zune for mac????

 Emperor Ceasar wrote:

I think many people would be happy with Mac compatability, but i think Microsoft is holding out for one reason. They want more MONEY! They are hoping to force people who have a Zune and want to purchase a Mac to also buy a Windows OS because of Mac's dual booting abilities. This keeps Microsoft laughing all the way to the bank despite the fact that you have a Mac.

Microsoft is not withholding Mac support because they want to sell more copies of Windows. They don't have a Mac version because they wouldn't be able to justify the cost of developing it for such a small user base. Aside from the few of you posting here, the vast majority of Mac users would NEVER buy a Zune simply because it's not made by Apple.

MacBook Pro and a Zune here and I am equally disappointed. I am seriously thinking of dumping the Zune music also and not purchasing anymore because of all the proprietary stuff. I really like it, but...... Please bring us a Mac setup.

 craigtiller wrote:

MacBook Pro and a Zune here and I am equally disappointed. I am seriously thinking of dumping the Zune music also and not purchasing anymore because of all the proprietary stuff. I really like it, but...... Please bring us a Mac setup.

If you're concerned about proprietary products then the iPod is also not an option for you... Both products use proprietary software with proprietary DRM schemes.

No need for the Zune team to put any effort really.  I own an iMac and run the Zune Software via virtualization/boot camp under Vista.  Most Mac users right now can do the same. Runs great too. If any Mac owner wants a Zune, they definitely have the capability to buy one and use it with a Mac.

I agree, They would probably have mroe sales. I dont use apple products anymore. I have had ipods, however, and they all stopped working within the first year.  But ive had my Zune since the first week Microsoft released it and its still going strong! Plus, Zunes have better features and are easier to use than ipods.

I have to agree with you, my microsoft pc crashed and the only comp. i have is a mac currently and no compatability mith my zune hopefly theyll pull there collective heads ojut of there butts and give us compatability

There is a program for Mac that lets you sync with Zune or othere MTP devices. It is called Songbird (it is free license and based on Firefox). It looks like iTunes, however it is stil in beta but it works good.

One of the major reasons Zune won't be on the Mac (or Linux for that matter) for a while is because the Zune is based on .Net.  As of right now, .Net 2.0 and above is not available on the Mac. 

I really don't see Microsoft pushing for this either unless Windows suddenly drops down below 50% market dominance. 

As a side note most likely in about 10 years or so none of this will matter as virtualization (such as VMWare, Parrellels, and Microsoft's Hyper-V)  are going to fundamentally change how our PC's operate.

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Oh Snap!

 CT2049 wrote:

One of the major reasons Zune won't be on the Mac (or Linux for that matter) for a while is because the Zune is based on .Net.  As of right now, .Net 2.0 and above is not available on the Mac. 

I really don't see Microsoft pushing for this either unless Windows suddenly drops down below 50% market dominance. 

As a side note most likely in about 10 years or so none of this will matter as virtualization (such as VMWare, Parrellels, and Microsoft's Hyper-V)  are going to fundamentally change how our PC's operate.

The risk of Windows dropping below 50% market dominance is many many years away. Even if that were to happen, I doubt the Mac would account for the other 50%. It's taken Apple several years to gain 2-3% of the market, giving them about 7% now... Windows still has about 90%. Linux is also a factor we can't ignore, though it has yet to grab market share as a consumer OS (though the new low cost notebooks like Eee PC hope to change that).

But this discussion isn't about PC vs Mac, it's about bringing the software to other platforms. I'd personally like to see support for Ubuntu so I could use it on my Linux box...

I also agree that this will be a non-issue in a few years. Users want platform independence, and companies are already starting to move from the desktop to software as a service, allowing a truly OS-independent product. I suppose Zune could adopt that approach, but that has it's own development challenges.

I'm not too certain the development for it would be that much. Besides Mac development, from what I hear, is quite simple. It would just take a worthy programmer. I for one would love to see it. Although Virtualization does seem to work, it's not nearly as efficient as running it in Mac OS X. When using virtualization you share processors and RAM, and it slows the whole process down sooo much. If MS is listening, as a fellow Mac user, the iPod, with all it's syncing restrictions and crap, is not for me. I've had my Zune since the local Wal-Mart put it on the shelf. First one in town, and I gotta say, it's pretty amazing. Step it up. Many software companies are.

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To Be or Not to Be...in today's world, no one really cares.

I honestly doubt that a Mac or Linux version will ever come out.
1. if you where brave enough to use WMP for mac back in the day, Zune would run about the same cause it is based off the WMP engine and would have to run under the same compatibility thus be crap and evil in the amount of bugs. If this would be the case, I can see what little rep Zune currently has with iPod users/the major populations vanish *poof*.
2. It doesn't make any market sense. That's like making a pencil that will only write on 7% of paper in the world. (3% in Linux's case) Development would cost way more than it would ever make. MS should just lean back and let third parties do the work, SongBird, woking on the Mac and Linux, has a Zune add on that will work guys, Zune software isn't he *only* alternative.
3. Just run Windows. I cannot count the number of times that I've heard this, "Wow, now I can run Windows on my MacBook, Macs are going to be able to run anything and they are so much better blah blah blah......" Why not USE the crap that Apple has been bragging about for the past year?

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The Zune is a good machine, so is the iPod, so is a toaster, what's your point? Zune 120.

 cross367 wrote:

Besides Mac development, from what I hear, is quite simple. It would just take a worthy programmer.

No.

Your out of your element Donny

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Oh Snap!