Revealed – Microsoft Roadmap beyond 2008

Yesterday’s Microsoft Show and Tell has fueled a lot of blogs the past 2 days. There’s plenty of coverage on Techmeme and elsewhere, but in case you haven’t seen it, here’s the plan for the next financial year and beyond.

Items of note include the many incarnations planned for Dynamics, including LiveCRM, the mention of the intention to pursue developing PopFly (the slick web mashups platform still in beta) and Windows Automotive (opinion is divided over having Windows running anthing in your car!).

The less said about the planned next generation Zune player the better 😉

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Once, Twice …maybe 3 times a (Zune) Loser

What can I say ….only in America? Here’s a guy who’s got 2 Zune tattoos, and enough room for many more!

Story / Comments on Engadget here : What kind of man gets two Zune tattoos?

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Dont hold your breath for Zune in Ireland!

Today’s free Metro paper reports in a gadgets for 2007 feature that the Zune MP3 player and so called “iPod killer” from Microsoft wont be available in Ireland until next October so we’ve quite a wait to find out how rubbish it is or otherwise.

On the plus side, someone is listening as the Zune social site has showed some improvement since my last visit before the holidays, though it still takes too long for the flash to load. Kudos when and where it’s due I guess!

technorati tags:Microsoft, Zune, MP3, Player, Availability, Ireland, iPod, Killer, Social, .Net, Zune.net

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Now playing …All the Britney you want for Zune on Vista !

Now you can have all the Britney Spears you want for your Zune running on the RTM release of Vista. Yesterday Microsoft released a (long awaited in some cases) hefty software and firmware update to v1.2 that makes the Zune unit compatible on Windows Vista. Fixes include imrovements in video loading speed too apparently.

So if you’ve had a Zune stuck in a drawer since you bought it cos Vista wouldn’t play nicely it’s time to dust it off. You can get the update via the Windows Update service or via this direct link.

Note, this update is not for Vista RC releases, you’ll have to wait til Jan 30th!

Full story here from ZuneInsider.com.

technorati tags:Microsoft, Zune, MP3, Player, Firmware, Update, Software, Windows, Britney, Spears, Audio, Video, Patch, Rockstartup

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Oh no they didn’t …it’s a frickin PINK Zune

Oh yes they did! At least there’s only a few of them though..phew. Check out the CrunchGear story from the link below.Apple got it right with the bright pink and green, the same shades of pink and green that made a name for Benetton years ago, and while I can see the girlie attraction, it just doesn’t work on Zune IMHO.

Pink Zunes Surface at random

Does it matter? We all know it should be about ease of navigation and functionality and low cost add-ons that enhance the entertainment experience, but releasing the unit in the same colours (we’ll ignore the shoe leather brown!) as the iPod is shameful plagiarism, a real disappointment and a sad reflection on the Zune Team. There’s so much more imagination among all the talent at Microsoft that could have delivered so much more for this device in every way. Just look at what the Office 2007 team did with the new ribbon interface, fresh and innovative.

What’s your experience with or opinion on Zune? Leave a comment.

technorati tags:Microsoft, Zune, Pink, MP3, Player, Portable, Audio, iPod, Design, Navigation

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