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"We heard of Microsoft's plans earlier to take over the web, especially in terms of search and its ad market.  Now we're hearing of the company's plans to take over media.   Of course the first thing that comes to mind is Microsoft's ongoing mission for a connected home, but this may in fact be a more portable initiative to start out with.  This heavily involves existing notions around the Zune and the Xbox. \nFrom the looks of it, Microsoft is pushing for a complete package deal, where your device lends way to all sorts of media, which is now being delivered through Microsoft.  To me, it sounds like some sort of compilation of the Zune in terms of the device, and the Xbox in terms of success in offering products.  \nWhat stands out to me is the difference in the Zune's lack of success and the Xbox's obvious success.  The Zune doesn't offer much that can't be found elsewhere, unless you have a network of other Zune users.  The gaming community, however, finds plenty of value and a certain level of loyalty to the matching of games and game consoles.  That's what I've seen from my personal experience, at least.  So building on the model that's worked for the Xbox, we already know of Microsoft's hopes of delivering other content through this system, such as television shows.  \nBut will connecting all of your media through one network, regardless of device (in some cases), be a viable option for the public?   Microsoft's J Allard, in the Entertainment and Devices Division, has likened Microsoft's upcoming array of \"plans\" to bundle packages you find for your cable or satellite services.  And as we've seen with the teaming up of TiVo and Rhapsody, there are several aspects of the media industry that think a central network may work for the consumers.  \nWhat it would mean for Microsoft is that they would have to do a lot of work on the backend to ensure optimal delivery of all types of content, and would have to put a bit of effort into marketing as well.  Apple is beginning to lose its stronghold on the market, in part due to the inflexibility of its pricing model.  What Microsoft is trying to do would be along the same lines of what Apple's already established.  \nSo in this regard, Microsoft could pick up where Apple left off, introducing a pricing/marketing model that content providers (from game developers to movie producers) can't refuse.  But in general (and by \"general\" I mean most everything outside the world of Microsoft, Sony, Apple, etc.), content delivery, devices and access to it are building around a much more open network.  Will Microsoft's vision in fact be a unifying solution to a problem that's not quite tangible just yet?  It's either too early, or too late.\n[via  nyt]"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2007/11/16/microsoft-plans-to-rule-media/>