Pinboard (guardiantech)

R.I.P. Zune >> NYTimes.com

guardiantech — 2012-06-06T22:19:09+00:00

It was pretty clear that the days of the Zune name were numbered. Microsoft introduced Zune back in 2006, when the most exciting thing happening in the technology and electronics industry was Apple’s iPod and iTunes. Zune was both a music-playing device like the iPod and an iTunes-like service that allowed people to load their Zune players with music.
“Zune is a big investment for us,” Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chairman, said at the time, adding, “It’s a vision that will carry us forward for years.”

BillG being literal again.

Robbie Bach’s four startup lessons from Xbox and Zune >> GeekWire

guardiantech — 2012-05-14T21:51:36+00:00

Bach left Microsoft abruptly in 2010. Here he looks back at what Microsoft got right (and wrong) in the launch of the original Xbox and the Zune. As you may know, one of them went better than the other.

Microsoft confirms Zune HD is dead >> This is my next...

guardiantech — 2011-10-13T05:38:16+00:00

"After a flurry of back and forth reports concerning the life of the Zune HD, WMPoweruser is now reporting that Microsoft has indeed pulled the plug on its Zune hardware, and will instead focus its efforts moving forward on the software and services side of the equation." J Allard always imagined the Zune as a cloud device. Now more cloud than device, however.

Zune Disappears from New Xbox Dashboard >> WinSupersite

guardiantech — 2011-07-08T20:19:36+00:00

"Has anyone noticed that this week’s released screenshots of the New Xbox Dashboard conspicuously omit the Zune logo? If you look at the Music experience shot, below, you’ll see some generic music note graphics, but no Zune.
"The Zune brand, of course, is being phased out. This is just the latest public-facing example of this slow migration."

More like a slow eradication from Microsoft's history, Soviet-style.