View this article at: http://dev.macnn.com/articles/06/03/16/ms.blogger.credits.ipod Thursday, Mar 16, 2006 12:10pm MS blogger: all signs point... A Microsoft employee has blogged about his attempts to locate a digital media player that bests Apple's iPod, but admits that the Cupertino-based company consistently stays ahead of the curve. "I'm beginning to change my mind about things. Even though we have a great eco system for music stores etc, the reality is that our OEM partners are never ever going to create a product like the iPod," the Microsoft employee wrote. "They are simply no match for the iPod Dock Connector, which [has] generated an ecosystem of hardware that's probably more lucrative than the online music business. Game over." The blogger plans to hold out for the Gigabeat S from Toshiba, a portable media player that features 30GB and 60GB storage capacities alongside an extended battery life that boasts 20 hours of audio or up to five hours of video playback. "if it's big and ugly and has crappy battery life or a bad FM radio I'm out. I'm 90 percent of the way there. I'm also going to hold out for urge.com and Windows Media Player 11. But if any of these things suck, I'm off to the Apple Store to smack down a few hundred on some bling bling."