Official Zune Insider Blog

Zune Insider Podcast #26... released!

Matthew Akers — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:11:00 GMT

I had to say something other than live, released seems to convey the same message. Me (Matt Akers) and Jessica Zahn are back in yet another blockbuster episode of the Zune Insider Podcast! We talk about the late King of Pop, and a new playlist in the Marketplace that celebrates his music. We talk Zune Pass and how it changed our music consumption habits. Our buddy Fred from the Xbox Ops team drops by to talk about his awesome orange Zune 30 and all the eclectic music on it. I give away something dear to my heart and answer a hot forum topic. We also talk about some new videos in the Marketplace as well as other random tidbits of information that we know you love to hear! Go get it!

Listen on the web here. Or, better yet, subscribe here.

Oh wait, almost forgot! Here are a few links to some of the amazing music that Fred discusses in our interview (and some comments). Consume away!

Fear Nuttin Band: Yardcore

Listen to all of it.

Gotan Project: Inspiración-Espiración

“Round about Midnight”

Michael Brecker: Now You See It… (Now You Don’t)

Listen to “Peep” or “Minsk”, and then the rest of it.

Zune Insider Podcast #25 is LIVE!

Matthew Akers — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:05:00 GMT

Howdy folks, we're back again with another action packed episode of the Zune Insider podcast! This week we have a couple of special guests from the team drop by. Josh Vincent, a program manager on the Zune Software and DJ extraordinaire, and podcast guru Rob Greenlee. We'll talk about DJ life, life on the Zune team, and we'll also sample a few of Rob's favorite podcasts. We even have an extra special surprise courtesy of Rob, niiiiice! As usual, we'll also talk music, videos, and other items of great randomness. Awesome!

Get your Zune Insider fix on the web here, or subscribe here.

Cheers!

Remembering the King of Pop

Rob Greenlee — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:30:00 GMT

We here at Zune are saddened by the news of the passing of pop legend Michael Jackson. At this time of shock and grief we would like to point our Zune users to some of his groundbreaking chart-topping hits and tribute audio podcast called “Thrillercast” in our Zune Marketplace software, published by Sony BMG.

The “Thrillercast” podcast is made up of 28 episodes and in each episode celebrities like will.i.am, LL Cool J, Herbie Hancock, Imogen Heap, Adam Curry, Quincy Jones and many others tell stories of how Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album changed their lives and impacted music for generations to come. Thriller was the world’s biggest selling album of all time.

You can listen to the podcast right from our Zune.net website or download our Zune software to find his great music.

Zune Insider podcast #24 is available now!

Jessica Zahn — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Get it while it's hot!

This week, special guest Brian Ledford, project manager for Zune, stops by to play a song from his new record and to tell us what it's like herding cats. Matt and I trade Zunes with our co-workers, discuss new music and video in the Zune Marketplace, and talk about wireless sync. And there might be a surprise or two - listen carefully!

We also want to thank you so much for listening and giving us your feedback. Matt and I totally love doing this - and your comments help us do it better.

Listen online here, or subscribe through the Zune software here.

Zune Service Maintenance

Brian Seitz — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:25:00 GMT

On Tuesday, June 16th from 12:01 AM PST for up to 24 hours, the Zune service will be offline for maintenance. As a result, the Zune Social, the forums on Zune.net, and all of Zune Marketplace will be offline.

As you may have heard the Zune and Xbox systems are coming closer together and this service maintenance is to prepare for some of the recently announced Xbox LIVE features that will be available later this year.

It is important to note when the service returns, you will not have any new functions or features. This is for scheduled maintenance only.

Zune Insider Podcast #23 is LIVE!

Matthew Akers — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:13:00 GMT

Howdy! It's that time again, Zune Insider podcast #23 is live for your consumption. This week Jessica covers the updates to Zune.net and has some ambush interviews with the Zune.net team. Tom, a tester on the Zune software team drops by to talk podcasts and music. Jessica trades Zunes with Emily, a tester on the Zune.net team. And, for the first time since we took over, we have an EXTRA special giveaway. Enjoy!

Listen online here, or subscribe through the Zune software here.

Animal Planet comes to the Video Marketplace

Paul Davidson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:34:00 GMT

Effective today, Animal Planet comes to the Zune Video Marketplace. Included in the launch are four of their newest shows: Night, Escape to Chimp Eden, Jockeys and Whale Wars. Enjoy!

HD Video Podcast selection is growing on Zune

Rob Greenlee — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:34:00 GMT

This week we unveiled a new HD video podcast themed area or page in the Zune Marketplace software. Yes, Zune does have a growing selection of HD video content available. You don’t have to wait for the new software or Zune HD device to start enjoying this great crystal clear video content on your big laptop screen. monitor or on a large HD television. The other plus is that it is FREE, yes FREE.

If you don’t have the Zune Marketplace media player software installed then go now and indulge yourself – get it here now. You don't need a Zune device to enjoy these great HD video podcasts.

Weeds and Royal Pains Free Premiere Episodes

Paul Davidson — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:05:00 GMT

If you're fans of great television (or free television), today brings two shows that fall into both categories. Effective this morning you'll be able to download the season premiere of WEEDS free as well as the new USA Network's show ROYAL PAINS pilot for zero dollars whatsoever. These shows are available for this economic-stimulus price for a limited time -- so swing on over to the Video Marketplace today before it's too late.

zune.net downtime tonight, new features tomorrow!

Jessica Zahn — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:48:00 GMT

Hey folks!

We'll be taking zune.net down at 10 p.m. tonight for a bit. When we return, we'll have some new features on the web - including "follow an artist," where you can explicitly state that you like a particular artist and get news and updates from that artist. We'll do RSS feed aggregation on artist pages - which means that from the one artist page on zune.net, you can see your favorite artist's latest Twitter posts, blogs, and so on (and if your favorite artist doesn't have this data already, you will be able to add the links yourself). We're adding more content, including concert dates, to the web, and we've redesigned our home page to showcase more of our social data. And finally, we made a bunch of improvements to the site performance.

Our friends at insidethecircle.net and zuneluv.com are already talking about the update - head over there and take part, or leave us some comments here.

Zune Insider podcast #22 is live!

Jessica Zahn — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:55:00 GMT

Oh yeah baby, the third podcast with Matt and me is live, and it contains some tidbits of news, an interview with electronic DJ and producer DJ Dan, an interview with the hip-hop star Wale, and more of your Twitter questions answered.

Listen online here, or get it from the Zune software here.

BBC America Comes to Zune!

Paul Davidson — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:41:00 GMT

Effective today, BBC America's great content is available for download in the Zune Video Marketplace. Such series as The Mighty Boosh, Primevil, Torchwood, Little Britain, Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers, Top Gear and Robin Hood. Enjoy!

Zune Insider Podcast Episode 21 is LIVE!

Matthew Akers — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:51:00 GMT

A new installment of the New Zune Insider Podcast just went live today, get excited! This week you can listen to the dynamic duo of yours truly (Skipdeez) and Jessica (Jetherealz) rap about new music and upcoming shows. We also answer some random questions from our Twitter followers (hit us up! @skipdeez and @jetherealz). Oh, and I should also mention we talk about a little something called Zune HD and discuss the new Xbox Zune video Marketplace. We also trade Zunes with our bosses, which is not only exciting, but makes for some good comedy. You love it, you know you do...

Not subscribed to the Zune Insider podcast yet? You can subscribe via the Zune software by clicking here. You can listen right on the web on from here. Or, you can just download the podcast directly from the RSS feed here.

Comments? Questions? Post a comment here or send us a tweet, we'd love to hear from you!

Enjoy!

DJ Dan is coming to Seattle! Want tickets?

Jessica Zahn — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:19:00 GMT

Hey electronic fans in Seattle! DJ Dan will be here Friday night at Club Heaven in Pioneer Square. You know you want to go, and DJ Dan wants to make it easy on you by giving away two pairs of tickets here on Zune Insider! DJ Dan is a native of Seattle who has been releasing club hits for more than a decade - my favorites are "That Zipper Track" and "That Phone Track" (check 'em out in the Zune Marketplace).

Just post something in the comments about Seattle's electronic music scene and I'll randomly pick two commenters to give tickets to. DJ Dan will be doing his thing along with Cybersutra, Richard J. Dalton and Aurora Diving Club.

Zune coming to Xbox - Zune HD realized, what a day!

Brian Seitz — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:04:00 GMT

Many of you have likely seen the news today announcing Zune HD. We are really excited to bring the new Zune to market later this year, and we think the capabilities of the device are pretty cool. For those that have not had a chance to check it out yet, Zune HD will feature a HD Radio receiver, HD video out capabilities, an OLED screen with multi touch, and an internet browser. Find HD Radio stations in your area by visting the HD Radio site. There are still more details to come!

We also announced that we will be coming to Xbox, taking over the existing video marketplace and bringing a rich new experience with new features. This is the next step in our strategy to broaden Zune as an entertainment service for Microsoft, stay tuned for more details at E3!

There is more goodness to come, but we wanted to take a moment to announce what we are working on both on the hardware, and software services front. Stay tuned to here for more info.