Microsoft May Build a Copyright Cop Into Every Zune

The New York Times (excerpt) ^ | May 7, 2008 | Saul Hansell

[Spktyr]

They sold a lot of them, and at a very premium price, too - so, empirically, people believed at the time that it was a superior look and feel.

[Still Thinking]

I’m only one man. I can only slap so many people. ;-)

[Spktyr]

Orrrr... you could just plain be wrong. :D

[Still Thinking]

Well, it HAS been several years, so I’m due; maybe this is the one....Nah.

[Yossarian]

Yeah, I know there’s an external antenna for it, another 30 bucks on top of the 85 I already paid for the Airport card. A bit ridiculous just to get the dern thing to work doncha think.

Actually, my G5 tower came with an external wi-fi antenna, even though I didn't have wi-fi hardware on my machine. It made perfect sense to me, as the whole machine is solid aluminum - no engineer in their right mind would expect a signal to propagate through it!

It's why on the metal MacBook Pros, there are small plastic sections along the side where the antenna sits..... otherwise the radio waves don't hae a chance....

[Swordmaker]

I’m sure it isn’t the card, its the genius engineers who decided that it should be fine to enclose a 2.4 ghz antenna inside 50 lbs of aircraft aluminum. I have to wonder if they EVER tested the thing.

My PowerMac G5 (including the 50 Lbs Aircraft aluminum case) came with an external WiFi antenna in the box with the computer. According to the docs that came with my G5, you need the antenna to use WIFI on the PowerMac G5. WIFI will not work on the G5 without the antenna. It was never intended to work without it.

Perhaps you better buy the antenna if you don't have the one that came with it.

Me? I'd buy this one on eBay. There are several more starting at 99¢ but those are auctions so the price may go up.

[Swordmaker]

Great??? I can't imagine how, unless by 'exercise' you mean it makes you hurt and smell bad. I wouldn't have one of those in my office if it were free and dispensed gasoline.

I administered a dental office that seven of them on the office staffs' desks. Nothing else available then had a smaller footprint or a more ergonomically positioning screen. No matter where you positioned the screen it would stay where you put it.

When we retired them in favor of 20" iMac G5s about three years ago, four of them were donated to a local food bank where they are still in use... and I still maintain them.

[the invisib1e hand]

Mr. Gates? Is that you?

Why? Do you have to be Henry Ford to understand what role the automobile played in modern history?

[ovrtaxt]

I’m not disagreeing with you on that point, but the history of QDOS is a fact. You seem intent on denying it in post 6.

[the invisib1e hand]

You seem intent on denying it in post 6.

I don't even know what qdos is.

You toss around words like "rip off" a little to easily for me.

so long.

[ovrtaxt]

I didn’t say ripoff, spktyr did.

If you don’t even know what QDOS is, why did you respond with the holocaust denier reference? This is the internet, we have search engines here.

[Petronski]

I’m like “why did he write ‘anus’ on this . . . dayummmm!”

[whd23]

These are not PCI type cards, they are cards like ram cards that fit into a slot under the covers underneath the unit.

FYI: I believe you're referencing the miniPCI form factor.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

My God, that graphic is absolutely priceless, my friend.

P.S., Eff you, Ray Ozzie!

[Afronaut]

I have a Zune 30gig and it is a great device.

The Apple users suffer from a mental illness. The need to fill a thread with Apple defensive love is insanity. Just reading this drooling crap is disturbing.

Something is seriously wrong here.

[Still Thinking]

Eww! Now you’re fighting dirty. I surrender. You’re right, whatever you want me to say, just don’t post anymore pictures. Just having the thing in my memory is traumatic enough.

[steve-b]

Microsoft May Build a Copyright Cop Into Every Zune

Both of them?

[steve-b]

Microsoft May Build a Copyright Cop Into Every Zune

Both of them?

[Golden Eagle]

If you like to download the latest episodes of “Heroes” or other NBC shows from BitTorrent...

Then you almost certainly did so illegally, and I could care less what kind of problems you may have getting it to display, or if it installed a trojan back door on your system instead, etc. Too many people looking for a free ride these days.

[HAL9000]

Microsoft could market a device that played nothing but DRM-protected media, but it's difficult to see how it would be successful in the marketplace, especially with their reputation for screwing up everything they touch lately.

The thing I would fiercely object to is any legislation that prohibits devices from playing standard formats like MP3. And I suspect that Microsoft is quietly lobbying for that.