From A Loyal Supporter From Day One - When Can We Expect A Statement?

Well, that means they have less than a week to put out a Zune software update.

I dunno about you, but I've worked in software development for decades, and very little gets done right before or after Christmas, so I'm not holding my breath :-)  But you're absolutely right, that there's going to be hell to pay on Christmas morning if they don't at least get a decent bug-fix version out, so that people stop having so many problems with tags, album art, etc, etc.

I personally can wait a little while (say, until Jan or maybe Feb at the latest) for the features that I hope they're busy adding (smart/auto playlists, better tagging support, better batching support, better searching support).  But the bugs need to be fixed ASAP. 

I sure hope we see at least "Paste Album Art", "Update Album Art (from the web)", the ability to delete songs from the 'quick list' in the player, the ability to add photo folders to the 'root' level of the Zune menu (i.e. get rid of the unnecessary need to drill down an extra level for everything), and some better scrolling performance in the Zune software by sometime in January.  And if we don't have smart/auto play-lists, the ability to organize videos into folders, and the ability to tag/sort/etc photos and videos (categorize and organize) by February, things will be hurting. 

Nobody wants to wait six months or a year for this stuff.

 

 ledexplosion wrote:

You clearly work for microsoft due to your biased opinions and your clear rage to people that are complaining about the crappy software.  How bout you get off of the forums and start doing something about it?  The only reason you arent complaining like rest of us is because you have a nice working apple i-Pod to play your music while the zune team stares in the mirror and smiles. 

Nah, he doesn't work for Microsoft.  Just someone with a lot of time on their hands.  Believe me, I share your frustration with the new software.  (and I'm only TESTING it with my test Zune 30, my main Zune 30 has been downgraded back to the 1.x firmware/software).  But I think that it is a bit unfair to slam the Zune team (especially the frontline guys like Cesar) for it just yet...or at least to the point where you think that they are proud of themselves.

Why?  Well, it is pretty clear to me that they had a hard-and-fast deadline to meet (probably set by the suits or marketing) and didn't have sufficient time to implement the vision they had.  Having this upgraded be a forced upgrade was a bad decision (but probably necessary one).  It's been a little over a month since the update.  If they can release another update within the next week or so that addresses the heavy hitting issues, then the worst will be over.  If they wait MONTHS to release a software update, well, then I think that it won't matter because the damage done will be irreversible. 
If you think the outcry is bad now... wait... wait until Christmas morning when a lot of those 2nd gen Zune devices get unwrapped and used for the first time.  It's not going to be pretty.

Stoic-

I love how you can sit here and defend what is known to probably be the worst update and software available.  I could put $ down that 3rd party developers of lesser knowns MP3 players could and do make better software than microsoft has. 

In this instance its quite obvious that MS was determined to get the "flashy" look with their software, rather than tweak the nuts and bolts.  We all know that MS is more technical than creative...I guess not this time.  To defend such an inferior product is a waste of your time.  I dont even have a zune yet, but was planning on getting one (NOT ANYMORE).  I only can base my judgements off of the software.  And with MP3 players, you can certainly judge one since they are soley run off of the software that it comes with.  How can you sit there and say these people have no right to complain about a horrible product they wasted, in some cases, $300 of there hard earned pay on?  They can't even enjoy something they were so excited to get.  Yet you have some balls to come on there and tell people that "this is a business."  No *** dumby.  They dont even have  technical support you can email, and there operators are just as naive to the situation as you are.  Microsoft's only solution to everyones problem is to make a public forum so that after endless hours of screwing around with the software WE can tell EVERYONE ELSE our "expert" opinions on how to get around the hurdles instead of jumping over them. 

You clearly work for microsoft due to your biased opinions and your clear rage to people that are complaining about the crappy software.  How bout you get off of the forums and start doing something about it?  The only reason you arent complaining like rest of us is because you have a nice working apple i-Pod to play your music while the zune team stares in the mirror and smiles. 

I was over in the Devices froum and found this post:

http://forums.zune.net/17/65183/ShowPost.aspx#65004

 

While it is funny, I suppose we're asking the wrong people (find someone in marketing try to get a straight answer). I don't know if its ignorance, missing the post about a new firmware alluded to in a post originally intended for another website(same link as whats posted in the quote). Again, I would consider the announcement of a firmware release (or even the fact that the codecs on the Zune30 are improved) something that should be in the News forum ON THIS SITE, just so we don't run into problems of information dissemination like this. Whats the point of these forums if I have to go elsewhere for the latest Zune info?

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Zune MVP
Contributor, http://www.insidethecircle.net

 MrZoglog wrote:

wow, still can't believe we're waiting even for a statement or indication that things are being worked on.

I guess it doesn't surprise me you don't read anything on the forums unless it has something negative to say about the Zune Software/Hardware/Team so here I'll help you out

 Cesarisok wrote:

I also posted this on 'insider:

Good news for Zune 30 users! Following the Nov 13 firmware upgrade, a lot of people are noting an improvement in battery life.  To achieve this, we improved the Zune 30 codecs so they are more power-efficient, hence the better battery life.

That said, we have seen some reports of a separate battery issue related to the upgrade. This problem occurs when users suspend their Zune hard drives by holding down the play/pause button – in some cases the battery continues to drain. It seems to be affecting only a small percentage of Zune users at this point, but we’re working on including it in our December update (similar to last year) – stay tuned for details and specifics.

I even COLORED it for you and here's the thread it's in Ignorance is Bliss when you refuse to read anything that isn't negative about the Zune

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Hold your breath someone is about to tell the greatest lie EVER!

wow, still can't believe we're waiting even for a statement or indication that things are being worked on.

Features (or lack thereof aside) the software itself is a joke, besides the installation issues that MULTIPLE users are having (despite what another poster said) the software is bogged down, slow, crashes frequently and mostly useless.
 It takes HOURS to get pocasts and videos synced and usually crashes before it's done. it copies the same things over and over again to the zune I've got multiples of the same damn song _up to 6 copies in one case_ it also does this with videos. Then in other cases it will say a song or album is synced but then when I look it isn't on the Zune.
Don't even want to get started on the jumble it made of my tags, and what sucks is the "workarounds" won't work for those of us who never had  the old software.
If I could get music to it through explorer or some other option I would be happy, but this software and the fact that it's our ONLY option really bothers me.

 MrZoglog wrote:

 IWANNAGOLF wrote:

you have discovered stoic... negative troll has been lurking here since v2 release. just bashes people for fun. ignore him. don't feed the troll.

Yeah, I've run into him in another thread.
Almost seems like he works for the Zune group... "unofficially" of course

umm I read through all 16 pages of this thread and I have to agree with these 2 above stoic...hehehe.  I found it funny how some people get mad that  an early adopter like myself would be a little frustrated that for one my media is butchered and in need of weeks of reorganizing using a separate program (mp3tag).  I was unaware this would happened with something as simple as an "upgrade" and that now all the things I have grown to love about my Zune and the first software are turned upside down without warning. If the product was first gen and the software a first release then all the justifying by saying it is early give them time and they can add features down the road would make sense. but there are many of us that had been patiently waiting for a long time and had just finally gotten a glimpse of what we had waited so long for only to have it stolen away. Now we find ourselves back at square one playing the waiting game and it seems it will follow the same time frame as the last year with version one that is what is so depressing to me at the moment. I truly don't know if i want to go through it again, should i really be expected to wait a year and a half after purchase to have a solid functional product that i can trust in. 

p.s. I love the hardware but it is only as functional as the software to manage it. I think if the Zune could sync with WMP 11 it would of been a home run.

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And sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky... A human being that was given to fly! E.VEDDER

 AxeMeTender wrote:

There's a lot of chest thumping going on!  It must have been pretty sweet using the old software...  I read nothing but complaints and negative reviews about THAT version, too, though, so I wonder if anyone can be pleased by anything at all?  

Well... those complaining about the new software are not the same that were complaining about old, so I don't know what that proves beyond the fact that personal tastes vary.  And we already knew that.  And you certainly don't work towards pleasing MORE people by REMOVING functionality.  The thing about the old software is that for those who were so inclined, it could be used as an all-in-one tool...  manage your library, manage your device.  As much as I like the old software, I only used it to BROWSE my library and manage my device.  I still used a dedicated ID3 tag editor (MP3Tag) to get all of the tags set properly.

 AxeMeTender wrote:

I just bought my Z30 for $99 and I'm really happy with it so far.  Once I changed the background of the v2 software to be rid of the hideous pink (that designer should be canned!) and got used to the twist interface I was pretty happy with how things worked.   I foolishly let it retag all of my MP3s but things didn't get botched up too badly there (a few audiobooks got butchered, but I pieced them backtogether :) ).  Now that I (think I) know how things are working it seems pretty smooth.   I manually control all the content except for podcasts and that works for me because I'm not a pass subscriber, basically I have one synch group per artist or album and that's just fine.

Cool.  Sounds like a pleasant introduction to the world of Zune ownership.  I bought my 2nd 30 on Black Friday for $99.... an awesome device at an awesome price.

 AxeMeTender wrote:

Coming from a 4G IPod I'm a happy happy camper.  The firmware on the device is awsome... video podcasts are really cool, and the twist interface makes navigation really nice.  I do concur with the original poster that it would be nice if video could be categorized even a little, but I don't have any yet, so that particular woe doesn't affect me. I do wish for smart playlists, better audiobook support, ability to add/remove standard menu items (ie genre category under music, and "social") and for the damn thing to have a clock! Also the standard complaints about calendar, contacts and text reading... but maybe next year!!

Video organization is where the old software stood out.  Not only could you organize videos by genre and browse by genre... not just SORT by genre, but thumbnail images of the video were cached making the UI very responsive even when there are 100's of video files to display.

Since you are/were an iPod owner and are currently happy with your Zune experience, then it means that Microsoft appears to be striking the right chord to expand the Zune's appeal.  I hope that they don't abandon us techie-types in the process.

The free firmware upgrade, along with the low price (Zune 30 for $79.99) were the two decisions for me to jump onto the Zune Train. I agree with your assessment of the software, it is awesome, for me (and a few others) it just has some quirks. Songs repeatedly sync, some files that should sync don't, I'm feeling a little raw that I've had to troubleshoot the issue myself (with the help of this user comunity). Then again it's given me something to do with my free time and maybe thats what The Social is about. Phone tech support has definitely been helpful, but the Z men haven't said anything to me about my issue (maybe that's my problem). I was wondering where the Zune team was for a while, but I've started seeing more 'Z' posts, so I see they're around. I was talking to my parents this afternoon, and my mom is in love with her Zune (claiming she has a new love in her life with my dad in the car right next to her), she thinks its the greatest thing, takes it everywhere, and she hasn't even discovered NPR podcasts yet. Thats a great tribute, to the power of a strong product with great design. I'll sing the praises of the software, but I've had to fight to get to where I am, with the software, and that isn't fair.

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Zune MVP
Contributor, http://www.insidethecircle.net

I have had to just put videos in their own folders at least they are moderately organized this is one feature I would actually like to see in the software itself though

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Hold your breath someone is about to tell the greatest lie EVER!

There's a lot of chest thumping going on!  It must have been pretty sweet using the old software...  I read nothing but complaints and negative reviews about THAT version, too, though, so I wonder if anyone can be pleased by anything at all?  

I just bought my Z30 for $99 and I'm really happy with it so far.  Once I changed the background of the v2 software to be rid of the hideous pink (that designer should be canned!) and got used to the twist interface I was pretty happy with how things worked.   I foolishly let it retag all of my MP3s but things didn't get botched up too badly there (a few audiobooks got butchered, but I pieced them backtogether :) ).  Now that I (think I) know how things are working it seems pretty smooth.   I manually control all the content except for podcasts and that works for me because I'm not a pass subscriber, basically I have one synch group per artist or album and that's just fine.

Coming from a 4G IPod I'm a happy happy camper.  The firmware on the device is awsome... video podcasts are really cool, and the twist interface makes navigation really nice.  I do concur with the original poster that it would be nice if video could be categorized even a little, but I don't have any yet, so that particular woe doesn't affect me. I do wish for smart playlists, better audiobook support, ability to add/remove standard menu items (ie genre category under music, and "social") and for the damn thing to have a clock! Also the standard complaints about calendar, contacts and text reading... but maybe next year!!