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Windows Zune software download | |
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| Time: 02:02 EST/07:02 GMT | News Source: *Linked Within Post* | Posted By: Kenneth van Surksum | ||
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The Zune Software is currently up on Zune.net right now. You can find the software here. Charlie at Zunecorps writes:I want to warn everyone before they download that you will likely recieve several error screens as spend a long time checking for updates. Don’t worry, it’s definately worth it! Note: Zune-online.com reports that the Zune software can't be installed on 64 bit Windows XP. | ||
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| #1 By 53318 (71.56.126.152) at 11/14/2006 4:12:03 AM |
| No Vista Support yet? What were they thinking? |
| #2 By 2459 (69.22.124.202) at 11/14/2006 9:32:14 AM |
| Vista won't be generaly available until January. It shouldn't take them too long to release an update that supports it. |
| #3 By 21203 (67.164.108.240) at 11/14/2006 9:32:33 AM |
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They were thinking: "Vista isn't for sale yet."
If you're a MSDN customer, you have a license to develop for the product, not to use the product in a production/live/real/normal environment. Yes, you can use it, but it doesn't mean MS should condone and ship a Vista client for that OS yet. They have a safe amount of time to deploy a Zune Vista client -- at least until Nov 30 if they even want to support early OEM/Business deployments. |
| #4 By 23275 (68.17.42.38) at 11/14/2006 1:56:13 PM |
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I reason Vista compliant versions are already completed and what one is seeing is simply related to legal and practical issues - owing to Vista not being in the market just yet.
BTW, the installer is quite good - reading from one's Windows Live ID and or Xbox account immediately. The setup process as well as purchase/subscription transation process is very smooth and quick. The interface is excellent - very consistent with Windows Media Player 11 [like] controls and user procedures. Finding what one likes is easy and one may make use of the content on a local machine very easily - form an MCE system connected to an Xbox 360 - Zune or no Zune, there is a lot of value here. With a Zune, and anticpating IPTV/Movies on the 22nd, the digital lifestyle MS and Co. keep speaking to is becoming not just a content reality - but very appliance like and super easy to use. Content audio quality is very good and the Zune console is very light on a pretty old test system [Circa 2001 - 3.06 P4 with 1 GB RAM and 1.7 TB drive space as a media content aggregator]. |
| #5 By 17605 (24.18.169.204) at 11/14/2006 3:00:43 PM |
| I downloaded and installed the software without issue. As a Jazz fan I've got to say I'm pretty dissapointed that there isn't even a Genre category called Jazz. I'm stuck somewhere in the 89,000 hours of MORE category. Guess I'll have to check back in 6 months or wait for them to support my URGE subscription which I'm totally pleased with. |
| #6 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 11/14/2006 5:23:46 PM |
| Whoa... if a 3.06 P4/1 GB RAM/1.7 TB drive space qualifies as old... I hate to see what you'd think of my system! :) |
| #7 By 23275 (68.17.42.38) at 11/14/2006 7:36:33 PM |
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#6, LOL - this one, like all, was hand built and quite special "visually"
The others we have, issue to our folks and certainly sell, are substantially more powerful - though they do ship with less hard drive space in all but Media cases. Back to Zune.... all I have to say is, "WOW!" - yeah, I bought one today - a brown/greenish-glint one, too. It's an amazing device - very fast - extremely easy to use and very nicely manufactured. Beginning with the packaging... very slick - it all opens up in small, intelligent sections that keep what is normally a messy process, very neat and tidy. That experience will compete very well with any manufacturer on its own and is so slick, it does merit mention - as any new product experience has at least on stop on along a package path and each contributes to customer satisfaction. Best Buy sales was okay - but the Hitler Youth at the Gate - despite a clear plastic bag and a really huge receipt, barked at my wife, "Le me see your RECEIPT" - which of course was dutifully produced without further incident - adding to the answers to any series of how do you tell an iPod fan question - clearly the lady at the gate at Best Buy. Set up and connecting is very smart - the device was detected immediately and it then performed a firmware update that lasted less than 3 minutes. Sync is just as easy - I just clicked and dragged and clicked sync - which is done incrementally. Manging content was also just as easy - with device resident content being displayed by category and just as easily manged - click, highlight, remove add, etc... Using the device is a dream the interface and controls are very easy and very fast with some nice glowing touches. "Up" is always up - for example, if one views a video in landscape mode, the volume increase is oriented "up" at the top edge of the control circle - same is true in portrait mode - it just makes sense. I also liked the TV-Out mode - available after the automatic firmware update - this was so cool. I walked over to a large plasma display and connected the included USB to device cable and switched to TV Out - content from the Zune was immediately available on the TV, which has side mounted USB ports - I thought that was cool and proof of which asshats had not actually touched the device when they reviewed it [not one of them mentioned this capability]. Hooking to an Xbox 360 is even easier - stuck in the USB and there it and its content were - all Zuned up and ready to go. In my case, I used my Xbox gamer tag and existing Windows Live ID that is associated with my account to manage my Zune Pass and authorized access to content. It was all very easy and so much more intuitive than any other device we've used so far. |
| #8 By 23275 (68.17.42.38) at 11/14/2006 7:36:57 PM |
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One other thing... "Search" inside Zune's software is bad to the bone - just like Vista and WIN Desktop Search 3.x - it's pervasive and as one enters characters, content and content art simply show up - hitting the back button, as in IE simply moves back - and it caches this and the content library on the host machine and device - so it becomes much faster, really quickly.
Aside from that there is how the Zune feels! "Very Different" unlike an iPod, or Zen, it has a visual and tactile texture. It's hard to explain, but it feels like it will last, and also be much less likely to slip from one's hand, or pocket - there is just enough texture to hold the device steady wherever it is. Really small touches are surprising... the ear bud sponges for example, they have a slight film on them ***Hint here... roll them in...*** once in place, they STAY in place and are easily shaped as one likes. Small touches like that are all over the Zune - small glowing progress and or volume meters... down to how added FM Stations auto-sort in an instant and will not duplicate [should a user be too quick on the action button] and onto themes that match the device's color scheme - very thoughtful stuff! My initial impression? "I am very impressed" and best of all, the sound - far better than a sample Zen, which is rated above the iPod for sound quality. Those that said Apple was concerned were right - they should be - on the Windows platform, the Zune makes a lot of sense. |
| #9 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 11/14/2006 11:13:38 PM |
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The TV-out sounds like an interesting feature, but via USB? How many TVs have USB inputs? Was there some sort of adapter or something? What was the video quality like?
As for me... it sounds interesting and all (I can see trading photos being very useful, moreso than music?), but I think I'd prefer to wait until they introduce a flash-based model. I'd also like to see decent quality line-in recording. And I may be alone on this one... but I wish they had both FM and AM available via the tuner (is there any reason not to? Would it require an antenna?). Plus, I want to be able to play music I bought from other Windows Media format-based online music stores. |
| #10 By 23275 (68.17.42.38) at 11/15/2006 3:08:30 AM |
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#9, Actually, a great many have USB ports on them these days - nearly any with an "effective resolution" [the actual x over y pix res = to 1920 x 1080 or greater]. The sets we have have two USB ports adjacent to the side, or quick access input ports for AV, etc... I needed no special adapter at all. The TV just saw the Zune and was able to read its contents like it would a camera/HDV Corder. The Zune does have an AV home kit that it sells, but in this case, I did not need that. That revealed to me that Zune is perhaps DLNIe compliant... something I had not noted in any review. If true, that would be very, very cool.
I agreee - I am an old radio fan - especially of AM, and oddly, the CW, or continuous wave has kind of a nice sound to me. Something about a filtered carrier just seems wrong... AM has a very long wave length [vice FM] - it would require a BALUN or balanced, unbalanced resistor to properly trim the AM antenna to match 1/2 freq wave length over 300,000 km/sec. Such a winding [the only practical way one might do this], would not be as affective and the housing would shield the signal - not to mention the space - take a look at a car antenna - many have a wire that winds around the FM antenna - that wire adds the needed length to facilitate the longer wave length of an AM signal. The image quality was great - but of course depends upon the native res of the image and the DSP in the set - if both are great, the image is great. Achieving HD quality is very easy - just do the math on the images and the set - 1366 x 768 would be most easily achieved and most common across a wide range of HDTV sets - but be mindful, most HDTV's claim HD, but feature limitations - especially amongst lower cost Plasma displays.... - stay away from them. As above, be selective and insist on a true HD effective resolution - good manufacturers are clear about this [Hitachi, Samsung] - bad ones are less so [Vizio comes to mind]. line-in recording makes less sense when one can as easily drag and drop a recording produced in a much more capable manner - e.g., processed on a PC and simply added to the Zune - but would be cool - maybe wireless USB? hmmmm... You have a great point about other protected content from other sources - Plays4Sure, etc... Urge, MSN Music, etc... - but let's face it, despite all the effort and money, few people used more than one service at a time [I know, wide open to anyone here using at least two, but really, how many is that?]. As for re-buying that old content... well... yeah, but at 14 bucks/month for any/all content on Zune - I just amortized that over time and it made sense to finally have a totally seamless device/software experience that is both superior to an ipod [as I see it], and well, not an ipod... I love koolaid [truly - drink it about each day], I just don't like Apple flavored koolaid. And MS koolaid...? not really there at all - I mean, all Windows and MS tools are to most PC enthusiasts is a great means to build up rigs and networks that are made up of what we want and need - a huge mix that is so very unique - so the Zune is as much about being just one more thing we might add to that. Apple is just way too closed for me and I just don't want to spend money that way. |
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