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Oh dear. Just when I’d got all excited again about Zune, on the premise that only DRM-encrypted audio would be subject to the draconian 3 days/3 plays policy, one of Zune’s PR contacts got in touch to let us know that, in fact, all audio will expire according to those limits. If you were thinking you could just re-transfer it over and over, then you’ll be pleased to hear that Microsoft has also put a stop to that, too - apparently multiple consecutive song swaps are limited as well.
If I were a PR person I think this is the part of the job that I’d enjoy the least - having to put people off buying the product I represent by justifying its crippling limitations as insisted on by the manufacturer (or the manufacturer’s powerful content allies). Microsoft can warble all they like about song metadata remaining on the player and the music staying in your list of files, but consumers are going to see WiFi and think “great, wireless transfers!” and not “great, self-destruct wireless transfers.” I’m afraid Zune has just fallen off my shopping list again.
[Thanks to Sara @ Edelman for the info]
It’s Microsoft; the fact that the device is locked-down tighter than a drum, DRM-wise, shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s seen what they’ve done in the past.
That 80GB iPod is looking better and better…
I’m afraid I was wrong in my last comment about Zune Wifi sharing. The 3 days 3 plays is ACTIVE for DRM and non-DRM music files. I got an official answer on this.
Although its mechanics, are not so clear. ZuneInsider some weeks ago said that DRM won’t be added to non-DRM files by the Zune device. We thought that it was clear enough…. but it wasn’t.
Anyway, WE ARE SORRY for misleading you and your readers, although we made you feel happy for some hours!
But still remains the $15/month for unlimited music downloads (valid only for one month). You can select from 2 million songs available from the Zune Marketplace (under construction).
That you did! It’s a shame that Microsoft are taking the ultra-locked-down route.
Anyway, as always we appreciate the feedback and comments :)
I really don’t see the alternative to Microsoft applying the restrictions to both DRM and non-DRM content, without making a mockery of copy protection.
Otherwise, it would be a simple matter for one person to burn-and-rip a protected song to remove its DRM, and then wirelessly share the song as a non-DRM to other Zunes. The copy protection would then be lost through all generations of the song as it propogated through the Zune-to-Zune sharing network.
It’s a practical answer to a tough problem. What it means is that if a song is truly not subject to copy protection, you have to find some other means of getting it on your PC and sync’ing it with your Zune - e.g. via email, jump-drive, etc.
You are, of course, right - but the key thing here is what the perception of Zune and its wifi is to the “general public”, e.g. the people who are unlikely to bother reading SlashGear, Engadget or Gizmodo. I don’t know if they’ll spend enough time thinking about the ramifications of DRM to get past that initial “oh, it’s crippled” disappointment over the wireless.
Unfortunately, once you start talking about the other ways to transfer music - email, jump-drive, etc. - then you lose out on one of Microsoft’s big marketing points. If I were a potential buyer I’d be thinking “well I do that already with my iPod/Sansa/Zen - I might as well just buy the upgraded version of that”.