in my paranoid MJ12/Illuminatti kinda way, that MS is tossing a stink bomb into the 'not iPod' market. And in the process, they have not only introduced a direct competitor to their partners market, but they've paved the way for the possible demise of the competitor's DRM model.

Either way, it seems that MS wins.

IF Zune takes off like iPod, and MS gets a good enough chunk to be unconcerned with PFS licensing revenue and cuts support entirely, then they end up with a nice chunk of the market and their own vertical model.

IF (and this is a very tiny 'if'...) Zune takes off like a wet sack of gravel, MS dumps it (and all those scene kids at their stupid picnic) like SO many other hardware products, keeps on licensing PFS and a year from now it will be nicely erased from history.

Well, until Vista topples the company like Barad Dur.

-c

MW: 'father' (yes son? I've come to kill you)

Sry, I was having one of my episodes...

I meant, of course, 'Prince Philip'

carry on.

Hmmmm, He said, "We're going to see how this goes in the US and what lessons we learn and see if we get that right,"

Now, to me, that sounds just like they are going to try this thing out and see if it sells. But didn't Ballmer say that they were going to push it so hard and long that iPod dies and Zune wins??????

MSN Music ---- Dead

Plays for sure ---- Dead

3rd party mp3 players using WMA plays for sure - dead.

Zune -- Has not released yet and questions are already starting about how it will go . . . . or end!!! A Microsoft supported product for people who hate things that just work.

What a way to end the week. LOL

N.

Yo, Prez. Got yo' back, ma bro. The shizzle is all a-fizzle. Catch you and yo biatch at the G8.

MDN: Choice: What choice do I have?

Hey, has anyone seen my Origami?

-c

MW: 'death'

I'll give it a year....
before it appears in the UK.

Honestly, you all know that. MS says a lot of BS, but ends up doing the exact opposite.

Wow... social networking is a trend! They are so observant. Good thing they noticed early, they'll be able to ride the first wave of benefiting from hunting and gathering, advent of agriculture, the use of verbal languages to communicate, collective portection from predators, the wheel for transportation, how to control fire--the list goes on and on.

But then I should expect such vision from the company that prompts me with the message that a "human interface device" has been detected whenever I boot in windoze to play a game.

"Social networking" is MySpace and Facebook. It is not the Zune.

I notice MDN missed an even far more significant bit of info from the article.

Regarding the success of Vista and Office 2007:
"Gordon Frazer: Our expectation of Vista is that it will be the fastest-adopted operating system ever. We are predicting that within the first year 100 million PCs will be running Windows Vista, and certainly in the UK I don't see why that would be any different"

Notice Microsoft is trying to claim credit for the success or failure of Vista based on the total number of units sold. This of course guarantees them a success, regardless of how well Vista gets adopted because there are FAR more computers in use today than 5 years ago when XP came out.

What would be far more telling is the percentage of total computers in use vs how many run Vista. If Vista say has 15% of the total PC user base installed in 1 year it could look like a big number but would be far less of a success if say XP had 25% of a smaller total pool of PCs.

I look forward to checking in 1 year to see how well Vista is doing and compare it's success to OS X Leopard.

Microsoft knows that only Americans would buy it.

Squirt a few to Turkmenistan.

MacDailyNews Note - just collect the news from the other websites and leave your nonsense comments out. Nobody cares.

Please excuse the following brain cramp but.... If M$ were smart, on Nov 30 they would launch, not the brown brick everyone has seen, but 6 flavors (colors) of a really outstanding MP3 player with WIFI and cell phone that they have been hiding using the current Zune as a cover. That way instead of dread, everyone who sees it says wow! The extreme range of surprise from horrible to decent will make their offerings seem all that much greater. Simple marketing, from the company who excels at marketing. This is well within their ability, and if they actually want to enter this market they will need a big splash like this.

from an earlier Sept. MDN article,,,,,,,

"Microsoft Corp. market researchers in Quebec found themselves in a potential linguistic pickle when they conducted consumer test-runs of the digital music player Zune, which the company officially announced on Thursday will be competing by Christmas with Apple's hugely successful iPod," Randy Boswell reports for CanWest News Service.

Boswell reports, "A Microsoft spokeswoman in Montreal told CanWest News Service that 'it was pointed out to us' during focus groups in the province that the proposed brand name sounded much like a French-Canadian term used as a euphemism for penis or vagina.",,,,,Puts the Balmer term "squirting" in perspective. Designed to offend everyone - and yes it will be released in Canada at the same time and no Microsoft UK, Canada isn't part of the US

So why bother. America is not the world. Zune will not topple iPod if it's only available in the U.S. (and via international mail order I assume) But maybe that's not the point. What is Microsoft up to???

This website is quickly turning into the ZuneDailyNews.

Well, URGE/MSN started in may -and allready pulling the plug. They DID have a subscriptionservice and MTV made 24 blogs og different music"tastes" to be like a "social-experience"...

Must be embarassing...

John Bull:

Idiocy knows no boundries and you have provided the proof.

1 GB black "iPod nanos" only $79 Cnd. Selling like hotcakes. Hurry while supplies last:

http://www.toysrus.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&catalogId=10051&langId;=-1&productId=103483&N=27+&nvalue=27

Seriously, I hope Apple legal sends a "friendly" Christmas card to Toys R Us Canada before the buying season heats up!!!

They already know Zune's a failure. It's fading just like that "Origami" abortion.

-jcr

That zune (brown) shit - including the marketing campaign - won't work in Europe. Only North Korea might be tempted by such ergonomic brown device. The zune ads are so bad, they look like someone wanted them to fail. Long live iEurope.