My Troubles with ZUNE
OK, I’m a sucker for a good deal and when I discovered via SlickDeals a way to get a brand new ZUNE Personal Media Player for under $150.00 I was all over it like Willie on Weed!
I’ve already got an iPod Shuffle (1st Gen, 1GB) and an original iPod Mini (1st Gen, 4GB) but was in the market for something a little larger and the 30GB ZUNE seemed perfect.
Once I got the new ZUNE out of the box I was even more elated - large color screen (compared to the iPod), FM receiver, pre-loaded content, WIFI capability, plus I just liked the feel of the ZUNE compared to the iPod…the texture of the casing gives it a “warm” feel.
So I follow the instructions and pop the cd into my Windows XP SP2 MCE 2005 desktop and…oooops, “Operating System not supported”! What???
OK, plan B - Click on the “ZUNE System Requirements” link.
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Update Rollup 2
If your computer is running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, it must have Update Rollup 2 installed. Click here for information about Update Rollup 2.
Plan B Step Two - visit Windows Update and get the Rollup 2 update…oooops, Rollup 2 won’t install despite being listed as an optional update.
Plan C - visit every ZUNE site I can find looking for a work-around (none of which worked for me).
Why did I assume a Microsoft hardware product would work with existing Microsoft software? I know, I should have know better but it’s Microsoft’s OS and they can’t get thier own Personal Media Player to work with thier current OS releases…come on Bill, WTF? For crying out loud, iTunes/iPod will just about run on a toaster if it has a USB or Firewire port (OK, so it’s a slight exageration).
My recommendation is if you buy a ZUNE make sure the store has a liberal return policy!
Written by Stan on March 18th, 2007 with no comments.
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