Microsoft’s True iPod killer

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What you should know about me before you read this: I am a Mac user, I have a 3G iPod, and I’ve never bought a DRM’ed song from any music store.

Engadget has a picture of Microsoft’s “iPod killer” the Argo. Take a look here.

I took a look at the comments and they were mixed. There were plenty of “iPod rip-off!” comments due to the design of the Microsoft player. The MS player has a wheel interface. While Apple has used the click wheel with great success, they did not invent the wheel. Let’s face it, the Apple iPod has a fantastic interface with an ingenious physical device. The wheel is a brilliant device.

I suspect that the iPod has become the template. There is no reason to improve the interface. Apple got it right. Almost every remote control has the same interface – a keypad and maybe an LCD touchscreen. VCRs have the same physical attributes. Portable tape players had a line of buttons with play, pause, fast forward, and rewind. If the Internet was around 30 years ago, there would be forums and comment threads about how everyone is ripping off the Sony Walkman.

Give me a break. At the end of the day, marketing plays a greater role than the device. The original iMac had problems, but because it was different it succeeded. It made computers seem less scary.

Microsoft needs its XBOX division to market its new player. I fully expect the OS on the little device to be excellent. Microsoft knows operating systems. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the Palm Treo. Palm makes the competing handheld OS and even they run Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS. A simple copy of the media center experience will function well.

There is also a rumor of Wi-Fi in the device. I don’t care how great the iPod is, it doesn’t have Wi-Fi. I have to find my special cable and sync up with my Mac. My music device should download podcasts on its own. I don’t want a docking station. Wi-Fi makes this very interesting. The next step is video. Microsoft has its Media Center. If you could transfer your shows from Media Center to Microsoft’s portable player – that’s a tremendous amount of video. Plus, if you could download trailers from your XBox 360 onto the player, that’s more content.

The iPod with video lacks higher quality video. Microsoft with its Media Center (and Front Row doesn’t come close to Media Center’s functionality) and XBox 360 has a ton of high quality video content that could easily be put onto a portable device. High quality content for cheap? That’s a great idea.

The physical dimensions of the device will also play a huge role. If it is bulky, it will fail. Either way, I think Microsoft may have a winner. They are not as irrelevant as many think. People ask, “What does Microsoft know about hardware?” Well, how many of you have Microsoft keyboards, mice, and that little thing called the XBox and the 360? If Microsoft provides a product that is different, it may succeed. If it does not differentiate itself, it will be an also ran.

Microsoft has quietly become the dominant force in online gaming. Live Anywhere will work. If Live Anywhere is a feature of “Argo” or “xPod” – it will be greatly beneficial to Microsoft. Competition is a good thing.

RIAA and MPAA Raid Pittsburgh Pirates

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Only weeks after the RIAA and MPAA attempted to destroy the the pirate bay, the RIAA and MPAA set their sights on another well-known pirate organization.

They have put the screws to Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates. We spoke to the Pirates’ Kerri Durica, Coordinator, Advertising & Promotions, and she was quite confused by the entire situation. “We’re a baseball team. We’re not ‘Arr, matey!’-pirates and we’re not selling pirated movies or music either. Frankly, we think those guys may have targeted the wrong people.”

We discussed the issue with an RIAA representative and he was adamant in the RIAA’s stance. “The RIAA does not make mistakes. These people are pirates and they must be taken down. We have lost millions of dollars because of pirates and these people brazenly wear the pirate name on their chest! They must be stopped.”

An MPAA representative also added, “We are looking into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have a skull and cross-sword logo. They may be related to the pirate problem.”

iPod vs. Front Row Experiment

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Today, I left my house in a rush. I did not have time to sync up my iPod to my MacBook Pro. I drive 97 miles to get to a class, so I need my new podcasts. I grabbed my Apple Remote and took my fully charged MacBook Pro on the road. I used a tape adapter to hook up the car and computer. I turned off Airport to conserve battery power. I own an inverter, but I didn’t have time to hook it up.

I’ve got to say that Front Row with a remote works much better than using an iPod. The big fonts helped me see the screen while I was driving. I wasn’t fumbling with a scroll wheel and trying to see a miniscule screen (I have a 3G iPod). Maybe it’s me, but I have trouble landing on the exact file I want using the scroll wheel.

I was able to listen to my podcasts that I had downloaded last night and the 97 miles wasn’t too bad. In addition to the podcasts, I had access to my videos as well. No need to transcode a video into a music file. When I drive long distances, I’d rather hear longer form shows. That way, I’ve only heard 2 or 3 different things on the drive home. If I hear ten three-minute songs, I know I’ve still got a lot of songs to go before I get home.

I would enjoy listening to Simpsons episodes without having to make them audio-only files. This brings me back to the UMPC. No need to transcode, it plays anything. Maybe the UMPC could be the ultimate car computer. It’s not that great to carry around, but in a car, I bet it’s got a useable display especially if it runs a Media Center-like interface.

So for long car rides, Front Row beats iPod for driving. It prevents staring at a small screen. Maybe someone can run an empirical study on this.

New Television Model: Private Licensing

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The current television distribution is good, but it can be better. I just want a license for shows or networks. This is similar to the a la carte cable television plans that have yet to materialize.

I’m quite sick of the gray legal area of bit torrent and broadcast television. It may be legal, it may not be. So I propose licensing to the individual. If I can subscribe to magazines, why can’t I subscribe to a network or television show or studio? Say I enjoy television programs made by Carsey Warner – maybe they should allow the viewer to have a license to watch the shows in any medium. A fee would be paid to the studio, it would allow you access to bit torrent or direct downloads of episodes of their shows. Let’s face it, the cost of digital downloads should be less than that of physical media.

DVDs would require an additional fee or a different license. If you want a DVD subscription of your favorite show, why not offer it directly? If I wanted to have every episode of “House, M.D.,” why can’t that be a reality?

With today’s usage of DVRs and PVRs (and some that still use VCRs), time shifting is a normal activity. Why should “new episodes” be relegated to when the networks tell us new episodes are on? The old medium does not have to die. It merely needs some supplementation. There will be people who do not care for licensing in this personal way, and that is fine. However, there is no reason the studios can’t make more money by adapting my idea.

Instead of being advertiser/sponsor dependent, television could be rely a bit on the consumer directly.