Microsoft Splits Zune Teams: Hardware, Software Now In Own Divisions

[Adam Krebs]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10163257-56.html' target='_blank'>http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10163257-56.html</a><br /><br /></div><p>"<em>Microsoft has quietly reorganized its Zune team, splitting up the hardware and software teams, CNET News has learned. The software and services portion of the Zune team&mdash;the bulk of its staff&mdash;will be added to the portfolio of Enrique Rodriguez, the vice president who currently runs Microsoft's Mediaroom and Media Center TV businesses. The hardware team, meanwhile, will now report to Tom Gibbons, who also leads the hardware design efforts within Microsoft's Windows Mobile unit. The move was made on January 22, as Microsoft made its first-ever companywide layoffs&mdash;layoffs which also hit the Zune team, although Microsoft won't say how many people were cut. In an hour-long interview on Thursday, Rodriguez said the move was not made in response to recent Zune sales, but rather as the company looks to create a more unified entertainment business and gears up to expand the Zune service to be available on more than just Microsoft's own devices. "The goal is to make non-gaming entertainment a first-class citizen within Microsoft's business," he said. That </em><em>means building better software and gaining scale "a little further out than just in Redmond."</em>"</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/zt/auto/1234676333.usr495.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>Zune/Windows Mobile interoperability was inevitable, and, as it happens, <a href="http://www.moviequotes.com/archive/bynumber/19000.html" target="_blank">necessary</a>. The integration of Zune with Windows Mobile makes sense, not just on a business or marketing level, as the two products share a common center; Windows Mobile needs to be more consumer-friendly, and Zune needs a larger adoption base. By merging the two platforms, we can hopefully see better phones and a more connected media player experience. There is no reason why, at this point in the game, Microsoft should have so many divergent sync and media solutions. It's time for these all to work together, seamlessly. Hopefully at the Mobile World Conference, starting tomorrow, we'll begin to see some of the potential for this reorganization, and maybe even an international release or two. And hey, anything that makes "non-gaming entertainment a first-class citizen within Microsoft's business" is a-ok by me.</p>

[jdmichal]

I was just coming to post about this, and viola! It is there! It's like magic!

I think the reorganization was a smartish move. I hope the two halves are still cohabiting and work together as strongly as before, but also reach out to these other programs also. It seems like Microsoft would be so far ahead if they just bring all the stuff they have together!

[grantpet]

its become more than obvious that zune's highest level of tech support doesn't have a clue! either side. if you don't believe me, look at the steps they've run me through just for 247 unsync'd files out of 12K+ .... i've had better luck with charter, and that's saying something!

i'd put the savings into training level 2 tech support about networks seeing as how none of them knew anything in regards to wep key settings.

still can't recommend a zune to anyone who isn't anal on their metadata and network settings (which means not a soul). more whitewash from ms.

[jdmichal]

So you expected the Zune team to debug your wireless network for you?

Usually if software errors don't fit into a certain group of error modes, they are sometimes very difficult to even find, much less solve. The two biggest groups of these are timing issues and, yep, networking issues.

You probably had a very obscure problem that would have been difficult for anyone to solve. Railing against the Zune team because they had a difficult time solving it... Not really fair.

[grantpet]

So you expected the Zune team to debug your wireless network for you?

You probably had a very obscure problem that would have been difficult for anyone to solve. Railing against the Zune team because they had a difficult time solving it... Not really fair.

i asked specific questions that should have easily been answered, including the solution to my issue which was the default wep key.

i was doing the troubleshooting and certainly didn't want them to do it, just wanted straight answers to specific questions. you think its reasonable that zune should assume since they can't asnwer my questions that the unit is defaulty?? i wonder how many users have, like me, been told by zune support to return the device for another unit simply because they were unable to answer a couple of questions. the entire time i told customer service the steps they were taking me through were unnecessary, but they demanded it. they probably spent a fortune in shipping and returning my device and tech support time. and all of it should've been cured with a 5 min phone call or email.

considering it took nearly a half an hour, 4 phoenetic spellings and a considerable amount of patience just to get the rep to properly spell 'St. Louis', nobody should be suprised that when i tell them my perfectly good zune has been out of commission for more than 5 weeks because zune support IS not capable of answering 2 questions, both of which shouldn't even be an issue. The zune should operate on all default keys, i have yet to run across a network that is, 0 for 7. There should be a way to sort by unsync'd files and a simpler way to resync files that do not do so.

[Jason Dunn]

considering it took nearly a half an hour, 4 phoenetic spellings and a considerable amount of patience just to get the rep to properly spell 'St. Louis'...

I haven't had any bad experiences with Zune tech support, but in general I agree that level 1 tech support tends to be pretty awful no matter where you call. :(

[grantpet]

I haven't had any bad experiences with Zune tech support, but in general I agree that level 1 tech support tends to be pretty awful no matter where you call. :(

The people at zune who do not know whether the device funcitons on a shared or open key also informed me that they were "zune's highest level of customer support" i'll give you the 2 trouble tickets if you want them jason, zune should be ashamed.