XBL Radio's Zune Impressions

[Aaron Roma]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://xblradio.com/blogcast/?p=179' target='_blank'>http://xblradio.com/blogcast/?p=179</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>&quot;Overall I am pretty happy that I bought one, it a pretty cool device. Now would I recommend you guys to buy one? That all depends on your situation, do you need a mp3 player? Do you already have one? And what features are you looking for?&quot;</em> </p><p><img alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/zt/2006/xbl-radio-review-111706.jpg" /></p><p>One would think you might be hard-pressed to find a fair Zune review from a &quot;NetCaster&quot; (yes, I'm shying away from the &quot;p&quot; word), considering Zune's lack of NetCast support.&nbsp; Fortunately, Steve with XBL Radio delivers just that.&nbsp; Steve, who has owned a number of iPods, gives a nice first impression of his Zune inexperience.&nbsp; He does a nice job of pointing out both the strengths and weakness of the Zune, and weighs in on the Zune vs. iPod debate.&nbsp; Check out Steve's blog to see this NetCaster's thoughts on the Zune.</p>

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Ya know what I'm noticing? The weaknesses, as reviewers perceive them, are not in the hardware, but in the software. If that's the case, than MS has a hit on its hands because the software won't get worse as the device goes on; only better.

Kudos to them for putting out a good product, and shame on the reviewers who are spending so much time on the negative. Yes the software is part of the experience, but the Zune hardware is what matters most. You should take the software into account, but focus on the device.

By the way, I'm a podcaster (I refuse to use this meaningless concoction Leo's pushing; Netcast) and I don't care that the device doesn't support it built in. I'm sure they will at some point because people are going to demand it.

[Darius Wey]

Ya know what I'm noticing? The weaknesses, as reviewers perceive them, are not in the hardware, but in the software. If that's the case, than MS has a hit on its hands because the software won't get worse as the device goes on; only better.

Agreed. I wonder if Microsoft will re-design the software component from the ground up. Lose the WMP roots and put together something that's a little more stable. It's a huge task, but it might make the Zune experience that much better.

By the way, I'm a podcaster (I refuse to use this meaningless concoction Leo's pushing; Netcast) and I don't care that the device doesn't support it built in. I'm sure they will at some point because people are going to demand it.

Microsoft has already confirmed that it's coming. As for when, maybe January or sometime in spring (autumn, for anyone in the southern hemisphere).

[Aaron Roma]

(I refuse to use this meaningless concoction Leo's pushing; Netcast)

I'm by no means a Leo supporter. That man can be a complete buffoon sometimes. But I do think it's a shame how the podcast term gives the impression of being so iPod centric.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

That man has done more for technology enthusiasts, broadcasters, and the podcasting community than just about anyone on the planet. Calling him a buffoon is classless and silly.

As for the term netcast, Podcast means something. Netcast implies it's a broadcast over the internet. As I've said before, if someone doesn't know what a podcast is, changing the name of it to a netcast is not providing any more clarity than it has now. You either do know what to do with it, or you don't, name be damned.

[Aaron Roma]

That man has done more for technology enthusiasts, broadcasters, and the podcasting community than just about anyone on the planet. Calling him a buffoon is classless and silly.

I'm not just making that comment baselessly. I listen to his TWiT podcast every week. I don't dissagree that he has done a great deal for the podcasting community. But I still stand by my statement that he can be a complete buffoon sometimes. An example of what I'm talking about would be his podcast about Apple's annoucement when they were switching to Intel.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

How was he a buffoon? I've listened to every podcast and watched every TV show the man has ever done. When Apple said they were making the move he said it was a bad idea. He clearly laid out why:

1. In his opinion it would take a long time to switch the OS and apps over to Intel.

2. He also thought that it would cannibalize the Mac user base (making people more likely to buy Windows and run it on their macs than run Mac OSX)

3. He thought developers would be less likely to write OSX apps now that people could run Windows on Mac hardware.

4. He didn't think Rosetta would work.

I think he laid out his reasons quite clearly and succinctly. He was giving his opinion and making educated speculative guesses about the future. Kind of like what goes on on every single tech site and on every tech podcast. That hardly equates to buffoonery.

If it does, well then every single one of us is a buffoon.