Microsoft Exec Had The Right Idea On MP3 Players Three Years Ago
from the ignored dept
As part of an Iowa antitrust case, an interesting email from Windows boss Jim Allchin has been released, and it gives a pretty damning review of Microsoft and its partners' attempts at competing with the iPod. Given the subject line "sucking on media players", the November 2003 email also reveals that Allchin wanted to talk with Steve Jobs and Apple to better build support for the iPod into Windows Media Player after a "really terrible" experience with Windows and a Creative music player. That, of course, never happened. Microsoft instead set up a committee to develop its iPod killer, though it resulted in the Zune instead. It's been met with poor sales and reviews, which doesn't seem like much of a surprise given some of its crippled features. Some have said that the Zune needs to be more like Windows in order to succeed, but that's pretty off base. Allchin's idea, of working with Apple to make iPod users' experiences with Windows better, was a good one, really. By making Windows or Windows Media Player work more seamlessly and easily with the popular product, Microsoft would be enhancing the value of its own products. Now, it's just wasting resources trying to replace the iPod, something its corporate culture makes very difficult, if not impossible.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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typical
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Zune as competition for iPod
Finally, I am surprised that Techdirt, which is usually the champion of competition, would suggest that Microsoft should have just focused on the iPod instead of entering the ring on its own. One of my major problems with the iPod/iTunes thing is its dominance of the market. Let´s face it, if Apple could have, it would be Microsoft; maybe a prettier, cooler Microsoft, but Microsoft nonetheless. Competition, even coming from Microsoft, is a good thing, and for once it seems that they´ve done something worthwhile. Give the Zune more time before you decide to just count it out
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Re: Zune as competition for iPod
I don't think the issue here is really whether the Zune is a good product or not. I've never tried one and I expect, as you say, it performs the basic task of playing music as it should. The issue is the *process* that Microsoft went through to get there and why they came to the market so late. A device to play music really isn't a very complicated thing, you need a basic processor, some non-volatile storage, a DAC, a simple display, a battery... that's about it.
With a fraction of Microsofts resources I would have been able to get a working prototype together in 3-6 months.
The problem here is that Microsoft could have had a product to compete with Apple out three or four years ahead of the Zune. But they didn't. The reason why is something we can only speculate on, but from the email and other anecdotes it seems that the policy of Microsoft has always been *against* the portable mp3 media player concept. They only jumped ship at the last minute after realising Apple had made a huge success of the iPod.
The thing about "talking to Jobs" is about interoperability and discussing some sensible common standards. But it seems like Allchin was cornered by the giants impossible heirarchy of policies and its allegiances with BigMedia.
How can you possibly develop a product when the entire ethos of your company is against it?
Myself, I owned an mp3 player before the iPod. I still have my ugly and bulky iRiver. Its design is extremely simple. So simple that I've rewritten the firmware to do some other interesting things. You can mount it as an ordinary vfat drive on any machine over USB and treat it like a normal disk. I've upgraded the drive from 10GB to 20GB to 60GB to 120GB in the last couple of years - it's just a standard micro HD device.
Microsoft on te other hand probably spent 50% of their dev time trying to implement DRM type nonsense, breaking the bluetooth spec, basically doing lots of things that don't have anything to do with the essential operation of an mp3 music player. And all because their engineers were badgered by stupid policies from circus of committees.
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Re: Zune as competition for iPod
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valley of the dinosaurs
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I don't think that the Zune works at all but ceding the money part of the business to Apple makes no sense either. The windows approach would at least be better than that. MS wouldn't have had to waste a lot of resourcs in providing plays for sure partners a common set of features to have and then allowing them to implement them in various, hopefully creative ways.
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Zune vs. Ipod
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microsoft is like bad sex...
now picture ballmer screaming. horny yet?
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Looking from the Outside - Who Says Apple Wanted a
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Zune failure
If Microsoft want to win, they need to stop trying to play catch-up, and actually come out with a product that really has "Wow!" Microsoft seems to have completely lost touch...They think that saying "Wow" themselves (over Vista, in this case) is enough to make people want a product. Uh, bad news guys. It's actually the CUSTOMERS that you want to get saying "Wow!"
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Re: Zune failure
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I came up with a idea months ago, but I do not know if MS will use the idea. They seemed interested, but who knows. My idea was for MS to make their own Security Media files for users, and make them available on the desktop. They didn't listen to their customers about Zume, I don't expect them to listen to my idea now. What a pity, that MS has to act like they have a monkey up their butt (pun intended) Even if they do use the advice, I bet they screw it up too. I told them to make the media files entertaining. I wonder if they even know what that word is now. lol
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problems with the zune
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Apple not standing around
Just look at the potential of the new iPhone. It's actually iPod with PDA and cell phone built in. Sure the storage space is lacking, but when it comes out in Zune(er, i mean June) who know if it won't have 20 or 30GB. After all, Apple is known for surprising consumers and investors by over-accomplishing their own goals.
Compared to iPhone, Zune has too much to catch up for at least 2-3 years.
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MS came "too little too late" with the XBox. You couldn't even try to convince me the XBox was as good as a PS2. Playstation/Playstation 2 were king of the consoles for years, in my book and the books of many others. Now look at the roles they play: PS3 is a flop, Xbox360 dominates the market.
"Too little too late" are for those with no creativity. What, exactly, could the "omg new 6g ipod!!1" implement that isn't equally as possible with an improved second gen Zune? Everyone seems to think that Apple is just so amazing because they sell computers in a white case. Microsoft is just as able to create the future benchmark of digital music players as Apple is. Apple just has a head start with brand name and fanboys.
I would guess that MS "waited too long" because they didn't expect the market to go so nuts for music players. Can anyone remember personal cassette players causing such a ruckus? Did walkmans generate this much profit and hype?
I'm not an MS fanboy. I don't even have a Zune. I Just hate how often people make stupid comments regarding the "untouchable" Apple. I hate Apple fanboys. And I hate Apple's business model.
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Re:
The problem with Zune is not just "too little, too late" but that it's trying to beat iPod by copying one of its worst features, DRM. Market leaders are not made through creation of a "just as good" product, but products that are CONSIDERABLY better. Zune falls flat on its face on that one. It's not a bad player and has some nifty features, but the nagging DRM that pops up in every way possible is just ridiculous.
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