• Ross Fadner, Nov 24, 2006, 10:45 AM
  • The Man Behind The Zune BusinessWeek Microsoft is finding itself to be an underdog these days in many ways. Its MSN Web portal is second to Yahoo, its search engine is third behind Google and Yahoo, and its new music player--well, nobody's giving it much of a chance against Apple's iPod.

    Nevertheless, determined Microsoft execs want to see the company stage its first come-from-behind victory since the software giant toppled Netscape with Internet Explorer in the early 2000s. BusinessWeek tells the tale of J Allard, the man responsible for bringing the Zune media player to market in less than 8 months.

    You might think that given the quick turnaround and relatively light allocation of human resources (compared with the five-year, 10,000-plus worker process of bringing Vista to the fore), Microsoft isn't seriously betting on besting Steve Jobs and co. at what has become their game, but this guy Allard is serious. On Oct. 19, a month before the Zune's release, Allard sent an email to his 230 workers containing an old quotation from Jobs: "The only problem with Microsoft is that they have no taste." Said Allard: "I for one...want to see this guy eat his words." "Those are fighting words. He is speaking to every one of us and saying that we don't get it."

    Even if the Zune doesn't topple the iPod (as most expect), it's important that the software giant keep reasserting itself in areas other than, well, software. The Redmond, Wash. giant is undergoing the biggest business shift in its 30-year history, as open source technology and ad-supported Web services take hold of the Internet. Read the whole story...
  • French Film Company Sues Google Reuters.com Google is having legal problems again. Flach Film, the French company that produced "The World According to Bush"--a two-hour film that investigates the President's administration--is suing the search giant for damages after the film surfaced on Google Video and was made available for free.

    On Thursday, the production house said it had issued a writ against Google and Google France for copyright infringement before a Paris commercial court. In its statement, Flach Film warned the court that Google--which is seeking a legitimate solution to online video piracy--and others are preventing the advent of a legal video market by engaging in such practices. The company seeks compensation for the damages incurred by the distribution of its film over Google Video.

    Google France contended that clips containing the movie were taken down, as those who uploaded the film were in breach of Google Video's terms and conditions. Flach Film said the film was downloaded or streamed 43,000 times. Flach Film is seeking $648,000 in damages. Read the whole story...
  • Nintendo's PS3 Killer Receives Rave Reviews The New York Times The early results are in--and so far, things aren't looking so good for Sony and its expensive PlayStation 3. Aside from the enormous manufacturing costs, from which Sony stands to lose some $300 per system, even fewer PS3's were produced and shipped by last Friday's release than Sony anticipated.

    What's worse is the great reviews Nintendo is receiving for its innovative new game system--which retails for some $250 less than the PS3--the Wii. Sure, its graphics and technology aren't up to snuff with Sony or Microsoft's Xbox 360, but the Wii is going after something bigger than the hardcore 18-34 male demographic: "It is about making video games accessible again by providing a simple, intuitive, relatively inexpensive entertainment experience that an entire family can actually enjoy together," writes Seth Schiesel in a New York Times review. And it's totally affordable. He says his 59-year-old stepfather recently played golf--his first video experience since Pong--and had no problem figuring out the controls.

    The Wii's motion-sensor controller is its big differentiator, allowing players to actually swing the controller like a tennis racket when playing a tennis game. Its games are also cutesy and family-friendly--no alien wars, no blood-heavy fighting games, or sexually explicit material. Nintendo's core game brands are still all about Super Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong. Read the whole story...