If you’re one of the 17 people who actually own a first generation Zune 30 (I am, by the way), you awoke this morning to discover that the device will not boot. The problem, apparently, is a software glitch tied to the date (December 31, 2008). I can confirm that this is the case with my own Zune 30, and I’m awaiting word from Microsoft on a resolution. (Pardon the pun.)
Update: Tom Warren tipped me off that Microsoft is working on a fix. On their Zune support page, Microsoft acknowledges the issue like so:
Status:
Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware. We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!
Update 2: Problem solved
Microsoft has figured out what went wrong. As expected, no big deal. Here’s a post from yesterday:
The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.
BTW, I love how the press over-reacted to this. The Zune 30 was only sold in North America (and mostly in just the US) and is the poorest-selling Zune model. The Mac/Apple community has been particularly childish about it. Weird that they’d have such a hang-up over such a non-competitive device, eh? Sorry it wasn’t more serious, guys.