Informal testing

So I read the interview with Steve Jobs in Newsweek while waiting for my plane yesterday. I thought two things were very interesting. First, I was surprised that Steve would even mention Zune. Granted, the reporter raised the issue, but it was interesting that Steve felt compelled to comment once the topic was raised. Second, it was interesting that he felt compelled to elaborate on a feature that he hadn't tried out himself. He specifically mentioned that he has seen demos on the web and that transfer was slow. Nowhere does it say that he had seen this in person or tried it out himself. It reminds me of the old adage that you should never ask (or answer) a question unless you know the answer.

So, out of curiosity, I did a little informal testing with a couple of zunes I had sitting around (and no, I don't have any extra to give out). All the caveats apply (this is not a formal test, it is not "official," there are lots of variables, blah, blah, blah). I picked a track at random (Hold Me Now from the 50 First Dates Soundtrack) and transferred it to the other Zune. From the time I initiated the transfer (it took a few seconds to navigate to the proper track first) to the time the track completed was approximately 12 seconds. So would I be willing to spend 12 seconds to avoid swapping earwax with someone as Mr. Job's suggests, you bet!