'Twas the night before Zune HD...

I guess we'll see. Certainly, the Zune is not just about the devices, as you will see.

I hate to admit it, but I agree with the resident troll. As for me, I'll be asleep at midnight. I'll catch up with the standard arguments torrow. Keep the flame wars burning!

@Paul I couldn't agree more. The software is the good part of the equation. :) I am going to guess that the Zune/Xbox news is that the Zune Video Marketplace will launch in November (around black friday). That seems like a logical choice for a launch date (aside from the fact that I think they should have chosen to launch it beside the Zune HD). Either way, I will enjoy my shiny new Zune HD 32 GB. :)

Well, robertsjoe, I'll have one when it dies. (Bought soon, not pre-ordered.) And in a sensible time zone, it will be 9PM.

No doubt that the Zune HD appears to be a sexy device, and perhaps well needed competition to the iPod. That said, with the news that the Zune HD will support apps, I'm growing more and more confused as to Microsoft's strategy when it comes to the Zune, and Windows Mobile. It seems silly to maintain two platforms, each with their own app stores, etc. Wouldn't it make more sense to just have one? Apple seems quite successful in selling boatloads of devices doing so.

.... three hours later than I originally thought. :)

I say we keep robertsjoe. We need someone to represent the mindless fanboy drivel so we can point at and laugh. Laughing has been shown to be good for ones health. Keep it goigg robertsjoe. I'll never forget how you admited that genius RUNS from your family.

@Paul Ok, sounds fair to me. Sadly, I will need a lot of coffee tonight though. :) I am not going to sleep until I see what the great Zune news is.

@rjohn05 yeah, I knew people would like it, but typically most people are quite critical of Microsoft. It has been a pleasant surprise. :)

@therealjustin Exactly! I bet the wait is really getting to Leo Laporte! lol. He sounded like he really wanted to let us know about the Zune HD!

Can't wait for the perspective in your review! It's in da code... it's all in da code... Been busy... busy... busy and can't wait till they see what everyone has cooked up. So many for so many more.... Shoot, even Leo sounded pumped up - over a Microsoft product!?! Leo's no dummy - he knows a winner when he sees one.

>>I heard Alex Lindsay from MacBreak Weekly say he was considering a Zune because of the subscription model. A wise choice, my kids keep their's full for 15 dollars a month.<< Here is the problem: If it ever starts to gain traction, all Apple will do is 'turn it on' for it's iPod and iPhone users and they'll have an almost instant very significant chunk of the market. That said, the ten free songs monthly does sexy it up.

I'll be looking for it, but I won't have to stay up as late as everyone else ... just till 9pm (Hawaiian Standard Time!!). I particulary interested in the Zune API (my day job is as a Windows programmer). Not well know, but there is a Zune API, and the software license seems to allow a developer to build upon that API and distribute it as well....

Ocean, I have several add ons for the purpose but I think I will just visit the page periodically and check for update manually. And to answer your question, the person in my avatar is Vladimir Lenin.

Ocean, evgenij’s avatar is no other than, Vladimir Lenin - or Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, as he was known to his parents. He's known best for devising the dictatorship of the proletariat, or workers' state - the transitional period between a capitalist society and the classless utopia he promised the proletariat would eventually enjoy. Sadly for the people subject to the theory, the system gave way to the tyranny of the majority - utterly repressing individuals, without which there is no reason to aspire, or pursue excellence. Spread that around and very little ever gets done and the masses sink into alcoholism, apathy and antipathy - the three AAA's if you will, characterizing the life in socialist states. Such states neither would, or could produce a Zune HD.

Iketchum, Being a Russian myself who lived there during USSR times I have to say that life was far better than after it's collapse which was the reason for my family to move to the United States. Cool history lesson by the way, haha.

>>You didn't recognize Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov?<< Now that he's said it, yes, I do. >>very little ever gets done and the masses sink into alcoholism, apathy and antipathy - the three AAA's if you will, characterizing the life in socialist states. Such states neither would, or could produce a Zune HD.<< Oh, thats why it wasn't designed in California. :)

evenij, First, welcome to America! Like all of us, you came here looking to build a better life - I hope you succeed in every possible way. I like to quote Victor Belenko – “the old system is still in place, as are the old ways of thinking. The transition begun by Lenin was and would never be completed, because the tyranny of the majority, as led by the very few, would suffocate the people not once, but each day.” The red national socialist state did not become a democracy at all, but the exact tyranny Lenin feared most. As imperfect as it most certainly is, only a republic has proven capable of extending both liberty and prosperity to a large percentage of people with a diverse mix of abilities. Most interestingly, states as led by Lenin can and often do conceive of great things - like the Zune HD. The problem is in the translation from conception into a practical application of that which is conceived. The Russians for example, knew exactly how to go to the moon, and before we in the west did - they simply could not translate that into a practical model. The conceived of a utopia, but could never deliver it - that must be done by others and selfishly, those who succeed at things, rarely if ever are the same as those who invented it. Search is a great example. PMP's are another. The inventors are hardly as successful as Google, or Apple's iPod line. Now.. it remains to be seen... who will succeed at making the best and most successful hand-held computer... it is very likely not Apple! It may be Microsoft, but only time will tell. Again, evenij, heartfelt welcome to your new home.

ya'll remmber cartman in the South Park episode "Go God, Go!" - as he was waiting for the release of the Wii? "C'mon... C'mon...!" http://www.zune.net/en-US/products/software/download/upgrade/default.htm

Wow! I just read the reviews that were posted and I am thrilled by the news for sure! Free Apps?!? Zune Video Marketplace in November (as I suspected), and the fact that they will expand Zune to Windows. This is great news! Of course, I am just guessing, but that means that it will replace Windows Media Player as we hoped? I would be very pleased if so because Zune is far better than WMP. Thank you for the great reviews Paul. I definitely look forward to hearing what Leo Laporte has to say about all of this on Windows Weekly. Anyway, that is all from me for now. Time to get some much needed rest.

So dissapointed with out things unfolded for me in Canada..... Software 4.0 has a few mice updates but remains largely unchanged other than Quickplay. They fixed the hold that allowed me to see Marketplace tab. I still couldn't buy any content before, even the free stuff but at least I could browse and subscribe to podcasts. Now I have to scrounge websites for RSS feeds and add them manually. Oh and all that artist information and the mixview stuff.. That's all gone for me too. Hard fail. All the good will gained by updating past Zune to the new standard has been squandered now as well. Sure there's a lot of stuff we couldn't do but adding the new front end with the quick Pins and the side-by-side menus could of easily been possible. I wasn't asking for the browser of the apps but at least a minor facelift. And lastly, still no plans for Canadian retail release of the HD. I mean seriously. You guys were at retail. All of this is making me really happy I chose to get a Zune120 last year over an iPod Touch..

@Grannyville Same here, I would love to get a new Zune HD to complement, possibly even replace, my iPod Touch, but it's just not available where I live. I think availability (or lack of it) is the key to the Zune's "failure" so far - iPods are everywhere, Zunes are not.

the new Zune HD does look cool... I'm most interested in the HD radio tuner. Paul's review pages are down.....that sucks.

OLED.... "First off, Microsoft gave the Zune HD a new OLED display. OLED is an interesting new technology that uses a layer of electroluminescent organic compounds, rather than the inorganic materials used in traditional LCDs, to produce an image. OLED panels don't require a backlight, so they can render true blacks and provide a higher contrast ratio. However, today's OLED panels are much dimmer than standard issue LCDs: a typical maximum output of 200cd/m^2 compared to around 4-500 for mid-range LCDs. OLED also performs considerably worse in bright light because OLED is 100% emissive rather than being partially transflective. A good quality LCD actually uses ambient light to make its image brighter and more vibrant; OLED does not. This means when you take it outside, the OLED's screen is completely washed out by sunlight. Unless you only plan to use your mobile device in your dark basement, you don't want one of today's OLED screens, particularly on a mobile media player that you might expect to use on the go in various environments. A shot in the dark Microsoft knows this, which is why it only demonstrates the Zune HD in dark rooms. Engadget filmed a full demonstration, including the device's incapacity to pull up a web page, in a suspiciously dark room without even noting this. There are actually candles visibly flickering in the video behind the device. Microsoft sets up its demos in the dark because the Zune HD looks terrible outside, where its contrast ratio advantage observed in ideal conditions completely falls apart. Engadget's other pictures of an OLED-using Sony Walkman show that without the candle-lit smoke and mirrors, OLED blacks are not black at all. There are other problems with OLED. They don't last long, because the electroluminescence layer degrades far more rapidly than regular LCDs. Component colors within OLED also die at different times, with the blue pixels fading first. This results in a rapid shift of the color balance as the device ages. Additionally, the original color reproduction gamut of brand new OLED displays is already worse than standard LCD, resulting in less natural-looking colors from the start that only get worse. "

"Spread that around and very little ever gets done and the masses sink into alcoholism, apathy and antipathy - the three AAA's if you will, characterizing the life in socialist states." Tell that to people living in Sweden (or any of the Nordic states, for that matter. Seems to me that the countries that have the highest taxes also have the most content people). I'd call you a name, but I'm trying to heed Paul's plea to keep it civil. Beside, you're probably not a jackass, just dogmatic and ill-informed.