Zune Archive

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How to Survive Valentines Day

By
Cristian Reyes
– February 12, 2012

Don’t have any ideas on what to do for Valentines day? Don’t worry, we have you covered.

Romantic Dinner via Bing Maps

Did you know that you can search restaurants in your city within the maps? Of course you do, but did you also know that you can see tweets in any certain area? Yup, you can look up what people near the restaurant or any other place are tweeting, and with Photosynth, you can also check out how the restaurant looks inside. All of these features and more can be accessed through the Bing maps apps section.

 

 

Windows Phone Valentines App

“The Valentines Day App” provides you with a list of love messages that you can send to your significant other. Just make sure the grammar is correct! Who knows, you might be able to woo the person you have been crushing on with one of these messages. Whats that, already in a relationship? Well, maybe you can reinforce that love for one another.

 

 

 

Skype

What if you can’t spend valentines with your true love? Well, love has no bounds, and with Skype you have no excuse to not see your spouse. Video chatting is the future and if you have not tried it out yet, now is your chance to try it out. All you will need is a camera and mic! Most webcams come with an inbuilt mic, and many laptops nowadays have mics and cameras as well. Download Skype here and have a fun time! Who knows, you might do this more often.

 

 

 

 

Music+Video

What’s Valentines without any romantic music and movies? If you haven’t noticed by now there is a couple of Valentines playlists in the Zune marketplace, so go put that Zune Music Pass to good use. Discover some good music like Adele, Drake, and Wakey!Wakey!. I had no idea what The Vow was, but after constantly being bombarded with messages on Facebook about it I went to check it out. It’s a love story and…oh just check it out here. It comes out on Valentines day (wow, a shocker!). Also, if you’re looking for another good movie to watch, I recommend 500 Days of Summer because you won’t regret it. Get it on the Zune Marketplace.

 

 

 

Xbox

If you have a special someone who enjoys gaming with you, bravo! Marry that person now! But, if you’re not as lucky, and you don’t have anyone to share Valentines with, well, worry not. The Mass Effect 3 demo will be out that day. This could also ruin Valentines for some non-gamer partners because their Valentine has been waiting for this demo for months. So now you know why John did not sweep you off your feet and what he is doing at the moment.

 

 

 

 

Have a great Valentine’s Day, whether or not you have that someone special! Let us know if you have any other ideas for Valentine’s Day by writing us a comment below.


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Microsoft removes support page that stated they would no longer produce Zune players

By
Michael Collado
– October 4, 2011

This is Zune. Never say die.

After Zunited broke the news that Microsoft had added a support page stating explicitly “We recently announced… we will no longer be producing Zune players,” the company has pulled that webpage off the Zune website. It’s the same thing Microsoft did yesterday once website goers noticed any and all Zune hardware products had been removed from the website: Microsoft re-added the Zune HD to its product lineup, citing it as a mistake.

The ZuneSupport Twitter account tweeted the following to someone who asked about the support page:

That site [the support page] was added to the Zune website in error. I apologize for any confusion that caused.

The support page link now redirects to a “page not found” sign.

Do you believe the oversight of having hardware in its lineup and including the support page was just that, a mistake? Or is the end truly nigh?

via WPCentral

15

Microsoft: ‘We will no longer be producing Zune players’

By
Michael Collado
– October 3, 2011

The official end of the Zune player is here, well more like two years ago when the company first introduced the Zune HD. We already posted this on our update of the article for the revamped Zune website, but this definitely deserves its own post.

In a support page on the Zune website, Microsoft had this to say:

We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices.

Thanks to Rob in the comments!

4

Microsoft removes hardware products from Zune website [update]

By
Michael Collado
– October 3, 2011

Microsoft updated the official Zune website today to reflect the new Zune Music Pass, which was announced late last week. The Zune Music Pass will now be $10 a month and include music videos but has dropped the 10 MP3s to keep. The Pass will also find its way to Canada.

But with the update to the Zune.net website came another drop: any mention of any Zune hardware. Under the “products” menu, the site only lists the Zune software, the new Zune Music Pass, and Zune being available on both Windows Phone and Xbox LIVE. It has removed entries for hard drive-based Zunes and the Zune HD.

Recently, the Zune HD Apps Beta Test program shut down, announced via an email forwarded to all users who were in the program. There has yet to be an official announcement about the seemingly discontinuation of hardware products from the Zune lineup, but this is certainly a bold statement.

UPDATE: The Zune HD has been brought back to the Zune website, but as Rob in the comments writes, on a Zune support page, Microsoft says the Windows Phone will be the focus going forward.

We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices.

via Marques Lyons

3

Zune HD team tells apps beta testers that program is closing, directs users to Windows Phone

By
Michael Collado
– September 30, 2011

Get ready for more “Zune is dead” headlines (never mind that Microsoft recently made changes to the Zune Pass — ahem, Zune Music Pass). More sensibly, the blogosphere might cry out that the Zune HD itself is dead.

Microsoft sent out a mass email to all of the users in its Zune HD Apps Beta Test Program late Friday to announce that the program is indeed closing down, basically effective immediately. The company acknowledged that many apps were created with mass appeal but they will no longer need to continue with it. Recently, the founder of the Beta Program, Dave McLauchlan, left the company to begin working on his startup company Buddy. Whether Microsoft has closed the program because of McLauchlan’s departure or because they have decided to not create any more Zune HD applications is not clear.

In the email, however, Microsoft states the “push to publish a rich selection of apps for Zune HD [is] complete” and mentions they “hope [users will] consider engaging with Windows Phone.”

The email is available in its entirety below, thanks to our source who wishes to remain anonymous:

Back in February, we initiated a new program to enable the Zune HD community to participate in the final development of applications and games for Zune HD. This program, the “Zune HD Apps/Games Beta Test Program” has been enormously successful, due to the contributions of participants such as yourself. With your help, we’ve managed to quickly publish a wide range of high quality applications for Zune HD, applications which have been very well received by the broader community.

With this push to publish a rich selection of apps for Zune HD complete, the beta test program has served its purpose and is now closed. Given your strong enthusiasm for the Zune HD product and your proven track record as an active participant in the beta program, we hope you’ll also consider engaging with Windows Phone.

On behalf of the entire team, thank you for your efforts over the past 6 months. We couldn’t have published the quality of apps and games that we did without your help.

Best wishes,

Zune HD Team

6

Microsoft announces $10/month Zune Pass: includes music videos, drops 10 MP3s to keep

By
Michael Collado
– September 29, 2011

Microsoft today announced that its Zune Pass will be expanding to Canada, along with a couple of changes to the service.

Effective on October 3rd, 2011, the Zune Pass will be $10 a month and will drop the 10 MP3s to keep model it’s been harboring for quite some time now. Old subscribers will be grandfathered into the $15/month + keep 10 pass if they wish. New subscribers will not have that choice.

However, as long awaited, the new Zune Pass will now include unlimited streaming of music videos in the Zune Marketplace, and users will be able to stream it on their Xbox 360s “later this fall” in both the United States and Canada. One Zune Pass can be used on up to four devices (one PC not included, so more like three other devices).

This marks the third iteration of the Zune Pass since its inception, which first started out as $15/month for just unlimited music streaming. It’s also the cheapest the model has ever been.

Source: ZuneInsider
Via: WMPowerUser 

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Happy 2nd Birthday Zune HD!

By
Austin Madgwick
– September 15, 2011

It seems that is was just yesterday, when we all were jumping around internet forums, with joy and glee, the Zune HD had just been released. Now 2 years have passed and it comes to that time again where we look back to when we had no touchscreen Zune, no PGR, and we did not have our pretty OLED screens. Time has passed, we have gotten updates, Smart DJ and apps since then. With the 2 year mark hit, I would also like to personally thank Dave McLauchlan (@DaveMacMS on Twitter) for being here with the help and support he has provided the community with. So now, let’s all remember and continue to enjoy what Zune has become and hope there is at least a new Zunited podcast sometime soon ;)

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What does Dave McLauchlan’s departure mean for the future of Zune HD apps?

By
Michael Collado
– September 12, 2011

News broke late Tuesday that Microsoft’s Zune HD Senior Business Development Manager, Dave McLauchlan, would be leaving the company — which he did, this past Friday, to begin on a new startup called Buddy.

McLauchlan, most commonly known online as DaveMac or DaveMacMS, was an integral part of the Zune’s online voice (that is to say the company’s) and fostered countering the “Zune is dead” headlines by making a post on Anything But iPod’s forum. And while McLauchlan may have worked with hardware, thus surely letting the public question the future of Zune HD models, the uncertainty of Zune HD applications is still a hot topic.

Not to mention, McLauchlan and others have stated that the Zune hardware has become Windows Phones — and that’s likely where they’ll stay.

Regardless, McLauchlan has been key in the growth of applications for Zune HD. He created a beta testing program for future Zune HD apps. (As an aside: his new startup, Buddy, runs with the tagline “Build mobile apps cheaper, faster & easier” and to get into a business, you should know the business, right?) The program allowed those who signed up and were approved to try out applications before release, like any other beta testing program. But beta testing is quiet as of late.

“Beta testing has been completely lacking action,” one beta tester said quite bluntly to Zunited. When asked to clarify the timeline since beta testing has simmered down, the beta tester said, “Since the last app release.” For those that do not remember, Zune last released new applications (and updates to old ones) on August 2nd.

That’s not to say that testing of applications should be an ongoing active practice, but our source seemed to indicate that the lull was unusual if not just out of the ordinary even if there had been a release recently. Surely, McLauchlan’s departure could instead mean the death of beta testing, not the death of apps entirely, but could they spell both?

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know for sure without hearing it out of the horse’s mouth. And anything less is just speculation. The Zune HD turns two years old this week and its roster of apps is underwhelming in comparison to its main competitor. Does the public expect more applications when Microsoft, McLauchlan included, has stated and reiterated that the Zune hardware has shifted focus to Windows Phones? And in that case, the question really is: should they?

That’s neither here nor there. Consumers will always expect more.

But when it comes to applications made specifically for the Zune HD, I’d stay cautiously optimistic at best and resigned at worst.

Image credit: Gear Live

1

Dave McLauchlan leaves Microsoft

By
Michael Collado
– September 6, 2011

Dave McLauchlan, known on the Internet as DaveMacMS, has relieved himself of his duties at Microsoft. McLauchlan is the Senior Business Development Manager for Microsoft’s Zune HD — or he will be until Friday, September 9th, McLauchlan’s last day with the company. He tweeted out the news late Tuesday.

McLauchlan has always been an active member of the online Zune community; he was mostly an active user over at the Anything But iPod forums where he posted many facts (then turned news items) and squashed many rumors — the latest of which was putting a rest to the Zune is dead headlines, which didn’t work much thereafter.

McLauchlan will step down this Friday and pursue a startup of his own called Buddy. We wish him the best.

13

Zune services expand in North America, Europe, Asia

By
Josh Martin
– August 23, 2011

Microsoft has finally updated their available services in a BIG way today as they announced the new version of the Zune software 4.8 in preparation for Mango. Zune HD player is still only available in Canada and the United States but the Zune Marketplace made a large leap forward into more markets across the globe.

In addition to that news, there have been new features added or tweaked in Zune 4.8 which Matt Akers posted on the Windows Phone blog Tuesday:

  • 48-hour movie rentals
  • Parental Controls now support M-rated (Mature) content
  • Option to hide purchase confirmation dialog for faster app checkout
  • See what apps are compatible with the Windows Phone you own

In addition to the features, a few minor tweaks to the interface (larger margins), as well as the “Zune Pass” being renamed to the “Zune Music Pass.” Could this be our hint towards a Zune Movie Pass later on?

So while the latter news may eclipse the former for non-US residents, I’m sure everyone is glad to see an update to the Zune software. So go ahead, enjoy!

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