we did miss ya! :)

You better have missed me biatch :-)

btw, the cooper is sexy.

I don' care what anybody says....Zune's are sweeet! The Zune 2.0 should be good, and I never thought I would find myself saying a pink product actually looks cool. Good job Microsoft.

Welcome back Cesar, hope you had fun on vacation.

Did you happen to spot any Zunes while you were away?

Welcome back to the social.

Yeah, I know... lame attempt. But its a Monday. What do you expect. :)

Nice to have you back. Is there a site, or what can i do to put videos on mine.  I would like to put stuff on it more than just music. Thanks

TheMan, this page might help on getting videos and DVDs on your Zune:

http://www.zunerama.com/zune-how-to.php

Where's lossless audio support?

I won't have to buy the Zune 2.0 to get it will I?

Hey Cesar, how feasible is it to get Microsoft Deepfish runnig on the zune?, it's already running on mobiles and would be a killer app on the zune http://labs.live.com/deepfish/

Yay, at last an article that isn't negative towards the zune:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/pink-zune-looks-girly-but-in-a-good-way-252722.php

when the next firmware available cesar

apps - what's up! as soon as I have firmware news, I'll definitely post. I would strong recommend subscribing to the firmware tag on this site: http://zuneinsider.com/archive/tags/firmware/default.aspx

Best wishes for better sales in the future!!!

In the mean time, here are the NPD-February sales numbers:

Category: MP3

Rank Brand                   Unit Share

 1   Apple                      72.3%

 2   Sandisk                     9.7%

 3   Creative Labs               2.7%

 4   Samsung                     2.5%

 5   Microsoft                   2.5%

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=HPQ:US&sid=aggTRzHFt1Do

Well, my Zune is broken.  Zune support agrees with me.  They tell me that it is still under warranty, but that I cannot get service without a receipt.  Unfortunately, this is a gift.  How can Microsoft market Zunes for Christmas--to be given as gifts--and then expect that all Zunes must have a receipt for service when things go wrong?

Is it possible to have the background images on the four Zunes posted for download?

Admin, Cesar, or anyone that knows, what is the reason for not talking about any upcoming firmware updates?..Just interested really.

Welcome back Cesar! :)

Of course it was an accident...

Engadget has a poll for worst product of 2006 and they have listed zune along with exploding batteries and Wii remotes. iFanBoys have rushed in to nominate the Zune and it is currently winning the award. If you care about the Zune ... vote for other items listed ...

http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/16/the-2006-engadget-awards-vote-for-worst-gadget-of-the-year/

Not only the iFanBoys voting the Zune, maybe it's also the PlaysForSure users.

No idea.... they really don't...

http://www.australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21568176%5E15322%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html

"Apparently, our much-anticipated Pink Zune is available now; slightly ahead of the official street date. Cool."

Humm, so you are not in the 'know' at the Zune team; pink Zune (which was confirmed on the US Amazon site, and heck, if I remember correctly, Engadget, before it got a mention here!), as you state "apparently" - and btw, the release date was March 18; I don't call that "slightly" ahead of schedule.

Please it's nothing personal - I just had to ventilate, as I'm an annoyed customer at the lack of info :(

How was our wonderful State of California? My one-week "break" from school sucked...I had to go at least three times to school during it for practice for a play...not a break at all :(

Nice to have you back. Sorry Cesar, but the Zune 2.0 is coming as per the rumor.

The early launch of the Pink Zune confirms it. You even said it should be available by ay. Your partners even were surprised with the move to made the Zune Baby pink available.

But you know what...I still like my Black Box.

I was just wondering where all the news went, till I read that you were on vacation. By then it was too late! :-P

"April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Medis Technologies Ltd., a maker of fuel cells, surged 11 percent after the company won Microsoft Corp. as its first client for a line of power chargers."

"Medis started shipping Power Packs, disposable portable devices that can help charge mobile phones and music players, to the Redmond, Washington-based company as of today, according to a statement. Microsoft is the world's largest maker of software."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=MDTL:US&sid=akQHaBrWpx1g

And Microsoft is going to used these for...???

ah man this is ridiculous. Instead of redisigning the zune(already... it's not like it's got some major defects in it). That's one of the things I hate bout Ipods is that they change every week.

Everybody wants the latest best tech, but how about giving us customers some time before we buy a newer version(I'll def be POed if the new HDD version is thinner and has a bigger screen... specially the later because my zune is 4monthes old)

Why not first develope wi-fi and other features that if not promised were hinted at by MS. Everyone who bought a Zune bought it in some way because of MS's promise to add new features. Not so that their Zune  maybe outdated a few monthes after.

Enough of my rant. BTW the flash based Zune seems to be cool(from the description

on zunescene) and something MS needs in the Zune product line.

:), nice tht you are back, we can expect some interesting updates/posts abt Zune.

If, according to rumors, microsoft is preparing to come-up with the 2nd generation of Zunes by this holiday season. Then we wish to hear more confirmed details about these in the coming months.

And what are these rumours about fuel Cell rechargers???

yeah! i read that you dont comment on rumours :), but just curious to ask.

Daveworld says:

Not only the iFanBoys voting the Zune, maybe it's also the PlaysForSure users

PFS users should not be unhappy ... ZMP songs play on PFS devices ... but not the otherway around. PFS players have it both ways!

Cesar...I just have one huge request.  Throw us a bone about the supposed exclusive sports content.  If not, end my hopes and dreams right here and tell me there is no shred of truth to this rumor....lol...Later...

^^ Ricardo ^^

yeah! that seems logical, early release of Pink Zune does make these rumours more valid. Hope that is true and Zune gets a better Wifi (with deepfish (or) SilverLight) than the (rumour) Wifi iPod.

The last thing i wish to see is, apple fanboys boasting of WiFi. Zune started it and it must be the leader (dont give another chance to iPod).

and what about the marketing campaign that you were talking about Cesar??

with the Pink Zune released, is that already started??  (or waiting for all the other colors?)

any new feature/updates to be announced in the marketing campaign??

Bad week to go on vacation eh Cesar? ;)

Cesar do you ever check your email/reply to emails?!?

ok, can we just all agree: when it's time to share product specific feature updates, I'll share them? As much info as I have, when it's time to share, I'll share it? I share because I care ;) (but can't share too soon! This is for a number of reasons I won't share, but if you thought about enough, you'd be able to determine;)

This site may as well not exsist if your not going to bother to comment on what anyone is saying. YES, we realise that you appreciate our feedback, but we would also appriciate some, we have paid for these devices you know!. Put down the Zune 2.0 designs and START improving the exsiting product.

Ya, I saw that poll on Engadget comparing the Zune to exploding batteries. Engadget have just totally exposed their bias. Why didn't they put exploding iPods on there?...I mean they had an article on one just days before. Who cares anyway....they dissed the X-box too but they'll give in eventually.

@ Sri

Zune did not 'start' wifi, it was not the first, MusicGremline was the first DAP to incorporate wifi. http://www.musicgremlin.com/

But they don't advertise so no one knows about it. This is where Zune can jump in and revolutionize the wifi industry with their marketing, before Apple and everyone else jumps in. Time is ticking!

I agree with you guys, sure..great, maybe there will be 2.0 and all that but I hope they dont follow freakin apple. I don't want to buy zune 4.0 if its way better just when I got the $249 zune for xmas. What am I gonna do with the old one sell it? I think if the only difference is the hardware than there is no need to buy another one. Us Zune buyers who put trust in MS to buy their competitive Zune player expect that even if you release zune 7.0 that the software will be exactly the same on our 1.0 first gen, and that our first gen has the same capabilities as whatever future versions come out. #2 on my list is I want a large amount of color options to be available so I dont have to repurchase a zune to get a pink case (not that I want pink, but lets say blue). I just want to be able to buy the case and change it on my own. I also want a variety of jelly covers if they are not going to do cases (and I would prefer hard cases) some metallic hard cases would be nice, or various shades of colors in the jelly covers. Not just blue, but baby blue, blue, midnight blue, electric blue, so im not stuck with a bright ugly blue. I would just love some accessories that are not by a 2nd or 3rd party and come directly or authorized by MS for the Zune.

Lets not forget what Cesar said...

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/zunestory.asp

"It remains the team’s priority to make sure whichever Zune device you choose to buy - now or in the future – you’ll be able to update your Zune  - and benefit from new features, improvements, etc. For more background, I talked a bit about this with James a while back. "

Or what David Caulton said...

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/zunestory.asp

In 2007, Microsoft will update the existing Zune and ship new Zune versions and form factors. Microsoft is being careful not to simply ship new devices that offer new functionality, because they don't want to alienate people who purchased the first Zunes, and the company is conscious of previous hardware devices, like the Media Center Extenders and Portable Media Centers, which held the promise of updates but were never improved.

"The people who buy the device now are our best customers," Caulton said. "So we don’t want to screw them over. There is no hunger at all to not upgrade the first product. Yes, we will make a cool new device with an updated design, size, battery life, and so on. But we will customers upgrade naturally, not artificially."

Second generation Zune features can be categorized in two groups. In the first group are the features that can be brought downlevel to the initial Zune device, such as DVR-MS (Microsoft recorded TV) and DivX format support. In the second group are features you can't bring downlevel. While Caulton wouldn't confirm that these are actual features, the addition of a digital camera or GPS circuitry to a second generation Zune device wouldn't mean that first generation hardware would somehow get those features as well.

"Sometimes there are subtle reasons why certain features can't be brought downlevel," he said. "Maybe the DSP chip on the first device isn't powerful enough or whatever. But we will bring every new feature we can to the first Zune. We'll also make next year's products so compelling that, hopefully, people will want them. We're just not going to cheat [to make customers upgrade]."

@Cesar

lol, thx for SHARING this info.

@ENUZ

OK, i didnt know that, may be we can say, the prominent music player to have WiFi SHOULD be Zune and not iPod.

The new Sansa Connect wireless is getting a lot of love in the media. I hope that the flash-based version of Zune 2.0 is significantly better than Sandisk's product. Being "as good", isn't good enough.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2112464,00.asp

Well the Sansa Connect cannot play videos and I am sure Zune flash will.  But ideas such as linking to yahoo messenger are a good idea.  It will be great to link all Zunes to Windows Live Messenger.  We already seeing the link with the 360.  The Sansa also cannot wirelessly sync with a computer.  I am sure all Zunes will be able to wirelessly sync with a computer or at least a 360 soon.

Is dvr-ms the same as mpeg-2? If so, that needs some support. Zune guys, im sure whatever you come up with with regards to new features are going to great and i am happy to wait for them. I am a big fan of this device and would love to see it succeed as a brand, allthough i hope the new zune does not leave the current users feeling as though they bought too soon. All the best, Guy.

DVR-MS is MPEG2 but with DRM.

Nice quote there from David Caulton.  That pretty much confirms it.  Now I will add wifi to nano ha ha ha!

ey Cesar, cliczune is stealing your job...

New features on May 1st ???

http://www.cliczune.com/2007/04/new_zune_featur.html#comments

All I want is a very vague and general answer

Will the current version of the Zune I currently own ever support Lossless audio anytime in the future?

A simple Yes or No will suffice, I don't need to know what firmware version don't need to know what month.

Just a simple, we plan to implement Lossless audio support on the device for the current Zune hardware sometime in the future.

I called the support number when I got my Zune the first week of launch asking about it, I've posted on nearly every official or non official Zune site on the net about it.I emailed the feedback zune address, and got NO actual feedback from it. To this day I have not gotten any feedback on this simple question.

A simple yes or no would suffice and shut me up.

swanlee, I hear you. And I hear Rhett on gapless playback, too. While I can't comment on future stuff right now, I can tell you that I sent your feedback along to the dev/planning teams. You're welcome to keep asking, but know that you've been heard as soon as there's an answer, I'll post.

"but know that you've been heard as soon as there's an answer, I'll post."

Thank you, thats the feedback I've been looking for and will calm me down for awhile :)

Welcome back Cesar, glad to be seeing your posts again. =)

I have a question though, that I am not sure you can answer...

Does anybody know why my zune software no longer shows "recently added" for music and videos. I always use this to sync my video podcasts and songs I want to add to playlists. Any ideas?

-Woody

All I want now is better integration with the XBOX 360.  Marketplace video should be transferable over to the Zune.  I sure would buy more television shows from the Marketplace if I could also take them on the go.  

What aboout <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/">Silverlight</a> for the Zune platform???

"I can tell you that I sent your feedback along to the dev/planning teams"

Thanx this is the feedback I've been looking for.

"but can't share too soon! This is for a number of reasons I won't share, but if you thought about enough, you'd be able to determine;)"

You can't tell us about software developments - that's fair (ish), but you can't tell us why you can't tell us???

Can you tell us why you can't tell us that you can't tell us what you can't tell us?

I can understand the secrecy with other software like the 360 dashboard, because you're building brand new features and don't want your competitors to find out too soon and be able to copy, but with Zune it's all catchup. The only thing being achieved by not telling us when the new features are arriving is annoying us to the point where we give up and go back to our iPods.

Field, thanks for posting your thoughts.

Hi Cesar, I got a Zune 80 for Christmas and about a month ago it just stopped working. When I plug the USB cord into my computer it says that it is not connected. On the Zune screen it says there has been an error and that I need to delete everything from it. I did that, and tried to add my stuff back...but the screen still says that an error has occured. How can that be if I have nothing on it now. I don't know what to do, I'm really angry. Please let me know what I need to do in order to fix this. My e-mail address is lkmcvean@memphis.edu. Please e-mail me at this address. I really need to know what to do! Thanks so much.