Did the wireless "squirting" feature help kill the Zune?<\/p>\n
The point is, do people want more FEATURES or more USABILITY!<\/p>\n
So you’re thinking about buying a Zune.\u00c2\u00a0 You hate Apple.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got a PC.\u00c2\u00a0 You like the ruggedness of the product.\u00c2\u00a0 But then you notice it’s got a wireless sharing feature, which cuts battery life when employed.\u00c2\u00a0 You may not know this, but one thing’s for sure, you know that ALMOST NOBODY ELSE is gonna have a Zune and be able to squirt a tune TO YOU!<\/p>\n
But it gets worse.\u00c2\u00a0 Because if you DO happen to find someone else with a Zune, with music you’d like to hear, there are RESTRICTIONS on usability.\u00c2\u00a0 Three plays or three days, whichever comes first.\u00c2\u00a0 And what exactly constitutes a play?<\/p>\n
It’s kind of how the Japanese car companies invaded America and ultimately triumphed over Detroit.\u00c2\u00a0 You didn’t order a Japanese car, they just shipped them here.\u00c2\u00a0 With three levels of trim at most.\u00c2\u00a0 You didn’t have much CHOICE!\u00c2\u00a0 But the true sales attraction was their failure to break.\u00c2\u00a0 They just ran and ran until you WANTED a new one.\u00c2\u00a0 What a change from NEEDING a new car, and being out of cash.\u00c2\u00a0 Word spread and…that’s all she wrote.<\/p>\n
While the American car companies came back by courting fashion, i.e. SUVs that women and men purchased to look cool, the Japanese kept on delivering on FUNCTIONALITY!<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, functionality on the Zune sucks too.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only does the click wheel not scroll, i.e., it’s NOT a rotating wheel, the software is problematic.\u00c2\u00a0 There are stories all over the Web about TECHIES taking hours to make the thing work.\u00c2\u00a0 So, the conundrum is the more you sell the fewer you’ll sell.\u00c2\u00a0 Because word will get out how shitty the user experience is.<\/p>\n
Apple’s iPod has a history of failure.\u00c2\u00a0 Now, with a movement to flash-based devices, this might evaporate, but the bad taste remains.\u00c2\u00a0 To compete with Apple you don’t need a device with more features, just one that works as well that DOESN’T BREAK!<\/p>\n
Yup, offer a warranty that last for YEARS!\u00c2\u00a0 That’s how Hyundai came back.\u00c2\u00a0 Shit, if you INSURE me, I’ll take a risk, especially if you underprice the competition.<\/p>\n
It’s not about the store.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s bullshit.\u00c2\u00a0 Most people have unprotected files on their hand-held players.\u00c2\u00a0 MP3s ripped or traded or transferred via hard drive.\u00c2\u00a0 You don’t need a store to make it, just good encoding and transferring and MANAGEMENT software.\u00c2\u00a0 Offer nothing for sale, and you don’t have to worry about copy protection.\u00c2\u00a0 Gain enough market share and the majors will come to YOU to create a store, WITHOUT COPY PROTECTION, trying to tap your user base.<\/p>\n
But Microsoft played by the rules.\u00c2\u00a0 Crippled the squirting feature so the RIAA wouldn’t get mad.\u00c2\u00a0 Had a point-based sales system so they could have variable pricing, only confusing the customer.\u00c2\u00a0 Steve Jobs had it right here.\u00c2\u00a0 If you can figure out Zune points, then you’re obviously not math-challenged.\u00c2\u00a0 And it seems most of America IS!<\/p>\n
If you want to make it in the sales\/distribution world, you can’t play by the rules.\u00c2\u00a0 The rights holders won’t let you.\u00c2\u00a0 They won’t compromise, won’t budge, won’t license.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to STEAL the wares.\u00c2\u00a0 Like YouTube, like MySpace.\u00c2\u00a0 THEN the labels will come to the table.<\/p>\n
Maybe Microsoft’s too big to break the rules.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why the meek, like Apple, initially only serving the Mac universe, get traction when the big boys don’t and ultimately triumph.<\/p>\n
And the same thing is happening in music production.\u00c2\u00a0 New kids knowledgeable in the new systems are playing by the REAL rules, not the RIAA rules, and they’re going to steal this business just like Microsoft stole computing from IBM.<\/p>\n
Simplicity.\u00c2\u00a0 Usability.\u00c2\u00a0 Delivering what the customer wants.\u00c2\u00a0 Sounds easy, but Microsoft fucked it up.<\/p>\n
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