Zune

I was almost considering one of these. I've never been a fan of anything Mac so I really tried to avoid the iPod. Not that I like Microsoft or anything, but I figured it'd be more to my liking than the alternative. The only reason I want a MP3 player is to be able to play MP3's in my car. After doing some research, I found an adapter so I can use my Pocket PC to do just that. I'm fine with my 2GB SD card for now. As soon as SD cards get bigger and cheaper, I'll just get a bigger one. The more stuff I can do with my single device the better. I do hope they get a good combination of Pocket PC and cellphone one of these days.

Cory Doctorow from Boing Boing: Writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, Andy Ihnatko unloads on the Zune with both barrels, calling it a "complete, humiliating failure" and a "colossal blunder," because Microsoft has taken the user out of its design considerations and put the music industry (in the person of Universal's Doug Morris, "a big, clueless idiot" ) in their place. Yes, Microsoft's new Zune digital music player is just plain dreadful. I've spent a week setting this thing up and using it, and the overall experience is about as pleasant as having an airbag deploy in your face.

"Avoid," is my general message. The Zune is a square wheel, a product that's so absurd and so obviously immune to success that it evokes something akin to a sense of pity...

The Zune is a complete, humiliating failure. Toshiba's Gigabeat player, for example, is far more versatile, it has none of the Zune's limitations, and Amazon sells the 30-gig model for 40 bucks less.

Throw in the Zune's tail-wagging relationship with music publishers, and it almost becomes important that you encourage people not to buy one.

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