The Zune Apocalypse

[jeff061]

froze zunes - Google News (http://news.google.com/news?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&tab=wn&nolr=1&hl=en&q=froze+zunes&btnG=Search+News)

Seriously, every 30gb Zune in the world up and died at 12am this morning. Possibly mp3 device rapture?

[rockboy70]

Wow, that's crazy, just turned on my 30GB zune, and yup its locked up.

[sterlingice]

I have an ipod made by a company that doesn't blue screen things. What is this Zune of which you speak ;)

One of my coworkers believes that Microsoft built in lots of back doors and could turn off every Windows machine in the world, if they wanted to. He will get a kick out of this story :D

SI

[jeff061]

Some people think it's handling the leap year wrong.

May want to wait until tomorrow before turning it on. Sorry rockboy :D.

[SportsDino]

When your product is already fighting for its life against an opponent in a vastly superior position.... this stuff don't be happening!

It is sad that Microsoft's first response seems to be to hide and duck off, just like the Internet Explorer thing... might be the begginning of the end if they keep making massive mistakes like this (and the stupid Mojave commercials, and releasing crappy OS, bah die Microsoft die!).

[Mustang]

Some people think it's handling the leap year wrong.

May want to wait until tomorrow before turning it on. Sorry rockboy :D.

I was wondering if the leap second was screwing it up...

Told my coworker this and he turned his on and yep.. frozen. For all of a particular product to freeze up at the same time is just AWESOME!

[kingfc22]

Hah. Way to go Microsoft. I hope Apple makes one of their commercials based on this. :D

[BrianD]

I'm hoping there is an eventual fix to this so we can all look back and laugh. This seems like a perfectly Microsoft thing to do but I don't want to enjoy it too much while people are still pissed off at broken players.

[Easy Mac]

Mine's been doing this since I tried to sync it this morning. It finally just shut itself off when it got tired (ie, the battery died). I really do hope that this is just a one-day leap bug. There seems to be no current way to get into the device's software and update the firmware without it actually loading completely (People have said open it and unplug the battery for a few seconds, but that only fixes it for about 5 minutes, which is normally not enough time to redo the firmware on this thing... and can you imagine microsoft telling a million or so people to open the device up and pop out the battery?).

Thankfully, I have my ipod touch and mini to fall back on... though my old 40 gig ipod is dead as well (hard drive click of death), so I guess microsoft shouldn't feel too bad.

[MacroGuru]

LOL!

I was laughing my ass off this morning that both of ours had done it.

[Tigercat]

Should I be concerned that mine not only shut down, but appears to be rummaging through my closet seeking a firearm? I miss the days when Microsoft products stopped working randomly and not as some part of vast robotic conspiracy.

[jeff061]

I don't own a Zune and I own and enjoy a couple iPods despite not being an Apple fan.

However I was really interested in the rise of the Zune, there's just no one on the horizon that's capable of competing with Apple for market share. They need a little competition to get their prices down and eventually improve their product. So from that standpoint I'm very disappointed in this. I imagine it will be a lasting PR nightmare for the Zune brand name.

But I'm still laughing. I've just never heard of something happening of this magnitude.

[Young Drachma]

Wow. That's wacky. My 30GB Zune had a cracked screen after 2 years and so I replaced it with a 120 GB Zune a few months ago.

[Mustang]

Anyone else think that Zombies have found a way to commandeer all the Zunes for personal use for the impending Zombie Apocalypse?

[cartman]

Anyone heard from this guy today?

http://a235.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/34/l_6d349a9576c479f6200f6049e0c39b22.jpg

[samifan24]

I read online that the Zune tattoo guy got them removed and replaced with an Apple logo.

[cartman]

I read online that the Zune tattoo guy got them removed and replaced with an Apple logo.

If so, that decision might have saved his life!

[terpkristin]

Zune Tattoo Guy Wants to Lose the Logo | Listening Post from Wired.com (http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/07/zune-tattoo-guy.html)

/tk

[terpkristin]

Dola,
‘Zune Tattoo Guy’ now has an anti-Dick Cheney tattoo (http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/20/%E2%80%98zune-tattoo-guy%E2%80%99-now-has-an-anti-dick-cheney-tattoo/)

/tk

[sterlingice]

How again did a guy who tatoo'd a Zune logo on his arm become an internet meme?

SI

[JediKooter]

Anyone else think that Zombies have found a way to commandeer all the Zunes for personal use for the impending Zombie Apocalypse?

That's exactly what I was thinking Mustang. I'm glad Apple takes this seriously and has zombie proofed their products.

Notice this all happened after Gates is now 'retired'? I see a conection to this and the coming zombie hordes...

[gstelmack]

Sigh. And I was thinking of getting a Zune soon, mostly because I am a MUCH bigger fan of WMA than MP3...

[duckman]

Sigh. And I was thinking of getting a Zune soon, mostly because I am a MUCH bigger fan of WMA than MP3...

My brother and I have Zunes and neither of us have had problems with them.

[terpkristin]

My brother and I have Zunes and neither of us have had problems with them.

Zune 30's or some other type? I think it's just the 30 that's impacted.

/tk

[duckman]

Zune 30's or some other type? I think it's just the 30 that's impacted.

/tk

Yes, it's just Zune 30s that have glitch. We both have the Zune 4GB with 3.0 software. I plan on getting a Zune 16GB this spring because of how well it works.

[Comey]

My Archos 5 just replaced my iPod. What an amazing little device this thing is. I don't ever see it competing with the iPod (as the community is just too small), but it's web browser is faster than the Touch, and it has a five-inch screen.

My iPod's been needing a charge since the 26th. I haven't bothered.

As far as the Zune goes...well...ha ha.

[Surtt]

I think you need to wrap it in a towl and let it sit for awhile.

[gstelmack]

My brother and I have Zunes and neither of us have had problems with them.

Yeah, I'm not really going to let this stop me. Heck, the ability to run an XNA-made game on it is cool for the programmer in me...

[Easy Mac]

Why, as a 30gb Zune owner, do I feel like Milton from Office Space

From Microsoft:

Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year. The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.



Customers can continue to stay informed via the support page on zune.net (zune.net/support).



We know this has been a big inconvenience to our customers and we are sorry for that, and want to thank them for their patience.



Q: Why is this issue isolated to the Zune 30 device?

It is a bug in a driver for a part that is only used in the Zune 30 device.



Q: What fixes or patches are you putting in place to resolve this situation?

This situation should remedy itself over the next 24 hours as the time flips to January 1st.



Q: What’s the timeline on a fix?

The issue Zune 30GB customers are experiencing today will self resolve as time changes to January 1.



Q: Why did this occur at precisely 12:01 a.m. on December 31, 2008?

There is a bug in the internal clock driver causing the 30GB device to improperly handle the last day of a leap year.



Q: What is Zune doing to fix this issue?

The issue should resolve itself.



Q: Are you sure that this won’t happen to all 80, 120 or other flash devices?

This issue is related to a part that is only used in Zune 30 devices.



Q: How many 30GB Zune devices are affected? How many Zune 30GB devices were sold?

All 30GB devices are potentially affected.

[Chubby]

HAHAHAHAHA

[MacroGuru]

Yeah, I think M$ response is pretty funny, which I think everyone knew it would be a "wait and see if it resolves itself" approach.

I am going to laugh my ass off tomorrow if none of them work still, which would be funny as I have 2 that would be there.

I still love my Zunes over the Ipods.

[Matthean]

Hah. Way to go Microsoft. I hope Apple makes one of their commercials based on this. :D

"Hello, I'm an iPod."

"Hi, I'm a Zune."

"What's wrong Zune?"

[JediKooter]

"You got Zuned" is now going to be what people say when something just shuts off for no reason.

[stevew]

This is hilarious. I can't remember anything like this happening on such a major scale.

[MacroGuru]

So the Zunes are drained and I am recharging them right now to see if it works.

[MacroGuru]

Dola, and one worked so far as it is charging.

[gstelmack]

The real question is, are they going to patch the bug, or just hope there are no 30GB Zune devices still running in 2012?

[MacroGuru]

The real question is, are they going to patch the bug, or just hope there are no 30GB Zune devices still running in 2012?

I think it will be patched pretty quickly knowing the updates they spit out for the Zune and the software.

[terpkristin]

I think the only real problem with this happening (and it's obvious that they've "fixed" something about it, as it only happened to the original generation 30 gb Zunes) is that they're not the market leader, and they are always trying to gain market share, so this looks moderately embarrassing.

I think that for those who have found something that works for them, be it a Zune, an iPod, a Sansa, a Creative Zen family device, or whatever else, they're not going to get deterred by something like this. For those who might be on the fence between a Zune and some other device, it might make them pause. Otherwise, it's fuel for the fanboys and frankly you just have to tune them out anyway.

I personally like my iPods. They're not perfect, but they work for me--and there isn't any other device I can think of that would be perfect. Can't fault anyone for having a device they like--that's the most important part.

/tk