
Zune Diehards - chenster
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8qw5ax/zune-forever-the-diehards-still-obsessed-with-microsofts-colossal-failure
======
dmreedy
> Recently, I became fixated on the idea of someone using a Zune in 2017,
> which I found absolutely hilarious for reasons even I don't fully
> understand. What must it be like? Does the modern-day Zune owner feel like a
> gadget-toting John the Baptist in a desert of Apple products, vaping and
> sermonizing on Radiohead?

Not everyone lives under your paradigm of brand-tribalism, and of those who
do, not all subscribe to your particular tribe.

> To my surprise, my inbox was soon filled with emails from people who claim
> to still use, and love, their Zunes.

Of course you were surprised. How can there be so many painfully unhip people
in this world? I bet they don't even live in a hip city. Couldn't tell the
difference between a cortado and a flat white, am I right?

I understand ad hominems are generally not cool, but seeing as the author's
contributions to this article are, in typical Vice fashion, devoid of anything
other than breathless, sneering, self-important cultural 'commentary', I find
it harder to take the high road.

~~~
DKnoll
> I understand ad hominems are generally not cool, but seeing as the author's
> contributions to this article are, in typical Vice fashion, devoid of
> anything other than breathless, sneering, self-important cultural
> 'commentary', I find it harder to take the high road.

The authors contribution to the article is just that... the article. The
author sought these people out and got them to share their thoughts on the
Zune.

Also, what you call breathless, sneering self-importance (at least in this
instance) I call a sense of humour.

------
christophilus
Man. I had a Zune mini [0] and loved that thing. I also had their music
service which gave me unlimited music for $10 / mo _and_ 10 permanent songs
per month that I could keep even if I canceled my subscription. That's a
pretty darn good deal.

I never understood why the Zune never succeeded. It was a great little player.

[0] [https://www.amazon.com/Zune-Digital-Media-Player-
Black/dp/B0...](https://www.amazon.com/Zune-Digital-Media-Player-
Black/dp/B000WFZSBE)

~~~
stevenj
>I never understood why the Zune never succeeded. It was a great little
player.

I think it was primarily due to three things: (1) it didn't get released until
5 years after the iPod; (2) while many people loathe iTunes it was widely used
and liked by everyday people, and it was introduced 8.5 months before the iPod
released; (3) Microsoft wasn't viewed as a "cool" consumer brand.

~~~
soylentcola
Even when they were still new and roughly equivalent (arguably better in some
ways, worse in others), the narrative seemed to be that Zunes were just
wannabe iPods. They were the punchline to several late night TV jokes.
Basically, the market (or at least the marketers) decided that they were the
uncool poseur in the room so whatever potential they had was undermined by
public perception if nothing else.

I also had one after only using cheaper Sansa Clip type mp3 players prior to
that. I believe it was on sale and was a more affordable alternative to an
iPod when I wanted to try something that could hold a lot of music, do
podcasts, had an FM radio, and essentially avoid iTunes (which I'd tried and
disliked).

Sadly, it was stolen after a few months and I gave up on the idea. I still
have an old Sansa Clip in a drawer somewhere for occasional use. Otherwise,
even back in the Zune days I often just streamed Shoutcast stations on my old
Treos and PPCs before moving on to more modern smartphones which are more
likely to be used now. I load up a USB stick to keep connected in the car for
specific things I want to listen to. Otherwise it's just Youtube Music or
(still) streaming Shoutcast stations.

------
jccalhoun
Most of the people quoted seem to be using a Zune because it is just an mp3
player and don't seem to be aware of the fact that there are tons of other mp3
players out there ranging from audiophile level to cheap ipod clones. I think
this says a lot about apple's total dominance of the market (that they have
now abandoned). The fact that they at least knew that there was a second
option indicates that the Zune wasn't a total failure.

I had a brown zune and it was great at the time.

------
Kipters
I still have and use my Zune HD and I love it: the UI is fast and fluid,
battery is decent (after 7 years!), sound quality is good, it's a pleasure to
use.

Also, I can just place it in the dock and use it at home (or even for watching
videos, up to 720p)

~~~
deadmetheny
Same. I've used my HD nearly every day since I bought it many years ago, and
it still works great. Only issue is that the biggest model of HD is only
enough storage for about half my music...been considering putting a SSD and a
new battery into the shell of my dead Zune 120.

------
amiga-workbench
I really need to pick up a Zune HD, that UI is fantastic.

~~~
dawnerd
I remember going to a frys launch day and they had to look around for it. Sad
that they treated it like a cheap knockoff iPod. The screen was fantastic for
the time.

~~~
scarface74
I remember going to Walmart and they had a label on the section for Zunes
"Zune iPod".

------
baldfat
I LOVED my Cowon D2 it was the best sounding player I ever listened to and it
supported ogg and flac. I jumped on EBay to look and they actually cost about
twice as much on EBay than when I bought mine new 9 years ago.

My LG V20 blows it away in audio quality and power plus I can do pro-level
recording. I have a $250 portable recorder and my phone has replaced it.

------
wink
I never had a Zune and if I need something for "just music" (like in the car
with the broken radio) I now take my old Android phone with the semi-working
display.

If all my(2-4?) 6-10 year old cheap mp3 players had a decent UI like the Zune
and didn't break... I don't see a reason why I wouldn't still use them.

------
lin_lin
I can relate to an extent. I use a USB stick music player. It's essentially
like a usb drive with a headphone jack. I've had it years. I never use my
smartphone for music, I don't see the need. When it breaks, I'll get another
one.

~~~
wodenokoto
Which one are you using? I'm currently on a dying first gen ipod shuffle.

I tried getting a cheap "mp3 stick" of aliexpress but it came without memory.
I'd rather not waste electronics a second time.

~~~
lin_lin
It's some sort of Sony Walkman. Dunno which model as all of the printing on
the device has worn away with use!

~~~
wodenokoto
I have been looking for those. They seem to be out of production:(

------
discreditable
I really liked my Zune. I came from an iPod in the same generation. I wasn't a
fan of the Zune desktop software but the device software was a lot nicer and
the build was sturdier than my iPod. I used it for years until I got my first
smartphone.

------
o_nate
I'm on my second Zune, and when it finally dies, I'll probably buy another
one, assuming I can get a cheap refurbished one online and the software still
runs on the latest version of Windows. The build quality is good, the software
is very clean and minimalist compared to iTunes, and it just works. In this
case, the lack of constant software updates is a feature.

------
zecg
The testimonies seem to be of people who have no reason to throw away a
perfectly good music player, rather than "obsessed diehards".

~~~
chrisseaton
They sound pretty die-hard to me. And the majority say they'll buy another one
so they aren't just keeping using it because it still works.

> I loathe iTunes with the passion of every sun in the known universe

> If my Zune breaks, definitely look for another Zune first.

> I found out that they stopped making [the Zune], so I had to go to eBay

> I vastly prefer the Zune device user interface

> I'll probably see if I can get a replacement Zune online

~~~
hbex5
It must be nice to live in a world so isolated that smartphones just
completely passed you by.

Imagine being the diehard Zune fan who felt his best option for a replacement
was going all in with Windows Phone.

~~~
bananicorn
The article states some of the reasons one might have for still owning a zune:

> The thing is, with your phone, if you download an app like Spotify, they're
> asking for access to data on your phone, it's connected to the internet, and
> they track your location, which they sell to third-party vendors. But the
> Zune isn't connected to the internet at all, and what I like about the Zune
> is the privacy element.

~~~
zimpenfish
> and they track your location

Having just checked, Spotify has no location permissions on iOS.

~~~
skocznymroczny
And do you trust them to respect those permissions?

~~~
gatesphere
Short of kernel bugs, there aren't really reliable ways of getting a user's
location without having the permissions.

------
jrs95
I actually think I'm going to get one of these...seems like a 120GB one is
actually pretty cheap, and I really like the idea of having a totally offline
music player

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SteveJS
This probably says more about me than the article, but the drawing at the top
is of an ipod that says zune. A zune has a ‘squarcle’ rather than a circle.

~~~
twright
That's an illustration of the first gen Zune, the second gen had the
"squarcle."

~~~
SteveJS
You’re right! As i also found out from the dozens of people on facebook that
unearthed first gen Zune’s due to the same comment. My current understanding
is it was a dpad in the shape of a circle.

------
SomeHacker44
I'm holding on to my old HP Calculators for dear life, especially the 41, 42
and 48/49/50s.

I am glad Swissmicros is out there!

------
philliphaydon
I always wanted a Zune but I don’t believe it was ever avaliable in NZ :(

Now I just use he iPhone to play music

------
godzilla932
I still have and use my zune.Most of my music is on it

------
Boothroid
I hope we move past this attitude that there is something strange about
continuing to use something that fulfils its function perfectly well, purely
because it's not the latest sexy product. This idea is not good for the pocket
or the planet.

~~~
tcarn
Have to agree. One day someone will come out with a service that allows you to
upgrade/make usable old technology.

