uplandiam wrote:
I'm still new to the forums and I hope I'm not out of line, (please tell me if I am) but, are you a Microsoft employee?
I am not a Microsoft employee. However, I am a software engineer that develops commercial software.
uplandiam wrote:
As your example showed the team does pre-announce developments when it suites their purpose. Here's another example that I came across:
"Microsoft indicates that more apps are on the way, saying that “later this year” we can expect Twitter for Zune, Facebook for Zune, and 3-D games includig “Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition,” “Vans Sk8: Pool Service” and “Audiosurf™ Tilt.”
There's a big difference between marketing fluff and bug fixes/feature tweaks, though. I don't think responding that they're working on a bug fix is the same thing as announcing new features (which, really, is all an app is). And like I said, I'm sure that they'd already identified and fixed that bug before I even mentioned it.
uplandiam wrote:
The Zune HD team felt it was adventageous to let potential users know what is in the works because that knowledge was likely to induce additional unit sales.
You make it sound like the people who write the software are the same people who write the press releases. If I had to guess, I would guess that
Mcheza and
jetherealz (who were kind enough to respond in the thread I mentioned earlier) have nothing to do with what the press releases say.
uplandiam wrote:
So they choose not to share with users what fixes and features are being worked on. That shows a complete lack of respect for the Zune user community.
Hardly. These forums are to "get help from expert Zune users" or to "share your ideas with the Zune development team." They never claimed to be anything more. I've never been to their forums before, but my guess is that the iPod forums are equally silent about what fixes and features are being worked on.
uplandiam wrote:
Some features (i.e. Digital Copy support) have been discussed in these forums by users and ignored by the Zune team for over one year.
And that tells you all you need to know: Don't hold your breath for that feature. They made movies available for renting and downloading from the Marketplace instead. They never claimed to have Digital Copy support when the Zune was released, and they've never said anything anywhere about ever adding this feature. Personally, I think that's short-sighted and unfortunate, but that's the way they've decided to play it. However, they've covered themselves by not announcing anything about it. You can't say you bought a Zune because it had (or you thought it would have) Digital Copy support, because it's never had it and they've never announced it.
uplandiam wrote:
I think it is much better to know that a feature is being worked on even if it is delivered much later than originally estimated than to not know if that feature will ever be delivered.
And you are entitled to that opinion. However, you are a patient and understanding person. Look through the forums for people who are still waiting for the Marketplace to be available in Canada - they've been working on it for almost two years now, and the posts from those users are not very patient or understanding at all. If they'd never announced that the Marketplace would be available in Canada one day, those folks wouldn't be so upset, because there would be no expectations.
Think about Digital Copy support again - if they announced it would
show up in the future (but gave no date), and you bought the player
because you thought it would be there eventually, how long would you
wait? A month? A year? Two years? After how long would you be so upset
that they pre-announced something that they probably fully intended to
deliver, but for whatever reason weren't able to within some arbitrary
timeframe, that you would abandon the player? My guess is that it's
less time than if they'd never announced it at all.
uplandiam wrote:
I think the reasons you gave for why the Zune team does not communicate with users were bogus and an insult to Zune users.
There's nothing bogus about it at all. Setting up a feed that told users which fixes and features were being worked on would be to set expectations that those features would be delivered one day. It sets up a dynamic where users would expect, and then demand, that those features be delivered within some arbitrary timeframe. The problem is, it's entirely possible that those features would either take much longer to be delivered than expected, or would be delayed because some other feature took precedence, or would be abandoned altogether for some reason. How would you feel if they told you they were working on some feature, and then some months later that they had to abandon it, or that it got reprioritized such that it wouldn't be delivered any time soon? You would feel betrayed, because your expectations were set and not met. Better to have never mentioned it at all, because then at least you shouldn't have had any expectations.
