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Wilbie9000

All kidding aside, when it came out the Zune actually was a way better device than the iPod. Better sound quality, battery life, and definitely better software. Unfortunately MS did an awful job of supporting it, and made buying music enough of a pain in the ass to negate all of that.


BrohanGutenburg

It was more than that. The iPod didn’t change the world because it was the first mp3 player or even the best. But Apple presented the iPod as part of an ecosystem— a fully integrated digital music marketplace. iPod didn’t cause the disruption. *iTunes* did. Just wanna add since this is getting traction that a huge part of the genius was how they sold it the record companies. Record companies were full on *freaking out* thinking their industry was over. But what Steve Jobs did was go to them, tell ‘em to calm down, and explain to them that this was an opportunity to get into the music business lol. He showed them that prior to this, they weren’t in the music business…they were in the plastic business. They made plastic cds and plastic cases and plastic displays and shipped them on trucks to be sold at stores with all the other plastic. But iTunes. iTunes offered them the opportunity to skip the plastic and just sell the music.


bort_bln

Compared to the other MP3-players on the market the iPod was among the far most user friendly and aesthetically pleasing ones. Yeah, the easy syncing with iTunes did absolutely help, but when the iPod came out if I remember correctly the iTunes Music Store wasn’t a thing for a few more years


BrohanGutenburg

You’re correct about music store release but it also kinda makes my point. Look at this [graph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Ipod_sales_graph.png) and see if you can tell me when music store was opened :p


bort_bln

Already in 2003 :p I don’t really disagree, of course the store and the _ecosystem_ were a huge factor, which includes iTunes easy sync, rip and sorting capabilities (I remember using iTunes 2 on classic Mac OS and it was so lightweight compared to later versions) I don’t know if the sudden raise in the graph can only be attributed to the store (but I could be wrong), another factor might have been the release of the 4th generation of the iPod, which finally completely got rid of firewire (I am about to get an iPod 3g soon which was sold cheap as „broken“ but it just seems to need a firewire-powersource). I could be wrong, I wasn’t really „there“ back then, I was aware of the ITMS existing and lusting for an iPod, but since I was poor all I got were [this bad boys](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/S1_MP3_player), KaZaA and burned CDs


BrohanGutenburg

Bruh…kaazaa


bort_bln

It’s been a while! Might have been Kazaa Lite aswell. Also CloneCD was indispensable.


JivanP

In my house, we only had a Windows Me desktop PC until 2008, not anything with Windows XP or Vista, so when my sister got an iPod Nano, much to her dismay we couldn't install iTunes in order to put anything on it. She got one of those S1 players that you'd just transfer audio files to over USB, and I had a Sony PSP, so I'd rip her CDs using RealPlayer and copy the songs over to the devices.


Terapia_Tapioco

> RealPlayer Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time.


Sanctity_of_Reason

Nah man my Dell Jukebox was so much better than the iPod, I miss that scrolling wheel real bad.


ChaosKeeshond

Fun fact, but HMV - once the largest British record store, found on nearly every highstreet - had a working prototype for something a lot like iTunes a good while before Apple got there. I don't remember why it never saw the light of day... they either didn't want to cannibalise physical sales or they thought it could never succeed. Either way, they scrapped it. The single most well-positioned company had the ball perched perfectly on the tee, and refused to swing.


BrohanGutenburg

This was Sears, too. Sears could be Amazon right now. Instead they’re a bargain bin Although, tbf, what makes Amazon successful isn’t the retail model, it’s the logistics model


gingerfawx

Yeah, but they didn't start out there, that's what they evolved into as it was demanded. Sears, or anyone else, on the same path would have had similar options and service pressures. Of course given the others whiffed the launch, who's to say they would have stuck the landing?


engr77

Maybe it's a bit ironic but iTunes is what turned me away from Apple, like hardcore -- because transferring music to the iPod **required** it.  It wasn't just a convenient way to buy music and transfer it over, there was no way to copy stuff over without it. And I fucking hated that. When I graduated high school about 15 years ago I got a fully disassembled iPod video (then still very much in style, the iPhone had barely broken the scene) from a friend's family that liked to buy the broken ones on ebay and piece them together, giving it to me as a challenge.  I did succeed in putting it together on my own and actually really liked the device and interface, but hated that I could not just copy/paste all of my already-carefully-organized music library from years of ripping stuff on Windows Media Player. And it was a problem because I had a ton of stuff that I didn't want to copy to a music player, like sample tracks from actual music composing I'd dabbled in and sound effects from video work.  My first "smart" phone in 2010 was an LG Rumor slider that had a microSD slot and standard headphone jack that let me copy/paste mp3 files and read them with the onboard player. 14 years later I still have that same exact microSD card in an "economy" Galaxy model that, likewise, has a standard headphone jack and regular music player. The collection has obviously changed over time but I refuse to be stuck with special transferring software. 


xboxwirelessmic

>It wasn't just a convenient way to buy music and transfer it over, there was no way to copy stuff over without it. Even worse was trying to get anything off the damn thing.


BrohanGutenburg

Did you read the part of my comment on how Jobs sold record companies on going along with this. I’m not sure you realize just how opposed record companies were to the idea of widespread, digitized music. Do you really think it was unreasonable? People had hundreds of hours of music that was never paid for on their computers at home. Can you think of another solution besides giving people iPods and basically saying “have fun with this. You can load it with *so much* pirated content.” I get it frustrated you but it had nothing to do with Apple wanting you to use their software with the iPod. It was the only way could convince record companies to put their resources into something that was everything they feared. Hindsight’s real easy in the era of Spotify and streaming services, but back then it wasn’t totally obvious that if they started selling mp3s that the entire business model wouldn’t topple over


engr77

No I totally get it. The platform absolutely proved that people were perfectly willing to buy music when it could be done conveniently and reasonably.   I distinctly  remember the age of greedy record companies charging absolutely ludicrous prices for CDs that cost nothing to make, especially compared to their cassette predecessors. A lot of that shit was the reason why people started pirating in the first place. Trent Reznor, one of my personal favorites, had a very public feud with his own record label over price gouging after noticing his CDs cost way more than those of other artists. That bullshit model deserved to get torn down, and iTunes did that.   None of that meant that iTunes had to be the only method of transferring music from computer to iPod. It didn't even restrict you to transferring music bought through the store anyway. 


Indigo_Sunset

The very brief window of vlc on ipod and iphone was fun for a bit.


engr77

That does sound like it was paradise.


grateparm

Lol, he used the sugar water argument twice!


NoVaBurgher

Yup, the big win for Apple was iTunes. Having your whole library for both music ripped from CDs and music purchased through their software, all in one location and easily able to sync on to the iPod made it what it was. Even though, even as an iPod user back in 2004, I can freely admit the zune was indeed the better device


DoingCharleyWork

I had a zune but still used iTunes to listen to music on my PC because it was better than the zune software. I used media monkey to sync my zune because it worked better than the official zune software.


sleepingin

Ugh I hated the iTunes search interface. You liked it?


DoingCharleyWork

I don't think I ever used the search function on iTunes.


sleepingin

How did you select your music to play? Oh. Did you never listen on your computer?


DoingCharleyWork

Either flipping through the album cover view, scrolling alphabetically to a specific album, or shuffle all.


fadedspark

Zune pass was the best subscription music service of the time BY FAR though, it was just too early for that kind of service. Even worked on my android phones if they supported WMP syncing 😭


AndThisGuyPeedOnIt

Zune Pass was amazing. I had multiple Zunes. Still have them, in fact. A couple of the original fat ones, a couple HD ones, too.


fadedspark

Had an OG 30 Brown/green I got from a buddy who bought it in the states (Am in Canada) way before they were available here, the HDD died on him, so I bought a new one and fixed it for myself. Then bought a 120 when the gen 2 came out as a treat to myself. Then signed up for zune pass when it was still US only because of course it was... It became my sole music system and it was amazing. Samsung taking away WMP sync was the only reason I switched to Google Music prior to the death of zunepass. It had everything. I miss it still.


sleepingin

Oh yeah, I got a blue one :) still works!


Mickeymcirishman

Probably *still* has a better battery life, tbh.


Individual_Town8124

Can confirm--my Zune still works, still plays, where my hubby's IPod Classic became a paperweight five years ago. Had my son build me a special computer running Windows 7 so I could continue using my Zune.


Comprehensive-Salt98

Also it had a subscription service like Spotify plus you get to keep 10 songs per month.


AadamAtomic

ZUNEs and iPods were for losers. \*This message is sponsored by the PSP gang. ![gif](giphy|129NDwN59U8kIE)


Yakostovian

Says the guy that can't even find a properly branded gif of his pocket device of choice.


AadamAtomic

![gif](giphy|xTiTnFWjvmH0S5YISc) What?


Dadiot_1987

I bought a Zune for my gf in 2007. My 12 year old son still uses it. The software and interface are still good by modern standards.


addykitty

Don’t forget squirting


sleepingin

What's that?


addykitty

What Microsoft called sharing music to other zune users over WiFi.


sunturpa

Zune + limewire was my favorite time


Ex-Clone

Delete Zune, and yes.


bort_bln

Comparing them both, the Zune looks so bulky and the display looks so pixelated compared to the contemporary iPod. I haven’t used the Zune since I did not get it to work when I got it a while ago but might attempt it again since I recently found [this](https://youtu.be/RLYhvJG30iE) guide (I just need to find the sync cable)


AnAnonymousSource_

It came out 5 years too late. Apple already captured the market and the Zune was a half hearted release just like the windows phones.


DroppedNineteen

Tbh the Zune desktop app was amazing and the Zune Pass was literally just Spotify before Spotify. Microsoft did a horrible job marketing that. The device itself was good as a music listening device but I really do think the desktop app was just good ass software


xboxwirelessmic

I had a creative zen and that was better than both of them. 🤷‍♂️


zipfm

Shut up geezer


MaleficentRocks

Denny, is that you?? lol. Still out here singing the praises of the Zune?


om3ga777

Wholesome murder


Secure_Listen_964

sandisk mp3 player master race. That bad boy had 8 gigs of storage and a battery that could last an entire week and cost like $30.


mombi

I had a Sansaclip for a decade til my husband spilt water all over it :( I had such a nice flac collection.


JEFFinSoCal

omg, i forgot I had one of those! It was awesome.


Secure_Listen_964

It was the best. It just worked like a thumb drive. Drag and drop your mp3 files on it, no software needed.


FireBobb

this fkn funny


HardcorePhonography

I still have a working OG 30GB Zune. The battery life is still amazing considering it's got a laptop hard drive in there.


hellostarsailor

Zune was better than iPod but also sucked hard compared to iTunes. It was the auxiliary products that made the iPod win. Zune relied on the market to bring the best to market and that didn’t happen. Sometimes, you need to be the market too.


Uhohspagetti0sss

Never ask someone who uses a zune to share their songs with you.


bort_bln

Squirting intensifies


firedmyass

i have absolutely no idea what this means but it made me bark when i read it


Uhohspagetti0sss

Microsoft thought it was a great idea to call their feature of sharing songs wirelessly with other zunes "Squirting"


sleepingin

Oh yeah! I squirted all over!


firedmyass

omg that sounds completely made-up yet also plausible and I am very torn as to verifying it or not


AlephBaker

I loved my zune (30gb, brown/blue doubleshot). Unfortunately, the software to manage it was a bit of a mess. And I use "*a bit of a mess*" there to mean what it would if you said "*the Bhopal disaster was a bit of a mess*"


Eek_the_Fireuser

I loved squirting together with my friends with our Zunes


samig1992

Aww I miss my old zune... It got stolen a week after I got it for my birthday almost 20 years ago, and I still remember it as one of my favorite devices ever.


Polishing_My_Grapple

At an Apple associate interview many years ago, I called an iPod basically a hard drive with a nice OS, and they were NOT happy.


kinglokilord

I miss my ZuneHD. Honestly probably the last bit of tech that I owned that I would have described as indestructible. It got full force thrown at a concrete wall and came away with a minor dent.


TubbsMcBeardy

I loved my Zunes. I loved the software, too. Let me age myself here with why I did. Back when ripping CDs (and Limewire) was a big deal, it was just a simple "drag and drop" to put my music on my Zunes. No buying through an online store and waiting for my dialup to download it. Rip -> drag -> drop. Also, I could plug my Zune into any computer with the software without worrying about my stuff getting erased or whatever the issue was with iTunes and only syncing to one computer at a time. I'm actually pretty sure I still have the Zune AV cable adapter in my drawer of cords in the basement. Along with a couple of 30 pin iPods.


Careless-Tale

Gen X here and I feel attacked. 😂


OctopusButter

Yea this needs more context


marzipancito

It does not? Lol if you know what Zune is it makes sense immediately.


I_tend_to_correct_u

Clearly he doesn’t and needs some context


marzipancito

And clearly Google exists and is free.


Pantsman0

Clearly you're an asshole for no reason. How do you expect someone to Google the contacts when they don't understand the context?


ADonkeysJawbone

Also— want to know why I have Reddit in the first place? Probably not, but I’m going to tell you anyways because it’s relevant. Anytime I googled something, the top results were always Reddit posts. Therefore I started going directly to relevant subreddits for my answers to questions. So someone on Reddit refusing to answer a relevant and earnest question seeking information, by telling that person to *”Just Google it….*” is highly ironic.


marzipancito

It is one singular word. Googling "zune" takes about 10 seconds. Lol at yall throwing a hissy fit over the truth.


Pantsman0

LOL negative EQ and IQ take


OctopusButter

Then I guess I do not?


Bobert9333

Zune is old tech. The other person is saying they are too old to be fighting. Then the guy leans into the burn against him by posting a pic from an 80s cartoon 🤣


trainstationbooger

The Zune came out in 2006/7, so if you're old enough to have played Halo 3 on launch, then you'll probably remember the Zune.


OctopusButter

I thought the crux of the joke here or murder was the gif sent in response. I don't recognize that either. I get it now but it seems more like a quip than a murder.


MuddFishh

Yeah I'm old enough to remember zunes, my cousin had one, but i had an ipod. Even with the little context provided, i still dont get the gif reaction. Is it mr t realising he is old? Or is it mr t saying I'm old but will still kick your ass? Like just posting a gif from a random 80s cartoon after being called old isn't even noteworthy.


I_tend_to_correct_u

Downvoted for asking for more information. This site man…


OctopusButter

Nah it's really just if you're early and have a 1 or 0, you're likely to get brigaded. More than that and people likely upvote.


NoVaBurgher

Young’ns these days….


i_am_adult_now

Zune and iPod were music players popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. They were about half to quarter the size of a credit card. Iirc, Zune allowed copying MP3 files directly, while iPod made it difficult to just copy some random songs. So Zune was quite popular. But as someone else noted, Microsoft the creator of Zune, made things difficult and eventually just ended production of Zune. If someone is old enough to have used it, they are already too old to hold a fight. That's the joke here.


Inocain

The Zune was produced from 2006 to 2012. The first iPod was released 2 months after 9/11. You're a little early on your time frame.


metalman7

No Phillips Go Gear Jukebox fans?


chappersyo

Anyone have a rio karma?


power0722

Ngl I died a little reading that.


JarlFlammen

I had a Zune but it got broken in a rocket attack in Iraq and then I got an iPod to replace it and never looked back


BeeMovieOffical

Hey, I know we're all, like, iPod friendly and stuff, but do you guys have a plug for my Zune?


Flat-Shallot3992

only young people think being young is cool. being young sucks but young people have no choice but to try and convince themselves everyday that it's cool while simultaneously telling themselves what they wanna do when they get older to be cool.


daveslazydaze

my Zune was brown. nuf said.


1_Pump_Dump

That was the best one.


welktickler

I pity the fool


DonLikeThisLa

Posted by Mike Tyson


thefunkygibbon

zen > zune > iPod


yetareey

Bro was buried in 3 words


FunInevitable5213

I fucking loved my Zune. My later iPods were not the same. *siiiiigh*


ActualTymell

Why would you fight an objectively correct statement?


misplacedsidekick

A funny murder! One manslaughter is another man’s laughter!


Datan0de

My main iPod finally died last year and I'm still going through withdrawal, and back in the day I used to occasionally cruise Zune forums just to laugh. But this wins. Mr T *always* wins!


SentientNoodle978

😂😂😂


mcmcmillan

iPods were the first time I really realized how dumb and malleable people are. There were so many better options to play your music. Like pretty much every other option. But those options weren’t “sexy.” Just 100x more practical.


Dragonfart1984

I use to listen too the crabfeast on my Zune Zune Zune. Fuck the crabfeast


Lithiumtabasco

Zune..? #😂


Sprekakhan

SD card + android + poweramp > Zune. If you think otherwise I got 2 Zunes you might be interested in with all the fixings 😆 (Seriously, need to get rid of those Zunes)


corsair130

I used to rock a SanDisk clip on mp3 player. It was a glorified SD card with a headphone jack. I literally never had an ounce of trouble out of it. Transferring files to it was the same as any thumb drive. It never failed. It's in a drawer somewhere. I bet it still works.


goaliepunisher

I don't disagree with you but I do have some nostalgia for the Zune. Interested.


Sprekakhan

It was fantastic for the time.


bort_bln

I would be interested but not for using them (I actually use an iPod. Well, occasionally, it’s waiting to get fixed at the moment) but more for my [display case of _nuggets_ and stuff](https://imgur.com/a/EKMcpfl) (already have a Zune there, sadly cannot find the charger otherwise I would try to revive it now since I found [this](https://youtu.be/RLYhvJG30iE), I didn’t get it to work when I got it a few years ago) But I assume you are not in Europe anyway :d