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Posts Tagged “Microsoft”

pretty soon, every company will have a rsvp only venue/gallery

The Zune Unveils Another Venue You're Not Cool Enough To Get Into

Continuing its attempts to firm up its position as "the No. 1 digital-music player that isn't an iPod," the Zune has opened its own venue in Los Angeles in order to assure you of its status among "tastemakers." Sure, it's an office for Microsoft employees during the day, but at night, it's LA's hottest music venue since the Peach Pit After Dark shut its doors. More »

2:30 PM on Fri Jun 13 2008
By Dan Gibson
418 views, 3 comments

rock yo baud

Microsoft A Capella Act Taking It To Nationals!


The funky fresh guys rocking the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Aeroplane" are the Baumboys, an a capella group made of Microsoft employees. This clip of them winning first place at the Northwestern Regional Harmony Sweepstakes also includes their rendition of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" and a comedy number about getting sexed up by a video game addict. "We kind of got the idea that we could, if we dedicated ourselves, compete with this," says "group president" Dave McEwen. "So we wrote down our goals, in typical Microsoft fashion, and used it as a cyclical iteration to make ourselves better." Glaven. More »

4:30 PM on Thu May 1 2008
By Anthony Miccio
148 views, 4 comments

Latest by How do I say this ... THROWDINI!: Please don't tell me that a cappella will be the new kickball. Because I play and am good at kickball, but can't sing for shit. My self esteem couldn't take the hit. more »

won't play for sure

Microsoft To People Who Bought Tunes From MSN Music: "Suckers!"

Microsoft is pulling support for MSN Music's digital-rights management come August 30, which means that any songs purchased through the now-defunct music store—which went dark in November 2006, just as the parent company was going Zune-crazy—will be locked into the computers and operating systems that they're working on at that time, with no further authorizations possible. Microsoft is recommending that affected users burn their unshareable tracks to CD and then re-rip them to whatever new computers they'd like to hear them on, but given that the recommended process results in the fidelity being even worse, what's more likely to happen is that people will be driven to LimeWire, BitTorrent, and leak blogs in search of replenishing their collection. Ah, digital-rights management—it really is good at making unintended consequences turn into reality, isn't it? [Listening Post]

3:30 PM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Maura Johnston
140 views, 3 comments

Latest by n/a: "Microsoft is recommending that affected users burn their unshareable tracks to CD and then re-rip them to whatever new computers they'd like to hear them on" Microsoft itself has just violated the DMCA with this recommendation. Where do I file more »

the biz

Everybody Pour Out A Little Today For The Zune

It's not all good cheer and popped champagne corks today in the music tech world. No, not for our lowly homey the Zune, whose retail prices were summarily chopped by 50 clams to $200 yesterday according to Billboard, which also notes that pokerfaced Microsoft is claiming it's a totally natural business move on their part for a longstanding, beloved product and that it maybe, kinda, sorta had a little something to do with all the new iPod hubbub today. And Zune fans are now wondering if the three of them will soon be able to buy an inferior telecommunications device as well, as Zunestress of Doom and Microsoft CEO Mindy Mount said a ZunePhone "wouldn't be unreasonable." By which I think she meant, "We'll say damn near anything to get you to stop gazing longingly at studly Steve Jobs for just 30 seconds."

Zune Prices Cut [Billboard]

4:16 PM on Wed Sep 5 2007
By jharv
539 views, 7 comments

Latest by loudersoft: Wow, a whole fifty dollars off. Way to help me send the kids to Princeton instead of State Tech, Microsoft. more »

lawsuits

Steve Jobs Sleeps A Little Easier On His Big Pile Of Money As Microsoft MP3 Verdict Is Overturned

A California jury slapped $1.52 billion in damages on Microsoft earlier this year in a lawsuit filed by French company Alcatel-Lucent, which claimed that Microsoft's MP3 software infringed on several of Alcatel-Lucent's MP3-related patents. Microsoft counterclaimed that the liscensing fees for the various products the company uses were all paid up to the appropriate parties, and Alcatel-Lucent wasn't one of them. A San Diego judge agreed yesterday and overturned the verdict, allowing the digital end of the music biz to sigh in relief that their livelihoods were no longer on the chopping block: More »

9:45 AM on Tue Aug 7 2007
By jharv
294 views, 1 comment

Latest by Chris Molanphy: This might be one of many reasons why Apple sticks with AAC, even for its new DRM-free downloads. That said, you're right - the fact that six years of iPods can read MP3s and iTunes can encode in it means more »

help wanted

Microsoft Looking To Hire Anyone Even Vaguely Familiar With Zune

According to a listing on the company's "Careers" page, Microsoft is looking for a Media Editor to deal specifically with its shiny brown turd. Among the tasks: More »

12:54 PM on Fri Jun 29 2007
By Brian Raftery
632 views, 2 comments

drm

Zune's Store May Be Next To Take The DRM-Free Plunge

EMI's DRM-free digital catalog will likely spread to the Zune Marketplace, according to reports: More »
youtube

Microsoft's New Video Site Promises Just As Much Time-Wasting Crap As YouTube


Video: Touch me: Samantha Fox & Günther More »
zune

Shiny New Turd Hits Same Price-Point As iPod

Though these figures have been rumored for a while, Microsoft has officially set a price and a release date for Zune, its late-to-the-game media-player: A 30GB model will be out Nov. 14th, with a price tag of $249.99. The Zune store will sell songs for 99 cents, and there's also a subscription-service option for $14.99 a month. And for approximately $1, you can buy a pack of ALF puffy stickers on eBay, which will allow you to cover up the device's hideous color scheme.

Microsoft to Charge $249.99 for Zune Player, Due Out in November [AP]

11:44 AM on Thu Sep 28 2006
By Brian Raftery
89 views, 7 comments

Latest by Major Tom: I say if you're going to go with brown, take it all the way and make it wood-grain. That would do it for me! more »

zune

MP3 Bloggers' Marketing Talents Exploited For Development Of Zune

Today, Microsoft officially announced the specs for the Zune, the portable media device that they're hoping will loosen Apple's tight grip on the digital media market. Our gadget-crazed brother Gizmodo has the specifics on the launch — the Zune's two biggest selling points are its three-inch color screen and its wireless capabilities, which will allow users to send music files back and forth between each other. Beamed music will have a shelf life of "three days or three plays," which seems to be just long enough to allow a user to either totally get sick of a song or totally be convinced to buy it from the Zune-branded store, the Zune Marketplace. More »

2:15 PM on Thu Sep 14 2006
By mjohnston
395 views, 7 comments

Latest by Trackback: Apparently, "TV studios and networks are trying to tap into the burgeoning power of blogs as promotional tools by flooding bloggers with free stuff in hopes the flattered recipients will reward them with positive coverage." How do we know more »