Obama's "ZuneGate" 608
theodp writes "Barack Obama supporters were left shaking their heads after a report surfaced that the president-elect was using a Zune at the gym instead of an iPod. So why would Mac-user Obama be Zune-ing out? Could be one of those special-edition preloaded Zunes that Microsoft bestowed on Democratic National Convention attendees, suggests TechFlash, nixing the idea that the soon-to-be Leader of the Free World would waste time loading Parallels or Boot Camp in OS X just to use a Zune."
Apple (Score:2, Interesting)
What's the issue?
Why do you want to use the proprietary apple stuff and be part of the product hype.
I am happy with my Samsung mp3 player because it plays OGG Vorbis.
Geek or Apple? This is a confession.
Using a Zune is kool.
Comment removed (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:oh my god (Score:0, Interesting)
I'm confused, f*** is normally for people who are too scared to use the word "fuck", but in this case it would be "fucking". Is there some brand new swear word I don't know about?!
Re:"soon-to-be Leader of the Free World" (Score:2, Interesting)
Many of the freedoms you list are not universally permitted/denied (alcohol, abortion,divorce). Also, maybe you missed the news when your government decided to ban the sale of magic mushrooms [bbc.co.uk]. But, I'm sure you're too busy to read the news, what with all your travels around the world via your Visa trumping Dutch citizenship. *cough*bullshit*cough*
It's also interesting that you claim you don't need a Visa to visit 99% of the planet, yet those who want to visit YOU, do need one [minbuza.nl].
Re:so? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:so? (Score:3, Interesting)
What vastly outsells iPods? Last I checked, the iPod brand still had about 85 percent market share.
Assuming that's true (*), that's almost certainly by market value, not units sold- that is, a £200 iPod Touch counts way more than a £15 no-name player.
Important perhaps from a business perspective, but from the point of view of what player a given person is likely to be using, definitely misleading in favour of the higher-priced iPod range.
(*) And even for a market leader it sounds very high; I'm sure the headline figure hides a more complex picture.
Re:so? (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe because Zune Pass is a great deal? (Score:5, Interesting)
iTunes Store: millions of songs. Download and keep any song for $1.
Zune Pass: millions of songs. For a flat rate of $15/month, download as many as you want, for use on up to three Zunes and three computers. Each month, you get to designate 10 of these as permanent. If you cancel your subscription, you keep the ones you designated as permanent, and the rest go away.
I have two iPods and an iPhone, and I'm sorely tempted to get a Zune for Zune Pass. That's a fantastic deal.
Re:Why not use a phone (Score:3, Interesting)
If you read the GSM spec, you'll find when your phone is idle its transmitter is switched off. It listens to the closest towers, and when it notices its switched area (as in group of towers) it wakes up, notifys the BSC and goes back to sleep.
This is unequivocally wrong. Just put your "idle" phone next to a clock radio for 20 minutes. When it goes "dit dit dit" over the radio speaker, you'll know the transmitter is on. It generally checks in with the tower a couple times a hour, even when not switching towers.
In this it's tough to dismiss health concerns out of hand, especially with GSM. Name another device you have that frequently causes interference with nearly any device that has an audio amplifier? It's clear the RF energy characteristics of cell phones (esp. GSM) are not the same as other devices we are used to, so it's difficult to offhand say they couldn't possibly affect other parts of their environment (like our bodies) in different ways than other electronic devices.
Re:Preaching to the Choir? (Score:3, Interesting)
Every ipod I've ever used can create an on-the-go playlist on the fly.
And I don't know if I've ever seen a cable remote that has a clickwheel. The Apple FM Radio remote certainly doesn't.
I stopped caring about directory structure when I started using iTunes' smart playlists. Why do I care where the file is stored, if I can hit all its criteria with a query?
And I find iTunes really good at batch-updating id3 tags.
Good luck with your search.