What Some People Don't Realize: The Zune Won't WiFi Share Out of The Box

[Jason Dunn]

When I was at the <a href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,11644" target="_blank">Microsoft Partner Pavilion</a> at CES, there was a station set up with various music and video playback devices. They had several Zunes there, and a few people picked them up to try and share files back and forth. They commented that they couldn't understand why it wouldn't work, and everyone, including the Microsoft employee staffing the station was baffled. I picked up several of the Zunes and checked the <em>Settings &gt; About &gt; Zune</em> information. Sure enough, these were Zunes right out of the box with the 1.0 firmware on them. What that meant is that they were unable to share wirelessly. It would seem that the Zune was released so quickly, they didn't have the device software finished before it had to go off to Toshiba for manufacturing. <br /><br />They made the doubtless hard call to ship a device that couldn't do what the marketing materials said it could do out of the box until it received a firmware upgrade. Was this a bad call? It allowed them to have the Zune in the retail channel for Christmas, and that seems to have been the single most important goal for the Zune team. But people doing demos of the devices, especially Microsoft staff members at CES, need to know that every Zune should be connected to a computer to get the latest firmware update before it will actually function like it's supposed to. Given the litigious nature of the world today, I'm surprised no one launched a lawsuit against Microsoft for deceptive marketing...

[David Tucker]

I don't really see the big deal. yeah, you can't share without connecting to a computer. You also can't listen to music without doing the same. You can't actually really do anything out of the box without connecting to a computer.

That lawsuit would be absurd.

[LPD]

I think the version 1 software did handle wireless. I recall reading reviews of people who shared files with pre-release Zunes. You have to name your Zune before it can share, that is what prevents a new Zune from sharing out of the box. Otherwise the Zune has no way to uniquely identify itself to other Zunes.

[NPrtmn4evr]

Well it's almost expected these days that with most devices that can be updated they will need to be updated immediately.

Although, I think this is really a non-issue (save for events like what happened at CES). I don't think anyone would buy a Zune open it up and want to share a song without properly connecting it to the computer first and updating it. I think perhaps the ONLY people this would affect is those without any type of internet connection, and they can't update their Zune. And somehow I don't think people without internet are going to be buying the Zune ;)

[kryptman40k]

that's like suing a game company for not having a particular unit in an RTS game because you haven't downloaded the latest patch for the game which gives you that unit.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I'd say no biggie. You have to hook it up to an internet-connected computer at some point anyway, so in reality it's a non-issue.

Hell... If you buy an iPod shuffle or Nano now, you don't even get a CD. No internet? SOL.

Honestly, someone will sue or something over this, but I don't think it's a big deal. If they missed Christmas, the damned thing would be off the market already.

[grommet]

LPD, really... the initial 1.0 release of the firmware (which is immediately replaced with a newer version the first time you plug your Zune in to talk to the Zune Software) honestly didn't have the Wi-Fi beaming feature enabled. 1.1 was released the same day Zune launched.

You'll note most "demo" Zunes in stores are running the 1.0 firmware since they've never been plugged in to a PC.

[Jason Dunn]

You also can't listen to music without doing the same. You can't actually really do anything out of the box without connecting to a computer.

That's not true - the Zune comes pre-loaded with songs, music, and videos.

That lawsuit would be absurd.

I agree, but any more absurd than other lawsuits like McDonalds and hot coffee? :rolleyes:

[Jason Dunn]

I think perhaps the ONLY people this would affect is those without any type of internet connection, and they can't update their Zune.

Sure, I agree. But that's doesn't change the fact that Microsoft shipped a product that wasn't actually finished without a firmware upgrade!

[David Tucker]

That's not true - the Zune comes pre-loaded with songs, music, and videos.

Yes...and of all the songs you'd be sharing, why would you share the ones all Zunes have? :p And has been correctly pointed out, you need to name your Zune!

I agree, but any more absurd than other lawsuits like McDonalds and hot coffee? :rolleyes:

I hate to defend this one...but the woman did receive some pretty serious burns. The coffee was a temperature that was dangerously hot. The woman had skin grafts & a 7 day hospital visit! I know when I make coffee its not hot enough to do that and shouldn't if you are brewing coffee correctly ;)

But there are DEFINATELY many absurd lawsuits out there, no doubt.

[Jason Dunn]

Yes...and of all the songs you'd be sharing, why would you share the ones all Zunes have?

Ah...that's a very excellent point. Ok, but what if one Zune didn't have any content on it because it crashed like mine did? :D (ok, yeah, that's weak...)

[NPrtmn4evr]

Sure, I agree. But that's doesn't change the fact that Microsoft shipped a product that wasn't actually finished without a firmware upgrade!

Yes the hardware shipped without a finished firmware upgrade, but v1.1 was available on day 1. It's not like people had to wait a week for the update.

And like I said previously, these days it's almost expected that anything that can have a a firmware update will need to be updated on day 1. I like to play video games and with both the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360, I had to connect to the internet and download updates on day 1.

This really is a non-issue.

[Jason Dunn]

This really is a non-issue.

Maybe to you, but when I explained this to a Microsoft marketing person that works in another group, his jaw was on the floor. His quote was something to the effect of "The Zune team doesn't realize how lucky they are that this hasn't blown up in their face...". Remember this is MICROSOFT we're talking about here, the company that gets sued for everything. :rolleyes:

[NPrtmn4evr]

^^^ But the REASON this hasn't blown up in their face is because for the consumer it really is a non-issue. Yes they had to update their Zune first, but you're almost required to hook the Zune up to a computer first anyways. Very few people would take the Zune out of the box and share songs with out updating their Zune.

Hopefully MS will start shipping Zune's with at least the 1.1 update so that people will be able to wirelessly share songs right away for that miniscule percentage of consumers out there:rolleyes: . But would you still make this big of a deal that they would have to update to v1.2 or future firmware updates first?

[Jason Dunn]

But would you still make this big of a deal that they would have to update to v1.2 or future firmware updates first?

If the marketing materials says "The Zune does XYZ" and it couldn't do that out of the box without a firmware upgrade that required an Internet connection, then yes, I would make some noise about it. When I'm in the US I often go to an electronics store before the airport, and usually walk away with some new gadget that I like to set up and try out at the airport before I get on the plane. Unless I pay for WiFi access at the airport, I don't have any Internet access. Why is it unreasonable that a product should do what it says out of the box?

Everyone seems to be forgetting about those things called "laptops". You're not going to have connectivity everywhere you go - heck, I was on a plane and fired up the Zune software to listen to music on my laptop, and the damn thing wanted to re-authenticate all my Zune Marketplace music even though it had just done so the day before! So I couldn't listen to any of my Zune Pass music - do I need to explain how stupid that is?

If you think we live in an era of 24/7 connectivity for everyone, all the time, I want to move to your planet...:D