Zune Captain Kirk to Zune Scotty: We Need More Speed!

[Jason Dunn]

<p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//zt/auto/1217614518.usr1.png" border="1" /></p><p>Is anyone else tired of seeing that icon in the Zune software? I've got the Zune software installed on all my PCs now, using it as my main music playing software rather than Windows Media Player, so I'm accessing the Marketplace and Social aspects of the Zune quite often. The problem is that the Zune servers really don't seem up to the task. Sometimes they're snappy when I'm browsing Marketplace content, and the audio previews usually happen quickly, but as soon as I go into the Social tab, it's very likely I'll be staring at that "loading" icon for 10+ seconds. It's been like this for months, so it's not just an isolated incident. I've also seen strange issues with the inbox - I'll delete a message, they'll vanish from the inbox, and a few minutes later they'll still show up on the new message indicator line. Are the social aspects of the Zune software really that popular? Or has Microsoft just under-allocated server resources for the Zune?</p>

[crasher]

Actually the problem most likely stems from the secure connection required to access the live service. Without getting too technical, the custom server app the Social uses to interface with the Xbox Live service (where it gets all it's non music community services) is actually behind something called a "Secure Gateway". What's probably happening is the handshake with the SG is slow. This is required in order for other server's to interact with Live.

[Jason Dunn]

Actually the problem most likely stems from the secure connection required to access the live service.

Could be. But if that's the case, I'd expect to see some serious pre-emptive caching of content. Anything to speed up the slowness that's exposed to the user...it's just too damn slow.

[ACE]

I think more people are now streaming their content directly from the marketplace since that now counts towards their play count...???

[Jason Dunn]

I think more people are now streaming their content directly from the marketplace since that now counts towards their play count...???

Streaming full songs? Do you get that option if you're a Zune pass subscriber? That's pretty cool... :)

[David Tucker]

Oh yeah, you didn't know that? That's always been the case. :) Which is pretty awesome since there's nights I want something specific that I may not care to download and just hit play!

[Jason Dunn]

Oh yeah, you didn't know that? That's always been the case. :) Which is pretty awesome since there's nights I want something specific that I may not care to download and just hit play!

Ah, see, that's pretty damn cool - I've never had a Zune Pass account for more than one week, so I didn't know that was a feature. :o

[David Tucker]

Yeah, that's always been a feature of any subscription service I had. I remember when I was on a trip with my parents to the Florida Keys and a few years back and I was on Yahoo! music at the time. Set up the laptop and had Jimmy Buffet playing some good island tunes! :)