Microsoft Attempting to Recruit App Store Developers for Zune HD?

[aaustin22]

Instead of app developers, they might want to invest in some UI designers. What's with the e in "marketplace" and the "more" at the bottom being cut off? I can only HOPE the UI is Photoshopped onto the hardware in that image, and even then, it's sloppy. If it isn't, maybe they need to think about hiring UI designers who know something about screen resolution and how to make their fonts fit on the screen. It's not that hard. If the resolution is 480x320 at 72dpi, it isn't all that hard to contain your UI into those dimensions. That e in "marketplace" is enough to make my skin crawl and the more is just unprofessional. "More" needs to either be completely on the screen or accessed by scrolling down. Not being cut off half way down the word by the bottom edge of the screen.

 

[Digitalclips]

Why are MS designs always stuck in the 80s??

That angular design was so military and low rent at the time, and these days it looks like a device that will be highly pixilated and annoying like the tech of the 80s.

LOL, I think their brains are stuck in the late 70's actually. That's the first time, sorry I mean last time, they had an idea and that was to to steal CP/M after that steal Mac OS then SJ's Word, Multiplan etc. (yes i know M$ developed these apps but for SJ) then Netscape and so on ... Not an original idea in 30+ years not one, they are so pathetic it is unbelievable. M$ are headed for oblivion within a decade.

I can just hear Monkey Man Ballmer talking to his development team ..."Everything Apple makes sucks but for god's sake copy it, get their programmers to work for us too, now! ..."

 

[macshill]

Zune HD in action!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JtMnkNh8jY&feature=player_embedded

I'm against Apple fanboys as much as the next guy, but that said (Re: the Zune HD)-- I just don't like it. I don't like the UI, I don't like the Internet (Bing as your search default) included. I *tried* to convince myself I'm just use the Touch UI (note: I've never owned one, but looking forward to the 3G coming in September), but I couldn't embrace Zune's.

 

[LagunaSol]

Instead of app developers, they might want to invest in some UI designers. What's with the e in "marketplace" and the "more" at the bottom being cut off?

That's just Microsoft trying to be "hip" and "edgy."

 

[peterdevries]

The biggest reason I wouldn't pick up a Zune is because MS doesn't make software for OSX. Wouldn't want to run parallels or bootcamp everytime I wanted to sync music.

The biggest reason for me would be that they don't sell it here in Europe. As if there is no market for it here.

If there is suddenly a new PMP that is sold very succesfully in the US (hypothetically), than you can bet that a lot of asians, europeans etc would want to buy one. I cannot understand why MS would not want to tap into that market. It's not as if they have to build up distribution channels or something. They could just put a display in all electronic stores that sell Windows7.

 

[peterdevries]

Instead of app developers, they might want to invest in some UI designers. What's with the e in "marketplace" and the "more" at the bottom being cut off? I can only HOPE the UI is Photoshopped onto the hardware in that image, and even then, it's sloppy. If it isn't, maybe they need to think about hiring UI designers who know something about screen resolution and how to make their fonts fit on the screen. It's not that hard. If the resolution is 480x320 at 72dpi, it isn't all that hard to contain your UI into those dimensions. That e in "marketplace" is enough to make my skin crawl and the more is just unprofessional. "More" needs to either be completely on the screen or accessed by scrolling down. Not being cut off half way down the word by the bottom edge of the screen.

I'm not a fan of it either, but it is obvious that it is intentional design. If you would have seen other screenshots or videos of the UI, it would become apparent that the whole interface has many of these "half obscured" titles for many screens. It's intentional design.

 

[Macminiintel]

Why turn down a "bucket of money" so quickly? Not even getting the details first?

erm because its Microsoft, if they offered me all the money in the world to turn against Apple I wouldn't do it, they are only trying to beat Apple, and failing miserably. Maybe Apple should make a new terms and conditions saying something like "Developers may not be allowed to recreate the apps for any other non Apple branded device", Especially the Zune.

I mean sure people are saying competition is good, probably to some extent it is, but it seems to me Microsoft want a bite of the Apple. Microsoft are in way too many markets, I mean honestly why do they really need to buy Yahoo?, they don't care about windows anymore and this for me is a good thing, hopefully will cause more mac users in the future. Anyone can say windows 7 is better, I've tried it, just like Vista sp3, with a few gimmicky U.I changes thats way too distracting to even use, more copies from OS X like a dock like app in the task bar and still driver issues like vista. I think the windows fans are just saying its better than vista because they are trying to convince themselves its better and preying it is. Thats what I think anyway

 

[mkwomble]

erm because its Microsoft, if they offered me all the money in the world to turn against Apple I wouldn't do it, they are only trying to beat Apple, and failing miserably. Maybe Apple should make a new terms and conditions saying something like "Developers may not be allowed to recreate the apps for any other non Apple branded device", Especially the Zune.

I mean sure people are saying competition is good, probably to some extent it is, but it seems to me Microsoft want a bite of the Apple. Microsoft are in way too many markets, I mean honestly why do they really need to buy Yahoo?, they don't care about windows anymore and this for me is a good thing, hopefully will cause more mac users in the future. Anyone can say windows 7 is better, I've tried it, just like Vista sp3, with a few gimmicky U.I changes thats way too distracting to even use, more copies from OS X like a dock like app in the task bar and still driver issues like vista. I think the windows fans are just saying its better than vista because they are trying to convince themselves its better and preying it is. Thats what I think anyway

This made me laugh an awful lot, it made getting up early saturday morning worth it!!

Like the million dollar man says "Everyone has a price muwahahah"

 

[seashellz]

I hope this app store takes off, if only to provide the iTunes store with some competition.

too little

WAYYYYYY too late

anyway with all their money they STILL cant buy a clue-theyre out of it
a buncha boomers past midlife crisis
or else poodle boy lap dogs for the "youth market"

 

[Journojulz]

That's just Microsoft trying to be "hip" and "edgy."

.... like your dad trying to dance at your sisters sweet 16.



Almost as cringingly embarassing as the zune pc software.

 

[bruinsrme]

too little

WAYYYYYY too late

anyway with all their money they STILL cant buy a clue-theyre out of it
a buncha boomers past midlife crisis
or else poodle boy lap dogs for the "youth market"

Same thing forum goers said about Xbox and the 360

 

[gianly1985]

I'm not a fan of it either, but it is obvious that it is intentional design. If you would have seen other screenshots or videos of the UI, it would become apparent that the whole interface has many of these "half obscured" titles for many screens. It's intentional design.

Still, it's plain ugly/stupid...
Besides, from a company (and followers) who always mocked Apple users about shiny UI feticism...it's ridiculous this attempt to "be cool" by cutting words...

 

[Macminiintel]

Like the million dollar man says "Everyone has a price muwahahah"

Both my parents are fairly well off anyway, my dad has his own welding and engineering company & my mum owns several hairdressing salons, so what use is it to me?, I get what I want and thats Macs & iPhones lol

 

[macintoshtoffy]

I'm sure Zune is a very fine device but Microsoft has refused to extend support to Mac users nor have they made their device compatible with the exact MTP protocol they were trying to push at one stage - basically a great idea screwed by poor execution. A product with so much potential that is killed by Microsoft's stupidity.

Edit: For the record, if they sold the Microsoft Zune where I live and Microsoft provided an official client for Mac OS X along with WMA/WMV encoding - I'd consider purchasing it.

 

[neiltc13]

erm because its Microsoft, if they offered me all the money in the world to turn against Apple I wouldn't do it, they are only trying to beat Apple, and failing miserably. Maybe Apple should make a new terms and conditions saying something like "Developers may not be allowed to recreate the apps for any other non Apple branded device", Especially the Zune.

I mean sure people are saying competition is good, probably to some extent it is, but it seems to me Microsoft want a bite of the Apple. Microsoft are in way too many markets, I mean honestly why do they really need to buy Yahoo?, they don't care about windows anymore and this for me is a good thing, hopefully will cause more mac users in the future. Anyone can say windows 7 is better, I've tried it, just like Vista sp3, with a few gimmicky U.I changes thats way too distracting to even use, more copies from OS X like a dock like app in the task bar and still driver issues like vista. I think the windows fans are just saying its better than vista because they are trying to convince themselves its better and preying it is. Thats what I think anyway

This is something I simply cannot comprehend - the attitude that as a consumer, you are "loyal" to a brand. Apple is a publicly traded company, which means that its only duty (and the thing that dictates EVERY decision that anyone working for the company makes) is to its shareholders. They do everything they do because they want to make more and more money for the people who have invested.

Now in your position, living off your parents and with no real considerations at all, I'm sure you can afford to choose a second rate product. But really, there's so much more out there beyond Apple. Microsoft has been destroying Apple in the OS game ever since Windows XP SP2 was released (why does my Mac constantly crash, yet my work PC running XP and Office is rock solid?) and has easily the greatest operating system ever made about to be released. Apple on the other hand has spent the last several years developing a new version of theirs, which may or may not fix the problems that they created when they replaced the wonderful Tiger with Leopard. Why are they forcing us to pay $29 for it - could it be because they need to raise more money to please those shareholders I just mentioned?

I will always buy the product that I believe is best or best value. In the case of PMPs, it is clear that Microsoft is extending a huge lead here with Zune - they've got a video playback device which has the correct aspect ratio for viewing media (Apple sells 16:9 content on iTunes but not a device capable of rendering it full screen) and which can output HD video. It may not have the market share of iPod but if I bought one (sadly I'm tied in to a lengthy iPhone contract at the moment) I'd know I was getting one of the best products on the market. The same cannot be said of any of Apple's current iPod offerings.

I'm sure Zune is a very fine device but Microsoft has refused to extend support to Mac users

Why would Microsoft do this? With Apple bundling iTunes with every computer it sells, it's a very big challenge for Microsoft to turn that over. Apple was lucky in that it had the European Union on its side, battling Microsoft to the end where it had to release a version of Windows without Windows Media Player. I'm still completely baffled as to why Apple are still allowed to sell OS X in Europe with iTunes attached.

Then of course there's the fact that you're in a minority, and that minority looks like it might start shrinking now that Microsoft is really ahead in the OS game.

 

[Journojulz]

This is something I simply cannot comprehend - the attitude that as a consumer, you are "loyal" to a brand.

Its trust.

You trust that a product bearing the brand will have a certain expected quality.

This trust has to be earned and can easily be eroded.

A company is only as strong as its products.

Apple is a publicly traded company, which means that its only duty (and the thing that dictates EVERY decision that anyone working for the company makes) is to its shareholders.

Like me. I have an share in apple.
It feels good knowing i have a stake in a company that makes products I can trust.

They do everything they do because they want to make more and more money for the people who have invested.

Yes and in business you can go down two roads - compete on price first, or compete on quality first.

There is a third road - compete on world domination, but we have all seen where that leads you.

 

[Macminiintel]

This is something I simply cannot comprehend - the attitude that as a consumer, you are "loyal" to a brand. Apple is a publicly traded company, which means that its only duty (and the thing that dictates EVERY decision that anyone working for the company makes) is to its shareholders. They do everything they do because they want to make more and more money for the people who have invested.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 20 or so years you'd know there are millions of Mac loyalists. Yes i am loyal to Apple because they have done so many good things for me. I'm currently only 16 so of course Im still living with my parents and sure I have a job I work at a local newspaper in my town, what business is that of yours anyway?.

I'd say everyone is brand loyal, why do some people only buy a particular brand of car over another, or why do some people buy Armani over Levis?

ha ha ha you honestly think Windows is better than OS X you must be so stupid, Vista= fail do you know how much the full version of Win 7 ultimate will cost $380.00 compared to $29 for the full version of snow leopard, i'd rather pay that for Snow Leopard.

Heck my cousin is a Microsoft developer and even he uses a macbook with OS X and XP SP3 via bootcamp & visual studio, he hates Vista and has tried Win 7 he says both are bad & if Microsoft aint careful another failure again, hopefully

Hmm in the time Xp to vista was being conceived, Apple had brought out 5 new OS X versions. Why do you think its just Apple reselling the same OS like?, when you get something spot on you dont change the recipe, you perfect it ever so slightly over time. Unlike Microsoft which has to rewrite stuff millions of times to get it right, which they never will.

I've owned both macs and PC's over the years its always windows what gets clogged up slows down, horrendous driver issues viruses, trojans, the Mac is as near perfect as it can get. The only apps what crashes constantly on my mac is MSN messenger and word 2008 and well they were written by the worst company in history, so you can see why,

 

[CQd44]

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 20 or so years you'd know there are millions of Mac loyalists. Yes i am loyal to Apple because they have done so many good things for me. I'm currently only 16 so of course Im still living with my parents and sure I have a job I work at a local newspaper in my town, what business is that of yours anyway?.

I'd say everyone is brand loyal, why do some people only buy a particular brand of car over another, or why do some people buy Armani over Levis?

ha ha ha you honestly think Windows is better than OS X you must be so stupid, Vista= fail do you know how much the full version of Win 7 ultimate will cost $380.00 compared to $29 for the full version of snow leopard, i'd rather pay that for Snow Leopard.

Heck my cousin is a Microsoft developer and even he uses a macbook with OS X and XP SP3 via bootcamp & visual studio, he hates Vista and has tried Win 7 he says both are bad & if Microsoft aint careful another failure again, hopefully

Hmm in the time Xp to vista was being conceived, Apple had brought out 5 new OS X versions. Why do you think its just Apple reselling the same OS like?, when you get something spot on you dont change the recipe, you perfect it ever so slightly over time. Unlike Microsoft which has to rewrite stuff millions of times to get it right, which they never will.

I've owned both macs and PC's over the years its always windows what gets clogged up slows down, horrendous driver issues viruses, trojans, the Mac is as near perfect as it can get. The only apps what crashes constantly on my mac is MSN messenger and word 2008 and well they were written by the worst company in history, so you can see why,

10/10, would read again. Thanks for the laugh <3

 

[RetepNamenots]

I'd say everyone is brand loyal, why do some people only buy a particular brand of car over another, or why do some people buy Armani over Levis?

And I sometimes buy clothes from TK Maxx, that doesn't mean I'm brand loyal to them.

ha ha ha you honestly think Windows is better than OS X you must be so stupid, Vista= fail do you know how much the full version of Win 7 ultimate will cost $380.00 compared to $29 for the full version of snow leopard, i'd rather pay that for Snow Leopard.

$29 is the upgrade cost for Snow Leopard; compared to $49 for Windows 7.

A non-upgrade version will cost $169, compared to $199 for Windows 7 Home Premium. (And there's no point arguing that consumers need Windows Ultimate; how many people are going to need BitLocker Drive Encryption or support for booting virtual hard disks?)

Heck my cousin is a Microsoft developer and even he uses a macbook with OS X and XP SP3 via bootcamp & visual studio, he hates Vista and has tried Win 7 he says both are bad

So your cousin tells you that Windows 7 is bad? What makes such a broad blanket statement true? All of the reviews of the RTM version of 7 from Engadget, CNet and Gizmodo have praised the OS very favourably.

if Microsoft aint careful another failure again, hopefully

Obvious troll is obvious.

Hmm in the time Xp to vista was being conceived, Apple had brought out 5 new OS X versions.

And during that time, Microsoft... what..? Abandoned XP completely?

Why do you think its just Apple reselling the same OS like?, when you get something spot on you dont change the recipe, you perfect it ever so slightly over time. Unlike Microsoft which has to rewrite stuff millions of times to get it right, which they never will.

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I can trust the credibility of a 16-year old living with his parents when they are once again making such blanket statements with little or no basis.

I'd say everyone is brand loyal, why do some people only buy a particular brand of car over another, or why do some people buy Armani over Levis?

And I sometimes buy clothes from TK Maxx, that doesn't mean I'm brand loyal to them.

ha ha ha you honestly think Windows is better than OS X you must be so stupid, Vista= fail do you know how much the full version of Win 7 ultimate will cost $380.00 compared to $29 for the full version of snow leopard, i'd rather pay that for Snow Leopard.

$29 is the upgrade cost for Snow Leopard; compared to $49 for Windows 7.

A non-upgrade version will cost $169, compared to $199 for Windows 7 Home Premium. (And there's no point arguing that consumers need Windows Ultimate; how many people are going to need BitLocker Drive Encryption or support for booting virtual hard disks?)

Heck my cousin is a Microsoft developer and even he uses a macbook with OS X and XP SP3 via bootcamp & visual studio, he hates Vista and has tried Win 7 he says both are bad

So your cousin tells you that Windows 7 is bad? What makes such a broad blanket statement true? All of the reviews of the RTM version of 7 from Engadget, CNet and Gizmodo have praised the OS very favourably.

if Microsoft aint careful another failure again, hopefully

Obvious troll is obvious.

Hmm in the time Xp to vista was being conceived, Apple had brought out 5 new OS X versions.

And during that time, Microsoft... what..? Abandoned XP completely?

I've owned both macs and PC's over the years its always windows what gets clogged up slows down, horrendous driver issues viruses, trojans, the Mac is as near perfect as it can get. The only apps what crashes constantly on my mac is MSN messenger and word 2008 and well they were written by the worst company in history, so you can see why,

Oh dear lord... it's strange; my copy of Office 2008 doesn't seem to crash any more than iTunes or Safari does...

=========

By the way: I have no problem with Apple or Microsoft; I just hate it when fanboys come and troll with little or no evidence to back up what they say, other than 'My cousin says its bad' or just 'f Microsoft aint careful another failure again, hopefully'.

I use OS X, Windows 7 RC, and Linux Mint, each on a regular basis. It doesn't take a genius to realise, when they see that these operating systems are used by millions around the world to various extents, that they all have their merits, advantages and disadvantages.

Which is why obvious troll is obvious.

 

[neiltc13]

I'm currently only 16 so of course Im still living with my parents and sure I have a job I work at a local newspaper in my town, what business is that of yours anyway?

I didn't ask - yet again you've offered your own personal information here.

ha ha ha you honestly think Windows is better than OS X you must be so stupid, Vista= fail

I've given you one example so far - I can use Office on my work machine with no problems whatsoever, but when I've been trying to work at home using iWork, I've had program hangs and crashes. The 'spinning beach ball' is far too common an occurrence in Leopard.

I "switched" to Mac in 2005 and at that time Windows XP was a mess and Tiger was the operating system of choice for anyone. I still believe to this day that Tiger is the finest PC operating system ever released and it bewilders me that Apple actually replaced it with new software that is unstable and unreliable.

do you know how much the full version of Win 7 ultimate will cost $380.00 compared to $29 for the full version of snow leopard, i'd rather pay that for Snow Leopard.

$29 is for the upgrade version. The full version is $169.

Heck my cousin is a Microsoft developer and even he uses a macbook with OS X and XP SP3 via bootcamp & visual studio, he hates Vista and has tried Win 7 he says both are bad & if Microsoft aint careful another failure again, hopefully

Well, either you're making this up or your cousin isn't using the same version of Windows 7 that I am. The one I've got (the RC, the one that pretty much everyone who says they've used Windows 7 is talking about) is completely solid. Since I installed it several months ago I've used it mainly for gaming, but also for Office and Project, as well as a handful of media applications and of course web browsing and communciation. I have seen a program crash once in this time - Street Fighter IV, and I believe it was because of a connection problem between my machine and Games for Windows LIVE.

It's truly dependable - I've had my trust in Windows restored completely, and it's also secure. There are countless security flaws in OS X, and while many here attack Microsoft for releasing hundreds of patches per year for their software, wouldn't you rather that than go down the Apple route where things only get fixed when enough media attention is given to them?

I've owned both macs and PC's over the years its always windows what gets clogged up slows down, horrendous driver issues viruses, trojans, the Mac is as near perfect as it can get. The only apps what crashes constantly on my mac is MSN messenger and word 2008 and well they were written by the worst company in history, so you can see why,

At 16, I was a competent computer user. I didn't have virus problems and I knew how to take care of my machine. Like anything though, a computer only works well if you are maintaining it well. I'm getting the impression that you have been reckless with your machines in the past, because I've been running XP and Vista for many years with no virus protection at all, but also no problems in that department either.

It seems to me that you form a lot of your opinions based on what you read or what other people say. You can still download Windows 7 completely free from Microsoft.com. I urge you to do it, and to spend time with it and form your own opinion of it based on experience. Then maybe you can come back here and start a discussion which is less fanatical and more sensible.

 

[Macminiintel]

A that they all have their merits, advantages and disadvantages.

yes I understand that, but what use is windows to me because i'm a video editor & photographer

 

[neiltc13]

yes I understand that, but what use is windows to me because i'm a video editor & photographer

Last time I checked, Avid (the industry standard video editing program) and Photoshop (the industry standard image manipulation program) were both available for Windows, whereas only one of them is available for OS X!

 

[CQd44]

yes I understand that, but what use is windows to me because i'm a video editor & photographer

Besides the video editing and photo editing software available for it? o:

 

[Macminiintel]

It seems to me that you form a lot of your opinions based on what you read or what other people say. You can still download Windows 7 completely free from Microsoft.com. I urge you to do it, and to spend time with it and form your own opinion of it based on experience. Then maybe you can come back here and start a discussion which is less fanatical and more sensible.

I've tried windows 7, it hung after installation, do you honestly think I'm going to try it again. I just can't be bothered with Windows anymore, the hassle is too great when there is a much better, nicer & greater alternative the mac.

This is a mac forum for mac fans, go on a windows/linux forum instead. I shouldn't have to be explaining why I hate windows to someone on a mac forum, since this is suppose to be a place to get away from the haters

I am a very good computer user, i've built several PC's for people, I just dont like windows. Tiger was good, yes but Leopard, I've had no issues with it, I bought it on Launch day October 26th '07, Pages Hanging???, what lol are you for real??, what version are you using, Pages I've never had a single issue with any Apple-appliction, just 3rd party ones. Office 2008 on my MacBook is unusable, it takes over 2 min too load up and the typing is lagging behind by about 5-8 seconds.

I've used macs since 1998, when my parents bought the 233Mhz iMac G3, in that time we've had both PC's and Macs and I will defiantly say I favour the mac. We've had anti-viruses on the PC's nothing stopped them really. Finally i gave up owning PC's in January 2007.

 

[Macminiintel]

Last time I checked, Avid (the industry standard video editing program) and Photoshop (the industry standard image manipulation program) were both available for Windows, whereas only one of them is available for OS X!

Why would I use windows, the mac is the leader in the creative arts industry??, I am a Final Cut Studio user, Aperture, and Photoshop user only photoshop is on windows out of them applications, they are what I like using and what I'm use to using.