MSN Music Beta Launched
Microsoft today took the wraps off the beta version of MSN Music, the computer giant's online music sales & distribution site. Many industry analysts have said that this may be the first 'true competitor' to Apple's iTunes Music Store. The interface is similar to the iTMS interface, offering one-click purchase usability and track previews prior to purchase. Tracks are available in WMA format for use in various portable MP3/WMA players. The service appears open to Mac users as well, but since the tracks are in WMA format, the Apple iPod (+/- HP) is not a compatible player. Tracks on Windows machines must be re-encoded into MP3 or AAC through iTunes for Windows to work on the iPod.
The full version of MSN Music is due in October, 2004.
The full version of MSN Music is due in October, 2004.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
97 months ago
97 months ago
A preview version? Does MS really need to reinforce its reputation for doing things halfway?
They feature the Black-Eyed Peas, Mac-style glassy buttons (of course), little arrows in circles to "view more," and the iPodiest-looking player they could find (Creative--shown very small and referred to as "this player").
And a lot of text clutter.
Sure they have copied some Apple stuff here, but it's no iTunes.
The Search doesn't work when you press Return even :rolleyes: Nor does it work that great once you click the OS X-style "Go" button. I did a random search for "kings cry" on iTunes and MSN. iTunes found some exact and almost matches. MSN found nothing. But when I searched for individual matches from iTunes, MSN did have some (not all) of them. But you'd never know it from your search. Other searches were equally weird.
(Then again, MS isn't much into search these days, it seems. MS seems to have scrapped the much-hyped WinFS search stuff in Longhorn, while Apple already has theirs working great in Tiger.)
They feature the Black-Eyed Peas, Mac-style glassy buttons (of course), little arrows in circles to "view more," and the iPodiest-looking player they could find (Creative--shown very small and referred to as "this player").
And a lot of text clutter.
Sure they have copied some Apple stuff here, but it's no iTunes.
The Search doesn't work when you press Return even :rolleyes: Nor does it work that great once you click the OS X-style "Go" button. I did a random search for "kings cry" on iTunes and MSN. iTunes found some exact and almost matches. MSN found nothing. But when I searched for individual matches from iTunes, MSN did have some (not all) of them. But you'd never know it from your search. Other searches were equally weird.
(Then again, MS isn't much into search these days, it seems. MS seems to have scrapped the much-hyped WinFS search stuff in Longhorn, while Apple already has theirs working great in Tiger.)
97 months ago
I checked the MSN website ... WEAK. From my experience, it only works on IE. Somethings I did in IE did not work in firefox ... ummmmm. Surprised-NOT.
97 months ago
Same as up.
Dn't work in Firefox or Camino or Firefox on WinXP or anyother.
Just IE
Dn't work in Firefox or Camino or Firefox on WinXP or anyother.
Just IE
97 months ago
"What? There is money in online music stores? Quick, go monopolize that. If you can't buy them out, beat them. If you can't beat them, hire Mafia."
97 months ago
Um, is this it? Is Microsoft even trying?
Agreed. If M$ is going to be taken as a serious competitor to the iTMS, they'll need to add quite a bit before it goes final. This is rather unimpressive to say the least beta or not.
[ Read All Comments ]
Analytics firm Chitika today released a report showing that by its metrics iOS has now surpassed OS X in overall web traffic share in the United States. Chitika's methodology involves an analysis...
One of the most frequent reasons for an iPhone to go on a trip to the Apple Store's Genius Bar is because of water damage. Typically, a water damaged iPhone can be replaced for a flat $199...
TheVerge's Joshua Topolsky summarizes the iPad 3 casing findings reported earlier today, but also adds his own sources regarding some details of the iPad 3.
Image from RepairLabs
As...
Last July, Apple discontinued the white MacBook from its consumer lineup, pushing consumers toward the company's popular MacBook Air line or the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The company didn't kill...
Popular iPhone Twitter client Tweetbot has finally arrived on the iPad, with a user interface instantly familiar to any current Tweetbot user. Designed for the Twitter power-user, Tweetbot packs a...
