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Try to be more clear in future. You did say "they have a detailed FAQ which explains the issue in detail", and they have explained how to "fix it". And in four years time, none of those Zunes will be operational I suspect.

I know I wasn't clear, but if you knew anything about the Zune issue, you'd be aware that they have a FAQ which states very clearly that they are releasing a firmware update to fix it.

Q: How many 30GB Zune devices are affected? How many Zune 30GB devices were sold?

All 30GB devices are potentially affected.

Q: Will you update the firmware before the next leap year (2012)?

Yes.

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/12/31/30gb-zune-issues-officialupdate.aspx

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/05/07/just-so-no-one-gets-the-wrong-idea.aspx

Other sites have all had retractions, dispelled the FUD with other facts, and yet on SlashDot the conversation still goes on like this is true?

Next week monkeys from Mars, and we can discuss it for a whole month before anyone notices it IS NOT REAL...

Looks like this is false... Source: http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/05/07/just-so-no-one-gets-the-wrong-idea.aspx

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/05/07/just-so-no-one-gets-the-wrong-idea.aspx

They say this isn't coming or planned.

Since we have no real way to verify the 1M figure, I at least would like to post as a Zune owner and put in my 2 cents.

And please turn off the automatic troll sensor - this isn't a troll.

First - a few websites dedicated to the Zune - use your own judgement as to their veracity as indicators of whatever popularity the Zune may have:

ZuneInsider http://zuneinsider.com/Default.aspx/
ZuneCorps http://zunecorps.com/
ZuneSphere http://www.zunesphere.com/
Wired Zune http://wiredzune.com/
Zunerama http://zunerama.com/
Zuney http://www.zuney.net/cmps_index.php/

Ok, enough of that - ZuneInsider has a decent listing of other links.

So - I'm a Zune owner. What's the deal? Why'd I buy one?

Nearly all the links above have a section or Blog with hacks. The Hard Drive hack and the Wi-Fi hack work as noted. I have a circle of friends at work who have Zunes and we can share non-DRM'd music, files, pics, etc., etc. Works very well.

I'm NOT a huge fan of WMV format. I'm a video junkie and your best bet in converting XVid/DivX, DVD, what have you, is to use of the available converters and create a standard iPod-compatible Mpeg4 and let the extremely trite and crappy Zune software convert it .wmv. If you convert directly to .wmv your audio is going to sound like crap.

That said - Video is sweet on the Zune once its converted.

Zune gets BIG points in my book for Audio. Its on par with the 3rd Gen iPod. Not sure what Apple was thinking for its 4th and 5th gen iPods but I never liked the sound quality that well.

By the way - you'll get my 3rd gen iPod when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands. Get on Ebay and buy one - I can nearly guarantee you that they'll be version number to collect.

DRM? Most of you know what Tunebite is and it works on anything from the Apple and Zune stores. Bye bye DRM. And of course you can load all your existing non-DRM'd music on the Zune as well.

Album Art - not as slick as the upcoming 6th gen iPod but full screen.

Navigation - not as bad as you think. Another point in its favor, honestly and I prefer it over the iPod.

FM Radio - onboard FM is better than any of the solutions I borrowed or bought for the iPod. It uses RDS and a very, very cool display. I'm a HAM, SWL'r, AM and FM BCB DX'r and this is a nice little radio for its antenna limitations.

CASE: Worst aspect of the iPod is how easy it gets scratched, be it the metal bezel or the front cover. The Zune case is a nice feeling rubber product that I've yet to scratch or fail to clean with a soft cloth. The screen is polycarbonite like the iPod and should you scratch it, it cleans up very well with the numerous iPod scratch repair kits out on the market.

I could go on but I'm not trying to convince you to buy one. Just letting you know that there is definitely a Zune fan base out there and we are extremely happy people. We understand the Zune's (many) limitations and lack of software but its few good points are really, really good points.

I imagine the Zune will get more popular when you can connect one to Ubuntu or a Mac.

See ya's,

DXMikey

HD Radio is a big fat LIE

According to "Zuneinsider" Cesar Menendez @ Microsoft, Jason's comment was taken out of context:

"as for the 'free zune w/ subscription thread,' that was taken out of context. Jason was speaking of it as a hypothetical, and it got reported on pretty widely as the official plan of record. the trouble w/ hypotheticals + the web + zune fans, I guess :)"

from http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/04/04/zunerama -to-co-author-zune-for-dummies-book.aspx#comments

Subscription music services make very little per customer at $15/month. The real profit is in the device sales. I don't see this happening anytime soon...

A Vista compatible version of zune software was released http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2006/12/19/zune-com patible-with-vista-today.aspx in mid december.

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/02/01/the-offi cial-word-on-a-zune-phone.aspx

> Do these comapnies not have a management hierarchy? They dont have weekly meetings with other departments?

Yes, they have one, which is why they will (gasp!) support Vista when the OS is generally available to consumers (who are Zune's market, not the corporate-edition users). God forbid teams focus on things like getting products out of the door, instead of fulfilling /.-ers' "M$ is teh B0rg" everything-must-proceed-in-lockstep fantasies.

Also, you do realize that for Microsoft, under the terms of the antitrust settlement, "doing department meetings" with other application teams (and Zune's software is an application) is illegal? That there's supposed to be a "Chinese Wall" between MS OS and MS Apps? For MS OS teams, Zune is an app. So's Realplayer, so's iTunes. All of them get exactly the same level of access.

If Zune needs Windows source access to do their work, competitors get source access too (provided they ask) -- except that the myth of Microsoft Apps teams 'looking at Windows source' has been a myth -- the OS teams hate anyone (inside MS or out) who 'work around' the API because it means they have get to support those work arounds forever in the name of back compat. Unlike Linux, the Windows API is supposed to be sufficient for anyone to create a good Windows app -- and Microsoft is happy to train developers -- including Firefox developers -- on how to use the Windows API to create better apps.

Anyway, the point is-- it's often easier to wait until a beta OS is in RC1 (API freeze) before starting to target it -- especially when your own product is a v1.0.

But of course, explaining engineering trade-offs to the know-all script kiddies on /. is like casting perls before swine.

Actually, source code access is overrated. If you are developing compatibility based on source code access alone, you're almost guaranteed to come up with hacks, at least in your first pass. It's much better engineering to pay attention to things like frozen APIs (targeting a moving API adds to your development schedule).

Finally, here's a word on Vista support from someone actually working on Zune: "On Vista support: When Windows Vista (consumer edition)* is publicly available this January, it will work with Zune. This will include Vista 64bit support. I'm not sure if Zune software will run on a Mac running Windows."

Looks like MS have thought of that whole can of worms... They don't apply DRM

We don't actually "wrap all songs up in DRM:" Zune to Zune Sharing doesn't change the DRM on a song, and it doesn't impose DRM restrictions on any files that are unprotected. If you have a song - say that you got "free and clear" - Zune to Zune Sharing won't apply any DRM to that song. The 3-day/3-play limitation is built into the device, and it only applies on the Zune device: when you receive a song in your Inbox, the file remains unchanged. After 3 plays or 3 days, you can no longer play the song; however, you can still see a listing of the songs with the associated metadata.

So they don't DRM stuff, but there is a 'hard limit' built into the device itself. Apparently.

http://www.zuneinsider.com/2006/09/zune_and_drm_or .html

This might clear things up.

My interpretation of MS's press release is that Creative Commons music will not be shared at all unless they are selling them through MS's online store and authorize it by opting in. Songs you rip yourself will not be sharable.

Looks like there's been an update to TFA since you looked at it last (giving you the benefit of the doubt). Medialoper's post added this addendum, which "actually came from Microsoft's own Zune Insider, Cesar Menendez":

"I made a song. I own it. How come, when I wirelessly send it to a girl I want to impress, the song has 3 days/3 plays?" Good question. There currently isn't a way to sniff out what you are sending, so we wrap it all up in DRM. We can't tell if you are sending a song from a known band or your own home recording so we default to the safety of encoding. And besides, she'll come see you three days later. . .

You can read Menendez' full blog posting here, if you're interested.

So, the long and the short of it is that the Zune will share Creative Commons music, and indeed anything else you stick on it, without necesarily going through MS' online store, and without "opting in" to Microsoft's draconian DRM. You seemed to think that:

It will only work for songs bought from MS's store and whose publishers specified it to be sharable/advertising enabled.

Unless things change between now and release, that isn't actually that case -- the publishers / file creators don't have one single iota of input in this process; the Zune will add DRM to every shared audio file, regardless of license. So I must agree with the idea of "contributory and vicarious infringement", only in this case, it's not an offense against the RIAA caused by sharing, it's an offense against every single copyright license that disallows such DRM shenanigans. Sure, some will argue that there simply isn't that much content covered by Creative Commons and similar licenses, but such content is on the increase, and for the Zune to add this kind of draconian DRM automatically to *everything* is simply Not Cool(TM).

This is related to the Zune's ability to share files with other Zune players.

More info here, all throughout the comments: http://www.zuneinsider.com/2006/09/answers_to_some .html

"There currently isn't a way to sniff out what you are sending, so we wrap it all up in DRM. We can't tell if you are sending a song from a known band or your own home recording so we default to the safety of encoding."

"I made a song. I own it. How come, when I wirelessly send it to a girl I want to impress, the song has 3 days/3 plays?" Good question. There currently isn't a way to sniff out what you are sending, so we wrap it all up in DRM. We can't tell if you are sending a song from a known band or your own home recording so we default to the safety of encoding. And besides, she'll come see you three days later. . .

This is not an official Microsoft announcement, of course, but at least it claims to be from someone who knows.

As another note, I've got to agree with another poster here who pointed out that it wouldn't be Microsoft/Zune that was violating the CC license -- they just provide a tool. If you voluntarily use that tool to share CC-licensed material, then you are the one violating the CC license.

Think of it like this: I've got GPG on my system, and I get some content under a contract that it won't be transmitted in encrypted form (why? I don't know, it's just an example, ok?). If I then e-mail it after encrypting with GPG, who has violated the license agreement? Me, or the makers of GPG?

Actually, according to Microsoft's Zune Insider, Zune WILL allow you to share music that hasn't been purchased through the Zune Marketplace:

http://www.zuneinsider.com/2006/09/answers_to_some .html

Here's what he says in answer to a question about this:

"I made a song. I own it. How come, when I wirelessly send it to a girl I want to impress, the song has 3 days/3 plays?" Good question. There currently isn't a way to sniff out what you are sending, so we wrap it all up in DRM. We can't tell if you are sending a song from a known band or your own home recording so we default to the safety of encoding. And besides, she'll come see you three days later. . "

Whoa - Easy there, trigger.. let's get our facts straight, shall we?

PlaysForSure is not DRM. WM-DRM is DRM. Both PlaysForSure and Zune use WM-DRM. PlaysForSure is nothing more than a logo slapped on a player (portable or network connected) saying that it will play any music or video purchased from a store that also has the logo. Zune is a player and a store that are tightly integrated together to enable some of the little niceties that are harder to do when one has to worry about being compatible with a variety of devices or a variety of online media stores.

While we are getting our facts straight, why don't you do a little research - yeah, Plays For Sure is a marketing initiative, but it is also a system...a system than the Zune doesn't support in favor of it's own Zune Marketplace. Don't believe me, check out these articles.

As for the claim you make about Windows Media Player being miss represented by Apple, why don't you offer a link to the site? I searched Apple's website and couldn't find any mention of WMP 10 or 11 on the site at all. Perhaps I am just an idiot...or perhaps you are just "remembering" something that didn't happen.

First of all, Microsoft hasn't launched the Zune. They haven't even announced launch date yet! I'm surprised noone here has linked to this blog, which is from an employee Microsoft and answers (or at least postpones) some of the questions people are raising here at /.

Including: battery life (not known yet), whether you can or not send a song you make with WiFi (yes, you can, but everything sent by wifi is protected by the 3 days/3 plays rule, because there's no way for them to know whether a song is copyrighted or not), and probably others.

> software app that transcodes to whatever Windows format is being used for video on that platform.

Zune will support [...] video formats (WMV, H.264, MPEG4, 320x240), and JPG photo files. On Zune file formats