I hate the new software

[zomigi]

I finally got the v2 software upgrade installed today (it had been giving me errors previously).

First impressions: pretty, but completely sucks!

Why can't I rate songs on a 5 star scale any more? I used all five stars to mean different things! What the heck are the three hearts supposed to mean?

Is there any way to edit all of the other tags that go along with a song? I liked that there used to be that "mood" tag or whatever, among other things. Now there's no way for me to set all the other info that goes along with a song? Why would they remove functionality?

It appears there is no longer a way to create a "smart playlist" (to steal iTunes' term). That is practically the only type of playlist I ever used! I used to tag my songs in the "notes" field, for example, with things like "mellow" or "sexy" and then I could dynamically find all songs for that mood and create a playlist out of them. I also made playlists to filter out music based on genre, so I had a "mainstream music" smart playlist that filtered out classical music, Christmas music, comedy, etc. Again, why remove functionality?!

I am seriously going back to iTunes for managing and listening to my music. I'll just use the Zune software for syncing. But it will suck that I won't be able to sync my smart playlists. This really, really sucks. I want my old software back!

[Adam Krebs]

To be honest, I'm not such a fan of the Zune2 software either. It hasn't messed up any of my files, but the library management issues are a huge step down from the last gen software. Lately, I've been using WMP11 (basically Zune v1, but different) to manage and play songs, and the Zune software only for syncing or playing a new and cool song that I want to show up on my Zune Card.

I liked a lot of things better about Zune1 than WMP11 and vice-versa, but I think until someone either hacks the software or Microsoft releases an update, I'll be using it this way. I can only hope they see how poorly designed the management issues are and take steps to fix it.

[Sven Johannsen]

Unless I've missed something, you can't sync the WMP11 playlists to the Zune, can you?
I would be most interested in the dynamically generated ones, new music/videos not yet played, recorded TV not yet watched, music listened to on weekends, those sorts of things. I could sync all those sorts of things to Portable Media Centers 4 years ago. Guess those programmers were reassigned.

BTW, for the OP, the three hearts are not rated, love it, hate it. Not clear why I would have media I hate. Guess your assessment of the software is the cracked heart.

[zomigi]

I'm glad to know I'm not alone -- but sad to not be proven wrong. :-)

Yeah, that's what I guessed the hearts meant, but I agree -- why would I have stuff I hate? And like I said, "love it" and "not rated" do not capture my range of liking songs I can have. I liked rating songs with 5, 4, or 3 stars, and then creating playlists that only played 4 and 5 songs, for instance. My 4 star songs were basically the ones I loved, while 5 stars were the ones I was currently obsessed with and wanted to hear over and over again. 3 stars was liked, 2 stars was ok to hear every once in a while but don't want to hear it often (like stuff that I genuinely like but have to be in a very particular "mood" for).

See, Zune programmers, I am not such a simple person of extremes who just "loves" or "hates" things!

[stikclix]

I've got it narrowed down to either a Sony Walkman NWZ a818 8 Gig or the Zune 30. I've read nothing bad about the sony walkman having problems with WMP format and drag and drop. And if I decide to buy the zune i don't want to have to deal with artists/songs being put in the wrong places. I'm a moody person and my music plays to my mood. lol. Don't get me wrong, there are soooo many more accessories for the zune to trick it out a little, plus i love having the background personalized, but music is numero uno.
So does the 30G zune come with the old software that I could load and have no problems with??

Thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[zomigi]

stikclix,

I can't comment on other mp3 players because I haven't used any others. I have no problem with the Zune itself -- I just hate its new software. I haven't had any problems with it messing up information on my songs, but it's just so dismally limited in features. That's my beef with it.

I have no idea what the capabilities of the software of other mp3 players are. I do know that I really like the iTunes software. I'd go for a mp3 player that can use iTunes tags and playlists (including Smart Playlists, if possible, which is something Zune's software could never import over, just regular playlists). That way, you could use iTunes for managing your music, and just switch over to your particular player's software when it was time to sync.

If you buy a used or refurbished Zune 30gb off of ebay, you should be able to get the disc containing the old software to install. If you buy a new Zune 30gb at the store, they may still come with the old software since the update is so new, but I don't know. It's risky. Someone else may know how likely it is that the software disc has been updated in 30's you find on the shelf.

[Scarpad]

stikclix,

I can't comment on other mp3 players because I haven't used any others. I have no problem with the Zune itself -- I just hate its new software. I haven't had any problems with it messing up information on my songs, but it's just so dismally limited in features. That's my beef with it.

I have no idea what the capabilities of the software of other mp3 players are. I do know that I really like the iTunes software. I'd go for a mp3 player that can use iTunes tags and playlists (including Smart Playlists, if possible, which is something Zune's software could never import over, just regular playlists). That way, you could use iTunes for managing your music, and just switch over to your particular player's software when it was time to sync.

If you buy a used or refurbished Zune 30gb off of ebay, you should be able to get the disc containing the old software to install. If you buy a new Zune 30gb at the store, they may still come with the old software since the update is so new, but I don't know. It's risky. Someone else may know how likely it is that the software disc has been updated in 30's you find on the shelf.

You want to see software with good management features Look at J. River Media center 12.

Even Media Monkey.

[stikclix]

thanks for the help guys. i appreciate it. I hate to say it, but I think I'm gonna go with the sony, because it's the music that matters and I know my WMP pretty much inside out. that's what the sony runs off.