Selective Analysis Part 2

Colby Cosh seems to have caught a bit of Mark Steyn-itis when talking about Leander Khaney's review of the Zune.

Here's Colby's parsing of the review:

The Zune desktop software crashed right after installation and I had to restart... the sign-in procedure was long-winded and tedious... The catalog [of the subscription service] is smaller than the iTunes Store's... The earbuds aren't much good... Battery life isn't great. The big screen sucks juice dry a lot quicker than the latest iPods... The Wi-Fi is essentially useless. There's no one around to share songs with, and I expect it to be turned off permanently...

Pretty ugly. And yet Khaney says:

I've been playing with a Zune for a couple of weeks, and I like it. I like it a lot.

Huh? If the Zune has so much wrong with it, why does Khaney like it so much?

Just for fun, let's expand those passages that Cosh quotes (initial quote in italics, addition in bold).

The Zune desktop software crashed right after installation and I had to restart. Back up and running, the sign-in procedure was long-winded and tedious -- typical Microsoft. But since then, the software has worked very well.

The marketplace is easy to navigate and has a good choice of songs. The catalog [of the subscription service] is smaller than the iTunes Store's but I found pretty much everything I was looking for.

The earbuds aren't much good (neither are the iPod's), but they are magnetized so they stick together to reduce pocket tangle. One idea Apple should definitely steal.

Battery life isn't great. The big screen sucks juice dry a lot quicker than the latest iPods. (This hasn't yet been an issue. I'm never far from a charging point, but I can see it running dry on a long trip.)

The Wi-Fi is essentially useless. There's no one around to share songs with, and I expect it to be turned off permanently. I'd rather pick and choose songs from other Zune users' libraries -- the same way you can browse other's iTunes libraries on the network -- than have them send songs to me.

Other than the Wi-Fi complaint, it looks like every negative had some sort of rider or complimentary statement to go with it, which contradicts that impression that Colby's quotes give.

The lesson, as always, is to read the source material when something isn't adding up. Even if you enjoy the author's work.

(Edit 12/16: I'm a reader. Colby explains his position more, and his post becomes more even-handed.)