Bonum Certa Men Certa

Latest Microsoft Hardware Failures: Kin, Xbox, and Zune

Microhard



Summary: Why it is notable that Microsoft is not a (primarily) hardware company, given the poor performance of its hardware business

WE will soon post an analysis of Microsoft's latest financial results, which we have already alluded to in [1, 2]. This post deals in isolation with the fact that Microsoft's hardware products (notably phones running Microsoft software and the fiasco-rich Xbox) are not in good shape, even based on Microsoft's results.



Kin



"Microsoft Posts Slumping WinMo Sales," says this one report.

Microsoft said its non-gaming revenue fell $80 million in its third quarter on decreased sales of its Windows Mobile operating system and Zune devices.


Last week we wrote about Kin [1, 2], which seems like another step in the wrong direction. Reuters has this article from IDG which says: "Windows Phone? No App for That"

Looking for the niftiest new mobile app? You might find it on an iPhone or an Android device, but not on a Windows phone. Developers' apathy and a fast-falling market share mean that Microsoft's mobile phone business is in the doldrums. And that in turn may mean trouble for all of Microsoft several years from now.


It is amazing that Microsoft would flush compatibility down the toilet. This was probably one of the few selling points they had. There are other complaints and rants about Kin, many of which concentrate on Microsoft's distasteful advertising rather than Microsoft's distasteful product.

The Microsoft "sexting" story is still being brought up [1, 2, 3] and even Microsoft boosters like Alex Zaharov-Reutt are critical of such advertisements. These ads (one in particular) are apparently gone altogether [1, 2, 3], with many claims that Microsoft "pulled" the offending advert.

Microsoft has announced its decision to pull a controversial advert for its new Kin line of phones after complaints emerged that it promotes "sexting" among teens.

The advert shows a man in a club taking a photo under his T-shirt using a Kin phone and sharing it with his friends. Thereafter, a young woman is shown receiving the message with a smile on her face.


Did Microsoft pull the entire ad or was it just edited? There are somewhat contradictory reports. Either way, another point for which Kin is criticised has to do with the lack of "cut/copy and paste" functionality. Is this being done for the media industry (to please Murdoch et al [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13])? That's just one theory, which Microsoft's Web font DRM [1, 2] brings to mind. Here is another explanation which says that Microsoft intends to keep it that way.

Microsoft Apologetics On Why Copy/Paste Unnecessary



As anyone knows that has been following the impending release of Windows Phone 7 knows, the OS will not support copy and paste operations. Rather than just say that copy and paste is something Microsoft wants to do, they have begun a campaign to try and convince you that copy and paste is unnecessary.


We really need Free(dom) software to counter these rigid mobile platforms that do not allow "cut/copy and paste" (Apple too banned it before, at least when it was implemented by a developer other than Apple's own iPhone programmers).

It is actually unfortunate that Linux phones too are made semi-proprietary these days. Examples include Android and WebOS, which has just shed off a former Microsoft general manager [1, 2].

Abbott, a former Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) general manager, joined Palm in 2008 to head development for webOS.


Why was he hired in the first place? Given how Microsoft ruined Danger, they ought to have known better.

One of Microsoft's key mobile strategies is to fill the Web with Silver Lie content, which will in turn block access from many devices except Microsoft's. Forrester, which lists Microsoft as a major client, plays along with this suppression of web standards.

[Forrester] Analyst: HTML5 far from killing off Web plug-ins



HTML5, the budding specification for multimedia in Web applications, will not displace proprietary rich Internet technologies, such as Adobe Flash/Flex or Microsoft Silverlight, anytime soon, an analyst report released this week said.


Given what Google does regarding codecs at the moment -- not to mention Apple blocking Adobe and Microsoft/Novell [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] -- this "analyst report" may soon be proven wrong. We shall see.

Xbox 360



Xbox reality is one of denial (Machinarium) and censorship. Microsoft wants to control the message and even fire employees who say the truth about error/defect rates that continue to be a major problem (and comically enough, Microsoft brags about "MCV Industry Excellence Award"). Servers of Xbox are slowing down after downtimes that we reported earlier this year and former Microsoft employees are part of the life blood that's left for the product.

Xbox has already lost billions of dollars. This is not success.

Zune Hacked



There is almost not a word about Zune anymore. It sometimes seems like it's in "clearance sale" status. Kin, which reuses some elements of Zune, is equally unappealing as it lags behind the competition (the Linux-based Android grows most impressively). Adding insult to injury, Zune HD as well as previous models of the Zune have just been hacked and instructions for hacking made available.

Neither the hack nor exploit was revealed by ZuneBoards Development Front, so let's see how Microsoft patches the hole.


This is also covered in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

A new press release about faulty hardware recycling [1, 2] names two products that are prone to permanent failure.

More than 1,900 U.S. and Canadian Goodwill Locations to Collect Xbox, Zune and Accompanying Accessories for Free Recycling


Maybe these can be recycled into something that's actually usable and respects the owners who bought (actually rented) them.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
Slopwatch: A Cause for Hope, the Hype is Dying
For about a month we showed that becoming a slopfarm - for several weeks - resulted in utter failure and ruin for BetaNews
 
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025
Microsoft - Like IBM - Does the "Relocation" Tricks (Start Over Elsewhere, Then Get Sacked by Microsoft)
It is a "low blow" or a "dick move"
After the Free Software Foundation's Campaign to Raise Money Let's See Campaigns to Finish Off Microsoft (Vista 11, GitHub etc.)
Microsoft is in effect collapsing
Your Publications Have No Major Impact Unless or Until You "Get Some Heat"
we're on the right track
Links 11/07/2025: Censorship Worsening, 3D Printing Success Stories, UK and France Unite Around Nukes
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/07/2025: Zorin OS and Scriptonite Updates
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2025: Hardware, Russia, and China
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2025: Intel Collapsing and Microsoft Resorts to Bribery to Push Slop Via Obligatory Education
Links for the day
The EFF Sided With the Team That Strangles Women and Tells Women to Kill Themselves
They say that apathy and inaction are a form of a "stance"
"Nat [Friedman] and [the Serial Strangler From Microsoft] Were Always Exceptionally Close," Says Former Housemate and Colleague
Now Alex (hiding behind another name when that suits him) not only attacks women but also people who merely report what he did to women
Exemplary List of Things That Are Not Artificial Intelligence or Even Intelligence
The "age of AI" or "era of AI" or "AI revolution" mostly boils down to rebranding, just like "the cloud"
New Letter From the European Patent Office Explains How the Office Plots to Grant Many Illegal Patents, a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of 'Growth'
Open letter to Mr Rowan (VP1) and Mr Aledo Lopez (COO)
Abuse of Process
5RB is employing people who help violent men
What Microsoft's Nat Friedman and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
"Get in da car; No time to explain, loser"
Microsoft and IBM Don't Have Much of a Future (They Mostly Pretend at This Point)
IBM and Microsoft are in some ways alike but in many ways different
It's Not Just Twitter (or X.com) That's Dying, Microsoft's Equivalent is Dying Also
Unable to find a business model
GitHub Copilot Can Cause the Bankruptcy of GitHub to Come Sooner and GitHub to be Shut Down Just Like Skype
Some publicly available information suggests that even for each paid subscriber for plagiarism (LLM 'coding') GitHub Copilot still loses more money than it makes
Wayland is Bad for the Planet
If you use Wayland, it'll take you longer to accomplish tasks and you will consume more energy (or battery life)
Legitimising Those Who Sabotage You
Microsoft is a very malicious company
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 10, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 10, 2025
On Microsoft Layoffs
we might be looking at about 60,000 Microsoft layoffs since 2023
EPO Management Already Breaks Its Own Promise (Lie) on "Bringing Teams Together"
This gut-punching move happened just 2 days ago
Gemini Links 11/07/2025: Occupation of 2025 and "Old Man Yells At Soundcloud"
Links for the day
Our Lawsuits Against the 'Cancel Mob' (Ringleaders) Helped Reduce Anti-Free Software Online Abuse
That's not to say that lawsuits are the best way to handle terrible people. But that can help.
Tomorrow is the Last Day of the Fund-Raising Campaign of the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
They will probably extend the date, as usual
Fixing Patents in Europe, Little by Little (by Transparency and Reporting of Suppressed Facts)
Tomorrow and throughout the weekend we shall focus some more on the EPO
The Two Lies Microsoft is Telling in "the News" This Week (to Distract From Layoffs and Decreased Interest in Slop/Chaff)
Microsoft is run by liars and frauds who SLAPP critics
Tux Machines Already Destroyed SLAPPs
Attacks on the mere publication of GNU/Linux news won't be tolerated
PCLinuxOS is Available for Download Again
PCLinuxOS is important to us also because its founder, back then the partner of Susan, helped create Tux Machines more than 21 years ago
Links 10/07/2025: Microsoft E-mail 'Services' Collapse Again, "Yet Another Strava Privacy Leak"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/07/2025: Automating Git Repo Updates and Small Web 'Zine'
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Leftovers
mostly Linux stuff
Audiocasts/Shows: Going Linux, FLOSS Weekly, and RHEL Clones
3 new picks
We Are Already Fighting - With Considerable Success - SLAPPs in the UK
we intend to tell the full story
Bullies With Pens and Papers (or Apple Macs With Templates)
Not all barristers are evil, but there are perhaps "rotten apples"
Slopwatch: webpronews.com, linuxsecurity.com, linuxjournal.com
a pile of trash disguised as 'articles'
Links 10/07/2025: Linda Yaccarino Divorces MElonazi Site, Wildfires Hit Syria
Links for the day
The History and the Policy of the EPO's Stance on Breastfeeding (Corporate Monopolies Versus Babies' Health)
"The Case for Introducing a Breastfeeding Policy at the EPO"
Gemini Links 10/07/2025: Inventing Chords and "Nightmare Boss"
Links for the day
Igor Ljubuncic Once Again Shows That for Technical Reasons Wayland Still Sucks, Performs Considerably Worse Than What Existed for Decades
That is aside from compatibility factors and other crucial factors
Links 10/07/2025: "Apple Vs The Law" and Twitter Became Full Nazi Bar
Links for the day
Unable to Find Anyone to Work as Their Media Lawyer, Brett Wilson LLP Will Continue Losing Female Staff
What sort of sick person would wish to join Brett Wilson LLP to carry this baton?
Microsoft-Sponsored Propaganda Site Has Removed False 'Hit Piece' About Dr. Stallman (With Fake and Misrepresented Imagery) But Only After 4 Years
So they only removed that page some time around 2025, i.e. about 4 years after it had been published
Always Check Your Inputs
Garbage in, garbage out. Or wrong assumptions, wrong corollary.
Dan Neidle Said That Tax Evasion Facilitator Mr Zahawi (Working to Silence Bloggers Through Brett Wilson LLP) Targeted Not Only Him (But The Others Kept Quiet)
"Mr Neidle said after repelling Mr Zahawi he was contacted by bloggers and tweeters who had received similar threats. They deleted their work “and in most cases never commented publicly on anything again”."
SLAPP Funding Transparency Urgently Needed in the UK and Elsewhere (in Practice, Not Just in Theory)
Writing about crime - including Microsoft crime - is not a crime
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 09, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 09, 2025
Elodie Bergot Still Doing Illegal Things at the EPO, Based on the Local Staff Committee Munich
They keep taking away from the staff while compelling the staff to do illegal things