Microsoft Zune

A Christmas Carol

Napster, Digital Rights Management, and Lawsuits Against 12-Year-Olds: 10 Defining Moments in Digital Music History

November's edition of Reverb Monthly featured an article ("Rhapsody: Perfecting the Pitch") by Chris Kornelis about Seattle-based music subscription service Rhapsody that detailed the pioneering company's past and future in the context of the digital music revolution. Here's a look at 10 milestones ... More >>

Steve Jobs on Bill Gates: He Should Have 'Dropped Acid'

My Zune sounds like rainbows taste!​Bill Gates' problem, you see, is that he needs to open up, man; explore the Windows of the mind. With a little less "shamelessly ripp[ing] off other people's ideas" and a little more LSD, Gates could be as cool as Steve Jobs was.

Microsoft Slammed for Amy Winehouse Death Sales Pitch, While Amazon and Apple Skate

​If there's one thing Amy Winehouse fans will not stand for, it's any corporation Microsoft shamelessly trying to capitalize on her death.

Bill Gates Opens Up: Drives a "Normal Mercedes," Thinks a Legacy Is "Stupid," Commits "Minuscule" Inheritance to Children

​Bill Gates rarely does interviews. That usually goes double if the questions are about anything other than the latest charity efforts of his foundation. So the in-depth interview he gave to the UK's Daily Mail this weekend is worth reading. Let's tackle the revelations, shall we?

Fine, We'll Admit It: Microsoft's Bendable Mouse Looks Really Awesome

Microsoft, bendable mouse, arc touch, zune, gadgets

Bill Gates Gives a Shit About Crap Research

​In a perfect world a person could take a dump in their car's gas tank, start up their ride, then drive to back to the Indian take-out restaurant from whence the vehicle's fuel originated. We're talking, of course, about turning poop into energy. It's humankind's most enduring feces-based scie ... More >>

Microsoft Kills the Zune

​When we published a story last week about rumors that Microsoft would finally pull the plug on its $100 skipping stone, the Zune, a strange thing happened: No one from the Redmond company's public-affairs office called to say "Those rumors are false! Zune rules!" Today's leaked announcement r ... More >>

Will Microsoft Finally Kill the Zune? Rumors Say New Project May Replace It

​The Zune, Microsoft's signature paperweight, hasn't seen a significant upgrade, or really anything in the way of marketing or promotion, in almost two years . . . No, really, they still make the Zune. I know, right?

Video Shows Pregnant Teen Beaten Up and Robbed On Metro Bus

​If there's anywhere on a Seattle bus that a marauding group of young women are going to beat up and rob a pregnant teen for her Zune MP3 player, it's probably the No. 358 as it rolls through Belltown.

Verizon Plans Resurrection of Microsoft Kin

​It took all of six weeks between the time Microsoft released its kid-friendly, semi-smart phone the Kin in June, to the time they conceded that no one liked it and they quit making it. Verizon apparently missed the memo or has found a way to make the little phone a little less crappy. In eith ... More >>

Seattle's 4 Most Conspicuous Rock Crowds

John Roderick is the singer and songwriter responsible for Seattle's The Long Winters. His column runs every Tuesday on Reverb.​Going out to a rock concert in Seattle can often feel like a foreign-exchange program. I'm not talking about the musicians, but about the concertgoers from Seattle's ... More >>

Melinda Gates: My Kids Aren't Allowed to Have iPods

​Bill and Melissa Gates kids have it made. Their parents are rich, beloved the world over for their philanthropic largesse and, even if most of the family money will be spent curing malaria and other third-world diseases, there will still be enough cash left over to buy a small Mediterranean i ... More >>

Microsoft's New Slogan Sucks Less Than Normal!

​"Be What's Next" might not move more Zunes or convince someone to buy a Windows Phone years after they could have had an iPhone. But at least it's not the "New Busy," that ubiquitous "ball of syntactical confusion" and marketing gobbledigook that was supposed to convince people to use Hotmail ... More >>

Rhapsody in Zune

The best feature of Microsoft's underrated mp3 player just lost some of its shimmer.

If You Have an iPhone and You Listen to Music You'll Want to Know About Rhapsody's Updated App

Let's assume for a minute that you have either an iPhone. The following is now an option: 1. Fork over $10 a month to Rhapsody, the Seattle-based music subscription service. This will give you access to their entire collection of 9 million songs on your computer. 2. Download the updated Rhapsody ... More >>

What's the Real Difference Between a Mac and a PC? One is Very Rich

Where's the Zune bump?​Contrary to what your TV will tell you, the difference between a Mac and a PC isn't measured in cool. It's measured in cash. Sure, that dude who dated Drew Barrymore looks hipper than the stodgy Daily Show guy. But did you know, assuming stock options are a part of his ... More >>

Seattle Geeks Amazon, Zune, and Rhapsody Gang Up On the iTunes Bully. Could This Smackdown Be Real?

Probably the first Zunes you've ever seen.​Tech Flash's Todd Bishop has an interesting story up today about Seattle-area businesses--Amazon, Zune, Rhapsody--picking off business from Apple's behemoth, iTunes. Aside from Amazon--which now takes in 8 percent of the nation's mp3 business--the tal ... More >>

Any Zune Fans Out There? Tell Me What I Need to Know About This Thing

​If I'd seen or held a Zune before today, I don't remember. For at least the last six years I've been all iTunes/iPod/iPhone. Just before I got an iPhone I was ready to toss my iPod out the window. It was, without a doubt, the most unreliable music player I'd ever owned. At the time, I was rea ... More >>

Reviewing the Decade: 2010 to 2019

Onesies, a sax man’s return, and a trip to the Fillmore.

How You Like Them Apples, Jobs? Microsoft Is Number 3 in the World

Bezos and Gates celebrate. Not pictured is Steve Ballmer, who was thrown out for threatening a line judge.​Microsoft may still be rolling out a Zune against an iPod for the personal entertainment device market market and a Photoshopped white guy for the Polish market, but at least it beats App ... More >>

If You See People Lined Up Around the Block Today...

​ ...they're probably just waiting to buy the new Zune, which is reportedly Microsoft's finest yet. And another opportunity for life to imitate The Onion. Too bad those M-soft retail stores haven't gone live yet.

Microsoft Says, "Monopolies Aren't Cool, Google!"

​And Google says, "I learned it by watching you!" After Amazon weighed in last week on Google's plans to digitize out-of-print books, their allies at Microsoft (it's an Amazon/Sony/Microsoft Axis of Concern for Consumer Rights) submitted a brief accusing Google of monopolistic practices. Mea ... More >>

Our Retail Customer Service Associate Can Beat Up Your Genius: Microsoft Looking for Muscle

​In its neverending quixotic quest to out-compete its competitors at its competitors' games, Microsoft is opening retail stores in close proximity to those of Apple. (As noted previously, this echoes a plotline from Arrested Development. See also here.) But even if the 'Softies have trouble co ... More >>

Bing!

Last week, I poked fun at Microsoft's Kumo for, well, having the unenviable task of trying to take search-engine market share from Google. And for being from the same people who brought us the Zune. And for having the name Kumo. Then, over the weekend, I encountered somebody who had knowledge of the ... More >>

If You Need to Learn About Something, Just Kumo It

Not sure how we missed an announcement of this magnitude, but Microsoft's new search engine "Kumo" is likely to be unveiled next week. (It already may be a step behind, says CNN.) The engine is part of the company's strategy of going after its competitors where they're strongest, failing, and then t ... More >>

Microsoft Wants to Borrow Your Money

For the first time in its history, Bloomberg reports, Microsoft will sell bonds to the public. The company wants to raise $3.75 billion to buy back shares of its own stock (which has dropped 34% this year) and finance improvements in data centers so that it can better compete with Google's search en ... More >>

Microsoft Kindly Insists That Windows 7 Users Surf on Internet Explorer

Doogie Browser!Instead of trying to keep up with the Jobses with products like Zune, Microsoft is back to what it does best--taking advantage of its operating system's ubiquity. Mozilla and Opera are complaining that the Redmond software giant has made Internet Explorer the default browser on its Wi ... More >>

Zune 2.0?

Could it be? Is this the rebirth of Zune? Will Microsoft not pull the plug on the music player coveted by an astounding zero percent of American teens? Tech Web site Engadget.com is reporting what looks to be a total design overhaul of the device. Over on Cnet.com, they're saying it's likely a touch ... More >>

Zune Will Save Us All

Over at TechFlash, Todd Bishop says that MSFT is importing some key executives from its Zune division to help the guys in Windows Mobile. The latter application is used on some, but not very many, smartphones. Motorola is one client for the software. But that's a brand in decline. Now we've already ... More >>

The Long, Slow Death of the Zune

Bill Gates eulogizing the Zune at a Redmond campus burial ceremony in 2011.There are a lot of benefits to living in the same town as Microsoft. For one, it employs a ton of people. And local papers do things like devote entire blogs to the company, so that we can hear the entertaining excuses of its ... More >>

Last Night: Common, N.E.R.D. at Showbox SODO

Bill Gates eulogizing the Zune at a Redmond campus burial ceremony in 2011.There are a lot of benefits to living in the same town as Microsoft. For one, it employs a ton of people. And local papers do things like devote entire blogs to the company, so that we can hear the entertaining excuses of its ... More >>

Zune Guy Is Back

Bill Gates eulogizing the Zune at a Redmond campus burial ceremony in 2011.There are a lot of benefits to living in the same town as Microsoft. For one, it employs a ton of people. And local papers do things like devote entire blogs to the company, so that we can hear the entertaining excuses of its ... More >>

Afternoon Edition: Always on Time

Bill Gates eulogizing the Zune at a Redmond campus burial ceremony in 2011.There are a lot of benefits to living in the same town as Microsoft. For one, it employs a ton of people. And local papers do things like devote entire blogs to the company, so that we can hear the entertaining excuses of its ... More >>

Afternoon Edition: The Musical!

Bill Gates eulogizing the Zune at a Redmond campus burial ceremony in 2011.There are a lot of benefits to living in the same town as Microsoft. For one, it employs a ton of people. And local papers do things like devote entire blogs to the company, so that we can hear the entertaining excuses of its ... More >>

Afternoon Edition: Want to Join Everett?

Bill Gates eulogizing the Zune at a Redmond campus burial ceremony in 2011.There are a lot of benefits to living in the same town as Microsoft. For one, it employs a ton of people. And local papers do things like devote entire blogs to the company, so that we can hear the entertaining excuses of its ... More >>

Afternoon Edition: Nigerian Oil, Amazon Court Battles and the Not So Lonely (But Really Broke) Planet

Bill Gates eulogizing the Zune at a Redmond campus burial ceremony in 2011.There are a lot of benefits to living in the same town as Microsoft. For one, it employs a ton of people. And local papers do things like devote entire blogs to the company, so that we can hear the entertaining excuses of its ... More >>

Why Seattleites Are Picketing in the Writers' Strike

Because they want to get back to writing your after-work specials.

Microsoft, MD

Because they want to get back to writing your after-work specials.

Apple's Not the Bad Guy

Because they want to get back to writing your after-work specials.

It Was Free Cuz I Stole It

The year in unfair shares.

Forbes Says Zune Sucks

The year in unfair shares.

Notable Shows

Highlights-and otherwise-from this week's music calendar.

Coming Zune

Once again, Microsoft is chasing Apple in the hipster hardware game. Will it make sweet music this time?

Microsoft's Future

Once again, Microsoft is chasing Apple in the hipster hardware game. Will it make sweet music this time?

Microsoft Confirms Zune

Once again, Microsoft is chasing Apple in the hipster hardware game. Will it make sweet music this time?

Coming Zune

Once again, Microsoft is chasing Apple in the hipster hardware game. Will it make sweet music this time?