Episode 006 Revisiting our cautionary tale and favorite podcasts
11/12/2008 02:39 PM Filed in: Zune IssuesAudio
Podcasts
A
return to my cautionary tale. This morning, immediately
after booting, our Vista tower began repeatedly
sounding the USB connect / disconnect alarm. This time
I immediately synched the Zune and the sounds stopped.
I know I had properly synched and closed the Zune
client software before shutting down the PC. This has
to be a Zune client bug and one I hope is addressed
soon. It would truly be maddening if I did not have
access to the Zune, as in left at the office or being
used by another employee, and were forced to watch as
my machine constantly stops to search for a Zune
player.
We are happy to announce ZuneNetNewsAudio is now listed in the Zune Market Place catalogue but it is not obvious when searching for it. You may find all our listed podcasts by searching for iNetSynch podcasts. Synch is spelled s y n c h.
In this episode we would like to mention a few of our favorite podcasts that are listed in the market place. On the Zune centric side our list is topped by the Zunited Zune Podcast. This is a must have for those interested in a peek into Zune happenings. The podcast is well produced and the WEB site excellent.
Next on our list is Windows Weekly with Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott. Paul usually offers up interesting behind the scenes insight into the Magical Mystery (or is that Misty) world that is Microsoft. The tips and software recommendations are almost always helpful. Sometimes the patter between Leo and Paul slides off point, requiring a quick fast forward on my Zune, but the show is a must have for those interested in the inner workings of Windows and Microsoft.
Third is our own Windows2ApplesVideoNews animated podcast. We use this Netcast as a platform to push the envelope a bit and many interested in news and feedback on the big two as well as those with interests in PC based animation may find it worth adding to their podcast list.
Finally, we recommend two shows with a focus on education encased in very entertaining formats. As a long time fan of the Dirty Jobs television series, I look forward to the short but sweet reconstituted snippets of the TV series packed into the Dirty Jobs Video Podcast. Be cautioned that some of the older shows listed as video are actually MP3 audio shows.
The last but certainly not least on our list is the TEDTalks Video podcast. These podcasts offer up videos of the Technology Entertainment and Design conference presentations providing wonderful thought provoking insights by some of the world’s brightest thinkers and doers.
We are happy to announce ZuneNetNewsAudio is now listed in the Zune Market Place catalogue but it is not obvious when searching for it. You may find all our listed podcasts by searching for iNetSynch podcasts. Synch is spelled s y n c h.
In this episode we would like to mention a few of our favorite podcasts that are listed in the market place. On the Zune centric side our list is topped by the Zunited Zune Podcast. This is a must have for those interested in a peek into Zune happenings. The podcast is well produced and the WEB site excellent.
Next on our list is Windows Weekly with Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott. Paul usually offers up interesting behind the scenes insight into the Magical Mystery (or is that Misty) world that is Microsoft. The tips and software recommendations are almost always helpful. Sometimes the patter between Leo and Paul slides off point, requiring a quick fast forward on my Zune, but the show is a must have for those interested in the inner workings of Windows and Microsoft.
Third is our own Windows2ApplesVideoNews animated podcast. We use this Netcast as a platform to push the envelope a bit and many interested in news and feedback on the big two as well as those with interests in PC based animation may find it worth adding to their podcast list.
Finally, we recommend two shows with a focus on education encased in very entertaining formats. As a long time fan of the Dirty Jobs television series, I look forward to the short but sweet reconstituted snippets of the TV series packed into the Dirty Jobs Video Podcast. Be cautioned that some of the older shows listed as video are actually MP3 audio shows.
The last but certainly not least on our list is the TEDTalks Video podcast. These podcasts offer up videos of the Technology Entertainment and Design conference presentations providing wonderful thought provoking insights by some of the world’s brightest thinkers and doers.
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Episode 5 The Trouble With Zunes
11/07/2008 11:57 AM Filed in: Zune IssuesAudio
Podcasts
When the generation 3
Zune firmware, client and Marketplace were released
Devin Leonard issued a posting on the Fortune Web
claiming to have insight into what he refers to as The
Trouble With Zunes. His article is instructive in the
statistics that define Microsoft's penetration in the
portable player market as well as the subscription
music space.
The numbers are not encouraging. He sites data from Piper Jaffray estimating the Zune has a 3 % share of the player market and only 15 % of the subscription music market. Rhapsody supposedly owns a 45% majority share of the rent as you go market place.
One of the reasons sited for the Zunes’ poor showing is they offers no compelling reason for iPod customers to switch or for the undecided to chose the Zune over competing devices. As someone with hands on experience with many different portable media players, I find the Zune a compelling alternative and yet missing several features and services that are crucial to gaining market share.
We add blue tooth support to our generation four wish list. The Ibiza Rhapsody player supports both WiFi access to our Rhapsody account as well as bluetooth support for wireless earphones and speakers. Recently we began using the Ibiza with an inexpensive Insignia bluetooth headset and are quickly becoming spoiled by the freedom it offers.The obvious advantage to bluetooth listening is the elimination of the wires that far too often get entangled or caught on something leading to the player being yanked out of hand or holster and testing its resistance to trauma as it falls to the floor.
We underestimated the impact bluetooth would have and find ourselves using the Ibiza for music and podcasts more and more. The Zune still has the advantage of functioning as a portable video recorder and ironically one of the better players for listening to audio books but has taken a back seat to our Ibiza when on the road.
We are preparing a full comparison between the Zune and Ibiza on the ZuneNetNews web site. Even though the Zune now leads the Ibiza in important hardware and software features the Rhapsody subscription service continues to offer a far richer catalogue of music than we find in the Zune Market Place. We hope the Zune team working to close this gap as well as offer a working means to add new podcast series to the netcast directory.
The numbers are not encouraging. He sites data from Piper Jaffray estimating the Zune has a 3 % share of the player market and only 15 % of the subscription music market. Rhapsody supposedly owns a 45% majority share of the rent as you go market place.
One of the reasons sited for the Zunes’ poor showing is they offers no compelling reason for iPod customers to switch or for the undecided to chose the Zune over competing devices. As someone with hands on experience with many different portable media players, I find the Zune a compelling alternative and yet missing several features and services that are crucial to gaining market share.
We add blue tooth support to our generation four wish list. The Ibiza Rhapsody player supports both WiFi access to our Rhapsody account as well as bluetooth support for wireless earphones and speakers. Recently we began using the Ibiza with an inexpensive Insignia bluetooth headset and are quickly becoming spoiled by the freedom it offers.The obvious advantage to bluetooth listening is the elimination of the wires that far too often get entangled or caught on something leading to the player being yanked out of hand or holster and testing its resistance to trauma as it falls to the floor.
We underestimated the impact bluetooth would have and find ourselves using the Ibiza for music and podcasts more and more. The Zune still has the advantage of functioning as a portable video recorder and ironically one of the better players for listening to audio books but has taken a back seat to our Ibiza when on the road.
We are preparing a full comparison between the Zune and Ibiza on the ZuneNetNews web site. Even though the Zune now leads the Ibiza in important hardware and software features the Rhapsody subscription service continues to offer a far richer catalogue of music than we find in the Zune Market Place. We hope the Zune team working to close this gap as well as offer a working means to add new podcast series to the netcast directory.