Unlike iTunes, with its draconian non-redownload policy, Microsoft's Zune Marketplace will let you re-download purchased songs up to five times (plus even more if you call up tech support). Apple has been known to let people download their purchased music library again—especially if your name is Wil Wheaton—but for the most part they recommend that you back up your music instead of rely on them to be your data repository.
This may be a small detail, but it's something that's nice to have if your hard drive ever gets corrupted. – Jason Chen

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Peripherals
Alright, so we've got Microsoft's HD DVD player finally hitting the hands of elated Xbox 360 owners, rumors of a 100GB 80GB hard drive, and an "all systems go" on the console's forthcoming Live Video service -- how could there possibly be anything else up ole Bill's sleeve? Apparently the company is at least pondering the release of several other goodies in the (hopefully) near future, including a premium (read: black) wireless controller with backlit buttons ($59-$69), a "traditional joystick" for use with Xbox Live Arcade titles ($29-$39), a "mini-keyboard plug-in device" enabling text messaging and chat ($19-$29), and a long-awaited web browser built into Xbox Live (likely gratis). No, we didn't pull these four niceties out of a hat, but certain XBL members received a hint-filled survey that mentioned each of these devices (and bits of software) in particular, leading us to believe that at least some of these peripherals could...

The tech world's two leading giants (the NYT's David Pogue and the WSJ's Walt Mossberg) have put Microsoft's new Zune in its place, giving the unborn player multiple kicks and jabs before proclaiming the iPod the better of the two.
Mossberg starts off liking the Zune, singing praises for its good interface which he thought was "easier to use than the iPod's." Ultimately, however, he thinks it has "too many compromises and missing features to be a good choice" running back to the comfort of his iPod. He also dings Microsoft's point-based buying system (we kinda agree with you on this one, Walt).
Pogue, on the other hand, starts his hatin' right off the bat, saying the Zune "can't touch the iPod's looks or coolness." He bashes the Zune for having copy protection that's "as strict as a 19th-century schoolmarm" and hates on the fact that you can't even use the Zune as an external drive.
In the end, the Zune didn't stand much of a chance against the Pogue/Mossbe...

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Comment of the Day: Microsoft Zune: Paying Off One Label at a Time
"This is priceless... so now Universal will once again make money that will in no way go to the artist like in the YouTube deal. but of course they will complain all day and night about how music is being stolen."--Crazyglues

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

After having already seen photo galleries, video walkthroughs, and endless spec sheets focused on Microsoft's upcoming Zune player, there's no real need to hear Walt Mossberg's and David Pogue's take on the attempted iPod-assassin -- but we'd be lying if we said that we had absolutely no interest in hearing the opinions of two of the day's most influential tech journalists with regards to one of the most hyped consumer electronics products of the year. In their thorough write-ups, both Pogue and Mossberg tell us what we pretty much already knew about the device, and which can best be summed up by this variation on a famous political retort: "Mr. Ballmer, I served with the iPod; I knew the iPod; the iPod was a friend of mine. Mr. Ballmer, your Zune is no iPod." Specifically, each of these esteemed reviewers found the Zune lacking in terms of portability ("The Zune looks big and blocky, sort of like a prototype for a gadget, rather ...

As expected, Microsoft gave the first Zune review opportunities to the Wall Street Journal's crusty Apple-loving Walt Mossberg and the New York Times Macaholic David Pogue.
Walt liked the Zune's interface, saying it's actually better in some ways than the iPod's. But he was persnickety about the "big chunky" case and the battery life that he called "very disappointing."
Pogue was even more conflicted. He said the "noticeably thicker" Zune can't match the coolness of his iPod, he dissed its control wheel and gave it the old "Microsoft version 1.0" dig. But he acknowledged the Zune is an "excellent" player, he didn' take issue with its battery life and he said its software is "beautiful, simple and graced by brief, classy animations."

I've played with the Zune several times and didn't find the case big and chunky, especially compared with devices like the MusicGremlin. The Zune is a bit bigger than the iPod, but we're still talking about 30 gigabytes of music s...

It appears Microsoft has struck a deal with Universal Music giving them a portion of the sales from every Zune they sell. This undermines the traditional strategy created by Apple where music labels received money from song downloads, and not player sales. Microsoft has also said that similar offers are on the table for other labels as well. Way to go.
I can see why they wanted to sweeten the pot just to make sure they got Universal onboard (Universal controls 1/3 of all music sold), but why did they need to try and make this standard procedure by offering it to the rest of the industry. Once again Microsoft kills the party for everyone else. – Ben Longo

Microsoft Strikes Deal For Music [NYTimes]

If you live in the LA area or are willing to make your way to there, Cesar (zuneinsider.com) will be having a little hands on session with the Zunes and also some live bands playing there: Jason Bentley and Bitter:Sweet. If you are interested in this, its on next Thursday night (11/9) and you will need [...]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
We're not exactly sure how they finagled it, but Universal Music announced it plans to collect a share of the thin margin Microsoft's going to make with each Zune, receiving an unspecified amount for each player sold. In typical RIAA boot camp style, Doug Morris, CEO of Universal said, "We felt that any business that's built on the bedrock of music we should share in." So, if we have this straight, according to Universal, any music-playing device sold should provide some profit to them -- even if that device will never play a song recorded by Universal. And likewise, Microsoft has no problem setting a new precedent to butter up a big label partner like Universal to possibly be seen as a favorable alternative to the Jobsian iPod-stranglehold on legal music distribution when Apple's Universal contract is up. (Remember, this isn't the first time the music industry said it wants a cut of hardware sales.) Is it us, or did something start to se...

AOL chief Jonathan Miller talks about YouTube, IPTV and the future of the web portal. Plus: Microsoft's Ray Ozzie on Vista, Google and Zune. Live coverage from the Web 2.0 Summit in Monkey Bites.