sweet :) thanks a bunch

sweet. Even though i never had a problem, im glad that for the ones that do, it will be fixed.

I hope this fixes their skipping problem.

Congratulations to you and the team for pushing this one out of the door. Good luck with any future releases.

Now, please, give us a clock willya?

Heres my list of personal wants for 1.3:

Clock

Podcasting

Folders added to the Video Section

And please will you do something about the Zune Marketplace? It's dog slow at redrawing on Vista if it even redraws. It frequently locks up and has many graphical glitches associated with it.

It's probably my biggest gripe with Zune right now, the software is dog slow and just a pain in the you-know-what to use.

(End Rant)

Don't mean to come off disrespectful in any of the above, just the words of a Zune owner who wants the see the product shine.

Same here, never had a problem, but at least all of the people who have Zunes and aren't techies or Zune fans don't experience any more problems and decide to easily return it for something else.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Same here, i've never had any issues with my zune.  I just like updates.

Oh and I forgot to mention: Thanks for the birthday present! :D

Thank God!!! I never thought this would happen, actually I did, but not this soon. :)

So when are we getting a firmware that actually add some functions that should have been included in the original release?

Namely lossless audio support on the device. The freakin nano supports lossless audio why not the zune?

Also releases that add no functions should be called patches and or fixes not "firmware updates". Firmware updates implies new features which has yet to happen with the zune.

My wish is two-fold:

1. Get my xbox live arcarde games and TV shows onto my zune... please. :)

2. Allow me to take my MS points with me and make purchases wirelessly at a store.  I believe MS just released a POS software solution, so now let me hook up with merchants using this and buy things.  That would be great!!!  And help you compete with the PS3 - that supports Edy money.

is there a time that the download will be available?  

Heres my list of personal wants for 1.3:

Clock

Podcasting

Folders added to the Video Section

Wow! Thank god! I thought I would have to wait a while before it actually came out! Expecting it around somewhere in April 2007! Good job MS!

dear blog commenters, isn't it possible to have *1* post where people don't devote dozens of comments to requesting new features/wishlists? the team and I hear you loud and clear in these other posts:

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/03/21/send-feedback-to-the-zune-team.aspx

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/03/20/update-on-the-update-from-the-release-manager.aspx

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/03/07/and-now-a-word-from-the-zune-release-manager.aspx

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/02/28/zune-firmware-update-1-3-coming-mid-march-skipping-fixed.aspx

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/02/27/the-official-word-on-firmware-updates.aspx

Woot!

Now when can we see games? :)

Now only if you would let me run my Visual Basic programs on the Zune..... ;)

Thank You :)

Nice!

from a coding standpoint, not a critical one, what took the update so long? this seems like the type of stuff that wouldn't be very hard.

jw, since im learning to code in VB

so, is the update for the Zune software?...when is the firmware (Zune device) being updated ?

As far as updates/features, I don't know about anyone else but the top 3 features I'd like to see the Zune have would be

1 Zune will go to work for you so you don't have to.

2 Zune can make your dinner and feed your cats

3 Zune should have a feature where you push a button and *poof* your house is clean!

I kid, I kid, I'm just making light of all the suggestions people keep putting out there and the admin's comment about doing so.I'm just happy to see the update coming and no more skipping.

lol Josh.

Ricardo - software and firmware should launch at the same time. 1.3

Any change on having an open source firmware, so companies/ hobbyist can make apps for the Zune? That would be insane.

Sorry, I myself generally only have posted my wants in firmware announcement type topics.

I apologize if this topic wasn't intended for this

:X

no worries nelson :)

Thank you cesar for keeping us posted.  Nice little surprise popping it up the day befor.  Always makes people happy to get somthing good that they dont expect.  :)

Hey Caesar and the zune team, THANKS!

Even though I did not have these problems, I'm glad to see the zune team trying to make the zune a better player.  I'm tired of the people that want amazing updates, NOW.  Sure I would love to access zune marketplace via internal wifi, but that sounds like something that would take forever!  

This is great news and I just want to say thanks.

Yeah guys, I think we have drilled the ideas of things that we want on our zunes in there heads already! It is getting kind of old hearing the same improvement ideas over and over again. Lets just be patient for awhile and quit bombarding new threads with the same old stuff.

To Admin

You should add a section to this site for feature requests. some of the threads you linked get buried.

Also the main point about people continuing to request certain feature is a lack of feedback.

I submitted feadback, but got no Feadback on it

I suggest a simple single section somewhere that

people could put in feature requests that gets an actual response.

No one has to promise new features but some general feedback on what we request would be nice, like we are trying to implement this feature or your request is not feasible etc. etc.

If we had a central interactive place for feature requests it would cut down on the various threads that get the same type of replies

I'll actually be able to use it!  

The threads will be slammed with them regardless of whether or not they have a features section.

At any rate, thank you very much for the release. Looks like my waiting of a few extra days, while some people JUST couldn't! wait. Paid off.

:)

NO SKIPPING!  Woo hoo!  

Thanks Cesar.  Yeah I never had a problem either but I am glad others will benefit from the fix.

Thank you Cesar and the WHOLE Zune team. Thank you. My deepest Thanks and gratitude.

Yay! That's awesome, thanks, Zune!

If this patch works like it says it will, it is the beginning of the redemption of your product.

Thank you.

I really dont get the ads i see on TV. Make it make sense!

I know you've been busy Cesar but with almost a quarter of the year gone the blog still says "Copyright 2006".

Hey, only kidding but, you know what I'd like in my Zune for a future update? Bookmarks in movies. Why? I use the Zune a lot to show other people stuff. I want to show them the best bits - but fast forwarding and so on is not easy.

Allow bookmarks to be set from the device itself and you really will have something over the iPod - I have one of those too and it also can't do it - but there's no iPod person with a blog that I know of to tell this to :)

- Robin: http://zunearmy.com

I forgot to thank the Zune Team.  Thanks guys!  

It's nice to see an update coming. thanks and keep us posted on when features will be added! I've used that suggestion form already ;).

Bill Wittress confirms that the Zune 1.3 Firmware (which missed its tentative release date of March 20th

Since all of you usually hear from me via Cesar, I figured that I would post a response directly.

You are welcome for the update!  I am pleased to get this update out to all of you.  :)

Keep the feedback coming!  

James

Thanks for the direct response,announcement James/Cesar.  We'll keep the feedback coming, you keep your shoulders to the grindstone and make the product shine. ;)

thank god. i have music from the marketplace and i noticed today it skipped. i dont knoiw why it took so long for me to notice but now im happy :)

Ooh, nice!

I was really expecting at least another week. It'll be nice not having to skip the last few seconds of each song, and not worry about the syncing problems!

Thanks guys

Im sorry but what is everyone getting so excited about?  This "patch" is fixing 3 issues the zune is having.  Should it skip, no.  Should it sync, yes.  Should the battery drain, no.  Cesar I'm very happy with your site and letting everyone in on the "whats happening with the product you bought".  

But "it shouldn’t be a surprise to folks that we are going to continue looking for ways to add to or improve the Zune software." where is the improvement?  Your last sentence is amazing to me, new features? improvements? etc.?  etc must mean "fixing problems" cause that is what this is.  Now im not yelling about how I want my zune to have some incredible new features, like others, I just don't think this "update" should come with a side of fluff.

ok this is what i want

EVERYTHING ELSE EVEONE ELSE WANTS

meh just kidding i am happy never had any problems with the thing except it shutting down when it got freaking cold outside but that doesnt surpise me at all and now its warm HEYHEY problem solved also Ricardo Dawkins may have said the dumbest thing i have ever heard

so is this one 24 hour thing like at 12:01am is when it will be available?????????any thoughts......

i just know im going to be disapointed tomorrow, anyone else feelin' that? i hope i get proved wrong, fingers crossed

I was wondering if there is a set time as to when it will be availible, As well as why was the release delayed? I agree with micromarty, It would be insane if the firmware was open source

Glad to hear about the update!

Unfotunately, I finally broke down and bought one of those i-thingies Sunday :( If only I had a bit more patience.

Glad to hear the update(fix) is finally done, but i really hope were not going to have to wait another 5 months for the next one.

Sorry but I forgot to ask, Is it just going to be those 3 fixes or are we able to expect more?

I can't wait for the update!  Even though the noted fixes aren't any of my problems.  

I do have one issue though.  I noticed that if I don't listen to my Zune for a full day, then it reboots and forgets where I was in the middle of the song that I was listening to.  I think this is similar to the issue with the FM Tuner.

Yay! Now keep them coming. And for the next, bookmarks please, think of the Audiobook'ers, we are out there. :)

Woohoo....finally but i think im going to wait at least one day to make sure no one encounters any bugs...i'll be crossing my fingers!

woot- a fix.

@admin

I get it. It must be a pain to hear people complain all the time when you're doing your best.

How 'bout this thou, you guys @ zune dev team state what you guys will be working on in terms of actual upgrades(planned or considered). It might stop people from asking.

Personaly, I think you guys have a product that's unbalanced, now that you've fixed the problems, concentrate on the video part for a while.

Tells me firmware is up to date....hmmmm

Recently bought a Zune. Happy to see a pending update... but I have doubts.

I'm finding it annoying that though I spent twice as much on it as my Creative Microphoto, it seems to lack a lot of the basic things that the cheaper MP did.

A clock is a no-brainer... with an alarm please. I'd love to be able to use it as a clock radio hooked up to an external unit like you can with the Zen or the Ipod. This is such a basic request and so common with a lot of players out today that it makes no sense that it was not included from day one!

More music and video codecs need to be supported, including open source ones like OGG.  Not being able to play my AVI files at all? A nuisance and a pain for consumers.

And why can't we record the FM radio? I mean seriously? Again, this is a common feature on other players.

If the Zune is to be competitive, it should at least be comparable with like priced players in terms of functionality.  Not to say fixing bugs isn't important, but I must say that I was really disappointed to see how much obvious functionality was left out of this machine.

I mean, Microsoft is a giant. You'd think they'd have the resources to make a player that had comparable functionality to their competitors.

Are there any 'hidden' features in this update we need to be aware of like in the case of the xbox 360?  

In the 360 arena, updates have been know to brick (ruin) the console hardware, strongarm their unwanted DRM, cause unwanted operation, etc... all of which happens to be irreversible thanks to the 360's processor architecture.  All of which was leveraged under the false pretense of 'fixes' and 'updates'.

No offense, but your company has a history of blatent deceit in patch 'upgrades'.  I'll keep the 1.2 firmware since I don't have any of the listen problems, thanks anyway.  

To Admin: Perhaps people will stop requesting so many features if you actually confirm that new features are being worked on at all. I've been wondering, has the Zune team even began work on new features yet? Or have they been spending all their time working on bug fix patches like this one?

rumor has it that the FW will be available at 10AM EST. Don't quote me on it, I'm just repeating what I heard.

I pray to god that you guys are adding Chinese, Japanese, Korean and all other asian language support to the Zune

I hate that all my Asian music shows up as squares on the Zune when the Ipod can display them just fine.

Thank you guys!

Don't you think your work is over, do you?

;)

yeah folders for videos would be perfect!

Well where is it? Ive been clicking check for updates since 12:01 am , and still nothing?

Well its 1500 here in Baghdad.  It still isnt out yet lol.  Hopefully it will be out sometime before I go to sleep.  We are 7 hours ahead of EST.

I agree with kyle, one thing I dont li ke is once you make a quicklist, there is no way to save it as an actual playlist for later on , I get all my fav songs on 1 list, then by accident clear it , drives me nuts, we def need audio book and podcast support. These fixes in this update dont help me cuz I dont have any of these problems.

congratz on the FW/Patch Zune team!!!

...

But, please, any easter eggs???

oh... and what time will it be available, so i dont have to sit here and hit the update button over, over, and over. My fingers are starting to hurt

Just want to say thanks for all the hard work!  The iPod wasn't made over night and it can take a long time to get all the details worked out.

I am a product tester who's job it is to find bugs (yes even for the zune) and honestly compared to a lot of other products I have tested the Zune is an excellent product with limitless potential.  

Keep up the good work!

Awesome, had no skipping issues but its good to see progress.

Be patient people, progress is progress and each firmware update gets us closer to v2.0 (which I heard will clean your house and cook you dinner...)

Cesar and ZTeam: Keep up the good work. Period.

Woo, i didnt expect it for a while to be honest.

i dont really need this update coz mine works fine now. but still, good to know its out there, in good time.

good work team

i'll be here waiting for 1.4!

-adam

Not Only will it do that Selcouth, but also it will clean you fish, hamster, and bird cages i hear. And make tons of money for you. Thanks Big Cesar (267,453,952,974 High Fives) Can't wait to try it out.

*sigh* this good news make me even more sad that the uk (and the rest of europe) dont have "official" zunes.

heres hoping we see it before year end. i want santa to gift me a black one to match my 360 elite. ^_^

@Admin

Yes!!!

Thats what we want to here!!!

Keep those little tid bits coming

Great Job James & Cesar getting the showstoppers for 1.3 taken care of!  Delaying a release is a tough decision, especially when the public knows, but I am confident that you made the right decision.

Stay focused on making the best media device out there.  If you do that the masses will be knocking down your door, then you can worry about all the extras.

In honor of this big occasion, I redeemed my zune pass 14-day trial. Not something I had planned on doing, I had done Urge before I got my zune, and it was awesome… But, I hate DRM and hated having to manually purge all the urge files when I got the zune. I don’t plan on keeping the zune pass, I prefer buying CDs (Yes, I am the one ;). This is prior to the 1.3 update I have 6gb free (5.9 with the new albums), and downloaded 3 albums. Been listening to them, and have not had a skip yet, I will be curious to see If I notice anything with this update.

Where is it? my software keep telling me my firmware (1.2) is up to date!?

its 10:11am Eastern time ... do you know where YOUR zune update is?

good thats exactly what we want to hear admin quistion is how hard is it for somone who isnt admin to say there name is admin blah i dont kno

and chris the answer is

no

"this is just to show how easy it is to post using the name admin.  no, I am not cesar."

 <cesar's edit: nope, you're definitely not me. you're banned>

neither am i

Great now we will never know if that was Cesar who said that on the portable drive or not. Cesar you need to make a new name for yourself.

no, this site needs to require logins, or he needs to limit posting under the name admin to only himself.  I dont think that would be that hard... a little script doctoring on the firm to make it a null entry or something...

nor i

wtf!!? Why didn't you just disable people from using that name?  My Heart can't take these frights!!!!

@Admin(Fake)

That is so uncool!!!

Cesar You need to have one of those WebDev's you guys (Microsoft) have over there, make it not possible to post as Admin, unless in the admin panel, i.e. logged in

if you pay attention, "admin" is an underlined link when it's cesar.

yea, we need some offcial names, or maybe have people make accounts so that people have to use the same name all the time.  and the admin or zune team can have theres with out people being able to use the names also.

Isn't Cesar's name underlined when posting?  I'm sure it could be faked but what would be the point?  Anything said to mislead he would probably correct in the main blog.

And to the real Cesar... any info on when the update will happen today?

I've been lookng forward to this patch for a while. Thanks guys! Fixes the only real problem I ever had with the device. (hmm that clock idea sounds cool though...)

@jim

it is underlined when there is a URL

Admin any rumors of when they will start selling videos on marketplace or allowing us to transfer video from our xbox? Probably around the same time that we get podcast support?

Has anyone noticed the little girl in the background wallpaper of this site? on the lower right corner? I'm sure it wasn't intentional but funny none the less.

maybe ms is giving us some sort of subliminal message

<cesar deleted this comment and banned the commenter. not cool.>

Forget whether its an admin or not ... when is the update suppose to be UP?

Has anyone updated yet?

when is this thing going to happen?  Im getting really sick of checking for device updates.

I dont know why Im so worried about it.  Im not experiencing any of the problems this is supposedly fixing, and Im sure there will be nothing cool hidden in the update such as all the things we've been asking for since day one.

Im betting the only FW updates you will continue to see for this version of the Zune are problem fixes...no features.  My guess is they're all so busy working on the next version that this one has already been forgotten except for trying to fix issues...thanks for screwing the early adopters MS...really not a good idea since I would say the early adopters are probably the die-hard MS fans...

It is now 11:08 AM EDT.  No update.

@travis

Sock it to em buddy.

we want update, update, update, update.

cant believe i got up early to check for an update, im such a loser!

*** And yes we are working on making it a portable drive, so you guys can carry you personal files ;) ***

WHOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO......yes!!!...yes!!..yes!!!....Zune FTUW!

Maybe ill go get some kolaches, anyone want any?

@Ricardo

That was not Cezar:(

isnt that sad? waking up at midnight for an update?  

btw, I WILL issue an apology in this comment section stating that im a loud-mouthed jackass if there is any form of feature included in this update...no matter how small...

Cesar ummmmm yea maybe fix this name thingy.

Yeah I also noticed the little girl on the right giving me the middle finger lol. STILL waiting for 1.3!!

Hummm...A WMP11 for vista update today to...bout External storage for WM 5.0, isnt zune built on wm 5 ?

this ipod lovers are insane...Zune will r4p3 your ip00s ...nuff said!! :@

    Is anyone else just, waiting? Any ideas on timing? I'm UK so thats what? 8 hours ahead? Also sorry if comment has been posted before hand, just too much to read =P.  

your 5 hours ahead coz of the daylight savings time we observed, this is in central america of course. shout out to my Grimsby grew in England.

man I feel stupid...I thought we would actually get the update today

What's cool:

Cesar (note the correct spelling) has a marketing blog to share information about Zune with customers. He also allows the customers to leave comments, and responds to those comments, resulting in a unique and open dialogue between Company and Customer.

What's not cool:

Some of the commenters are - pretending to post as Cesar, spreading false information, requesting the same features repeatedly, using extremely bad grammer and spelling, and whining about how this update doesn't help them.

I think any update helps the entire Zune community, whether you personally benefit directly from it or not. Try to see a larger picture here than just your own immediate needs and wants. Either contribute intelligently or refrain from commenting.

This is just my opinion.

Oh why do we have to be tortured like this. Where's this update ?

Nothing like one of the team chiming in here with a heads up , maybe they are too busy playing with their ipods

@Kevyn

I agree with your points, however it is ironic that you complain about incorrect spelling yet in that same sentence incorrectly spell the word grammar.

I wouldn't have said anything, but since you were calling others out for their spelling mistakes I thought it only polite to point out your own.

@Chris - I can appreciate your frustration however any valid points are now being lost with your continual level of sarcasm.

I am assuming since they actually said an update today going to happen and how they failed us on their previous promise then they are probably gathering the team together to prepare for the relase--it's 9:15AM Seattle time so give it a few okay?

@Steve

That is pretty funny... go me!

grammar*

@Kevyn

I believe our "own immediate needs and wants" are for the benefit of the Zune, the Zune Team and the Zune Community. This product will not survive if it is not bought up to snuff. Plain and Simple. It is an iPod Competitor, without question, and the 3 bonuses i.e. Wifi, Widescreen, and radio are not going to make up for its downfalls, i.e. No lossless, Audible, Video formats, and lack of content. We bring these up, over and over again so they don’t forget, it is about Customer Demand.

How come this says that its already released ? odd huh?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926770/#appliesto

The last paragraph in Cesar's post is what we should all be holding on to.  He states that the Zune device you buy now or in the future will benefit with updates with new features.  Thats it, that sums it all up.  We should all hold MS to this post if we don't see any real new features in this generations lifespan, and act as consumers accordingly.  Like I have stated before this is a "patch" a fix to a problem.  This won't make big news and they don't want it to be big news.  Along with 2 other "big" announcements today MS will not say "oh yeah the zune.... yes remember we have a music device too that has a huge up hill battle to make its mark... we fixed some stuff that was wrong with it."

@Admin

Roll outta bed Cezar and tell us whats up!

@Chris

in spanish..nobody will understand..but you are right...

1.3 increase stability and performance..

w00t!

Exactly, I mean come  one how bout some simple features... I mean all this time to address the skipping of music that is dled from Microsofts service that you have to pay for? its ridiculous , I mean c'mon this is microsoft, ! I know something as small as having a clock sounds dumb , but at least its SOMETHING, they pour time into something like the zune arts website , I mean honesly how many have downloaded stuff from there , and kept  it, I go to deviantart.com and I have an unlimited resource for wallpaper, real art you name it . On the zune it says themes, im sorry when I hear themes I think , font changes, sound changes, not a simple wallpaper change , RELEASE SOME THEMES, release something . anything , but dont make us wait this long for something like song skipping , and something like syncing improvements which is something that should have been addressed before release, 3x3 rule , kill it , YOU WILL NOT FIND A SINGLE SOUL who will say they like it , we should not have to depend on 3rd and 4th party hacks and mods , to obtain what should havre been implemented from day one , nor should we have to depend on 3rd party sites for product updates we should have a single source , where daily posts gives us a heads up on what they want to imlpement and give us something to look forward to , cuz when this is released its gonna start over and everyone will want 1.4 asap , since none of the enhancements came in 1.3 and so on and so on . and thats if people dont get rid of their zune and replace it with a supperior product such as ipod , which has games , calander, widgets, if Apple decides to put wifi on the next ipod you will see zunes for 99dollars online. And its a shame cuz with the right people this product could be killer, and they could have 2 INSANE pieces of hardware backing them .. The zune and xbox.. With the new mobile browser, that would be a nice add on if only they would open up the wifi, SOOO much has to be done to restore faith , but again thats just my opinion and in no way to I expect Cesar or anyone on the zune team to respond , cuz that would be asking waaaaaaaaay too much from them

Cesar said:

"<cesar's edit: nope, you're definitely not me. you're banned>"

Someone should start a parody blog called "ZuneOutsider" for all the banned to post their comments.

Hey guys it will come out when it does don't keep complaining to Big C alright?

@Sean

Unfortunately *when* the 1.3 update comes out Big C will still get hammered with complaints and rants.  Nature of the business.

"I for one welcome our zune patching overlords"

If people did not know this, the update seems to be up now.  I'm downloading it as I type this.

Its out!

YAY! it's out.

you're right guys, its out.

Thanks Big C. 765,935,824,754 High Fives!

um, where? my 1.2 device is still "up to date"

Thx!! let me check it out

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm my 1.2 is still up to date

Yay! Lets all celebrate that a patch that should have been out a long time ago is finally out.

In December, I called tech support complaining about sync problems.  They told me that "it must be your computer."  I said, well it is a new computer, AND my brother has the same problems.  The tech guy said he had a Zune and it worked perfectly.

It would help customer satisfaction, if tech support would speak with the other parts of the company.

heck yea, I can change songs in less than 10 seconds now!!

I keep getting this error saying that you can not change sync setting at this time try again later. It says this 3 times then the firmware thing suts off.

My 1.2 is still up to date too :(

I'm so sad I just used typed a frownie face.

I'm guessing it'll happen eventually, probably a lot of people trying right now.

My Zune don't want to update :(

Maybe it is just me, but how anti-climactic

@Cezar

Fix the fricken "Leave a Comment button!!!

j/k but it is really annoying

I'm performing the Zune device update now but still no marketplace software update.  Was that supposed to be updated too?

got the update...who cares. *wishing I could sell this thing for enough money to buy an ipod*

Just updated!

I have been waiting VERY patiently for this update.  I am one of the customers who uses about 95% of Marketplace DRM'd music, so the skipping/battery issue really affected me.

I was sceptical about buying a first generation device (and my daughter wanted one also - so I have two), but hopefully my frustrations will begin to dissipate with continued updates and features.

The whole reason I chose the Zune over the iPod Video was the subscription based content.  It is nice that 2 Zune devices can share a subscription, and that allows both myself and my daughter to enjoy individual "all you can eat" music for one monthly charge.  Although lacking in Marketplace video/podcast/etc for now, I am willing to wait for these next features.

I know everyone is chomping at the bit for new features, but I for one would also like to see more prevalence in 3rd party accessories such as dashboard/windshield mounts, car/home integration, etc... I know there are companies working on them, but they are slow coming.

Kudos to the Zune team for the update, and lets start getting some solid info on feature/enhancement updates.  I won't post my desires here because everyone else has pretty much covered it.

ZERO  

Ok, I'll Start

When is 1.4 comming out???

When will we see <Insert New Feature here>???

ROFL

Whoop, there it is!

1.3 in the hizouse!

Update successful, thanks.

When your Zune is connected, have the Sync pane on the left.  Go to Sync Options -> (nameofzune) -> Check for Zune Device Updates.

That's how i updated mine.

This *Fix* should have been out soon after launch, not 5 months down the line. Can you just confirm that were not going to have to wait another 5 months for some new features.

travis said:

"got the update...who cares. *wishing I could sell this thing for enough money to buy an ipod*"

Same here.

Only change I notice so far is that album art now matches song immediately. There use to be a lag in album art catching up when changing songs. No extras that I see. Start the countdown clock to 1.4 (oh wait we don't have clocks)

What exactly was fixed with the syncing issues?  My device still disconnects when I try to delete songs from it.  Maybe a support call can straighten things out.

On another note the skipping is wonderfully fixed, great work!!

It finally updated! The songs transition so smoothely now! No embarrassing lag that I'm afraid to show my friends!

Plus the skipping, although only explored briefly, is gone!

This may well turn the corner for me. I was getting very frustrated with the Zune, and the skipping, but getting the basics done right just allows for a more positive and uninterrupted experience.

Thanks Cesar and tell the Zune team great job!

The first thing I've noticed with the new firmware is improved performance. For example, before when I selected an album or song and started playing it, there was usually a delay when I tried to adjust the volume. There was also a short delay when switching to a different track.

There was also a noticeable delay when hitting "back" while playing a song. That now is much better.

Or, maybe it's just in my head! :)

Both of those situations are much better now with the new firmware.

Thank you Zune team for fixing my skipping problem.  I have also noticed that the speed in the menus has gotten faster as before it was lagging here and there.  Much thanks to everyone who worked on the fix.  Thanks go out to Cesar for keeping us up to date on the fix.  

Everyone have a great day :)

Can someone help me? I can't download the update. It tries to update but after 3 minuets it says "It is not possible to change sync settings at this time. Try again later."

updated, somehow i feel a bit disapointed that there wasnt more to it

Sean - email me (info below) and I'll see about getting your issue resolved.

I got the same message as Sean

i still cant get the update i.2 is the latestst updated for me?

any one havein the same problem

YATÁÁÁ!

I got it!!!

GO GO GO GO ZUNE! GO!!!!

Well, I got the firmware installed but the software says that is up to date at 1.2.  

I attempted to shuffle music to my zune and as usual it tells me it is going to refresh the music by replacing the previous songs with the new shuffled list.  BUT unlike usual, it does not delete the old list and the new songs do not sync to the device, they each come up with the message "Did not fit on device".  I hope that I'm just doing something wrong and this isn't a new bug with the software or the firmware because if it is, I would have been better off sticking with 1.2 as I did not have any of the previous bugs that were fixed.

Having an issue with the update.

Getting an erro "It is not possible to change sync settings at this time. Try again later."

Hey, looks like Microsoft are ramping up their Zune program.  Check out the careers page!!

link here 

@RyantheTragic13

I'm having a similiar problem. My firmware was updated fine, but the software updater says my zune software is still up to date. Haven't noticed any bugs in the software though.

That career thing has been round. I think you guys forget the Zune is only 5 months old. They need people. Or did you think they just had 500+ employees just for Zune from the gate?

Hey all you guys that gave "great" ideas and know how to do it better should apply. Make some use out of your ideas instead of commenting all the time :)

Woah, good link there slash and grab. This link should be shown to anyone who is doubting microsoft's long term commitment to zune! That is a lot of extra staff they are going to employ!

:) Thank you

-- ERROR - Same as someone else above --

Hmmm... my upgrade won't "finish".  It says "Updating" for a couple of minutes, and then comes back with the error below.  Note that the device does show as connected, and there's no other sync processing taking place.

Here's the error:

"It is not possible to change sync settings at this time.  Try again later."  I click close, it immediately pops up the exact same thing again, then one more time.  Then, it closes.  

During this time, my device continues to show as connected.  I've tried rebooting my machine (Vista), and did a hard reset on my Zune.

Any ideas?

I updated mine just fine. I didnt have any skipping issues but I am going to play around with it and see if I can tell a difference.

I tried updating my Zune twice this morning before I went to work.  Both times it started to update and then I got a message something to the effect "Zune failed to update firmware."  I'm at work now at can't remember the exact wording or reason, but you get the idea.   I'll try when I get home this afternoon.  Hopefully I'll get lucky.  If not, I'll be sure to share exactly what it says (although, I bet it's similar to what others have already posted)  

i had the same error.  i closed the software, but it wouldn't open again.  i opened the task manager, and zune was still running.  i ended it, restarted the software, tried to update again, and everything worked fine that time.

** Hey all you guys that gave "great" ideas and know how to do it better should apply. Make some use out of your ideas instead of commenting all the time :)**

I can't. They aren't hiring at my country. duh

Zunes and ipods suck

if you're having install problems, check this article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930411/en-us?sd=zune

Hrm, I was hoping for something cool.

Mine never skipped so, guess 1.3 is going to be

boring. Like others said, should have shipped that way if everyones was skipping, not 5 months after launch, that's what's called a lemon. Idk.

I like it, but I'm looking at Creative's products more and more.

Hmmm... I closed and reopened the Zune software, making sure it wasn't in the task list.  I did get a little message at the bottom of the update dialog after clicking through the error message popups.  It said "Unable to find updates.  Please try again later."

I'm guessing it can't download the update from the servers.  It seems unlikely, but who knows?  If that's the case, it should work later.

John

Not only is the music skipping issue fixed, I also saw some improvement to the godly CPU. It responds MUCH quicker. We should not see loading circles and I'm glad we don't see it anymore.

Aside from that, thanks for the update...

now...the next updates better have FEATURES!

See how glad we get when the firmware updates come? We don't slam Microsoft, we praise them.

update 1.4 ought to have a CLOCK

Is this update released world wide?  I am deployed in Baghdad and when I go to update it says that I have the most up to date version.  Is there a link out there somewhere where I can download the update?  Do I have to wait a month and a half until I get back stateside to get it?  Admin please let me know.  Thanks in advance.

Has anyone seen this new zune video? I love the end bit-frickn rocks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHueWwdIR7k&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ezunethoughts%2Ecom%2F

That URL was a good tip.  I checked out my "Firmware Updates" folder at C:\Users\JohnW\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Zune\Firmware Updates\{2BBB2745-F93E-46CD-9A1E-4C8E343107D2} - of course, your GUID will vary ;).  There's a file called BIT1FE7.tmp that is 0 bytes.  This further confirms my hunch that my system is having problems downloading the firmware.  I'll have to try it from home, so that I can eliminate the chance that it's my client's firewall.

John

I didn't have any problems with my Zune, but I have noticed the menus are a lot faster.

Zune: A toda madre.

iPod: Mas ****...  (cesar edited - you know hablo espanol, tambien, right?)

Thanks firmware team.  I really hope this fixes my sync issue since I haven't been able to use my Zune for about a month now.  

Cesar, James, and the rest of the Zune Team,

Awesome job on the skipping fix. :) I recently renewed my Zune Pass and did indeed experience the <well-known> skipping and lag on Marketplace content.  My Zune updated to 1.3 about ~1pm PDT and I was excited to find that the device was also a bit more responsive in the menus as well, while playing and skipping ZP tracks in the Now Playing screen.  

Fantastic!!

I know these bugs haven't been easy for us Zune users to bear or to wait for--I would rather have solid fixes, than quick ones--and I certainly know it has been a challenge for the Zune Team to balancing fixing these immediate bugs for v1.3, while also working on 1.4, 1.5 and beyond while listening to feedback.  I am excited to see what's in store for the future.  Congratulations again on shipping!

Microsoft Update is also reporting new Zune software is available for download, and am now happily chugging away on 5728.  :)

--Jay

Just to add a bit of positive vibe, the Zune's FM radio seems the most undervalued feature (don't people listen to NPR anymore?), but I really appreciate that FM/battery drain fix.

The skipping issues weren't an issue to me, but I've definitely noticed an improved GUI. My Zune is much more responsive throughout the menus and when choosing a track or a playlist. I also noticed that I don't have to see the loading screen as often, especially when I shuffle all of my 5000 songs at once. I'm happy for these fixes, thanks!

comment removed by cesar.

Lol, is that the real admin this time or another imposter- i dont know who to trust anymore!

Ok nevermind, i see the comment was removed so it must have been a fake but the admin name linked to the normal url...

Nevermind Casear.  The update started working for me.  Thanks!  Great job.  Just to confirm should it say version 1.2 (434) on my Zune or should it say 1.3?  Anyone???

Thanks for the firmware update, I didnt have any music from the market place so I didn't experience skipping. But I apprecaite that it was only a few days off the date it said it would come out. Hopefully this skipping fix helps some of you out.  Keep working on it zune team :) We are dying for some noticable fun and new changes :D Best of luck.

JHAirForce05 - email me (email address below) and I'll see about getting 1.3 out to you. not sure about baghdad. Also, you're awesome for serving :)

- the real cesar

P.S. - I think the fake admins seem to be annoying my readers, so I'll be moderating those comments. basically, if it doesn't sound like me, it's not me.

Cezar is gonna be busy jusy deleting fake Admin posts:)

I just became a member of a Microsoft research panel. One of the things that I vow to bring up in every discussion that we meet about is going to be Zune support and updates. Also for the Vista lovers out there, I'll be chiming in for you as well. My biggest complaint right now is that consumers are being treated as beta testers.

One more thing I will be sure to bring up is the open source issue. I like the Zune Marketplace (so sue me), and will continue getting my music off it. However, if there were open source firmware, or at least an option to use it, it would take a ton of pressure off MS, and the Zune team. Also, if MS does abandon the Zune in a year or two, people will be less pissed if they are able to continue getting updates and services, even if it is by third party designers.

@williamc

High Five for NPR! :-)

That was actually one of the selling points for me... being able to listen to NPR at work on my Zune.

NOW...we go to 1.5, to Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia, after that South America. Begin adding podcast, videos on MP, radio recording, UMS mass storage, gapless playback, visualizations and we go to 2.0 and the total FALL of the sheep Empire..I mean Apple stocks...LOL

nice try buddy :) - cesar

just a question, where do you download the 1.3 update?

This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the release of firmware 1.3 and will soon see the end of customer kvetching.

last time it updated automatically but nvm figured it out :)

Windows Vista just informed me that I needed to install my Zune 1.3 update... very nice, very nice indeed.

Now, somebody can tell me how to install this update on my machine w/o internet that have Zune software version 1.0 (from the CD)?

Need a link to download the file on my USB drive to bring it home and install on my how machine.

Why the Zune device can't do this ? I mean, update a Zune software install to the current device version. So if device version > software version then update software version if not do nothing.

Thanks.

I'm in Panama, Central America. My work machine DELL with XP English updated easily

please PLEASE have faster fast forwarding or a "go to " button which transfers u to what ever point you want in the song or video...

Please do that, this is the only reason i'm getting an ipod

The update, patch, upgrade, whatever has fixed my skipping problem. It made all of my subscription content expire, and I cannot sync any new music to it from the marketplace.

Also beware those of you that have been using a file converter so you can convert the WMA's to MP3 so you can listen to them on the go (with your iPod), I noticed not too long ago after a Zune software update that a new service starts in the task manager that makes it difficult to use a file converter. As of right now it can be disabled, but I'm sure MS is working on a permanent fix.

Fast forwarding IS already there.  Simply hold down the right button and it will zip you through the song.

I seem to still have a couple skipping issues.  A few songs play fine on my computer w/ my Zune software, but on my device they still skip in the same places they have before.  I didn't restart my Zune after the update, so I don't know if that will help.  Anyone else still have skipping?

The Sony Ericsson Walkman cell phone:

-Text Messaging

-FM Tuner with web enabled song ID (Way Cool)

-Built in speakers

-1.3 MP Camera with Video

-MP3 Player

-Video recording and playback

-Video Calls

-Web Browser

-Java Games

-E-Mail

-13 Hour battery life

-Built in speakers

-IR and Bluetooth wireless capabilities

-Memory Stick Pro Duo reader (Comes with 1 GB stick)

-Built in flashlight

I own a Zune, an iPod, and an Ericsson, I have to say I like the Zune, but for a device half the size, the Ericsson cell phone is a more capable piece of equipment.... What can't it do?

Just updated to 1.3, and I have to say:

This kinda sucks, all my good music now will not sync to my Zune, says the device cannot receive subscription content, now I'm stuck listening to the 3 Chingy songs I got from a friend.... AND THEY STILL SKIP! I mean c'mon Chingy sucks enough as it is....

Just updated to 1.3, and I have to say:

This kinda sucks, all my good music now will not sync to my Zune, says the device cannot receive subscription content, now I'm stuck listening to the 3 Chingy songs I got from a friend.... AND THEY STILL SKIP! I mean c'mon Chingy sucks enough as it is....

Guys! Somethings up im telling you... its the zune , its faster! The loading circles in the music library are gone! Even after ive listened to one whole song before going back to the library!(No I did not just update from 1.1)  Its amazing! Didn't get a chance to tryout my *new* battery yet ;), but im telling you... the loading graphic for the music library is GONE! Its probably a minor update for MS, but I kinda thought id mention it!

yeah, everything is fast now. Even browsing the pictures if much faster. The ring of circles is gone.

Will try to test FM tuning in a few hours...and video, too.

Thanks for the hard work Zune team. I had no big problems with skippping, the Zune is a good product. Just give me a function that enables song lyrics and I'm good. :)

Thanks for the hard work Zune team. I had no big problems with skippping, the Zune is a good product. Just give me a function that enables song lyrics and I'm good. :)

Thanks for the hard work Zune team. I had no big problems with skippping, the Zune is a good product. Just give me a function that enables song lyrics and I'm good. :)

Thanks for the hard work Zune team. I had no big problems with skippping, the Zune is a good product. Just give me a function that enables song lyrics and I'm good. :)

There is also a Zune Software update as well. It is downloading very slow.  I even confirmed it by Microsoft Update.

Cesar did you know about this?

Yes I forgot to mention.  The 1.3 firmware update makes everything run a lot faster.  Nice!

FYI, the error I mentioned earlier was indeed because my machine couldn't download at the client site.  Once I got onto a different network, it went fine!

Everything is working fine over here now.  Thank you very much Cesar for the help.  It means a lot that with Microsoft being such a large company, they still care about every customer.  I am very happy with my Zune and I can only hope for great success.  

Ok so I had some issues trying to update my Zune this morning.  I got home from work, and the Zune started to update just fine, but for some reason when it was finalizing the update, the Zune screen showed the picture for steps 1 & then 2 of the update process, even though the computer was saying "finalizing update."  

So I restarted the update again ,and the same thing happened.  I tried once more and it finally worked, although it changed my Zune settings to default.  When it finished the update it asked my to name my Zune (it shwed the name was "Zune"), it had the original background pic, and wireless was turned on.  It's like it thought I had a new Zune,  Additionally theZune software showed there was 1023 MB of space on my Zune (it had 17.2 prior to the update).  HOWEVER, all my songs and videos were still on the Zune.

So I go about trying o return my Zune to how it was.  I turned off the wireless function, I checkd to make sure my songs were on there, and then Iwent to change my art back.  That's where I hit my serious problem.  I went to view the picture I wanted as my background, and selected "apply as background."  The second I did that the screen went black!  The backlight was still on, but there was nothing on the screen.  I tried to reset my Zune, but the Zune loading screen came on and then just went to a black screen.  

WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO MY ZUNE?!?

I am also getting the "It is not possible to change sync settings at this time. Try again later." error. The network I am on doesn't allow ftp access, that could be the issue? Are there any direct download links for the firmware through http?

Well looks like the Zune Development team just ended up creating more problems. Great Job guys!

C quit crying

TheGreatUpdate said:

"The update, patch, upgrade, whatever has fixed my skipping problem. It made all of my subscription content expire, and I cannot sync any new music to it from the marketplace."

Please try http://support.microsoft.com/kb/934911/en-us

Wow, Marketplace is superfast.  And no more skipping.  Thanks for listening and fixing and well--just being yourselves!

Anyone else have DOG SLOW conversions in ZMP? i mean like 15mins for a 5 min mpg video???

WOW good job speeds have improved!!!!!!people don't know you actually get a 3 for 1 deal which is a firmware update, a software update, a ZUNE SONG FREEBIE ALSO!!! but i still WANT A DAMN CLOCK.....

If every time you restarted the Zune software you'd have the option of resuming downloads that were incomplete as of the last time you exited..... Wow, that'd be sweet and hassle free... Hint Hint

Update 1.4 Where oh where could it be?

Now the songs that I did have are not able to be played either.... Looks like it's time for update 1.4 because 1.3 took exactly 4 hours to completely screw my zune

I can't believe they have put skipless playback in.

FFS.  The device is still completely lousy for mixed dance cds.

What a waste of time.  Even my super cheap mp3 player I had before did gapless playing.

Poor effort.  Shoulda bought an ipod.

Le firmWare 1.3 était prévu pour ce mois de Mars, c'est désormais chose faite. Ainsi, je vous invite

This upgrade has changed my perception of my Zune, now I can actually play music and enjoy what I paid for!

Thanks for releasing it, and continue working to make us happier.

One nice feature to add: Being able to browse and select 'any' song to be played next (even if playing playlist in random order...) and have a 'merge now' option/button so that it starts playing in cross-over mode with 1-3 secs overlap... with this feature I can use my zune as a DJ...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Working great now!

How long has the firmware update been running for you all?  So far mine has been sitting at the Update in Progress for about an hour....

Thank you ZuneTeam!  Firmware 1.3 is fantastic!

If you're having trouble installing the Zune software update or the firmware update, it may be due to having too much junk running in the background (and who doesn't!!).  Here's my suggestion...

1) Start : Run : Msconfig

2) Under the General Tab, choose "Selective Startup"

3) Under the services tab, choose "Hide all microsoft services" followe by "Disable all"

4) Under the startup tab, choose "Disable all"

5) Select OK and restart when prompted.

6) Install your updates

7) Go back and change back to "Normal Startup" in msconfig general tab.

8) Restart in Normal Mode and you're in business.

(And be SURE you're using a good USB port.  All ports are NOT made equal)

By the way, I do this when I install ANY software.  Saves me the headache of failed installations.

You guys (Microsoft Zune dudes) do know that you hear a lot from the vocal minority. The silent majority are too busy enjoying their trouble-free Zunes. And yes, there are Ipods in the house. Love my Zune. I had a choice, when I decided to replace my Creative Nomad USB Zen, and I chose Zune.

Wow!! Everything is very fast not. No circles and NO skipping. This is great!! I am waiting for the next update now with Podcast. I am guessing July-August to create the buzz for holiday season but I hope its earlier.

Grat job guys...

Ok, I love the zune, I only have a few gripes, one which you guys fixed (lml <--rock on) there's just two more "wish-list" thing I would like to have, and that would be .ogg support and music streaming. Now I know y'all are Microsoft and are pushing wma, but it would be nice to show support for an open format, unlike your major competitor named after a fruit. and using the wi-fi to it's potential, being able to stream music from your zune to nearby ones to pick up and jam, truly being "the social"

if you tried the fix and it doesn't work, email me w/ a very specific description of what happened (contact info below), and I'll try to get it resolved for you.

Still can't get the firmware :(

"Unable to find updates. Please try again later." and i'm trying and trying and trying... and i'm tired. I have tried everything from that link from Cesar, and nothing helped. Any link to 1.3??

I won't update because i throw out my zune... i think you all should grow up and learn how to do things. Tomorrow i'll buy iPod video. CU

Well this is fun, I did the update yesterday and reconnected my zune this morning and it said there were software updates. Asked me to restart and I restarted my computer and it froze TWICE. Now it says zune software needs to be resintalled GREAT.

ManMythLegend:  Anyone else have DOG SLOW conversions in ZMP?

In my experience, conversion has ALWAYS been slow...and I am not talking only within ZMP either...ffmpeg, Windows Media Enc., VirtualDub, etc.  They ALL run slow when converting video since it is a very intensive operation.

--Jay

Thanks Cesar, any word on the next update?

OMG! I just noticed that some previously unavailable or pay-even-on-ZunePass albums by artists like Rascal Flatts and Tim Mcgraw are now for download!

Woot! I was wondering how long it'd take..

@ ManMythLegend

You shouldn't be using the Zune software to convert your files. You should be using something nice like WinAVI video converter which takes FULL potential to the screen. It also lets me convert in 320/240 WMV9 and I choose in AUTO ratio so videos don't get stretched or full screen videos stay full screen. Good stuff folks, http://www.winavi.com/

Just active using a site which I'm not going to post, but yeah don't use the normal Zune software. Imagine how pissed you would get if the Zune software crashes while converting!

Anyway, aside from that I want to see in the next update:

lyrics like were promised

podcasts like were promised

Videos in Marketplace

Video sharing (no 3x3) I think video sharing and video marketplace is the most pressing issue right now since the music is done..no skipping and no bugs.

Gapless playback (albums should sound like albums).

That's it, nothing too hard. That's a nice 2-3 month task.

I found that my comment has been deleted, and I'm wondering why

C'mon guys! Give MS a break! They have their own targets to look forward to, and YOUR expectations are coming from WITHING yourself, not from the silent majority that is enjoying Microsoft's product despite the fact that they probably haven't even updated to Firmware 1.3 yet!

We can point out to newer features, but pressing onto their implementation is something for MS to decide, and they deserve to decide when it comes out. Its THEIR agenda, we cannot interfere with it unless we own the company, thats the case with EVERY company, be it an MP3  Player brand or an Insurance Firm, WE CAN PROVIDE SUGGESTIONS, AND THEY WILL DECIDE WHEN TO BRING IT INTO REALITY ACCORDING TO THEIR STRATEGIC GOALS!... so chillax! ;) Wait... be patient... all will come better, faster, prettier beyond 1.3! BTW MS, Keep working on the newer firmware updates, the longer you take... the more stable they will be!

@ Furguan

Good point at the beginning but you killed it at the end.

A company can work on a patch for 1 year but only spend 1 month doing the patch. In this case, most of the Zune team were partying and they didn't have time to make the patch (which should've been the other way around).

I think work comes first. I'm just really hoping our voices our being heard and some features, at least 2, would be in the next update because there really isn't anything to fix at this point. Everything pretty much is stable and working and so is the DRM'd music.

MS, focus on videos!!

If only they could integrate XBOX LIVE's Video Marketplace into the Zune Software then it would be butter.  

Somewhat off-topic but specifically dealing with web-video in .flv format...

This has been a difficult challenge I have had since last August, in finding the best method to convert the popular Flash Video directly into the correct Zune profile.  All this without the need for _another_ conversion step within the Zune Software...in one-pass.  

So far the best one I have used has been a Zune plugin for IE7...but I wanted to avoid the intermediate step of going to MP4 or H.264, and go straight into the native .wmv format.

I have been searching for the right (free) tool to use that can support the Zune profile, found SUPER back in October, and with the latest version finally hit gold with the settings about a week ago.  

Best encoding settings I have found in it are:

WMV8/WMA container;

Video =

320x240 scale,

4:3 Aspect,

30fps,

720Kbps bitrate,

Hi Quality [x],

_DEINTERLACE OFF_ (on by default in Options)

Audio =

44.1Khz Sampling rate,

2 channel,

80Kbps Bitrate

---

Most videos I have encoded to .WMV with these settings will sync directly from the Zune Library...and play back on a TV in such good quality that my friend commented about how much better the picture was than before.

Just wanted to share with you all

--Jay

@ Lunaclown

I strongly agree with you on that one. Instead of the cheesy ipod commercials where you would have:

ipod+itunes

you would have with the zune:

xbox live+zune marketplace+Zune=

Connected for life!

That would be an awesome commercial.

I hope that xbox videos are transferable to the Zune because I will soon be getting t3h l337 xbox 360 elite :).

Now that Microsoft has the music part of the Zune done nicely, it's time to movie on videos and better connectivity to Xbox baby!  

I installed 1.3 last night and it's WAY better. I'm serious. My Zune (which I love) used to skip and freeze up all the time -- now all of that is gone. Great work Microsoft people! :)

I did have trouble installing the firmware ("Firmware update failed. Please try again later.") but I'm pretty sure it was just my computer, which is crappy.

I tried it on another computer (in guest mode) and it worked fabulously.

thanks!

good point 'nighthawkz6' regarding my post:

I couldn't agree with you more! The zune team HAS been partying in the beginning, but that is something that had already been done, and we cannot rewind back to the zune launch and get the 1.3 firmware features on the 1.1 firmware. MS has to look ahead, and since most of tech issues are resolved, we can be partially if not fully be assured (within ourselves) that they are working for videos next. And features (like video sharing, Wifi Access to Zune Marketplace,  etc etc) well... i guess we'll have to wait, aint that comin netime soon. **Rolls Eyes**. :D. Btw LOVE the xbox commercial idea... id actually buy an Xbox after watching that commercial you suggested! :)

ADD A CLOCK!!!

I waited a bit till I posted my thoughts on the 1.3 patch and I have to say, I'm quite pleased with it.

Yeah it's a minimal patch, as far as features go..

but they've fixed some major issues I was having.

The skipping is gone!

It's so nice to listen to ZMP tracks again.

The battery drain fix is HUGE! It's a bigger issues than I'd originally though.

Now I don't have to ration my listening during the day @work anymore and I can leave my zunbilical cord at home if I want too now.

What would I like to see added...

I haven't worn a wrist-watch for over 15 years, so the last thing I neeeeed is a clock on my zune hehe. I have a cellphone if I need the time.

What I'd like to see is the Album year data added to the track info display.

e.g.

Track Name

Artist

Album Title [2007]

Also, I've only come across one other person during my commute that I know has a Zune.

In fact, it wasn't till I got to check his out hands-on that I decided to buy mine finally. But I digress...

As I don't want to sit there during my commute scanning the 'Community'.

How about a toggled option for a 'ping' sound when other Zunes are near you?

Nothing instrusive, just loud enough to hear over your music:

1] if your wireless is on and

2] if other zune-ninites are about!

Once you hear the 'ping', you'll know to check out the 'Community' and see who's who.

Or even, if it's possible, on the first 'ping' a 'Community' screen/layer could be shown; in the same style as the track detail/rating screen.

It can come into focus then blur out after a few seconds.

Thoughts?!

Thanks to the Zune Team and Cesear as well.

Keep the goodies coming!

__________

zuned to:: Open > Ellen Allien > Berlinette

@theFuzzyWarble

I really like the ping Idea, I dont want to have to sit there and check community every few seconds

If another Zune were in the area it would be cool if it worked like XBOX LIVE and a little icon popped up for a second to let you know..if you wanted to see that person's profile or what not then you would just click the center button.  

I don't know ppl. But there is a persistent bug on the Zune.

Sometimes the setting for display timer, slideshow browsing, repeat and shuffle are changed while using the Zune normally.

Go to pictures, begin browsing any set of photos manually, zoom in on any photo then comeback to default photo view. Dont press nothing and in a few seconds slideshow mode kick in...WTF ?

Cesar, check it for yourself

My Zune was a brown skipping plague before the 1.3 update, so I didn't get to use it as much as I have the past couple of days.  I took my Zune to the gym for the first time, and noticed that there's no clock.  Has anybody noticed that before?

cesar removed. be nicer, nighthawk, be nicer

@Matt: wOOt??? No clock... well yeah MS needs to add that too... so much stuff... so little patience ;)

O.K... I must say I show satisfaction over the battery life now... now THATS what I call a battery, no more radio draining the life out my MP3's. Ive heard that TV Killed the radio, but was the radio releasing that frustration on the MP3's in my zune???! :S Maybe yes... maybe no... hmm...

Zune 1.3 firmware update failing

i cant add it to windows vista

Great work, Cesar and the rest of the team. I'm thoroughly enjoying the update: my zune is far faster now.

I agree with Robster's comment that this blog represents the vocal minority. The other ten zune owners in my high school didn't even know about the update, or even the existence of the zune bugs that it fixed until I told them. The silent majority is satisfied with their zunes, and for that, good job.

PS OMG WHERE IZ TEH 1.4??!? I R WANT WIRELESS CHARGING AND SYNCING OVAR WIFI AND A CLOCK

>_>

well i never had any problem with my zune before the update, but i updated it to 1.3 i really dont see any differents in it, its really funny because i have never used the radio on it before but i will play with it to really see if there is a differents with it. thanks MS now lets see some action in the next update good luck

Actually, when 1.4 comes out with the new features, thats when everyone is going to start to notice the killer features of the Microsoft Zune. When 1.4 comes out (>insert compelling feature<) thats when, not only the vocal minority will notice, but more of the public people. They'll say like

"Hey man, my Zune just got this update, I can share videos wirelessly now"

or

"Dude, I got this update from my Zune, I can buy songs from the marketplace right here on my Zune, that is totally coolio".

Make us proud Zune team :)

for all the zune hater shut up own it before you rank it, the zune is about 5 month on the market now from what i notice i have a zune and so are a couple of my friends i have read reviews about people havin downloads and sync problems LET ME PUT THIS OUT THE ZUNE DO NOT WORK  ON CRAPPY COMPUTERS. PEOPLE OUT THE NEED TO READ THE REQUIREMENTS NEEDED AND UPDATED IF YOU ARE RUNNING THE CORRECT OS.second of all there was skipping of tracks which was fix in the 1.3 firmware which make zune users that was face the problem happy now. AND AGAIN OWN IT BEFORE YOU RANK AND REMEMBER IT DO NOT WORK ON CRAPPY COMPUTERS.

@nighthawkz6

What makes you think that 1.4, if they even do one, will have any new features?  MS is not forthcoming with any information about any new features at all for this Gen Zune.  All I can find is hopes for the next Gen.

Earlier this week, the Zune Team released an update to the Zune client software and Zune device firmware.

@ Crystal3

because there really isn't nothing much to fix in terms of bugs. Everything is pretty much done.

-pWn3d t3h n00bz

How about an easy way to get from shuffled songs on the zune straight away into a spot where you can add that song to a playlist.  ON THE ZUNE not in the Windows Zune software.  I hate when I am on the go, and hear a song I really like and want to send to a playlist, and can't get it there without browsing 30 gigs of music to find it so I can add it to a playlist (quicklist) And why not allow a different playlist to be created on the device?

N E WAY......

No one reads this.....

FN aka zooks

I live outside of the USA and I have not been able to update my Zune's firmware.  When will this problem be resolved?

@nighthawkz6

I really hope that you're right. I've lost my faith in MS.  I truly hope that they prove me wrong.  I really like my Zune, but having paid as much as for it as for other players that have many more features, I think I made a big mistake.

@ Crystal

No you didn't. I'll make you happy and squirt you a song :)

On the firmware side, I think I have an ounce of faith on MS considering their slow to get things on the market but they get them. Since they're releasing their new flash player, they will probably put some emphasis on the HDD one once the flash is done.

They'll probably release stuff like podcasting, video marketplace, Wi-Fi marketplace...

@ nighthawkz6

Ha:) I'll keep my wireless on and wait for your squirt!  I hope they at least do bookmarking for podcasting.  I hate having to FF to where I left off.

this sums up everthing pritty well i bought the zune becuse it has potential if i just wanted a normal mp3 player i would have gotten a zen to many things can be possible with this hardware

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130283-c,mp3players/article.html

Okay, gapless playback is a must.  And what's with not having crossfade playback - Windows Media Player has it!!  Same with internet radio listings, WMP has it.

Some annoying things:

For the "Keep Zune software on top of other windows" function, this is a very valuable option for the "compact mode", but is very irritating when the software is maximized as it prevents you from being able to look at other windows unless you minimize Zune.  So, make the function either only apply for "compact mode", or allow the user to choose whether the function applies always or just during "compact mode".

Also, when any given playlist is displayed, you can manually type letters in and the program will take you to the first song that starts with that/those given letter/s.  This is alright, but this function should be more broad.  It should apply to whichever column you're currently sorting by.  That way, you can go straight to an artist or album as well, which I do much more than going to a particular song.

Cmon now, give the Zune a clock. How could you not just put a clock on the thing? Annoying but I still love Zune.

Has anyone else had an issue with their zune restting after 10-15 mins when in radio mode after the 1.3 update? Everything has been fixed in the firmwar ethat I needed, exceptfor just this issue with radio.

@thingy the sad

Very nice article find and its nice to hear some of the pressing issues from the pros themselves. Its true what they say, instead of following the market, they need to drive it.

Is there a such thing as gapless recording/playing on Zune with this new firmware update 1.3?

Why when I select to shuffle all from a particular playlist the Zune shuffles all the songs in my library?

I agree there should be a clock (ipod has so many time zones) and gapless playback and recording.

How about some minigames and to do list like Ipod.

When I am listening to the ready is there a quick way to scroll through your presets without having to go back to the preset menu?

I do love my Zune and I think the features are great some tweaking could help though.

Can you guys just please list some of the features your working on in firmware updates?

You don't have to pin a time table to it just a quick list of new features that will eventually make it in.

I'm serious if lossless audio is not put in I'm selling the zune, I would really like to know this, no lossless means this device is useless as a long term music device and I would like to know this before the selling value of the zune tanks.

If you guys are putting in lossless eventually then I'll stop complaining and be content, but the utter silence on future features is deafening, most software and devices and a future feature list, just a simple list thats all.

Thanks!

never noticed the problem before anyhows but good it's fixed before I do notice it!

Anyone think the WIFI might get a browser sumtime? hehe

Matt

Damm it! I can't update to 1.3!!! I live outside USA , is that why? WTF!!!

ok so i got the Zune with the 14 day free pass on the Marketplace. The new firmware has been working awesome and i've been pumped about how well its worked but now the songs i've downloaded won't play.... a message saying "Item has expired" appears and i guess the rights are getting in the way. What's the deal? Can't i have a player that's all mine w/o Microsoft keeping me from what i put on it? i konw they were free but that's what they allowed me to do. Solutions?

Same goes here. Zune software loads up slow as heck on my Vista computer.

how about a time and date thingy on the zune like the ipod?

it's very minor and trivial but it would be nice and very handy at times.

When are you planning to add unicode support?

neeeewwwws updaaaaatees

newwwws updaaaates

just a little info

pleaaaase?

@thingy the sad

Jeez, let Cesar get back from vacation first.

I tried dozens of times to update to 1.3, always resulted in the "Failed to update" message. The zune just would never reset after the firmware was transfered. As an off the wall idea, I turned wirless on and online status to detailed. Tried it one more time, and it worked like a champ. FYI, I was upgrading from version 1.2.

I tried everything in upgrading my firmware from 1.2 to 1.3 but nothing happens. It still Error. "Unable to upgrade to 1.3."It is not possible to change sync setting at this time. Please try again later. I also did what microsoft told me about. Re-installing, Re-setting, Using other computer to upgrade and Re-installing my OS. Is there a way that i can download the file and install it locally. Please HELP ME. I was deployed here in Iraq - Balad and there's no other way i can do to fix my Zune. Please HELP ME.

IF ANYONE WANTS TO HELP ME HERE'S MY EMAIL SO U COULD SEND ME SOME INFO ON HOW TO UPDATE MY FIRMWARE. I GOT 2 ZUNE. BLACK AND BROWN. I CANNOT UPDATE BOTH ZUNE TO 1.3

Just a heads-up on some troubles I have ran into:  There are a plethora of people encountering a  "random reset" problem on their Zunes.  These resets have no trend to what the end user was doing/not doing.  Firmware is up to date, etc.  Hopefully this will be a priority in coming patches as it has frustrated many to the point of abandoning their Zunes.  FYI if nothing else, I suppose.

A new zune extort is coming sooooon!

*FIRMWARE 1.3 UPDATE CONSTANTLY FAILS*

For those of you having trouble updating firmware from 1.2 to 1.3 (Getting error: "Firmware update failed. Please try again later"), this solution worked for me:

Manually copy the firmware from the CD. To do this, follow these steps:

a.  Insert the Zune Setup CD into the CD or DVD drive.

b.  Click Start, and then click My Computer.  

c.  Right-click the CD or DVD drive that contains the Zune Setup Disc, and then click Open.

d.  Double-click the Packages folder.  

e.  Double-click the FIRMWARE folder.

f.  Select the Pyxis.xml file and the Zune01010322.cab file, and then click Copy on the Edit menu.  

g.  Locate and then open the folder C:\Program Files\Zune\Firmware.

h.  On the Edit menu, click Paste.

i.  If you are prompted, confirm the file replacement.

When I did this, the old .cab file did not get overwritten, so I renamed it (otherwise the update would continue to reference the old .cab vs. the .cab I just copied from the CD).  When I tried the update again, it worked great and updated me to 1.3, no problems (other than I had to re-sync all of my music, movies and pictures again).  

Hope this helps.

I just recently bought my Zune, and I love it. But I'm currently deployed and I'm having a problem getting the firmware update do to all the security measures setup on the computers, Is there a site or a way for me to download just the firmware or do I have to wait to get back to the states inorder to update my Zune, I would hate to get behind on the updates, and the current 1.1 ware that is install on my Zune is way behind the even outdated 1.2 ware. Thanks for your help, Sorry I couldn't find your email, (below the jump) I had no clue where that's locate or if it even showed up on my computer.

Yeah A clock would be SWEET.  Also I wish I could put "protected" CD's on my Zune...

Is it possible to put a clock on the Zune email me back at adanbitte08@yahoo.com PLEASE it needs one

how about fixing the frigging setup routine? i've been trying to reinstall the stupid software to get some new mp3s on my zune all morning... nothing! the idiotic software on the zune sites "can't find any updates" and just shuts down without doing anything. how about creating software that works??? look at darwinmcd'S post... just follow these steps? are you kidding me?

Dude.. This freakin' sucks, mine wont update either. I think im about to break something in frustration because if I cant update then I cant sync, and if I cant sync I cant up anything on or take anything off. IM stuck, someone.. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! save me t_t

Okay, I connect my Zune, it auto sync's then the firmware update thing comes up. Then I have to click next. Wont let me click outside that window. Then the thing says "UPDATING" but then a window quickly pops up saying "It is not possible to change sync settings at this time. Try again later." And It makes you click close then says the update failed.

Anything at all would be awesome guys

thanks~

Resolved:

I updated my OLD AS HELL desktop computer with MS service pack 2 and then poped the zune CD in. Installed that, put the zune in the front universal serial bus and it updated like that, fist time :D IM HAPPY AGAIN! But that goes to show you. Even a crappy computer can do it. My desktop is a Dell  Dimension 2400 Intel, Celeron "GOD I HATE YOU CELERON!!" 768 ram. yeah.. I put in a 512 but that was the only thing I had done to it. I bought the thing new back when they were decent in like 2000 and never ever ran windows updates. I ran them for the first time today. Got 100 something critical updates needed so I took a whole hour or so updating that trash and wallah! Firmware update complete! I still dont know why my laptop wouldn't do the update though, its a new Vaio but it is still running XP, like my desktop. I only bought the thing like 6 months ago. Whatever. IT WORKS!! WOO!!!

Well I installed Zune 1.3 and... it still skips anything downloaded from the Zune marketplace near the end of the song when playing from my library on the PC. Any idea what gives and when will it be fixed?

I love my Zune but it is starting to be like loving a very irritating relative.

Hi. My Zune wasn't recognized anymore by the software at some time. I did a reset that also removed my Firmware. Is there any way to get the device working again? The installation of the software works fine, but the software just doesn't find the device. I tried all the KB articles that are available but with no positive result. Since I'm in Europe it is very difficult and very expensive to call the helpdesk in the US. Is there any other way to get help on this?

Thx so much.

Ralf

firmware 1.3 is fine except it doesn't allow direct WMV video format. Since i got firmware 1.3 i can no longer sync without having to convert my video which can reduce quality and be time consuming.

due i dont have 1 yet but my dad is going down to the states and he id going to get  me 1.they r awsem i hae herd good things about them and i love the 3 inch screens.i wish u could send video to your friends though that would be sweet.

thas all.

from.

curtis

well i think that the new firmware looks great but,(as it seems it is not only me having this problem)i cant the update to work. For me it just sits there for 5-10 minutes saying its updating and then it seemingly gives up saying update failed please try again later. any help would be appreciated. btw i am trying to go from 1.1 to 1.4 becuase NONE of the other ones worked either

My computer went into standby mode, which shut down my wifi connection during a zune update. I came back home from work to find that my zune was locked up at about the 40% updated mark and is now, as some others have called theirs, "a brick". I try to reset but now luck. I JUST got this damn thing and told EVERYone how I love it more than my shuffle. The honeymoon cant be over this early... or can it?

My zune is broken. When i turn it on it prompts me with steps 1 and 2 to connect it to a PC then to start the software and update firmware. When i try and update the firmware, it eventually gives me an error message 'Firmware update failed. Please try again later'

Also, it is not recognized by the software as my Zune, but rather as a new zune with 1023 mb available and no files.

I have so far tried restarting the program, resetting the zune, re-installing the program and restarting the PC all with no results.

Please give me some advice as I am desperate for my $250 product to go back to the way it was.

email: rickyb_4evah@yahoo.com

hey i love the zune all i ask is for a clock and date it be really helpful and not asking alot

my zune does'nt work...i need the firmware...help!!!

OKAY, I NEED HELP PEOPLE! SO I JUST LOST ALL MY INFO FROM MY COMP. I NO LONGER HAVE MY ZUNE CD. WHERE CAN I DOWNLOAD THE SOFTWARE FOR "FREE"????

How about just fixing the software so it actually installs properly. The device is expensive, and using the poorly thrown together CD release of the software is like trying to use Vista as a reliable desktop OS. I've googled for hours trying to resolve this issue, to no avail. Garbage software for a slick product. Just what kind of machines do you do the 'testing' on, anyway... that is, assuming you DO test software before it's released. Thanks, Microsoft... thanks for nothing.

Both my wife and I have a zune. Mine works fine but her zune is constantly crashing and having to be rebooted -- cleaning the music right off.

WOuld be nice to get a fix for that.

Also, I can't load the marketplace until next month because there is a limit on how many accounts you can delete within a month.

I can see you guys thought this through. Unlimited adds of computers but lets make the deletes limited! Honestly this should have been opposite. I reinstall my os (windows great) alot to see which gives better performance, so when I install a new win os I can't add that computer until the next month when I delete the old computer name. WHy didnt you use the mac address or cpu serial number!

The zune software is total flop guys, its worse the windows ME, complete BS. i just spent 5 hours organizing my music collection and adding play list to each folder/CD since the zune software syncs it all jacked up to the zune, just to find out i now have 400+ nameless 'playlist' in my software and i wasted the time to actually name each and every one of the new. ok fine what ever, im being forced to use the Zune software for what ever i do to my files... just to find out that the metafile you guys provide is jacked up too, stop splitting my damn albums into three different albums jsut because there are various artist fuck i should have saved my money i knew better the buy microshaft... but other then that i love the hardware maybe you guys should reconsider your busnisess objective.

My zune firmware will not let me download 1.4

It's been about a week of trying everyday to update it and it always says Firmware update failed. Try again later.

Can somebody help me?

tengo probleas para conectar mi zune

i can't upgrade firmware from 1.1 to 1.4 either.  says "unable to find updates, please try again later."  i just got this thing and it updated from 1.0 to 1.1, so i know its not my firewall blocking it.  i also went through the microsoft troubleshooting page.  any ideas?

ok, i was trying to update for the last week.  suddenly i got the idea to enabled automatic updates on windows xp and now the zune immediately updated to 1.4.

Annoying. If there was a word that encapsulates my experience with the new software, it would be annoying. Editing info is no longer done by editing the ID3 tag itself, its done by tediously editing artist name and track info individualy. The Windows Media rendition is asa straightfoward as itunes "edit" iteration, why bother changing it? Once I had to hit enter seven times before it actually changed the artist info, after constantly reverting it back to the original, incorrect information. Updating album info is an all or nothing percaution, were you either have Zune do it automatically, or not at all, once again Zune 1.0 allowed you to do it Media player style, with "Advanced Tag Editor" or "Update Album Info" prompts. Why the aggrivating change? Oh, and I wont get started on the ultra polorizing, femanistic skin they have for the software, terrible. No equilizer? The hell. And the list option is annoying, drop down menus have always been a favorite. Why is it that Microsoft always manages to take something great, and make it extremely aggrivating? I mean, would it kill them to make it so that old Zune users could have an option that allows them to keep the original software, albeit with the new schemes of version 2.0, would that hurt, to waste a few more megs' of space to do that? Oh, and having to redo my entire library after the update was a real treat, thanks alot, all 10943 files of music. Someone read this, so they can do something about it. I never had these problems with Itunes, it would simply update, and be done, no changes to my library, no alienated redesign, it would do its thing and finish, no waiting 10 minutes for the new software to finally download to its entirety, why? iTunes seems to be more adapt to Windows than Microsofts very own Zune product is, what the hell. Are they really just that much better? I would think not, but, the software needs some re-evalutation, the player itself is actually pretty neat, to bad the software spoils its intrigue.

I can not log in to the marketplace with the new software.  I can browse through the marketplace and also check for new update.  I am going through a proxy at the moment.  Perhaps that is an issue, is the new software checking the http setting of the machine?

is there still the miniplayer function on the computer with the new software?

Microsofts new update for Zune had caused me noting but headaches. I still have music files and album art incorrectly associated with the wrong artist. Collective Soul and Guns N Roses? I have tried deleting all files and ripping my collective soul cd yet the software still recognizes it as Guns N roses and will not let me change the album information. Please address this. I have searched all the zune boards and I am not alone.....

So the new version downloaded on my computer today. I'm not to pleased. it lost about 200 songs and it lost a lot of features. Either that or i cant find them yet. I can no longer customize my columns. Many songs are now incorrectly labeled. If i press the 'Music' tab it doesnt bring me back to the home screen, i have to press list and then browse again and visa versa. and then after that i cant see what song or artist is playing. i have to scroll all the way down to the bottom of a list and find it again. this new version is hard to navigate and highly frustrating. it is very time consuming and aggravating. i agree very much with jonathan. something needs to be done.

thanks for the update,

but...

others have said, ive said it before...

please please please

give us some folders for the videos section

and a clock.

thank you!

I hate the new zune software iam hoping for a new update or alternate way to sync my music and videos.The new software fusterated me so much i dont think i'll use the software again until thiers a new update please update soon

I've loved microsoft since i was born..literally..and I for one don't want to EVER see this world turn into a mac world...only thing i can ask for in an upcomeing up date is 1. a clock and 2.password protection for...all areas of the zune ESPECIALLY pics. other wise I've loved it mainly cuase it's not an Ipoop(name i use to make fun of Ipod)but also becuase it works so well...i think the only complaint i could really muster is mabe extending the battery life just a couple of hours

i downloaded the setup software but it said ordinal file not found can any1 help me with this??

Is there a fix for up-dating to the newest version of software to my Zune.  I up-dated it and now all my albums and album covers are mixed up.  Do I have to re-install something?

HELP PLEASE!!

I encountered the same problem as unforgiven18721.  Any solutions?  

i keep getting ordinal error when trying to install zune software

I had problems with prolonged wait times trying to sync movies with the new Zune download software.

Hi! I sent a Zune to my boyfriend in Iraq but none of the government servers will allowe him or others to download the Zune Software.  Is there any other way? I even tried sending him the software via cd.

Is there a way to remove the software from the Zune Device itself?

I HATE the new version of Zune Software.. it is much more difficult for me to organize my library with ethe newer version.. i recently uninstalled the new version and reverted back the original version with ethe disk the Zune came with.. however.. it will not let me sync due to the fact that i have the new version on my Zune Device.. i would like to remove the software altogether...

jessejohnson@optonline.net

How come everytime i remove a song from the zune playlist it deletes it from my zune? is there a way to fix that?

I love my Zune.  But I hate the software.  I can't keep it from deleting media off the device, and I can't keep it from adding media that's already on it.  Even when I tell it not to sync anything automatically.  

Editing album and song information is a nightmare.  Why in the world can't you guys just make it compatible with Windows Media Player?  It is, after all, a Microsoft program!   Geeze... That would make everything 100 times easier.  

And I know you can't get everything right on the first or second or even third try.  But come on, at least let us be able to edit song information without hours of hassle.

The Zune is a great product.  I really love mine so much. But the software makes it more trouble than it's worth.  

the latest software version is crap! it scrambled 25% of my library ie: Motley Cru songs labeled to Mariah Carey, Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa mixed around, Rush with Triumph. I then spent hours upon hours fixing this stuff thinking it was something I had set up wrong. Wrong! I resynced the Zune and ended up with the same mess, I even used Media Player to update all the album info's and it still got all jumbled around. I love the Zune, my wife has an ipod 60 and zune is much easier to operate but the software is a total piece of crap.

The new software is sooo hard to handle!! I can't even get the right album info for most of my songs and I also can't figure out how to update all the song information so they don't always say "unknown"

i was just woundering what this means my zune is telling me to update the zune software onto my pc at www.zune.net/setup what dose this mean? if you can help IM me at oflilweber2010@aol.com

i had some problems with the vid syncing!if i delete the vid from my comp it also deletes from my zune even though the auto-sync is off! please do something about this!

November 14, 2007

jonathanAnnoying. If there was a word that encapsulates my experience with the new software, it would be annoying. Editing info is no longer done by editing the ID3 tag itself, its done by tediously editing artist name and track info individualy. The Windows Media rendition is asa straightfoward as itunes "edit" iteration, why bother changing it? Once I had to hit enter seven times before it actually changed the artist info, after constantly reverting it back to the original, incorrect information. Updating album info is an all or nothing percaution, were you either have Zune do it automatically, or not at all, once again Zune 1.0 allowed you to do it Media player style, with "Advanced Tag Editor" or "Update Album Info" prompts. Why the aggrivating change? Oh, and I wont get started on the ultra polorizing, femanistic skin they have for the software, terrible. No equilizer? The hell. And the list option is annoying, drop down menus have always been a favorite. Why is it that Microsoft always manages to take something great, and make it extremely aggrivating? I mean, would it kill them to make it so that old Zune users could have an option that allows them to keep the original software, albeit with the new schemes of version 2.0, would that hurt, to waste a few more megs' of space to do that? Oh, and having to redo my entire library after the update was a real treat, thanks alot, all 10943 files of music. Someone read this, so they can do something about it. I never had these problems with Itunes, it would simply update, and be done, no changes to my library, no alienated redesign, it would do its thing and finish, no waiting 10 minutes for the new software to finally download to its entirety, why? iTunes seems to be more adapt to Windows than Microsofts very own Zune product is, what the hell. Are they really just that much better? I would think not, but, the software needs some re-evalutation, the player itself is actually pretty neat, to bad the software spoils its intrigue.

and....

January 01, 2008

Jesse JohnsonIs there a way to remove the software from the Zune Device itself?

I HATE the new version of Zune Software.. it is much more difficult for me to organize my library with ethe newer version.. i recently uninstalled the new version and reverted back the original version with ethe disk the Zune came with.. however.. it will not let me sync due to the fact that i have the new version on my Zune Device.. i would like to remove the software altogether...

jessejohnson@optonline.net

-----------------------------------------------

I 100% completely agree with both of these comments out of all other 320+ comments.  I would really just like to have the old software be installed on my new Zune, however I haven't found any way in doing so.  If there is a way let me know...if not, PLEASE contact me about this new software issue.  I can't even stand to look at it.  

Another thing, this site isn't allowing me to sign up.

-Krista

I want to remove all of the music from Zune software, but I can't. I deleted the directory that directs Zune to my music and it didn't reflect on my music list. I moved the folder containing all of my music and it just can't find the files, I constant reminder of the file being moved or renamed.

How hard is it? Maybe scan for changes option, maybe, just maybe, the software will let me manage my music instead of Microsoft doing it for me.

The new version of Zune software is really hard to organize my files please would you change it because all the people hate it and if you don't change it I think a lot of people are not going to buy the zune anymore

I want a clock badly...

thts the best update that should be taken care of straight away...ipod can have a clock, why cant zune?

Asian language support please?

I

I do not believe this

Very interesting. Hope it will always be alive!

honestly im starting to hate the zune and im thinking about buying an ipod. Never had i had so many problems with a mp3 player and its software. I hate it!

I have windows ME can i still use my zune software or do i have to update???

Truth is Step aerobics does provide a whopping aerobic exercise that improves

       The new software is sooo hard to handle!! I can't even  get the  right album info for most  of my  songs and I   also can't  figure out how to update all   the song information so they don't always say  "unknown"              

Biggest problem with software:

Converting and syncing videos takes forever, literally.