I’ve been thinking about how we could turn the Zune Social idea into something a bit more concrete for all of us Zune users out there. Zune Social in itself is a wonderful idea in that, it allows users to see what their online friends are listening to on their Zune players. The biggest problem of course is… most of us don’t have enough friends with Zunes! It’s just darn hard to meet people with this wonderful media player.

So what can do to solve this?

I say.. let’s throw a party!! (A Zune User Party (ZUP)?) A real party that is.. not a virtual party of sorts.. but a real party in real cities around the country. We could start small.. start in one city and see what the interest is like. If it catches on, we can assign people in every major city to be responsible for administrating and holding their own party of sorts..

Think of this as.. a Zune owners party.. a way for people to get together and meet other fellow Zune owners. We could certainly add a spin to this by requiring Zune owners to bring their Zune along. In fact, if you bring a Zune to the party, you’d get into the party for free. If you don’t bring a Zune, you’d have to pay a cover charge.

Another reason to bring the Zune? Share songs with other folks at the party! Sharing songs was a pretty nifty idea to begin with but the truth is.. the next Zune owner is about 2-5 miles away from my office!!! What we need is a central location for people to mingle AND share. Heck, we could have people print out their respective Zune Cards too!

So.. what do you think folks? Since I live in Los Angeles, I’m thinking about starting up a Zune party here. If you living in Los Angeles AND you own a Zune, let me know if you’d be interested in attending. Just comment here. If we get enough interest, we could be the first to throw a Zune users party.. Heck, if we get a lot of interest maybe we can get Microsoft to help us out!!!

Technorati Tags: Zune Users, Zune Party, Los Angeles

A posting over at the Windows Mobile Team Blog recently went up entitled “Zune + Windows Mobile = Better Together?” asking a simple question:

“What are some ways the Zune player and a Widows Mobile device can work better together?”

If you’re an owner of both devices, then you might want to chime in your thoughts over there. I for one USED to own a Windows Mobile device but I must say that I’ve since moved over to the Apple iPhone. Would I go back to a Windows Mobile device someday? Sure - if the user interface was enhanced to the point of being productive! However, having used a Windows Mobile device before and knowing what it’s like to work with a Windows Mobile device, I thought I’d add in some thoughts here (and see what all of you thought).

In no particular order, here are some things that could be greatly enhanced:

• Network connectivity between a Windows Mobile device and a Zune. Make Zune Sharing more than sharing between Zunes - share between all sorts of devices. Using Wi-Fi is a good first step towards this but the Zune might very well need Bluetooth down the road to achieve greater compatibility with a wide range of devices. However, choosing the protocol is only the first step. Making sharing dead simple is the most important thing. Connecting to a Windows Mobile device should be AS SIMPLE as connecting to another Zune
• Simply the software needed to manage and operate a Windows Mobile and Microsoft Zune device. For devices with software ALL originating from Microsoft, things are WAY to complex. Here’s where one could learn a thing or two from Apple. Everything goes through iTunes on the Apple platform. Whether it’s the iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV - you have one device and one interface. You could make a point in saying that iTunes is a bit bloated now but it works and it’s also powerful at the same time. In order to sync with Windows Mobile devices, you need Microsoft Sync on Vista, (or ActiveSync on XP and earlier OS’s), and Microsoft Outlook for contact and calendaring. Multimedia management is then handled by Windows Media Player. Ah but then switch on over to the Zune, and you have a completely different media management system in the form of the Zune Software. Don’t get me wrong - I love the Zune Software and would love to see it be used as the central media player on Windows from here on out.. but too many pieces of code depend on Windows Media Player these days (Think Windows Media Center). Somehow, Microsoft needs to go back to the drawing boards and rethink all of this. How can we have a drop dead simple centralized system that allows us to sync all sorts of devices?
• The Zune Social is a good first step in integrating social networking into the multimedia business but it isn’t new at all. Think Last.FM and many other companies that have been working on this. What we need is a social networking initiative that is far more compelling and engrossing. Something that goes beyond just adding friends and seeing what they like to listen to. It would be cool to see things like: what concerts are my friends attending in the next few weeks, what local clubs or gigs are they checking out? What new books or podcasts are of interest to my friends which might be interesting to me. My friend is stuck at the airport and has nothing to do but twitter all day long - wouldn’t it be cool if I could get those messages or status updates on my Zune? How can a friend simply get a hold of me through a single ID somewhere? I’ve snapped a picture on my Windows Mobile device and I want to share it to my friends - no matter where they are and on whatever device that they are using.. how can I do that. Social networking to the max but yet simple too!
• Most music listeners have playlists - it’d be nice to be able to share playlists from friend to friend and device to device. Go on Zune Social, and share your overall playlist. Seeing what someone else is listening to is nice and dandy but I’d rather just download their favorite lists and see what I might be interested in. Better yet - if I have a playlist on my Zune, how cool would it be for me to share it with my friends using a Windows Mobile device?

OK.. I’m running out of ideas but I’m sure there’s more brewing in my head. What are some of your own ideas? Post them up on the Windows Mobile Team Blog!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Zune, Windows Mobile

David Becker of Wired.com has a hilarious posting up from a few days ago entitled "Hands On: Original Zune Not Deadly After All". Yes.. Mr. Becker decided to get an original first generation Zune 30GB player for a mere $70 bucks including a free upgrade to overnight shipping and guess what? His "initial experience has been fine" thus far. Of course a fair amount of this is probably due to the following scenarios:

• He’s been using an Archos Gmini 400 media player for quite some time (and yes.. their GUI is indeed horrific)
• He’s experiencing the latest Zune Software package as opposed to the first version that came out last year
• He got the unit at $70 bucks

But hey - at least he’s having a good experience with the player now right? Compare this to some of the brief postings he’s written in the past about the Zune.. say this one or this one.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Zune, Microsoft Zune, David Becker, Wired.com

I love it! The ultimate Zune fan who goes by the handle, “mszunefan”, has managed to get the attention of folks up in Redmond. Microsoft will apparently fly him out to the Redmond campus where he’ll get a chance to talk to folks on the Zune team. While he’s up there, he’s also going to get interviewed for the Microsoft Channel 10 Website - nice. That got me thinking.. if I were to interview him.. what would I ask? Here are some questions:

1. What drove you to do this?

2. Did it hurt?

3. Did you consider getting temporary ones? Stick on’s?

4. Really…is there another one on you that we can’t see?

5. What’s next for you?

6. What will happen if Microsoft kills the Zune?

I’m sure there’s much much more. I wonder if we can get an interview of the man ourselves! I love it.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Zune fan, Redmond, Microsoft, Tattoo

On the heels of getting his first Zune tattoo on his left shoulder, our favorite Zune fanboy has decided to get yet another tattoo - this time for his right shoulder. The tattoo is of the man and the rabbit from the Zune Arts website. Again.. you have to hand it to this guy. He’s showing his love for the product.. or at least the art behind the product! It’s inspiring me to contemplate putting the Zune sticker on my car!! OK.. maybe not on my car.. but I’ll think of something. Maybe on my work computer.. or maybe.. just maybe.. on my co-worker’s door since I know he’s a Man fanatic.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Zune Fanyboy, Tattoo

Wow.. now this is love folks. Show us some love?? I think this guy takes the cake when it comes down to showing some love for the Zune. He’s got so much love for the Zune, he decided to put a Zune logo tattoo on his left shoulder. Wow.. I would never go that far but then again, I’m not into tattoos - maybe temporary ones..

[Check it out via TechEBlog]

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Since ZuneSphere is based in Los Angeles, I thought I’d give a shout out to all you Zune owners in LA. Afterall - the Zune is all about the social right? So given that notion, who here in Los Angeles owns a Zune and what are you currently listening to?

I’ll start things off - I’m out in the westside and I’m listening to Bitter:Sweet. The Zune preview party got me hooked on them!

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I’ve been thinking about this very question recently (Don’t ask me why!). So here’s the premise. You own a Zune (or you will own a Zune soon). What would you like to be known as? People who like Star Trek are either known as “Trekkers” or “Trekkies”. Well what about owners of Zunes? Would you like to be known as a “Zuner”? or perhaps a “Zunie”? or how about “Zunist” (though that sounds fanatical.. but maybe we should sound fanatical eh?)

Well I’d love to hear from you guys. What title would apply to you?

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One of the more interesting things about starting up a new blog site is seeing how many others out there are doing similar activities such as you. With a new product like the Microsoft Zune it was inevitable that many authors and webmasters out there would go out and create blog sites, fan sites, and of course forum sites dedicated to the player. As I spent some time this weekend updating the blog roll for ZuneSphere, I finally came across a number of Zune websites that are definitely worth perusing through on a regular basis.

To that end, if you are running a Zune related website, please feel free to drop me a line and we’ll be happy to add you to our blogroll. We’re all here to stay connected and share information about the upcoming player from Microsoft. Of course, we’re also here to make some money to help pay the bills… but all of you know that already.

So to sum things up - I’m feeling that Zune love from the community of websites that this player has helped to create thus far. Dayam - the player isn’t even out yet either!!

One final reminder that has nothing to do with the Zune - if you’re a Trekkie - make sure you catch the relaunch of the original Star Trek series - it’s been digitally remastered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the series. Ok.. yes I can be a geek.. what do you want?

Good night folks!

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Microsoft has denied the rumors that the software giant would pay to replace a user’s iTunes song purchases with Zune compatible tracks from the Marketplace. If you currently own a large collection of iTunes songs, you’ll need to record the songs into an audio CD and then rip them back to the Zune.

News.com interviewed Scott Erickson, Microsoft’s senior director of product management for Zune, for additional interesting information. Erickson revealed that Zune will NOT play shows recorded on a Microsoft Media Center PC. Hmm.. yet the Zune will play videos, HOWEVER, it is important to note that Microsoft will not plan to sell any videos this coming holiday season. The focus for the Zune is apparently mostly on music.

Also, Zune will be available in a variety of colors one of which is brown. Scott explained that Microsoft chose brown as a color choice for the Zune because many artists and musicians would. Each Zune will actually sport a two tone color scheme so the brown isnt’ alone. You’ll find a bit of green with it.

Finally, Microsoft plans to crank up the PR campaign by holding Zune-backed concerts and making sure college kids hear and use the Zune.

[Check it out]

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