Thursday, December 7, 2006
Zune Half-Way There
Posted by Michael Boutros in "Zune Talk" @ 03:00 AM
Over the past few weeks I have been reading tons of reviews on the Zune. In pretty much all of them, the reviewers loved the actual Zune device. They have said they love the gorgeous screen, and see tons of potential for the WiFi. However, the actual device is only half of the combo. Almost every single reviewer agrees that the main deal breaker/quirk for them is the included software. They all complain of problems installing the software, synching, etc. and report frequent crashes. Lots of people are turned off by this, and for this reason they don't use the Zune at all.
I think that the Zune team tried their hardest, but it was just too rushed for them and they didn't have time to finalize the installer. Talking as a programmer, the installer is usually the last thing that is done, and I think that the same applies to the Zune software. More then half of all the problems were caused from the actual install, even before the first boot. I don't want to sound rude because I know how hard this must have been to create in only a year, but I think that they could of done more testing on a wider range of computer specs.
I don't know if I am lucky or just weird, but the Zune software has been fine for me. I have about 1000 songs, 600 photos, and 40 videos (most 5 - 6 min). It installed fine for me on the first try, and successfully imported all my music from iTunes and my photos. Sure, it does take a few seconds to play the first song when you open the software up, but it doesn't really bother me. Am I saying the Zune software is perfect? Heck no! I hate cluttered taskbars , and I am really missing iTunes task bar remote. Also, why do my picture playlists show up in my music tab? To me that makes absolutely no sense. Are any of these deal breakers? No. Are they annoying? Yes.
What does the world think?
I think that the Zune team tried their hardest, but it was just too rushed for them and they didn't have time to finalize the installer. Talking as a programmer, the installer is usually the last thing that is done, and I think that the same applies to the Zune software. More then half of all the problems were caused from the actual install, even before the first boot. I don't want to sound rude because I know how hard this must have been to create in only a year, but I think that they could of done more testing on a wider range of computer specs.
I don't know if I am lucky or just weird, but the Zune software has been fine for me. I have about 1000 songs, 600 photos, and 40 videos (most 5 - 6 min). It installed fine for me on the first try, and successfully imported all my music from iTunes and my photos. Sure, it does take a few seconds to play the first song when you open the software up, but it doesn't really bother me. Am I saying the Zune software is perfect? Heck no! I hate cluttered taskbars , and I am really missing iTunes task bar remote. Also, why do my picture playlists show up in my music tab? To me that makes absolutely no sense. Are any of these deal breakers? No. Are they annoying? Yes.
What does the world think?
