How will the Zune be remembered in the 31st Century?
Posted by iGor
By now it is safe to say that history will consider the iPod as one of the more influential inventions in consumer electronics history. It has changed the way the entertainment industry works, and how millions of people live their lives on a daily basis. And like all successful inventions, it has spurred a huge industry of rip-offs and wannabes, would-be usurpers to its throne.
Perhaps the most famous of the infamous is Microsoft’s Zune. How will history remember this brown piece of iPod envy? I think I might know.
I turned on Eye TV’s closed captioning and was not shocked to see this description for the planet Zune.
I happened to be watching Legion of Super Heroes on the ol’ Eye TV this weekend, and noticed in the episode entitled “Brain Drain“, the Zune makes an appearance.
Apparently, in the 31st Century, the universe’s most uninhabitable, unfriendly, and desolate planet is aptly named… Zune.
While I suppose having a planet named after your invention is perhaps something Microsoft could be proud of, I can’t think of a more concise description of the actual Zune music player. Kudos to LoSH’s (presumably) iPod-loving writers!
I hate to break it to you, but the planet in that episode was actually introduced around 1962 as Timber Wolf’s home planet of “Zuun”. You’ll have to blame (or hand it to) the closed captioner for spelling it “Zune”.
Thanks Michael,
I did actually know the planet’s origin was the comic book, pre-dateing the Zune ( although, not the exact date), However, I think there’s a chance that the writers of the TV show changed the comic’s original spelling as an inside joke, since (like most Sci-Fi series) there are countless other character, galaxy, and Legion-specific names and locations that the closed captioning picks up correctly. It looks like they are given a script from the show and just time it, as opposed to some 60-year-old ex-secretary typing out what she hears.
Ironically enough, the odds are the majority of people “reading” their TV and seeing the Zune spelling in the closed captioning would be deaf, and perhaps not even know what an iPod is (and certainly not a Zune).
-iGor
Lol I’m fairly sure deaf people will still know what an iPod is. In the same way that Stevie Wonder is probably equally aware that the television exists.
I was abducted to Zune. It made me chafe a bit, right around the ole Gates.
Thanks goodness for Preparation-I. Seriously, thankS goodness.
Pretty much all non-live events have their captioning provided by the studios from scripts, so odds are, yes, this is in the script. I actually watch some shows with the captions on. LOST, for example, will often have dialogue typed different from what is said, obviously from an older version of the script.
Pretty funny.