How not to be an iPod killer

[q url="http://playlistmag.com/weblogs/ipodblog/2006/11/ipodkiller/index.php"]Last week, Computerworldâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s Mike Elgan wrote an article titled, â/&/#128;/&/#156;Zune: So you want to be an iPod killer.â/&/#128;/&/#157; In it, he talked about the things he thinks Microsoft needs to do with the Zune to make it a true competitor to the iPod. Although he made a number of good points, about both the Zuneâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s current flaws and how it could improve to mount a stronger challenge to Appleâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s portable-player hegemony, I think Elganâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s main argumentâ/&/#128;/&/#148;that making the Zune work more like a Windows PC would result in a big win for Microsoftâ/&/#128;/&/#148;is off-base.

At the risk of making this article look like a point-by-point message-board response, allow me to quote the statements with which I differ most significantly from Mr. Elgan, and offer my own views:

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• After all, the Mac is more elegant than Windows, but most people prefer Windows. And thatâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s how Microsoft can kill the iPod: Make the Zune more like a Windows PC.
• Appleâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s closed, our-way-or-the-highway approach to locking everything down stifles innovation and customization. Some of the biggest iPod fans go to great lengths to overcome Appleâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s controls and modify their iPods. Just check out iPod Hacks, a site devoted to voiding iPodâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s warranty and bypassing Appleâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s strict gadget lockdown. Many of the hacks involve the installation of Linux with a special iPod interface called Podzilla.
• This is what people do, even when Apple bans it. Imagine what would be possible if Microsoft encouraged modification of the Zune.
• Let people transform the Zune into an Xbox game controller, a TV remote control, a portable presentation device, a wireless PC hard drive or a Vista gadget emulator. Give me a wireless keyboard and a Zune version of Pocket Outlook, and Iâ/&/#128;/&/#153;ll never buy another iPod.
• Build ClearType into Zune and make it the ultimate eBook reader (and sell eBooks on Zune Marketplace).

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Tags: KILLER | iPod | hegemony | competitor | challenge | article | zune | windows | Microsoft