Microsoft says sharing music is good
As long as you share on their terms that is. Microsoft’s much hyped Zune mp3 player is set to debut November 14th. Rather than try to compete with the iPod head-to-head, Microsoft is trying a different strategy: Attack the ipod at its weaknesses. Just in case you haven’t heard the details, Zune will have a bigger/brighter screen then the Ipod, an FM tuner, and wireless connectivity along with all the other goodies the iPod video has.
“Wireless,” you ask, “what would that be used for?” Good question! What this means is now when you have a song you want to share with a friend, rather than sharing your ear buds with someone who’s ears kind of scare you, you share the actual mp3 (err..wma) instead. Your friend can now play the song 3 times before it self-destructs or he/she has the option to purchase the song. If by chance your friend liked it enough to purchase it, you get Zune points for bringing Microsoft business. Once you accumulate enough points (yet to be determined) you can get free songs. This sounds like an interesting new strategy for the music industry. I think it’s a great idea.
[Source: CrunchGear]