“Microsoft is indeed developing a digital-media player to compete with Apple’s iPod, and there’s much more to the story,” Brier Dudley reports for The Seattle Times.

“A few details trickled out last week from music companies that Microsoft is lining up to support the device. Microsoft isn’t commenting, but I was able to piece together a broader picture with some research, reporting and information from a source close to the project. What’s being developed is actually a complete line of Xbox-branded digital-media products, including a device that plays media, a software media player and an online media service,” Dudley reports.

“The project, or at least part of it, is referred to internally at Microsoft by the code name Argo — a reference to the huge warship used by the hero Jason in Greek mythology,” Dudley reports. Microsoft “is firmly behind Argo. It has committed hundreds of millions to produce and market the devices… the device is expected to go on sale by Christmas. It has Wi-Fi capability so it can connect wirelessly to home and public networks and other players.”

Dudley reports, “It’s a grand plan, but as with a few other big projects in Redmond, it may be a struggle to get it all done by the end of 2006. The project isn’t completed yet, the holidays are approaching fast and the team is under intense pressure to get everything absolutely right.”

Full article here.
Microsoft’s team is “under intense pressure to get everything absolutely right” and we all know how often Microsoft gets “everything absolutely right,” now, don’t we? So, when pigs fly or Vista ships, whichever comes first. We’re not so sure that “Argo” is being used as a reference to Jason’s ship; to us, it sounds more like this Argo than anything else.

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