Windows 2 Apples

The last few weeks have been nothing if not eventful.

Not only have both Microsoft and Apple released new MP3 players, Microsoft launched the first two commercials in a long series said to have cost Microsoft $300,000,000 and the U.S. financial infrastructure seems to be crumbling before our eyes. On a personal side, I was a bit surprised to see the relatively steep drop in the New Zealand Kiwi as a result of the defaults in the U.S. banking system. I have a long running love affair with New Zealand, finding it a bona fide heaven on earth. I watch their economy and subscribe to Saturday Morning, a podcast re-airing of the wonderful Radio New Zealand interviews by radio and TV host Kim Hill.

As is usually the case Microsoft’s announcement of the third generation Zune was over shadowed by both traditional and internet press coverage of the introduction of the new Apple iPod Nano players zooming by (pun intended) with a longer and even thinner package, audio record, text to speech options as well as even more enclosure colors. Apple continues to offer one of the best players for accessing and remotely enjoying podcasts. Some would argue music as well. However, I find it a bit peculiar that so many people continue to purchase music that can only be played on Apple sanctioned devices. Apple claims it will not embrace subscription music services such as Rhapsody or Napster because consumers want to own their music and not rent it. However, tying your music to a specific technology does not have the appearance or feel of ownership to this blogger.

Recently, my generation five 30 gig iPod stopped synching with many of my favorite video podcasts. I noted others in Apple forums complained of the same problem at approximately the same time. Thankfully, the latest iTune version 8 update seems to have fixed this as well as the dreaded blue screen of death reported by many Windows users trying to activate their iPhones via iTunes. During the iPod down time I reverted back to using my now ancient Zen Vision M 30 gig player which converts both audio and video podcasts to AVI files before transferring to the player and not only was I able to again watch my favorite video podcasts on the beautiful, albeit smaller Zen screen, I was also reintroduced to the fabulous sound so characteristic of Creative Lab products. I still prefer to use my iPod when accessing podcasts but almost never use it to listen to music because of the noticeably inferior audio.

There was much speculation Apple would finally embrace a subscription model however Apple continues to require customers purchase most media protected by the proprietary Apple digital rights encryption. True, Apple offers a very limited library of music free of DRM and many pundits seem to feel that music industry movers and shakers prefer it remain this way.

The most common rationale for this assumption is the music industry is focused on working with competitors such as Microsoft to throttle Apple’s dominance in media distribution.Microsoft has released new Zune players with enhanced storage capacity and new colors as well as support for audible books and enhanced WiFi connectivity. Microsoft took advantage of WiFi and built-in FM tuner to add an innovative feature, not found in other players. The so called “Buy from FM” feature allows the listener to download music heard on selected FM radio stations. Microsoft is trying take advantage of the excellent built in FM tuner to promote its service by syncing this option with special encoded data found in many FM radio streams.

I personally wonder how many people actually listen to radio and in particularly how many of those in the age group targeted by Microsoft use FM Radio to shape their personal preferences for music. I long ago stopped using radio for anything but to access talk stations and find I am spoiled by the ability to create my own MP3 playlists. I simply don’t trust the judgment of the radio station managers or DJs to deliver content I would enjoy. Perhaps I am wrong in my assumptions and this option will prove to be a draw for the Zune.

I do love the ability to use my Ibiza MP3 player to snag songs as they are streamed from my Rhapsody account via WiFi. If I hear a song I enjoy, I simply hold my finger down on the touch pad and select the download option. As long as I maintain my Rhapsody account the song is available to me regardless of whether I am connected to my Rhapsody account. True, I rent the music but much of the pop music that grabs my attention today will have little appeal to me 6 months from now. Those songs I want to keep can often be purchased as DRM free MP3 files from Rhapsody or other vendors such as Amazon.

Microsoft unveiled its first salvo against the very successful Apple advertising campaign with the now infamous Seinfeld / Gates shoe store fiasco. I personally found it very difficult to sit through the entire commercial. It just seems obvious to me Microsoft has little understanding of how to market its products to the masses. The second commercial in the series was as equally disturbing in that it seemed embarrassingly out of touch with the consumers Microsoft needs target.

I find it very distressing that Microsoft management has taken this approach to their much touted and much needed retort to the Apple advertising campaign. Microsoft should have reached out to some of the youths producing the often very clever YouTube Apple / vista commercial parodies. Even better, Microsoft could have initiated an online contest offering wealth, notoriety and fame to those producing the best amateur video response to the Apple commercials.

I believe this would have garnered a tremendous amount of free press coverage and encouraged the target audience for Microsoft to focus on features and services offered by Microsoft that actually address their needs. I have seen many such videos posted on YouTube that are exceptionally clever, some bordering on professional in quality and which always seemed to get an impressive number of hits from viewers.

On well, I’m sure Seinfeld at least is laughing (all the way to the bank).

Produced using M-Audio Interface, MixCraft 4, Vista Speech, Pages, iTunes, and Hp MediaSmart Server

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