Damn Zune Sounds Wack

Unherd

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht...ogue%2c%20David

It all works well enough, but it's just so weird that Zunes can connect only to each other. Who'd build a Wi-Fi device that can't connect to a wireless network -- to sync with your PC, for example? Nor to an Internet hot spot, to download music directly? The bigger problem, though, is the draconian copy protection on beamed music (though not photos). You can play a transmitted song only three times, all within three days. After that, it expires. You're left with only a text tag that shows up on your PC so that -- how convenient! -- you can buy the song from Microsoft's store. This copy protection is as strict as a 19th-century schoolmarm. Just playing half the song (or one minute, whichever comes first) counts as one ''play.'' You can never resend a song to the same friend. A beamed song can't be passed along to a third person, either. What's really nuts is that the restrictions even stomp on your own musical creations.