So I sold my 80Gb iPod (via Facebook Marketplace), and I was planning on using the money to get a new 160Gb iPod. But then something happened and, after MUCH debated decided to head to Wal-Mart and grab a Zune (in case the Zune turned out to be totally retarded I could return it without a fuss).

$200 for 30Gb of storage. The software was kind of a pain in the ass to figure out and configure it to not scan every folder on my harddrive for music, but once I got it going, everything works just fine.

I must say... this thing isn't NEARLY as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Everyone I work with has a Zune, too, so I got to experience some music-sharing goodness and it is, indeed, good.

I'm starting to wonder where all the Zune hate comes from?

<--- Big Baller World Order

The thing is pretty solid. Slick interface, custom wallpaper, and the file-sharing thing is pretty cool once you use the hack to get around the DRM stuff.

I honestly only have 1 gripe with it, so far, and that's that I can't use iTunes with it. But that's only because I'm so used to iTunes.

But that file-sharing is so nice. Dude at work starts playing this song and I'm like, "I like this." Like, 20 seconds later, it's on my Zune ready for listening to on my drive home.

I can honestly get used to this.

most likely, the limited sharing (3 plays/3 days)

another possiblity is from being expected as the iPod killer. but I'm just assuming this.

and the thing's huge compared to the video iPod.

I would buy one if I wasn't so used to iTunes just because of the unlimited downloading.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

http://twitter.com/sun_dalo
xbl: s/n

If you don't think of it as the "answer to the iPod", then I honestly think it's a great device. I'm not 100% I'm going to keep the Zune just yet. But it's looking that way. I got the brown one. I might exchange it for a black one.

If I can find an online ad for it for $150, I'm definitely going to take advantage of their price matching policy and get $50 back.

for...what is it...$15 a month? the price of a CD every month. and you have access to the whole library? I dunno if it's unlimited, but I'm sure it's a great amt. of downloading.

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http://twitter.com/sun_dalo
xbl: s/n

A free 14 days came WITH the Zune and then I will get paid again and will get the Zune Pass. Dude, if you have the Zune Pass, it takes the thing to a whole new level. Mostly, you won't have to use the hack to beat the 3 days/plays thing. You just get the song and when you get home, grab it off the store.

I just did some research and there is an easy-to-use tool to remove the DRM from songs grabbed off the Marketplace.

So combine that with the unlimited pass and you have yourself one pretty fuckin' awesome music library.

Seriously... I'm more and more happy with my choice the more I get into it.

I just hope that a new Zune doesn't drop after the 30-day return policy runs out.

you renew your subscription right? that would suck if you had to re-download everything (if you don't cheat Microsoft's DRM).

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

http://twitter.com/sun_dalo
xbl: s/n

No matter what, but the license won't let you play 'em unless your account checks as still subscribed.

ok, its bigger then the ipod, but huge? GTFOH!!

___________________________________
http://instagram.com/mrellsberry

you know they officially cut the price right? you seriously coulda copped that for $149 retail...and on ebay for even less. just lettin you know.

I dont think Microsoft really gives a crap about the zune.

----------------------------------------------------------------
respect the gift.

I knew they dropped the price, but they dropped from $230 to $200. Like I said, as soon as I find it online at a retail store (I don't fuck with eBay and people's used shit. I like my things new, in a box, sans fingerprints and with a warrenty and solid return policy), I can take it back to Wal-Mart and they will refund me the difference. I have actually not seen a price cheaper than Wal-Mart's. I know woot.com had it for $150, but that was a while ago.

makes it all worth it. i love my zune.

XBOX 360 - THE GEEK IS DOWN
it's deep game and all in the pimpin'!

nm

i have this as my wallpaper right now


http://www.sequart.com/members/graphics/17/CivilWar3page22.jpg

XBOX 360 - THE GEEK IS DOWN
it's deep game and all in the pimpin'!

Ive had mine since last chirstmas and I LOVE IT, im currently rocking this as my wallpaper http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/8/84/Galvatron_dw.JPG

My Ever Growing DVD list

http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?cat=1&id=scott757

The Zune + the 360 is awesome. I am used to an iPod so I thought I could only pull songs off my Zune to play, similar to the way the iPod worked. Much to my surprise, not only can I view the photos, but I can watch the videos I have on my Zune through the Dashboard, as well as switch my Dashboard wallpaper to a picture from the Zune.

one of my usb hubs on my pc broke, so i have my zune cord connected to my 360 most of the time

XBOX 360 - THE GEEK IS DOWN
it's deep game and all in the pimpin'!

i'm not following your line of reasoning here.

and i've literally never heard of an office full of people who have Zunes. I'm not even sure i've even SEEN a Zune outside of an electronics store...

You work on the M$ Zune team?

____________________________

http://instagram.com/yogikenan
http://instagram.com/shotbykenan
http://stackoverflow.com/users/43089/triptych
http://github.com/djtriptych

I recently wiped out my digital music library. I made a smart playlist of all the songs that weren't played within the last 2 years and just deleted everything that came up right out of the library. I also got rid of all the movies that I never watch on my iPod. My collection went from 11,000+ songs and a bunch of movies to a little over 2100, reducing my collection from around 77ish GB to a little over 6.5 GB. I will never need more then 30Gb for my library.

That being said, the decision to switch to the Zune was based primarily on my desire to get way the fuck away from the iPod and start anew.

On top of that, the idea of sharing songs is too powerful to me. I went to a show some time back in like May and there was just this small huddle of kids with Zunes and from what I overheard from their conversations, they were all strangers who just saw eachother's Zunes and immediately started swapping songs around.

To me, the key element of art is discovering it and interpreting it for yourself.

Originally, the second choice to the iPod was going to be one of the Gigabeat models, but the Zune just stood out to me more.

Besides.. personal preference. Like I said, the more I read about the Zune and play with it, the more I like it.

if god wanted you to have unlimited legal downloads and sharable music via wifi, then apple would have made it.

FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

http://rjcc.stumbleupon.com - what I'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

.

but the ipod was a gift. the zune has the features I want tho

FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

http://rjcc.stumbleupon.com - what I'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

if I got a Zune for free I'd definitely hook my PC back up just for that.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

http://twitter.com/sun_dalo
xbl: s/n

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

http://twitter.com/sun_dalo
xbl: s/n

FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

http://rjcc.stumbleupon.com - what I'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

<--- Big Baller World Order

i'm doing mine right after i finish typing this.

>and i've literally never heard of an office full of people who
>have Zunes. I'm not even sure i've even SEEN a Zune outside
>of an electronics store...
>
>You work on the M$ Zune team?

<--- Big Baller World Order

The media integration between Xbox, Windows Media Center Edition, and Zune (even though it has to transcode MCE stuff) is great.

Apple tried to copy this with their AppleTV...but failed.

~~~~~~~~
A bad Samaritan averaging above average men (c) DOOM

i had the 3rd gen ipod put it won't hold a charge and it is no longer recognized by windows.

i copped a samsung t9. i don't like big devices unless i have a jacket on and can easily stow it in the inside pocket. i hate having an ipod AND my cell phone on my hip. it's too bulky and i tend to switch songs on a whim so i hate having to hold it constantly. the t9 is tiny so that not a problem.

it's only 2gigs but even w/a fully loaded 10gig ipod i usually get tired of songs and listen to a few, new albums. i filled the t9 but once i get tired of an album i move it to my computer's hd and put a new album on the t9. it also plays video so i'd download episodes of Lost, 24, or anime and watch them on plane rides or lunch breaks. the screen is small but it's crystal clear. the sound quality is great as well.

personally i hated the zune when trying it out at stores. that's a huge fuck up by ms. apple understands that ease of use is key. i went to the apple store and tried the iphone and did everything i wanted easily. plus, that wheel/button on the zune is terrible compared to the ipods scroll and click wheel.

the iphone is my dream device but i still got a year on my sprint contract.

************************************************************
Today is the tomorrow we should have feared yesterday

everything else is cool with me, but the size is a killer to me.

>So I sold my 80Gb iPod (via Facebook Marketplace), and I was
>planning on using the money to get a new 160Gb iPod. But then
>something happened and, after MUCH debated decided to head to
>Wal-Mart and grab a Zune (in case the Zune turned out to be
>totally retarded I could return it without a fuss).
>
>$200 for 30Gb of storage. The software was kind of a pain in
>the ass to figure out and configure it to not scan every
>folder on my harddrive for music, but once I got it going,
>everything works just fine.
>
>I must say... this thing isn't NEARLY as bad as everyone makes
>it out to be. Everyone I work with has a Zune, too, so I got
>to experience some music-sharing goodness and it is, indeed,
>good.
>
>I'm starting to wonder where all the Zune hate comes from?

Until I went through my library and removed all the garbage and excess fat

>Until I went through my library and removed all the garbage
>and excess fat

i mean the physical size. that thing is really thick and if i want a device that big i'd just get a archos player.

I see what you're saying and I agree. I had an 80GB iPod so I'm used to the thickness. But with the thickness, the thing feels less like it's going to shatter to pieces if I squeeze it too hard.

I don't mind the size at all. I mean, I'm not big on having things in my pocket. I mostly use my Zune in my car or set it on the desk while I'm doing work.

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=11&topic_id=117509&mesg_id=117509&page=2#118514

nipsey: Do you really need that 70GB at one time though?

alexthezombie: I hate when people ask me that. The answer is YES!!

FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

http://rjcc.stumbleupon.com - what I'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

You two can go back to enjoying your money hats now.

Like I said. I cleaned out my library of the junk. Now my library is nothing but solid favorites. I could put the entire thing on shuffle and never hit skip, which I am loving.

fuck the earbuds. i gotta nano as a gift but im lookin into a new mp3 player mah damn self.

WHO'S GOT IT BETTER THAN US?!?! NOOOOBODDDDYY!!!!

The thing comes with earbuds, I guess. Nothing too fancy. They look really slick and they have these magnets in it to hold them together if you want. I have no qualms with them, though. They fit in my ears better then the earbuds did

Alright, so I returned my Zune, traded some stuff in and got the Halo 3 edition. It did not come with my free 14 days of the Zune Pass, though

Okay, so I really want to take advantage of the video playback features with my Zune-&-XBOX360. I got a bunch of TV shows on my computer that I want to convert. I know the Zune plays back WMV format, but what other formats can I do? Like it would be great to be able to watch shows at home and then take 'em with me when I'm out or on break at work and then go back.

Man, I am really excited about all this Zune shit for some reason

it's possible when it gets converted and loaded on the zune that it's technically wmv, but as far as the pc software is concerned, both wmv and mp4 work.

--
heterodox

the software it's self is strait-up dumbtarded.


www.myspace.com/graythehustler

It's just Windows Media Player with a Zune skin on it.

It shares a lot of the resources, but its been forked and is at present a piece of shit.

"My sleep is interrupted by food on the stove - not gunshots, we immune to those..." - Cormega

I have yet to find the difference between it and iTunes. And I was a die hard iTunes/iPod head until 4 days ago.

Here are some off the top

Shoddy performance
No podcast support
No audible support
Limited range of smart playlist criteria
No TV/movies in the Marketplace
Far less tracks in the marketplace
No podcast directory in the marketplace
iTunes has AirTunes (send music wirelessly from iTunes to your speakers)
iTunes has built in network sharing
iTunes supports chapters in music/podcasts/audiobooks
Zune offers just list view in a playlist
Doesnt preserve sort settings(this is very annoying for me)


Not all may matter to you, but collectively they mean a big deal to me.

"My sleep is interrupted by food on the stove - not gunshots, we immune to those..." - Cormega

I never used ANY of that shit in iTunes.

FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

http://rjcc.stumbleupon.com - what I'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

And Smart Playlists are one of the main reasons I use iTunes and stick with it, as do a lot of people (hence entire websites being set up simply for sharing smart playlist ideas)

"My sleep is interrupted by food on the stove - not gunshots, we immune to those..." - Cormega

FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

http://rjcc.stumbleupon.com - what I'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

>Here are some off the top
>
>Shoddy performance
Based on what?

>No podcast support
You can play a podcast on any mp3 player.

>No audible support
The fuck???? READ A BOOK READ A BOOK READ A MUHFUCKIN BOOK!

>Limited range of smart playlist criteria
Smart playlists really aren't that "smart" IMO Windows Media Player offers better customization of playlists than itunes.

>No TV/movies in the Marketplace
Who the hell wants to pay for a TV Show???

>Far less tracks in the marketplace
Who the hell wants to pay for music???

>No podcast directory in the marketplace
It ain't itunes and it ain't an ipod ∴ no itunes

>iTunes has AirTunes (send music wirelessly from iTunes to your
>speakers)
Folks with a 360 and decent stereo set up don't really need this.

>iTunes has built in network sharing
see response above

>iTunes supports chapters in music/podcasts/audiobooks
????

>Zune offers just list view in a playlist
what other view do you want?

>Doesnt preserve sort settings(this is very annoying for me)
what do you mean? when you close out the program and reopen it?

>Not all may matter to you, but collectively they mean a big
>deal to me.
I think you're alone in this fam....

sig below:
-A monkey is chased by a hyena and you cannot tell the laughter from the screams.

Hey, so I got the Halo 3 Zune and I accidently erased everything on the Zune, thinking that, like the iPod, when I sync'd my library to the Zune, that it would erase everything anyway.

After I wiped the Zune, I noticed that the Zune software was prompting me to name the Zune and sync it up, without erasing anything on it.

God damn, this thing is cool. I think there's a CD in the box somewhere.

it's a solid player, but I think people were playing into the whole OMG MS VS. APPLE FIGHT TO THE DEATH MP3 STYLE angle, so when MS just comes out with a "solid" player that's not an iPod "killer", it gets trashed.

I had an iPod too, and it's a pretty good player also, but I never saw it as the perfect device or anything. Hell, I prefer the d-pad compared to the scroll wheel. I like the Zune interface better than the iPod interface. I like the $15 a month unlimited downloading. I like the essentially scratch proof surface. And the 3% of the time I actually want to listen to the radio...I'm glad that's there too, lol.

And I haven't had any problems with the Zune software either. Not sure what's supposedly so horribly broken about it...no weird crashes or anything. It's more of a resource hog though.

The funny thing is that I hardly ever use the wifi aspect of it...it's pretty much permanently turned off. That is mostly useless for me right now. Doesn't take away from the positive aspects of it though.

both iPod's and Zune's have their positives and negatives. They're both pretty good. We are the world, kumbaya, etc. etc.

--
heterodox

FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

http://rjcc.stumbleupon.com - what I'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

So I was out today, running some errands before work, and ran into this younger girl (like 16 or 17, this is not an "i got her number" story) and she was curious about the tattoo on my arm. I explained that it was from the cover of one of my favorite albums. Behold, she, too, had a Zune (a birthday gift from her parents who thought she might like it over an iPod nano). I sent over a few choice songs to her (as sending songs actually takes a few moments and we were in line only for a short while).

I am excited that she might listen to it, enjoy it, and then get into the band's music.

(if anyone cares, it's Stars' "Set Yourself on Fire" -> http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexanderstone/sets/72157594551058808/)

like butter on toast

XBOX 360 - THE GEEK IS DOWN
it's deep game and all in the pimpin'!

...but my only gripe about the song sharing is that if she doesn't get to listening to it in the next 3 days, then she's fucked. I just hope that she either has a Zune Pass or her bootlegging game is on point.

>... or her bootlegging game is on point.

That would be my type of lady, lol.

> raninto this younger girl (like 16 or 17, this is not an "i got her number" story)

FREE CHAI VANG!

YOU'VE READ MY FILE NIGGA (c) Jack 'Mufuckin' Bauer

http://rjcc.stumbleupon.com - what I'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

People had their hopes up, since most "iPod Killers" have relied on giving the consumer much more than what the standard iPod can offer up in hopes that the people will pick their DAP instead of end to end experience offered by iTMS, iTunes and the iPod.

Along comes MS with what's essentially a brown iPod with wi-fi, and viola: instant hate.

I think the Zune has a lot of cool features, and the fact that it's one of the only DAPs besides the iPod that plays aac is cool as well, but since it doesn't work on Macs I couldn't try one even if I wanted to.

sig below:
-A monkey is chased by a hyena and you cannot tell the laughter from the screams.

And do you live in the DC area?? I was lucky enough to find a buyer who wanted it THAT DAY and was willing to meet me in DC so I had cash in hand before midnight.

you did good though.

sig below:
-A monkey is chased by a hyena and you cannot tell the laughter from the screams.

Okay so the Zune says it supports MPEG-4 video, but the player just re-converts the video to WMV before dumping it to the Zune. Wacky. No big deal, as I only had 1 MPEG-4 video. I found a great app for converting my stuff.

I now got a lot of my TV shows converted up and I can watch 'em on my TV through my XBOX360. Something that my iPod was never able to do.

Anyone know which video formats this thing really supports and if there's a hack to get it to do divx straight?

I thought about copping a Zune too... but the fact that it was only 30 gigs turned me off *considering I have 50 on my laptop & 60 on my desktop of completely different music* I don't really wanna' pick & choose what music to put on the thing every week.

& with that said, I was just in Costco yesterday & they got the new 80 gig Ipod for effing 230 bones.
Uhhhh.. WHAT!?!?
I'm copping as soon as I get my check. Don't front.

-AbE
Deejay Evillincoln...
"Not from the P.J's yet I still got something to say..."-Plug 1
"There goes that sinking feeling again..."- Optimus Prime
"No matter how many times the ball bounces.. there's still no bones in ice cream- Nice N' Smooth

*personal* <--emphasis. beefs

you have to hack it to: view, add or remove files directly from the drive

no voice recorder or line in, radio recording or text viewer (simple
things, that I used on my old, now dead, samsung ypt8, hell, I might
just buy a 512 gig t8 off ebay just for the line in/radio/voice
recording features)

I just hate that you can do all this 'extra' sh*t and you can't even
record line in, or a voice, or read a .txt file--though there is a
hack for it

this sync sh*t will take a lot of getting used to since, I'm used
to adding files directly... sheeid, I'll probably just use the hack to
avoid the sync altogether... though to run the hack you actually have
to prompt Zune to prepare to sync a large file, while it's doing this,
you can copy files directly to the hard drive, but of course, only
after editing the registry (software available) so you can view the
drive in the first place

long as it lasts me at least a year, I'm good

_____

shann.email/inbox.pls.