Zune, Zune, Zune

I read reddit. As anyone who's read reddit knows, articles with big points have a skewed view of the world. They're heavily Democratic, anti-authority (mainly, the police abusing their privilege at the expense of citizens), pro Joel Spolsky, and anti-Microsoft.

Especially Zune.

Now, reddit readers, while numerous, are tiny compared the with millions of web surfers. However, many of these negative articles come from newspapers, or at least, their online versions, which are expected to have large readerships.

As Joel points out, people don't like to make decisions, so they're willing to have their decisions made for them. If Microsoft doesn't somehow combat the negative publicity, it's going to have to take the X-box strategy, which is to stay in this for the long haul, that is, take their lumps now, in the hopes that a second or third generation Zune will be significantly better than Apple's IPod.

This may be difficult because Apple is pretty good at hyping themselves. The media is enraptured by all things Apple. Let's ignore the fact that IPods don't have replaceable batteries (would ruin the sleek appearance, and prevent people from buying the latest model).

Indeed, Apple would love nothing better than the people think of portable players like they think of cars. They get tired of the fashion and have to have the newest ones.

The question is, will time cure what ails Zune? Zune apparently is being pressured by the music industry, and lacks the clout, despite being Microsoft, to fight back. Interestingly, Microsoft seems more willing to fight back on more traditional grounds, against Apple, then against its biggest competitor, Google, whose odd strategy has made it difficult for Microsoft to compete. Microsoft thinks very much in terms of products. The idea that Google would have so many of its products free must really gall Microsoft.

It's true that Google is itself playing a dangerous game. Can Adsense keep Google flush with money? They have to find the next Adsense, just as they were the next search engine.

To be honest, Google could simply take aim at a bunch of software no one seems to care that deeply about. For example, there's library software. Only a handful of companies make software for it, and I'm sure they'd be hard-pressed to have anywhere near the talent of Google.

For some smallish price, Google could take over library software everywhere. Would they want to do so? I don't know. There's medical software meant to keep track of patients.

I mean, you can go on and on with specialized software that the big boys find tedious and completely ignore, but could be easily pickings should these large companies choose to set their sights.

But, anyway, the Zune. I dunno. There's rumors again floating that Apple will make the IPhone. If that ever turns out to be true, would that doom Zune? Are they ready to enter the phone business?

Think about it.