Selfish Microsoft won’t share
[intro]Hear that? That’s the sound of my overwhelming disinterest in reaction to the launch of Microsoft’s Zune[/intro] Hear that? That’s the sound o
Hear that? That’s the sound of my overwhelming disinterest in reaction to the launch of Microsoft’s Zune in the US.
Like a lot of artists themselves, I believe in music before profit, so I’m not a massive fan of DRM. I’m not advocating the mass distribution of copyrighted material, but to promote the sharing of music over Wi-Fi and then limit it as strictly as Microsoft has with Zune’s ‘3 plays or 3 days’ rule is quite baffling.
The whole idea has clearly received no ‘real world’ testing, as what sounds like a great feature from the outset has been implemented terribly and with little or no actual use to you and me, the punters.
How often have you listened to a track a good 10 times before you decide whether you like it or not? Aren’t the best records always the ones that take four or five full listens to get into? If I’d only had three chances to ‘get’ Kid A I wouldn’t be the Radiohead fan I am now.
So am I bothered that the Zune probably won’t make the trip over the Atlantic until 2008? Have a guess.
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
