Recently in Zune Category

"I purchased about 300 songs from iTunes. I just got a new Zune MP3 Player and I can't figure out how to get my iTunes songs on my Zune. I really don't want to have to buy all these songs again."

Unless you purchased songs from iTunes very recently as iTunes Plus files, your iTunes music purchases are locked down to only work with iTunes, an iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV. There are basically two ways to solve your problem - you can burn audio CDs of all your iTunes purchases and re-rip them using the Zune software, or you can get some help from software that simulates CD burning. Burning CDs can take an extremely long time, while using software works very quickly.

The first step in converting your files is to download SoundTaxi and install it.

Once the software is installed, you simply need to select which files you want to convert, choose a Zune compatible audio format like MP3 or WMA, and wait a few minutes for the software to make all the files playable on your Zune.

After conversion is complete, open your Zune software and import the converted tracks into your Zune music library.

With the release of the Zune 2.5 desktop software, I'm officially declaring Windows Media Player dead. It's not, of course, you still need WMP to playback any of the PlaysForSure DRM stuff you've purchased in the past, like Amazon Unbox videos, but Windows Media Player might as well be dead because Microsoft has created something so much better with the Zune app. You can benefit without ever buying a Zune device or purchasing a single track from the Zune Marketplace. Starting with existing support for h.264 content that WMP only plays after installing additional codecs, Zune software only got better in the current release.

The Zune UI team has succeeded where both Windows Media Player and iTunes have failed, eliminating the confusing folder > sub-folder hierarchy that's traditionally defined the desktop media player. The experience of browsing for music in the Zune software makes finding music in a large library relatively easy. Zune Marketplace integration is useful (for finding albums you may not own) without being invasive. The reason I consider this the real breakthrough release for the Zune software is because it adds back in some features that any media player needs to be useful. Key new features include advanced tag editing for correcting metadata on your tracks, a seemingly improved ability to identify tracks in compilation albums, and smart playlisting (this last feature still needs to re-add mood-based playlists, but most people won't care). Some other new features are a bit more obvious - like integration with Live Messenger. If you have both apps open you can post recently listened to songs to your Messenger status.

Another important addition is the new video store is working toward achieving parity with iTunes. Zune did manage to score some NBC programs that aren't available from iTunes, but I really see the Zune Marketplace video selection as the eventual replacement for (or merger with) the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. The Zune store has the key advantage of delivering videos that work on your PC, on a Zune and on the Xbox (streamed from the Zune software), while Xbox videos are trapped in your Xbox. I'm still more interested in what's available from Amazon Unbox because I don't watch much video on any portable device, but it's nice to see another option.

If you do own a Zune device, another key reason to give the new Zune software a spin is that "The Social" Microsoft has marketed for ages finally makes sense. You can sample the listening tastes of your friends and get dynamically updated playlists based on what your friends are listening to. For me this is a highly interesting way to both discover new music and discover that my friends have lousy taste in music (sorry Andru, but Jordin Sparks?). As someone who already belongs to too many "social networks" I like the Zune experience because I can sample music from people with opinions I tend to trust without needing to go to a site and continuously interact with it. I'd like this feature to go farther so that I can see how many of my friends are all liking the same songs, but it's off to a good start.

There's a solid round-tripping feature for podcast listening in their too. If you start listening to a podcast on your computer and need to hit the road, you can pick up where you left off on the Zune - a feature I haven't seen work on any other device.

With those last two features, I'm not trying to get you to throw out your iPod (or whatever you currently use), just pointing out some key advantages of the Zune experience. There are still things I don't like. Microsoft really should make Amazon Unbox work with the Zune at a minimum. There's no technical reason it can't work, it's intentionally broken. The other inexcusable oversight is Audible support. If Zune had a comparable alternative, I'd forgive them, but they don't and there's really no better library of downloadable audiobooks.

Download the Zune Software

I logged into my Audible account for the first time in ages and downloaded some things I'd been meaning to listen to. When I went to sync them with my Zune, my efforts came to a screeching hault. Apparently the Zune team forgot that people care about audio books. On some level this is no surprise, because they also forgot that people care about podcasts, but you would think the longest running downloadable audio store on the Internet (Audible) would have been given a bit more consideration. There is a workaround for this, which I documented with previous players lacking Audible support.

My Zune has been my primary player for several months, because I like the Zune Pass. I'm officially back in two portable player mode again, because my iPod now has my Audible content and my Zune has my Zune Pass subscription content. I'm seriously considering dumping the Zune and going back to the rip-a-CD method of song imports. The Zune team will likely tell me I'm not the target demographic for their player, which is stupid, because I'm in the demographic that spends money on downloadable content.

Bebe asks, "Is it possible to transfer music from an iPod to a Zune?"

There's no direct way to copy files from an iPod to a Zune. Files purchased from iTunes music store will not play on a Zune, just as files purchased from Zune Marketplace won't play on an iPod. There are some tools you can use to get songs from your iPod to your Zune and get them all to play, but you have to be prepared to spend a little money or a whole bunch of time.

One of several things that didn't come out well in my Zune photos was the experience of plugging it into Windows XP and Windows Vista RC1 boxes with the USB cable. I tried connecting the Zune to my laptop with XP installed and I tried connecting it to a box running Vista RC1. On my laptop, the standard "Windows has found a new device" dialog popped up and asked me to install drivers. In all fairness, I'm running Windows Media Player 11 beta 2 on my laptop, so maybe Zune isn't plugged into the beta code just yet, but I thought the whole push from Microsoft to make MTP the standard for portable devices was to make sure the media player experience was just as seamless as the digital camera experience is. My iRiver Clix works great with WMP11 Beta 2, no extra drivers required.

At the very least, where's the mass storage class device information to make the Zune just as functional as my CompactFlash cards, my Creative devices, my old Rio Karma, and the dozens of other devices I cast aside over the years? Even Sony didn't do something so stupid as to make it impossible to mount a MemoryStick through the PSP and they are known for customer lock-in. iPods function as mass storage class devices requiring no additional drivers to mount when connected to either Windows or Mac OS X. What's Microsoft's excuse here? I thought the Microsoft mantra was always customer choice?

The idea that I need to load drivers from a CD on every potential computer I might want to connect with is stupid. Even Apple realized having Mac and Windows versions of their iPods wasn't cost effective and went to a universal solution, which only hurt small outfits like MediaFour who provided a workaround. Every digital camera on the planet is automatically recognized in Windows XP (and every camera in my house is recognized by my Vista box). All of the media players I own are automatically recognized by both Windows Media Player and my system as a hard drive. So I ask you Microsoft Zune team - why do you hate your customers?

I got face time with a Zune this weekend and decided to look at how the form factor compares to the 80GB iPod I picked up a few days ago. The Zune weighs considerably less than the iPod, although I didn't have a scale on hand to get exact comparison. It felt like the Zune was more comparable to my Cingular 2125 phone, while the iPod weighs quite a bit more.

Screen size on the Zune is a slightly larger 3-inches, but you don't get a real sense for how much difference that makes till you see it next to the iPod screen.

Zune comes in just barely longer than the iPod.

iPod is slightly thinner than Zune, which makes the weight difference even more surprising.

Here's another variation on pairing the two devices.

Album art looks great on the Zune

Navigation through albums is highly intuitive, although you wouldn't know it from this photo.