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09/16/2004, 9:00am, EDT

Thursday, September 16th

Microsoft MSN music store modeled after iTunes

David Pogue has a look at Microsoft's iTunes Store in the latest edition of The New York Times, noting that Microsoft looked to Apple's implementation for guidance: "The Microsoft music store (in beta at music.msn.com) couldn't look more like Apple's iTunes music store (itunes.com) if you ran it through a copying machine. 'Apple set the bar very high,' a Microsoft manger admitted. 'We're trying to match that. We told our developers, 'Look at how Apple does it.'" [free registration required]

"Microsoft is running a simple multimillion-dollar experiment to force an answer to this question: If all other variables are equal (price, selection, features), which music system do people like better: Apple's or Microsoft's? At the moment, it's not a completely valid test, because MSN Music is not, in fact, ready to compete head-on with Apple's store," lacking a long list of Apple's convenience features--many of which Microsoft says that it will eventually add. The article notes that Microsoft's music store has a few unique features, such as live playback of radio station music (whereas Apple offers only a listing of songs) and unique/exclusive albums, but offers differing personal music rights for certain songs, causing much confusion.


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Lawsuit
0
09/16, 9:11am, EDT
Like that wasn't an invitation to sue Microsoft, admiting they copied iTMS, lol.

Why don't they just join the crowd and become a iTMS partner.
Baninated
Joined May 2002
User is offline
nat
duh
0
09/16, 9:27am, EDT
what, ms would actually come up with something innovative? original? what in their history would make anyone ever think that? if someone doesn't lead the way they pretty much sit there twiddling their thumbs waiting for the next big thing to rip off.
Junior Member
Joined Mar 2002
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GK
um,
0
09/16, 9:59am, EDT
that is sooooo original of M$ to copy innovation once again.
Senior User
Joined Jan 2001
User is offline
microsoft playbook
0
09/16, 10:04am, EDT
Yup. Microsoft playbook page 1: Copy Apple!
Junior Member
Joined Sep 2004
User is offline
Radio
0
09/16, 10:27am, EDT
So MSN Music does radio..
So what is that "Radio" button in iTunes for?
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined Sep 2004
User is offline
It will never be the same
0
09/16, 11:28am, EDT
Unless they build the music store into the player, the experience will always be very clunky. iTunes is so great because they built the browser into iTunes specifically to work with their site.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined Aug 2001
User is offline
09/16, 11:56am, EDT
Microsoft does what it has always done : copy Apple. What should you expect from MS after all ?
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined Oct 2001
User is offline
Not the same
0
09/16, 12:36pm, EDT
I've said this before. The MSN Music store is nothing like the iTunes Music Store. What scares me is that people believe it is the same. This either means there's a bunch of people who don't know how to use iTMS, or don't realise how great it does things. The MSN Music store is clunky, visually stale and behaviourally incompetent. (Mind you, there are plenty of other things that MS have done that could be evaluated with the same conclusions.)
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined Apr 2004
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IE and Netscape
0
09/16, 12:50pm, EDT
IE and Netscape Navigator = MS Music and iTunes

De Ja Vue
Senior User
Joined Nov 1999
User is offline
Unbelievable
0
09/16, 1:41pm, EDT
Didn't MS initially claim that their music store and it's design was not influenced by the iTunes Music store?

"Apple set the bar very high," a Microsoft manger admitted. "We're trying to match that. We told our developers, 'Look at how Apple does it.'"

Un-friggin-believable

Also, Pogue erred. There are several albums on iTunes that you have to buy in their entirety.
Mac Elite
Joined Nov 2000
User is offline
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