Microsoft in cool-envy, Zune to be a ‘dismal failure’ - BusinessWeek
In an article called ‘Zune: Falling Down On Cool’ BusinessWeek savages the forthcoming Microsoft device, predicting that “by this time next year, it will be considered a dismal failure”.
And the reason why it will fail? Because it isn’t cool, and neither is Microsoft, says BusinessWeek. It adds that attempting to become cool is the only reason that Microsoft is launching the Zune in the first place.
Authored by Arik Hesseldahl, the article states that “the Zune will be seen for what it is: a me-too product that is expressing Microsoft's envy at not being cool”.
Maybe so, but business isn’t really about ‘being cool’. 'Cool' helps with product marketing and customer aqcuisition, but product quality and lifespan are key to customer retention, recommendations, and repeat business.
Microsoft gives Universal a slice of Zune sales
In an attempt to gain advantages for its Zune music player over the almighty iPod, Microsoft has agreed a new deal with Universal Music.
This deal with give Universal a cut of the profits from sales of Microsoft’s iPod rival, the Zune. In return, Microsoft will receive rights to distribute content to Zune’s users for limited wireless sharing.
This could be a gamechanger for Apple, which has so far avoided cutting this sort of deal with content owners.
36 greatest Bill Gates quotes, just for Apple fanboys
Digg.com is having one of its Apple fanboy days, where every other story on the Digg homepage could have been submitted by the Apple PR department.
A story published by Wired on Steve Jobs' best quotes illustrates this, making it onto the Digg homepage and racking up hundreds of diggs in next to no time. As I write, there are no less than four pro-Apple stories in the top ten of Digg's technology homepage. Wisdom of crowds, huh?
We wondered what would happen if we balanced this view with a similar piece on Macboy nemesis Bill Gates. After the jump we've culled a bunch of Bill's quotes, 36 in total, including a gem about spider monkeys.
Let the flaming begin...
Steve Wozniak interviewed by The Guardian
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, aka ‘The Woz’, is here in London and doing a little PR to promote the release of his new biography. While we’ve yet to bump into him in the local Borders our neighbours over at The Guardian have published a great interview with him.
Snippets from the interview after the jump...
The Slingbox Q&A - shaking up the TV industry with technology
Launched six months ago in the UK, Sling Media’s ‘place-shifting’ devices have shaken up the TV value chain to such an extent that broadcasters, ISPs and mobile operators are all seeking deals with the firm.
They use a disruptive technology that allows people to watch TV content remotely from PCs, laptops or mobiles.
We asked Stuart Collingwood, the company’s VP of Europe, how mobile, web and IPTV developers can make sure they're not left out of the action.
BT launches free remote backup service
BT has entered the online data storage market with an offering that gives crash-conscious consumers up to 20Gb of remote backup space for documents, media and other files.
Tube could be giant viral music network
London Underground commuters would interact using mobile phones and station-side wireless hubs under a project aiming to turn the tube transport system into a city-wide song-swapping network.
Amazon launches the Spam Cube in the UK
The Spam Cube is a piece of anti-spam hardware which is being launched through Amazon in the UK, designed to sit between a broadband modem and your PC/laptop, scanning incoming email for unwanted messages.
This hardware will retail at around £100, but the real question is why internet users should have to pay for hardware to deal with this problem. Isn’t this a problem which could be dealt with some other way? You know, ISPs, that sort of thing...?
Apple to release two iPod phones?
According to Apple Insider, two new iPod–based mobile phones could be released within the next few months, initially in small quantities to test the waters.
Apple appeared to confirm such rumours last month, when they registered the trademark for the name ‘iPhone’ in the US, after months of speculation about the product.
New camera can upload to Google Video in seconds
Pure Digital Technologies has introduced a new, pocket sized camcorder which will allow videos to be uploaded to sites such as Google Video (but not YouTube, for some reason) within seconds.
The Pure Digital Point & Shoot Camcorder is currently available in the US for $129.99 (around £70) and features 30 minutes of storage capacity, with a 60 minute version also available.
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Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
