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Rashel Dan asked:
When you first get a Zune, it might be difficult figuring our where to download Zune material especially if you are a person who used to use an iPod. This is one of the issues that Microsoft had already expected when they launched the Zune a few years back. Thus, they made sure that people would be able to get various downloads by making their own content-providing site. This place is known as the Zune Marketplace.
What Is It?
The Zune Marketplace is the first place you might want to visit for premium Zune downloads. It is accessible on the Internet through the URL zune.net and one can register to browse the site for free.
Not Just a Market - The Zune Marketplace, however, is basically just that: a market. It offers Zune users the opportunity to download millions of files in various content types for them to enjoy on their Zune players. This includes music, movies, music videos, audio books, images, software, and games. This content can all be used on the Zune and can also be used on the PC, with the exception of some of the games and software that is specifically designed for use on the Zune only.
Music and Videos - The Zune Marketplace is a site that offers more than 3 million DRM-free songs, music videos, video podcasts, and almost anything and everything that entertains Zune users. With the simple click of a mouse, a member can download anything that is on the site and downloads are unlimited for as long as a person remains a member. The cost for membership is on a monthly basis for about $15.
What Does DRM-Free Mean?
The music that is offered on the Zune Marketplace is DRM-free which basically means that is offered without Digital Rights Management. These formats are popular on the internet at present and can be downloaded from this place as well as from iTunes and Napster. There are issues regarding DRM-free music, the most important being that songs may be of lesser quality but this is not always the case. In fact, stores like the Zune Marketplace provide high quality songs as well.
Why Should I Join?
One-Stop Marketplace - The great thing about the Zune Marketplace is that it is the best place to download Zune material. But more than just downloading stuff, it is a great place to get to know other people who are a part of the Zune community. You can discover new music through them, make new friends, and subscribe to material that you never imagined would entertain you. You can do all this just by signing up and making your own Zune Card.
The Zune Card - The Zune Card allows you to get your own profile page and Zune Tag which is how people will identify you on the site. You can customize your own Zune Card and manage your Zune account over the internet.
Membership - You can purchase your monthly membership through your account so that you can have access to unlimited downloads that you can share with your community friends. Additionally, more than being able to download Zune material you can participate in various discussions in the Zune forums.
When you first get a Zune, it might be difficult figuring our where to download Zune material especially if you are a person who used to use an iPod. This is one of the issues that Microsoft had already expected when they launched the Zune a few years back. Thus, they made sure that people would be able to get various downloads by making their own content-providing site. This place is known as the Zune Marketplace.
What Is It?
The Zune Marketplace is the first place you might want to visit for premium Zune downloads. It is accessible on the Internet through the URL zune.net and one can register to browse the site for free.
Not Just a Market - The Zune Marketplace, however, is basically just that: a market. It offers Zune users the opportunity to download millions of files in various content types for them to enjoy on their Zune players. This includes music, movies, music videos, audio books, images, software, and games. This content can all be used on the Zune and can also be used on the PC, with the exception of some of the games and software that is specifically designed for use on the Zune only.
Music and Videos - The Zune Marketplace is a site that offers more than 3 million DRM-free songs, music videos, video podcasts, and almost anything and everything that entertains Zune users. With the simple click of a mouse, a member can download anything that is on the site and downloads are unlimited for as long as a person remains a member. The cost for membership is on a monthly basis for about $15.
What Does DRM-Free Mean?
The music that is offered on the Zune Marketplace is DRM-free which basically means that is offered without Digital Rights Management. These formats are popular on the internet at present and can be downloaded from this place as well as from iTunes and Napster. There are issues regarding DRM-free music, the most important being that songs may be of lesser quality but this is not always the case. In fact, stores like the Zune Marketplace provide high quality songs as well.
Why Should I Join?
One-Stop Marketplace - The great thing about the Zune Marketplace is that it is the best place to download Zune material. But more than just downloading stuff, it is a great place to get to know other people who are a part of the Zune community. You can discover new music through them, make new friends, and subscribe to material that you never imagined would entertain you. You can do all this just by signing up and making your own Zune Card.
The Zune Card - The Zune Card allows you to get your own profile page and Zune Tag which is how people will identify you on the site. You can customize your own Zune Card and manage your Zune account over the internet.
Membership - You can purchase your monthly membership through your account so that you can have access to unlimited downloads that you can share with your community friends. Additionally, more than being able to download Zune material you can participate in various discussions in the Zune forums.
Rizky Permana asked:
Going up against the almighty Apple iPod is no easy task, but Microsoft is giving it all they got with its impressive line of Zune media players, with capacities ranging from 4GB all the way up to 120GB.
With a huge screen, excellent audio quality (complimented by outstanding earbuds), FM radio and support for multiple audio and video codecs, the Redmond, Wash.-based giants are hoping many will put the two competing products side-by-side and choose in favour of the Zune.
But if you know someone who already owns a Zune, you’re probably aware of the device’s attractive display, well-balanced audio and built-in radio, which is also great at the gym by listening to a TV broadcast. Oh, Zune owners can now “tag” a song they hear on the radio and purchase a CD-quality version at a later time (only in the U.S. at this time, however).
Here are a few things — and impressive ones at that — about the Zune you probably aren’t aware of.
1. Games and books, oh my!
The latest Zune software (version 3.0) now lets you play games while on the go. In fact, you’ll start with two freebies included with the latest downloadable firmware update: Hextic and Texas Hold ‘Em. The Zune will also let you multitask so you can play a game and listen to your favourite tunes, podcasts or an audiobook at the same time! Speaking of audiobooks, Zune owners can now sync books from the huge library of titles at audible.com or overdrive.com.
2. Sharing is good
When you’re in the same room as another Zune listener – and it doesn’t matter if they own a Flash- or hard drive-based model – you can wirelessly beam them a song you like, which the recipient can listen to up to three times on their Zune. This is a great way to be exposed to new music. No wonder why Microsoft’s tagline for the Zune is “welcome to the social.”
3. Wireless sync
iPod owners are used to connecting their player to a PC to transfer over media. For some, this can be a laborious process if it involves connecting a USB cord to the back of a computer (perhaps under a desk), and you might need to unplug an existing USB device first. So long as you have a wireless network, you can automatically synchronize your Zune player with your PC when you step in the door.
4. It’s in the cards
On the free Zune Social, which is Zune’s online music community, you can easily create and customize a Zune Card. What’s that, you ask? No, these aren’t Zune-branded playing cards. These online cards can be embedded on various social networking sites, such as Facebook, as well as blogs or other websites, where it will automatically update to show others what they are listening to.
5. X(box) marks the spot
Xbox 360 owners who want to change up their favourite video game’s soundtrack can play their own music stored on a connected Zune – whether it’s by attaching the media player to the console via its USB cord (included) or if you have a Wi-Fi network and a Xbox 360 wireless network adaptor, you can wirelessly configure your Zune to play on your Xbox 360 (as a soundtrack or simply to use your TV/stereo speakers).
6. All the music you can handle
While it’’s not available in Canada – yet – the Zune Marketplace is the online store to purchase music for your Zune player. Sure, you can download tracks one at a time, as you can with Apple’s iTunes, but this service also offers something called a Zune Pass ($15/month) which lets you fill up your Zune to the max with thousands of songs. In other words, you choose whether you want to consume your tunes a la carte or in an all-you-can-eat buffet style!
Going up against the almighty Apple iPod is no easy task, but Microsoft is giving it all they got with its impressive line of Zune media players, with capacities ranging from 4GB all the way up to 120GB.
With a huge screen, excellent audio quality (complimented by outstanding earbuds), FM radio and support for multiple audio and video codecs, the Redmond, Wash.-based giants are hoping many will put the two competing products side-by-side and choose in favour of the Zune.
But if you know someone who already owns a Zune, you’re probably aware of the device’s attractive display, well-balanced audio and built-in radio, which is also great at the gym by listening to a TV broadcast. Oh, Zune owners can now “tag” a song they hear on the radio and purchase a CD-quality version at a later time (only in the U.S. at this time, however).
Here are a few things — and impressive ones at that — about the Zune you probably aren’t aware of.
1. Games and books, oh my!
The latest Zune software (version 3.0) now lets you play games while on the go. In fact, you’ll start with two freebies included with the latest downloadable firmware update: Hextic and Texas Hold ‘Em. The Zune will also let you multitask so you can play a game and listen to your favourite tunes, podcasts or an audiobook at the same time! Speaking of audiobooks, Zune owners can now sync books from the huge library of titles at audible.com or overdrive.com.
2. Sharing is good
When you’re in the same room as another Zune listener – and it doesn’t matter if they own a Flash- or hard drive-based model – you can wirelessly beam them a song you like, which the recipient can listen to up to three times on their Zune. This is a great way to be exposed to new music. No wonder why Microsoft’s tagline for the Zune is “welcome to the social.”
3. Wireless sync
iPod owners are used to connecting their player to a PC to transfer over media. For some, this can be a laborious process if it involves connecting a USB cord to the back of a computer (perhaps under a desk), and you might need to unplug an existing USB device first. So long as you have a wireless network, you can automatically synchronize your Zune player with your PC when you step in the door.
4. It’s in the cards
On the free Zune Social, which is Zune’s online music community, you can easily create and customize a Zune Card. What’s that, you ask? No, these aren’t Zune-branded playing cards. These online cards can be embedded on various social networking sites, such as Facebook, as well as blogs or other websites, where it will automatically update to show others what they are listening to.
5. X(box) marks the spot
Xbox 360 owners who want to change up their favourite video game’s soundtrack can play their own music stored on a connected Zune – whether it’s by attaching the media player to the console via its USB cord (included) or if you have a Wi-Fi network and a Xbox 360 wireless network adaptor, you can wirelessly configure your Zune to play on your Xbox 360 (as a soundtrack or simply to use your TV/stereo speakers).
6. All the music you can handle
While it’’s not available in Canada – yet – the Zune Marketplace is the online store to purchase music for your Zune player. Sure, you can download tracks one at a time, as you can with Apple’s iTunes, but this service also offers something called a Zune Pass ($15/month) which lets you fill up your Zune to the max with thousands of songs. In other words, you choose whether you want to consume your tunes a la carte or in an all-you-can-eat buffet style!
Ricky Lim asked:
If you have just acquired your Zune player and are just excited to use it, here are the ways on how to put music on your Zune.
Rip from a CD. Insert the disc to your computer and access the list of songs in the windows media player. Choose the songs you want and select the rip option which would then appear on the media player library.
Once you connect the Zune player via USB cable, it will by default automatically synchronize with the songs in the library and download them. Remember that the only music formats that the Zune player supports are WMA, WMV, MP3, MP4 and MOV.
Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace. Just like a real marketplace, you may purchase songs for 79 Microsoft points each or get a subscription every month for unlimited download. Microsoft points are also purchased and as for the subscription, once it expires the songs will too. Web stores. Aside from the Zune Marketplace, there are also sites such as itunes and Napster to get music for your Zune player. You can also pay for a membership on Zune music download sites, a good example of which is Zreactor.
These zune download sites allows you to download unlimited Zune music for a one time fee. Besides zune music, you can also download unlimited Zune movies, games and much more. The cost is affordable, usually costing less than 50 bucks. The download speeds are fast and they have a huge selection of zune media files to download.
Wireless transfer of songs from another user or you can also use guest sync after connecting your Zune into another computer.
By the way, always update your Zune firmware. This ensures that your player gets all the latest features as well as improves power management of your Zune player.
If you have just acquired your Zune player and are just excited to use it, here are the ways on how to put music on your Zune.
Rip from a CD. Insert the disc to your computer and access the list of songs in the windows media player. Choose the songs you want and select the rip option which would then appear on the media player library.
Once you connect the Zune player via USB cable, it will by default automatically synchronize with the songs in the library and download them. Remember that the only music formats that the Zune player supports are WMA, WMV, MP3, MP4 and MOV.
Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace. Just like a real marketplace, you may purchase songs for 79 Microsoft points each or get a subscription every month for unlimited download. Microsoft points are also purchased and as for the subscription, once it expires the songs will too. Web stores. Aside from the Zune Marketplace, there are also sites such as itunes and Napster to get music for your Zune player. You can also pay for a membership on Zune music download sites, a good example of which is Zreactor.
These zune download sites allows you to download unlimited Zune music for a one time fee. Besides zune music, you can also download unlimited Zune movies, games and much more. The cost is affordable, usually costing less than 50 bucks. The download speeds are fast and they have a huge selection of zune media files to download.
Wireless transfer of songs from another user or you can also use guest sync after connecting your Zune into another computer.
By the way, always update your Zune firmware. This ensures that your player gets all the latest features as well as improves power management of your Zune player.
Rizky Permana asked:
Audiophiles and media junkies may remember a certain device unveiled by Microsoft almost three months ago which was rumoured to be a worthy competitor to Apple’s fantastically popular iPod line of products.
The device, known as the Zune, made a splash here in Canada roughly a year and a half after the first models began to make their way out to American consumers. The new brand of media players hit the ground running with a unique image, brand new software, a diverse range of products (4GB, 8GB and 80GB sizes were immediately available) and unique features such as Wi-Fi wireless syncing with computers and other Zunes.
However, perhaps due to a lack of persistence in marketing — when compared to the omnipresent Apple — or because of the already established iPod line dominating the market, the Zune failed to pick up the steam it needed to reach even ground with the Apple products. And for a device that flaunts its social capabilities such as wireless file sharing with other Zune owners, as well as the Zune Social aspects of the software, market saturation is key to making growth exponential.
So, with that idea in mind, Microsoft is trying to breathe a bit more life into its sleek and stylish Zune line.
New announcements informed the public that as of today two new Zune models will be available. These models are the 16 GB Zune and the 120 GB model. These will initially be available only in all black, though they can still be etched with personalized artwork and patterns. Other Zunes now have different colour schemes; the 4, 8 and 80 GB models are available in black and red, with the 4 GB models also available in pink and the 8 GB model also available in pink or blue.
At the same time, more features will be added into the products themselves complete with software and firmware upgrades for all sizes of Zune. These will include the ability to play and download games onto the Zune as well as audio books. The audio book feature is a welcome surprise, as it adds to the diverse range of content that the Zune can support (podcasts, music and videos included) but the games feature should not be a shock to any Zune owner.
That’s because earlier models included — in addition to the music, pictures, video, and other options in the main menu — a games tab. The tempting button would unfortunately bring users to an empty list that sadly stated “no items.” Some more persistent owners might have found a way to install C# onto their Zunes along with a handful of independently created games, but these were basic and installation was complicated.
Now that the firmware is released however, Zune fans are now able to get games officially through Zune’s own channels.
The audio book feature is also an interesting touch as it gives people another reason to carry their Zunes, not just to listen to radio, but perhaps to learn Spanish through audio lessons or listen to Macbeth on the go.
If you own a Zune, check out the official Zune site for all of the details and to get your firmware update.
Audiophiles and media junkies may remember a certain device unveiled by Microsoft almost three months ago which was rumoured to be a worthy competitor to Apple’s fantastically popular iPod line of products.
The device, known as the Zune, made a splash here in Canada roughly a year and a half after the first models began to make their way out to American consumers. The new brand of media players hit the ground running with a unique image, brand new software, a diverse range of products (4GB, 8GB and 80GB sizes were immediately available) and unique features such as Wi-Fi wireless syncing with computers and other Zunes.
However, perhaps due to a lack of persistence in marketing — when compared to the omnipresent Apple — or because of the already established iPod line dominating the market, the Zune failed to pick up the steam it needed to reach even ground with the Apple products. And for a device that flaunts its social capabilities such as wireless file sharing with other Zune owners, as well as the Zune Social aspects of the software, market saturation is key to making growth exponential.
So, with that idea in mind, Microsoft is trying to breathe a bit more life into its sleek and stylish Zune line.
New announcements informed the public that as of today two new Zune models will be available. These models are the 16 GB Zune and the 120 GB model. These will initially be available only in all black, though they can still be etched with personalized artwork and patterns. Other Zunes now have different colour schemes; the 4, 8 and 80 GB models are available in black and red, with the 4 GB models also available in pink and the 8 GB model also available in pink or blue.
At the same time, more features will be added into the products themselves complete with software and firmware upgrades for all sizes of Zune. These will include the ability to play and download games onto the Zune as well as audio books. The audio book feature is a welcome surprise, as it adds to the diverse range of content that the Zune can support (podcasts, music and videos included) but the games feature should not be a shock to any Zune owner.
That’s because earlier models included — in addition to the music, pictures, video, and other options in the main menu — a games tab. The tempting button would unfortunately bring users to an empty list that sadly stated “no items.” Some more persistent owners might have found a way to install C# onto their Zunes along with a handful of independently created games, but these were basic and installation was complicated.
Now that the firmware is released however, Zune fans are now able to get games officially through Zune’s own channels.
The audio book feature is also an interesting touch as it gives people another reason to carry their Zunes, not just to listen to radio, but perhaps to learn Spanish through audio lessons or listen to Macbeth on the go.
If you own a Zune, check out the official Zune site for all of the details and to get your firmware update.
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