'Twas the night before Zune HD...

Why does the installer/updater have a rabbit-in-a-box after it finishes?

Waethorn, You spouted out a lot of information, none of it answered the question. hmmmm? That's what I thought. The article mentioned that it was a software limitation, which has been proven as there have been people that hacked the iPhone (or iPod Touch, don't remember) and had it playing the HD video at HD resolutions. The HD out on the Zune HD is a nice feature....personally I'd never use it. But adding features because they are "nice" and not "useful" is meaningless. Can someone show me where the Zune HD has 2 ARM11 cores? I can't find anything on the Tegra chipset site at NVIDIA about it have two. I can't find official specs for the Zune HD.

Comments from Microsoft's spokespeople today note that their is no Zune "App Store" since they didn't want to compete with WinMo's efforts in this area. It would be nice if they could converge these two.

"Comments from Microsoft's spokespeople today note that their is no Zune "App Store" since they didn't want to compete with WinMo's efforts in this area. It would be nice if they could converge these two." My take on this is that with Windows Mobile 7 hardware specs including the requirement for Tegra-grade hardware, if any applications are allowed on the Zune HD, they'll be portable to Windows Mobile 7 as well.

"but you did not answer my original question, which was about why you call it a "waste of pixels", and then only go on to talk about video, while I mention other uses for the screen" The iPod touch and arguably the iPhone are designed primarily as entertainment devices and one would think that they would use a screen that is designed for one of the primary goals of having such a large screen. That purpose was video. Not games, which was tacked on after Apple gave in and opened the app store, and certainly not UI elements (for that matter, why not just make it square?). No, the original intent was video. And Apple screwed it up by making it some proprietary widescreen that no standard widescreen video content was designed for. In fact, I have yet to see any kind of widescreen video that was designed for a 3:2 aspect screen. I don't know of any video editing software that even supports such a ridiculous format, aside from making a custom format, and now Apple's primary reason for releasing a widescreen iPod is broken. No widescreen-format video will play natively on this thing unless it's converted to fit it. Apple screwed that up. Big time. Microsoft got it right. If I want to play widescreen video without reformatting it or watching it in letterbox, I'd choose a device with a screen that's designed for it. Watching film content is even worse, because even at 2.35:1 aspect, film will be letterboxed in 16:9 anyway. On the iPod touch, it's even more wasted space, and for what? Some UI element space that I won't see when I'm playing video? UI stuff is easily moved around when designed within hardware restrictions, but if I bought a multimedia device for, you know, actually using it with multimedia, I'd expect it to be designed with multimedia in mind. You'd think that Apple, of all of the companies heavily invested in multimedia and video, would have figured that out. "so instead of throwing out insults and dodging the question by giving other interesting, but off topic points...why don't you just answer the damn question?" I just did. Several times over. If you don't get it, that's your Mackie RDF distorting your sense of logic again.

@waethorn "It also has lots of tip calculators and fart apps. Quantity != quality." I could not agree with you more. Please remember this quote the next time some one says that Windows is better than OS X because there is more software available for it. In fact, Microsoft loves to tout how Windows is superior to Linux and OS X due to the available software. So by their reasoning, Zune is inferior to the iPod/iPhone due to the lack of software. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/09/08/microsoft_unleashes_retail... So which way is it?

@rr0de74@live.com, Cool :) Ok. To start, context really does matter here and without question a couple of things happened that needed to, or were planned. Most interestingly, both Microsoft and Apple have a great role here.... First, Vista had to happen and did happen - e.g., the entire way in which programs are executed - in the context of least privileged user space - and all the great layers around that. I mention this, because in the MS/Windows world, nothing else mattered, or could be done until this was accomplished and the long bloody trail that has been Vista had to be cut. The company did that and it and its partners and customers had to make the march with them. That's over. Done. Complete. Apple in the meantime, introduced, if not innovative ideas, certainly practical and great implementations of what was possible. They too blazed an important trail and educated a whole lot of people about what was possible and what the potential was. Parallel to these processes was a three screens strategy that frankly needed both - parallel to a unified architecture for distributed/online transactions, interaction and services delivery. So now the stage is set and the platforms are aligned. The tools are in place and the advanced hardware platforms have shipped. Now it is to see how well each will leverage what they have - as I see it, it is vast potential VS established market. The team with the better platform and more points of entry and exist will come out on top. Now.. from where I sit, as a full service provider that uses and leverages nearly all MS technologies, I see a pretty complete set of tools on platforms that are extremely well integrated and easy to traverse - your cloud, my cloud, their cloud and our clouds. Obviously, my bets have been placed for a long time - against which one thing in our world is certain (small and medium sized businesses and the people who own and work in them). We have to simultaneously, and safely address both spheres of influence at the same time - business/enterprise and personal/entertainment using the same systems connected to a wide range of federated services (that how you/my/our cloud thing, which we've been doing for 11 years now). Of course what we know much less well is the Mac/Apple - does not mean we do not support it - we do and all at the same time. What I am saying is that NOW, not JUST the potential exists, but the practical means exist to exploit that which has been dreamed of and worked on for so long. It's there. It's ready and it will be exploited, which you can bet we have been doing for a very long time - working and waiting for key pieces to fall in to place. Now all this said... take a look at how active, diverse and well populated the XNA games marketplace over on Xbox 360 is. Understand that without modification, that will run on the Zune HD and opposite a nicely unified SoA, there will be very little waiting and finally... with online, multi-player being on the Zune HD, it's going to change a lot of minds and perhaps a few hearts. Apple will of course counter with some awesome kit and a unification strategy of their own... until they, as MS had to, comes to gripes with their own reality and that one is where I began this wall of text... where Microsoft has completed the hard work and Apple has only begun... Mach is at a wall and a ceiling and unless Apple does the same painful things Microsoft had to do, they are in very deep trouble. You've heard me mention schedulers and resource managers a lot and in our multi/many core world, that matters so much more than any Apple supporter I know of seems to understand - and yes, I have many wonderful friends that love the Mac/Apple. We keep it civil and light hearted as it should be. Microsoft, with all of its platforms - clients, servers, tools, devices, has absolutely nailed scheduling and thread/resource management. It is really quite amazing what they have accomplished and like it or no... Vista and the Allchin team made it all possible more than three years ago. I welcome and appreciate your perspective. Cheers, Lloyd

@rr0de74@live.com, Yes, The Zune HD uses two core - each with multiple (domains which support their own task schedules), (in this case two ARM11 Cores within an APX 2600). Please see my remarks ref the import of schedulers and resource management features native to the Zune HD. It matters a great deal.

anyone notice that 'zune.com' has the silly IIS under construction page?

@All: I just Hope that the album collection shown in Paul's review of the Zune 4 Software is not really Paul's album collection... With crap like Poison and Def lepards and Micheal Jackson five crap ... ahhahaha!! In french we say : Clownesque ... I think you say "clownish" in english... lol

"This is a pathetic company producing copied products to a bunch of nitwits barely intelligent enough to get a MSCE-certificate. Why don't you guys move on?" Wow, you actually took the time to create an account on this site to post that? Wow!!

@All: Is it true that the Zune HD will not be released in Canada??

@iketchum I get all of the pieces and I think that Microsoft definitely caters to the developer and does have some great development tools. All that said they are not the only game around. Java development thrives today, big time. So does OS X development. The PS3 has sold more consoles in its first two years when compared to the same time frame with the 360 and all major 3rd party games are on the PS3 as well. The Wii and the DS are doing just fine. The iTouch/iPhone development is going like gang busters and does not seem like its going to slow down anytime soon. Developers are tripping over each other to create apps. The App store is great for developers, especially the small time developers that dont have the resources to setup and infrastructure to sell and promote their apps. My point is that game development on other platforms is happening and doing very well, and none of it uses MS development tools. I just dont see the handicap. Apple will advance their programing tools, probably already has in light of the massive development that is going on. They probably will come out with a tablet which will only create more opportunity for development. I also dont doubt apps will come to the Zune platform. The really big question that no one can answer is "if you build it WILL they come". Developers target successful platforms. Right now if I were a developer and my resources were limited I would create apps for the iphone over the zune purely because there are 60million itouch/iphone devices that could run them. Unless Zune sales really pick up, all the great development tools and pieces MS has FINALLY put in place is not going to do anything for you.

"Java development thrives today, big time." Can I buy pot from you?

"In fact, Microsoft loves to tout how Windows is superior to Linux and OS X due to the available software." 'The difference is Windows users don't get a kick out of tip calculators and fart apps. ' Sorry but you can't have it both ways. You can't say that the lack of software for the Zune is not a major factor in determining how good the product is then use the exact same counter argument for OS X. There is a word for people like that. Its called "Hypocrite."

@ mikegalos Like I said in another blog post: you're the reason why DSM-IV was created. And at least when we open our new hardware, it's got software on it that works. Heck, it's got software on it! No such luck with the ZuneHD though...the Wow doesn't start now? It's probably an 'in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king'-thing with you Microsoft guys.

"Perhaps Microsoft has more quality software, thereby making your analogy fall short." No. Microsoft uses the fact that Windows runs more software as a key selling point when comparing it to Linux and OS X in their marketing material. "PCs run more of the software programs your customers use most and come in a wide variety of colors and configurations" - Microsoft Expert Zone No where does this say anything about quality. In fact, I can't recall anyone ever arguing that the software available for Windows is of high quality in general. In fact, normally you hear the opposite. "There are 10 programs to do XXXX but 8 of them are terrible."

Paul says itunes is 'bloated' and zune software is elegant. The zune 4.0 64bit exe is 133MB and itunes9 is 90MB. hmm.

@yoshipod Said : "There are 10 programs to do XXXX but 8 of them are terrible." Yes its true but on OSX you have none!! so...

Why doesn't has the zune any Accessibility features like the iPod touch and the iPhone do? Things like Screen Reader with VoiceOver, Practice Gestures, The Rotor, Voice Control? I couldn't find anything in the zune specs. It seems that Microsoft doesn't give a sh*t about disabled people. Thanks, but no thanks Microsoft.

Does Zune 4 support AIFF?

"Paul says itunes is 'bloated' and zune software is elegant. The zune 4.0 64bit exe is 133MB and itunes9 is 90MB. hmm." I know Subzero brought up this point a few days back. If my computer had a 2GB hard drive, I would be concerned. It doesn't, though, so I really don't care about applications taking up 90 or 130MB of space. iTunes --even the latest version of it -- feels sluggish on my Windows 7 PC. That's a pity, considering that probably 80% of its users are on PCs. Zune, on the other hand is pretty responsive and feels great. T

lotsa, That's just Waethorn finding the need to classify people. Once someone uses ANY Apple product, they cease to be "Windows users", and become "Apple fanatics". There is no way possible on Earth that someone can use an Apple product, and use Windows or MS products, and like both of them. However, as soon as he needs to, he'll tout that the iPod wouldn't be nearly as successful if iTunes didn't run on Windows....which then kind of makes his comment of "Windows users don't get a kick out of tip calculators and far apps" pretty idiotic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZVhAKNjYwA&feature=related this guy got one...he seems impressed

Ahh, can't install on XP 64. That's a disappointment. The software looks absolutely amazing.