blogs.zdnet.com — "Retailers interviewed by Gilroy tell her that Zune will not offer the capability of purchasing songs over a Wi-Fi connection. For that purpose, users will have to go the old-fashioned route: use their PC to purchase songs via the Web, download them to their PC, and then execute a file transfer to the Zune."
Aug 21, 2006 View in Crawl 4
danjalAug 22, 2006
I don't think it's fair to hit back at microsoft, i mean lets face it, they've got there hands tied behind there backs from the record industries, an you imagin the lawsuit if they let people go wifi-crazy...
mcmultiverseAug 22, 2006
No, it can't. Actually, only a few wireless portable media player devices come to mind and they all use Bluetooth. I can think of a few reasons why:1. All that wireless hardware needs power, which may cut into the bottom line of battery life.2. You can't get the kind of bandwidth with Bluetooth or 802.11g that you can with USB 2.0 or FireWire. When we're talking 30-60GB transfers, this is a big deal.3. The ability to broadcast or transfer from player-to-player will give the RIAA and labels one more thing to go bats**t crazy about.4. Demand really doesn't seem to be there for alternate transfer methods beyond niche users.The Zune, like any media player, has its work cut out. Introducing new features like this is always risky business, as one can see from the reaction to the wonky usability of the wireless transfer system so far. But, it's still in its development process and we won't really be able to judge it until the final builds are out to reviewers.That said, bring it on. Apple needs a match under its ass with the iPod, and Zune just might be it. Of course, I do want to see the iPod crush it, but we all have our inherent tech bias.
kingofthisnightAug 22, 2006
The search for new music would be pretty cool with if I could sample different peoples music. Local coffee shops in the college town where I live would be a perfect place to find new music if I had the ability to sample different music libraries. Sure striking up conversation is the best way to hear about new bands, but if I could actually listen to the songs as someone told me it would be even better. Don't get me wrong, I purchased my mp3 player to listen to my own music but not a day goes by where I don't want to find a new band to listen to.
kingofthisnightAug 22, 2006
High Schools and Colleges could prove that wrong. For a solid 3 years now all I have seen in peoples ears are those white iPod headphones. It is a very trendy thing to have and it will continue to be. All I hear from my friends is why the iPod is superior. That list usually consists of its small, it looks shiny, and it plays music. Same goes with most Apple products. I had someone ask if we sold Apple computers at the retail store I was working in because he thought "cool looking", nothing about functionality just that it looked good.
robnAug 22, 2006
That's the thing about PC's -- there are so many software applications out there, it's easy to find examples of good ones, lousy ones, fat ones, short ones, red ones, blue ones, and so on. Mac users are happy when they have a choice between two programs to do something.As for tying the player to the PC -- I still think that's the best choice with today's technology. Until the cell networks offer super-fast downloads (and low usage fees -- who cares how cheap the song is if it costs you more in airtime than in license fees?) you're not going to see a use for PC-less wi-fi on a player. But since so many people have wireless in their homes and workplaces now, connecting to your home PC from another room isn't expensive, difficult, or time consuming.
giveaphukAug 23, 2006
when the zune comes out i will start counting the days until someone writes a worm virus that infects them.. but then again i recently bourght an ipod & am now saving for a macbook..sorry bill, but your o.s. does not excite me.