The music business is like a big cookie. Okay, maybe not, but I heard that line in a movie and thought it was clever. Digital downloads are popular (duh!), and more companies are getting suited up to take their fare share of the cash there is to be made in digital music. Microsoft has been trying to break into the market in a big way for a while, which they hope will really get going when Zune hits the fan. The latest player to announce their foray into the digital music space is Samsung. They have a nice lineup of hardware devices to compete with the iPod or even Zune, but now they hope to bring their music store to the table as well. What really gets me is that all these Johnny-come-lately vendors are trying to do too much. They want the best player, and the best music store, but they want something that will beat Apple. It is not quite so hard to be good at one thing, but the problem most other companies are facing is that they aren't doing EVERYTHING well. Apple has taken names because they do almost everything well and it all works together seamlessly. Apple has good integration between the iPod and iTunes, even with their "made-for-iPod" vendors. Apple has an A to Z good offering that works well and is user-comfortable. Until other "download stores" see themselves as more than just a store, Apple will be number one. Personally I would love to see some other digital music ecosystems do well besides Apple, just to see what it would look like.

[Via Dailytech.com]

With little fanfare Microsoft released Windows Media Player 11 in beta form last week coupled with Urge, the music service from Microsoft and MTV designed to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store. WMP11 is a sort of preview of what we can expect to see next year in Windows Vista, and the question that seems to be on everyone's minds is whether Microsoft can finally best Apple's rock-solid player and service. According to the Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro, at least, the answer is no. His article can be summed up by its title, "New Media Player: Nice Features, but It's No iTunes." Pegoraro says that WMP11 has a cleaner interface that represents "a smart, creative way to organize a digital music library" and catches up with iTunes in a number of respects, like its ever-present live search box and easy CD burning functionality. Its album artwork downloader, however, is bewilderingly inept. Pegoraro's review of Urge, which has both a la cart ($0.99/song, $9.99/per album) and subscription (rent your music for $9.99 a month) options, is less favorable, saying, "Not only has MTV failed to match iTunes, it has repeated some of the worst mistakes of earlier iTunes challengers." He criticizes the service's lack of extras like lyrics and bonus videos, irritating search behaviors, and the lack of iPod support that has become a cliché among iTunes' competitors. Head over to the Washington Post for the full review or Microsoft's web site if to bite the bullet and try Windows Media Player 11 out yourself.