Zune HD

Well, someone that has had a single ipod (1st gen) for years, I recently acquired a Zune HD and I am SO glad.

I had grown very tired of Apples strangle hold on things and never liked the iTunes software ever.  Talk about bloat anymore, Apple is becoming the next MS of yesteryear, how weird. So how bad could the latest Zune stuff be really?

I have to admit after seeing what MS did with Zune interface on the 360 I was not optimistic.  They had made what was intuitive originally on the 360 into something that felt like a bad bolted on application that just didn’t fit. (Still not real big on Zune on 360, but thats for another day.)

However, I download the Zune 4.0 software and gave it a try at the same time I got my hands on the 32G Zune HD device.  I had seen the 1st and 2nd gen Zune’s and they always felt CHEAP and ugly. Just like normal, it took MS 3 tries to get it right (any real long time Window’s users will know what I am talking about 1.0, 2.0, 3.1!)

Zune HD is a different beast compared to its previous siblings.

Even with it’s life sounding like it will be shortened as the result of the recent Windows Phone 7 announcements, I have to admit it is a very nice device.

Love the UI, it is fluid and actually very easy to use and oh so easy on the eyes!  The Nvidia Tegra chip really shows its power and grace.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

First thing you notice, is that Zune HD hardware itself is great size.  Not too small like a Nano or Shuffle from someone else, or too large like some other devices we know.  Construction is excellent.  The case feels very sturdy and well built.  Nice lines, simple interface and uses the touch screen excellently.   The only thing that I can say about the physical device is the volume/track selection button.  It requires you to use the touch screen to change volume / track.  So it takes an extra step or two to do those simple tasks.  Initially I thought it was going to be a serious pain, but I found that I don’t accidentally change things like I could with my old nano.  So that turned out to be a good thing me.  Others will disagree, plenty of folks have chimed in on that since it’s release, fair enough.

The OLED screen is beyond beautiful, except in direct sunlight!  In normal lighting, inside, etc the thing just scream awesome tech and eye candy.  Direct sunlight it almost completely disappears.  Kind of a shame, but I don’t like the direct sun anyhow, hahah, so no issue there either.  Give me shade please.  Next.

The touchscreen is very very responsive and UI matches the fluid response that you would expect.  The device has lots of nice little features that I have a feeling is setting the true stage for WP7 that is to come and whatever they do with the Zune HD2 or no phone devices.  For some the UI might take a day or two to get use to, but once you do, it just makes sense and becomes very easy to get around.

Syncing between the Zune software and the device is great.  Especially the wifi syncing on your own network, I simply love the feature.  I can come home, it finds my network and can sync without USB cables or even touching the default machine.  That works out great.

I have played with some of the apps and games for the device and they are nice and can show some power of the Tegra chip.  However, with WP7 on the horizon and MS making it clear that old apps will not be usable on next gen of devices, I can see a lot of development for the current Zune HD devices being left behind.

Even with the lost love by MS for the current Zune HD, I know I will still love it for the music, video and podcasts that it does so well today.  There is always something better tech wise over the horizon, but you have to jump someday.

Browser:  Yes it has one and it probably works better than my Windows Mobile phone browser, but that is not saying much.  I wouldn’t use it unless forced to, it is IE Mobile after all!

Battery life so far has been great, haven’t ever ran dry, but haven’t used it for days in a row without plugging it in every now and again.  Beats my aging nano, but his battery life has come and gone.

The marketplace and Zune Pass look good, but I already have a huge collection of media that I haven’t decided to give MS anymore money every month ($14.99 to be exact) just for music.  I guess if I gave up the requirement for physical media as my backup, then the ALL digital consumption would be easier, but I can’t drink that Kool-Aid yet.  Not to mention there has been some rumors that things in terms of the Zune Pass will change when WP7 devices are released, but no details yet.

Another feature of the Zune software I wanted to mention is the QuickPlay feature. The best analogy of this is like Pandora with your own music. It finds music in your collection that matches the theme of the Quick Play group you setup. So for example for me, Depeche Mode is my #1 quickplay of course, and it finds New Order, OMD, Love & Rockets, Soft Cell, etc as others to put into the mix that it plays. I have to admit it can come up with some pretty interesting mixes, personally I think even better than Pandora. Not to say this is to replace my use of Pandora! Pandora is great at getting you to get exposed to bands and music you might never have picked.

Last feature that is more “quiet” but pretty slick looking is how the Zune software downloads other facts and pictures related to your artists. Then it shows it as an artistic slide show when you don’t touch the software. It also shows up on the Zune HD itself. Added benefit and I even learned some facts I didn’t know about some artists this way.

One pet peeve I have determined I don’t really like with the Zune software is the use of Windows 7 library feature.  Zune software uses Library’s from Windows 7 to find your collection.  This means all your MCE content will become part of the Zune software as well.  Normally not a big deal, but this can become a problem if you have a large set of video, music, etc.  You are forced to have it all in Zune now as well.  Some might not care, some might.

Final comments:  IMO Microsoft is really getting it’s act together when it comes to media and entertainment.   Be it on PC, XBox 360 console and now a real portable media device (ignore Zune 1st & 2nd gen) they are finally producing some nice software and hardware.  I can only wait to see what they actually accomplish this year with Windows Phone 7 release and dev tools (XNA Game Studio 4.0 instead of 3.1 for Zune HD)  for full game integration, Live integration and a common platform across devices. The Apples of the world might want to actually start paying attention, this could be a deal changer.  It will be amazing to think you could use a WP7 over wifi and unlock achievements in a XBox live game from the hand-held and then go to your 360 console and have your save point and achievement already there.  Personally this is all thanks to the Zune HD & Xbox 360.

Next couple years will be very interesting on the entertainment front from the Microsoft.

So since I have posted the following over on the xbox forums and seem to get back quite a bit of feedback that it has solved several others RROD August 11 System Update deaths, I figured I would post it here as well before MS decides to pull the whole thread to make sure they don’t admit that they had anything to do with everyone’s consoles dying!

So my console was completely dead after working with MS support related to the Aug 11 update failure on my 3 year old Pro console. They basically wanted me to send it in saying I had a hardware failure (even though initially didn’t have RROD) and wanted the 100 bucks to repair since it was long past its warranty.

Since I wasn’t going to pay for any old hardware to be fixed that was broken by their software, I figured I would find a solution on my own since their support was pretty useless on the phone.

Since the console was working fine before the update I started to see what options to clear the system of the update. Since mine was not even getting past the 360 startup logo before it completely froze and then showed RROD recently, I had nothing to lose. It was going to meet the dumpster at this point!

First thing I did was use the sync clear method stated early on in the post and several others places in the forums and web:

1. Held the sync button (on the console to the right of the 2nd memory module port).
2. Pressed the power button (still holding down sync button the whole time) until it was at the dashboard.

Mine didn’t say anything, but oddly enough it got me past the logo and I actually could see the NXE dash now. I have not seen this for days (say the last 8 tries of starting the console). That was positive.

---

Next I used the 360 Clear Cache method (the new method, since the August 11 update was still in place at this point apparently). Not the long (X,X,LB,RB,X,X) combo.

I quickly navigated to the system blade (thinking I had less than 30 seconds before it RROD on me):

1. Selected Memory.
2. Selected Hard Drive.
3. Selected Y for device options.
4. Selected Clear Cache (3rd Choice).

In my case it freed up about 5 gigs worth of disk space by clearing out the “cache”. Dang all those software updates for games!

Restarted the console to be safe and see if everything still worked. Sure enough it started up, the lag I noticed after the August 11 update was not there and I actually was able to play two XBL games and even some Fable II. All of which was impossible the previous days.

Does this solve all my problems, probably not, but things are working again until the next failure or RROD. I find it interesting that MS doesn’t force these kinds of clearing of the cache if they can be problems with system updates.

Since both of these steps together has currently (and maybe only temporarily) fixed my RROD. This leads me to believe it is really not hardware failure! Does anyone else see something wrong with this if my console lives on and MS was going to take my 100 bucks to just clear the cache on my box and send it back to me!!! Or is there really changes to the latest system code that is taking a border line stable console and sending it over the edge?

This was the first time I ever had any failures on my 360, which would lead one to believe something not right with this system update. I wonder if these steps works for anyone else out there with the Aug 11 failures!?”

I have verified that this has worked on my console (still working many gaming sessions later) and at least 8 reported instances of others consoles (ranging from 3+ years old to not even a month old elite) being fixed by these steps above. Even with complete RROD’s. Of course I can’t guarantee this will work for anyone else’s 360 or that it will last, but it has worked on ours at this point.
Thanks for nothing Microsoft, maybe you would like to test your stuff before releasing. All for new avatar and netflix junk!? Dang, what happens come fall with the Twitter and Fackebook stuff piled on top of this… I smell smoke in them there hills?

They just released their next music video.  Felicia sounds great, not to mention that this is what all The Guild fans have been waiting for!

Season 3 starts August 25 on XBOX Live (right now the only reason I can see I want an 360 right now!).  How is this for a early gift to get you ready for the new fall season!

Got to love geeks!

So the console gets updated with the fabulous new August 11 auto update on XBL.  Cause I need new avatar clothes right! NOT

Installs, reboots, gets to the “new” NXE updates and you notice everything is jerky and slow.  Think to one’s self, must be that everyone and their dog is on and updating so the tubes are full (right Mr Gore).  Tried to watch a vid or two, locks up each time at different points.  Forced shutdown each time.  Not real happy with the “new” features yet MS.

Try to play a little Fable II… don’t even get past the menu when the whole console locks again.  Still no ROR either.

Try it several more times over the course of several days each time it actually seems to get worse and worse.  Taking less and less time from startup for it to lock up.

Figure I would see what the fanboys and XBOX forums say… what do you know, top of the XBOX forums general discussion list:

Installed the latest Aug. 11 Update and 360 has stopped working

Entry after entry sounds similar to mine.  Figured, heck I am out of warranty so lets call MS support and see what line they sale me.  “I have a hardware failure.”  Really, I would of never guessed.

Since I am out of warranty, that would be 99 to fix broken hardware that you have been making money off of for years and the public/media knows!

Needless to say since it wasn’t a RROD, I was years past my warranty period and MS is currently ignoring the issue and not an issue.  So good customer service.

The best part of the story is that after getting off the support call, and the console is down to mere seconds before freezing now, it RROD the last time I cycle it.

I should just sale everything 360 related and go to the horrible PS3 or worse yet a Weeeeeee!

MS stinks tonight on the East coast.  I write software for a living and if I developed something that destroyed hardware, boy I would be out of a job!

So now what to do.. maybe it is time to hang up the gaming hat.

Ok, IMO, Yahoo is a wounded animal these days. They have been the big kid on the web block for what over a decade now? They were it, hmmmm, 7 years ago before the dot com burst. Heck, there site looks like a grand parents garage. Brick-a-brack piled high to the ceiling with everything but the dog, oh wait that is stuffed and mounted above the garage door.

They have some great web guru’s at Yahoo and the brain trust is nothing to laugh at all. Awesome stuff, period. BUT… does any one (other than Yahoo’s board and Jerry) see anything good coming from this buyout? Heck everyone outside of Bill and Steve at MS should be screaming, “NO… DON’ DO IT MAN” and looking for the nearest life boat. 44 Billion is a lot a coin to buy what?

First, it would have to happen and who knows if the government would let this little monopoly continue. Probably, only the UK has the bones to do anything against MS.

Second, is Steve and Bill still really thinking they need to beat the Google monster this way? If so, eating Yahoo does not make Microsoft better than Google I hate to inform them. Nope, won’t do it.

Third, what does Yahoo + Microsoft = ? What would Yahoo’s name become? Microsoft. Just like Oracle, things acquired either go their to die, or ripped apart and the organs thrown about the room and you get things like MS Bob!

Seriously, has MS changed the way the “web” works today? Personally, it just seems like every move they make is a bad copy of what Google has already done. Office Live is a prime example.

I could see Jerry and board saying yes, since Yahoo is laying folks off and those earnings just keep going down the bowl. For 2 years the stock has just kept going down, down and down. Heck take the money and run right. Y A H O O O O… I can hear that tag line ringing right for someone finally!
At the end of the day, the thing that really sits in the mind.

If they really do some re-branding of Yahoo.com… does it become:

• M + OO = Moo.com? (MS would have to buy up a print company)
  
• Y + SOFT = YSoft.com? (MS would have to send a legal letter to Yankee Software to stop using their domain!)
• MICRO+OO = Microoo.com? (Go for this one MS, domain stumpers are easy push overs… plus doesn’t it roll right off the tongue!)

Lastly, I put in my plea for a feeble .01% of the sale price please Bill? Not 1%, nothing dramatic, heck not even .1%… I am not a 3rd world or have curable childhood diseases, but I am a hostage to your stolen software since the 80′s. (BASIC, DOS, WINDOWS……) I know the folks at Parc love you Bill (heck and Steve J).

It use to be the big eat the small.. now it is the big eating the big that are sick.

Update: Yahoo released a small FAQ for this “unsolicited proposal”:

“Q1. How is Yahoo! responding to Microsoft’s proposal?
The Yahoo! Board is undertaking a deliberate review process. They’re going to take time to thoroughly evaluate the proposal in the context of Yahoo!’s strategic plans. This will include evaluating all of the Company’s strategic alternatives – including maintaining Yahoo! as an independent company. That process will take some time, but the Board will ultimately pursue the option that it believes can best maximize value for our shareholders.”

pursue the option that it believes can best maximize value for our shareholders. = pursue the option that puts the most money in our pocket.

Update 2:  Yahoo has rejected MS bid.

“After a series of meetings over the past week, Yahoo’s board determined that the $31 per share offer “massively undervalues” Yahoo, the person said. It also doesn’t account for the risks Yahoo would be taking by entering into an agreement that might be overturned by regulators. The board plans to send a letter to Microsoft on Monday, spelling out its position.”

So is this over and Yahoo better come up with its game plan on how to stay alive before it hangs itself?  I am sure next week will reveal more.

Well after suffering with this for the past couple weeks and now it getting worse, I had to find a fix for what appears to be a common problem.

Good out Pocket Outlook will list (both on Today if you show your unread count there & in PO).

So even when there was zero unread or even any mail at all in the Inbox, it would still show X unread.

My problems started out with just “1 unread” for about a week. Then it went to 2, 3, 5…. you get the picture. It was getting worse and very annoying.

Anyhow, after some digging found the perfect little Windows Mobile tool to fix it:

Relmerator – FixUnreadCount v1.0

Drop the exe on your Mobile device, run it.. and all your email, sms, mms, etc mail accounts will be fixed up. At least it did for me. I read it didn’t work for some folks, but I will say a thank you very much!