I’ve always been a fan of the Zune. I know, I’m one of the few, but I see a lot of potential in this little device if Microsoft can ever get their heads wrapped around the idea of what people really want in a portable audio player (i.e. podcasting support and real wi-fi functionality). The device itself works great and is in some ways better than an iPod (yes, I uttered those words and no, I’m not on Microsoft’s payroll). And since we have to wait until June to get a semi-kinda-sorta widescreen iPod (or iPhone or whatever), the videos on the Zune still look better than that on an iPod.
What has bothered me from the start with the Zune is the amount of blasted DRM involved with the player. You have to buy from the Zune marketplace (even if you’ve already purchased songs from Yahoo!, Wal-Mart, Rhapsody or others), you can share songs but only with the silly "3 days or 3 plays" nonsense, and if you have a song on your player that you created and want to send it to a friend, the Zune wraps a nice layer of DRM on that one for you, too. Not to mention the fact that Universal already gets a cut from every Zune purchase made to cover the cost of pirated music. Way too many complications going on with the music, guys.
Then I see this article over at Engadget (via ClicZune) noting that now Sony (this bunch will just never learn, I’m thinking about starting a personal boycott of all Sony products. Well, maybe not Spider-Man 3…) and Universal are blocking the sharing of certain artists on the Zune. What the heck is this? First off, we have to buy the songs from a certain store that franky, sucks, one big music company is already seeing a share of sales from all of us Joe Consumers, and now we can’t share some of the songs that we have even if the sharing stinks like last week’s garbage?
When will it end? What is it going to take for these companies to finally stop punishing the general consumer population by just assuming that all of us are pirating content? I understand the position that individuals and companies have a right to protect their property. I understand that for many musicians the majority of their income is from the sales of their CDs and/or songs through a digital medium. And I’m not saying that these wonderfully creative people are not entitled to make every shred of money that they can from their work, but at some point they have been more than compensated for that work.
Why should I have to pay someone several different times for the same content? You buy a CD in the store, then have to buy a digital version to put on your MP3 player, then you can’t let your friends listen to the coolest song you’ve ever heard because the record company wants them to buy a copy of said song even though your new Zune is supposed to let you share songs safely without encroaching upon anyone’s income.
It stinks. I don’t mind DRM when it is transparent. I buy songs, movies, and TV shows all the time from the iTunes store. And that content plays on my computer, my iPod, a friend’s computer if I so choose, and soon will be streaming to my TV with the help of my Apple TV. It’s still copy-protected like crazy, but it doesn’t interfere in my enjoyment of the content.
Get a clue, big media. Times are changing. If you guys don’t start listening to the consumers, we’ll just make our own content and forget about you guys. That’s the power of the web and it’s the power that Joe Consumer now has in the palm of his hand.
OK, so we’ve seen the 
Get ready for the war of the itty bitty teeny weeny mp3 players. The new Sansa Express is a bright, fresh contender in the miniature mp3 player market. The Express comes with 1GB of internal storage with a direct USB connector, no longer a feature with the diminuitive 2G iPod Shuffle. The Express also comes with a built-in FM tuner, voice recorder and a quad-line OLED display.
Michael Dell hinted at these little beauties at his 
