Anyone here have a 'Zune'? How does it compare to an iPod?

A saleslady at Brookstone attempted to get me to buy one and give up my iPod.

All the guys in that department have ipods, even though we get a pretty sweet deal on the Zune.

Reviews of the Zune have been past dismal into some other realm of suckiness.

Stick with the light side. :hi:

cuz i took my zen back and got an ipod, instead. my son told me i should have gotten the zune. it was still in the box, so i took a poll to see if i should take it back, and get the zune. iirc, the poll was 24 to 1 for the ipod.

They were selling them at Brookstone. Nuff said.

Slave labor around the world? Seriously, what is it?

It's like a sort of "Duller Image." Everything seems to be the kind of off-brand tat that's too nasty even for late night cable infomercials.

I wouldn't be surprised if they forced employees to torture baby seals before every shift, but I don't have any actual proof.

guess I'm not as discerning as you are - I like Brookstone for some of their items. The screen on the Zune was incredible - but I'm leary of 1st generation tech toys.

It's probably a good idea to give the Zune a miss until at least version 3. That's the normal rule with M$ products. Windows was unusable until version 3, Internet Explorer was the same (many argue it still is unusable, but let's not dig up that argument), Windows CE/Mobile was crap until version 3, as was the Office suite.

:popcorn:

In fact, I've got Windows Vista running on my MacBook. I'm not a tiresome PC or Mac evangelist (Lord knows Macs have some problems too), but I have been working in IT for about 25 years and know a bit about the strengths and weaknesses of the various OSes. M$ has a history of using it's customers as alpha testers, so the first releases of M$ software always seem to be poorly thought-out and very buggy. By the time it's gone through a few iterations in the marketplace, however, the product is usually ok.

Corporate buyers have used this rule of thumb for years, most recently with Windows XP. Corporate uptake of the OS was slow until Service Pack 2 (which again is essentially version 3 of the product), whereupon it was felt to be sufficiently stable for enterprise use.

The same thing will happen with Vista.

As for the iPod, I don't like the fact it's still got a fairly small screen, making video viewing on the go fairly unpleasant, no built-in FM radio, no built-in microphone, and a few other niggles. But it is a 6th or 7th generation product, so most of the bugs have been worked out. The user interface is great and the integration with iTunes makes managing music, videos and podcasts very easy.

As of today, I think the iPod is the best total product on the market. Other players do more and a few do some things better, but the iPod gives a much better overall experience.

I have an iPod and have not had any difficulties (yet) with it. I'm sure they will give the Zune a run for its money as well. Since I just use mine while either on an airplane (very infrequently) or excercising - I'm not one who has an addiction to it. I was intrigued with Zune's large screen - (but I don't download videos) and the fact it had FM availability. But I can live without one for now. I'm still running Windows XP - am afraid to purchase the Vista for now. Will wait a while longer.
My daughter has used both Mac and M$ and much prefers Macs.
I have never used a Mac and am curious about it - but I'm so
O-L-D that it would probably be frustrating to try to relearn old habits.

For simplicity, usability and quality Macs beat PCs into the dust. If having to learn a new way of doing things worries you, don't let it; if you can use a PC, you can use a Mac. It wouldn't take you more than ten minutes to learn your way around and, within a few hours, you'll be comofortable with the way things work.

What you'll realize after awhile is that you don't need to know nearly as much about the Mac's inner workings, because you don't have to. I could get an engineering degree based on what I've had to learn about PCs over the years. My Mac just works.

When I need to break down and purchase a new computer, I'll give serious thought to a MAC. My sister purchased her first MAC laptop and loves it after always using M$ pc's in the past.
Thanks so much for your thoughts.

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/11/25/chicago_suntimes_zun.html

Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "Yes, Microsoft's new Zune digital music player is just plain dreadful. I've spent a week setting this thing up and using it, and the overall experience is about as pleasant as having an airbag deploy in your face.

"Avoid," is my general message. The Zune is a square wheel, a product that's so absurd and so obviously immune to success that it evokes something akin to a sense of pity..."

just plug it in and it uses windows media player... Oh yeah, has a nice color screen too.

http://www.iriverindia.com/h10.htm


Had mine for two years now...