Hide Your IPod, Here Comes Bill
by Volker Weber
Microsoft's leafy corporate campus in Redmond, Washington, is beginning to look like the streets of New York, London and just about everywhere else: Wherever you go, white headphones dangle from peoples' ears.
To the growing frustration and annoyance of Microsoft's management, Apple Computer's iPod is wildly popular among Microsoft's workers.
"About 80 percent of Microsoft employees who have a portable music player have an iPod," said one source, a high-level manager who asked to remain anonymous. "This irks the management team no end," said the source.
So popular is the iPod, executives are increasingly sending out memos frowning on its use.
Comments
I wonder how many have PlayStation, Gmail accounts, Tivo, and use Google!
Well, keep an eye on it all - the first sign a product is dead is when it's owners have to force their staff to use it (he says, speaking from experience). Right now XBox, Hotmail, Media Center PC and MSN Search probably have sufficient self confidence not to need it but the WMA group clearly know their days are numbered...
As I already asked on Scoble's blog, I seem to have missed an Mp3-Player from Microsoft which the employees could take instead. Feel free to enlight me on that.
Nicole, every MP3 player that also plays DRMed WMA files. There is a whole lot of them out there, but nobody cares. As Bill Gates says: The customer wants choice. And he choses the iPod.
@Nicole, you won't get much enlightenment from Scoble's blog. His stock reply when the answer is one Microsoft doesn't want to acknowledge - "That's a tough one."
Well, thank goodness for Microsoft that there are some halfway decent Windows-based cell phones out there (although I wouldn't buy them over a Treo 650), otherwise, they wouldn't be having any gadget fun whatsoever.
Anyone feeling sorry for the Microsofties?
I read Scoble's blog, but there's less and less interesting stuff on it... it's more like a gossip column for evangelist wannabees.
So there is no Microsoft built mp3-Player out there, but everyone still bitches about 'Apple does a better job than MS'.
A very good comparison between Apple (the hardware company building an actual mp3-player) and Microsoft (the software company).
Good find - thanks for posting it. I love my iPod! It just works, just like the mac. When all you want to do is listen to music, you DO NOT want to mess around with hardware/software configurations.
Chris
