What you need to know

• Microsoft just released an update to Windows 11 Insiders in the Canary Channel.
• Windows 11 Build 25905 drops support for Arm32 UWP apps.
• The update also fixes a bug that prevented Zune devices from connecting to Windows 11.
• Alongside the update, Microsoft has also started testing the AI Hub in the Microsoft Store among all Insiders.

Windows 11 Insiders in the Canary Channel have an update to install. Windows 11 Build 25905 includes several changes and fixes. Most notably, the update drops support for Arm32 UWP apps (Arm64 apps are unaffected). The build also includes a surprising fix for a famous unsupported device from Microsoft.

Microsoft began testing its AI Hub for the Microsoft Store earlier this week, but the feature was limited to specific Insiders. The company has since started testing the AI Hub among Insiders in all channels, as long as the user is running version 22306.1401 or higher of the Microsoft Store.

The AI Hub features apps that utilize artificial intelligence, such as the Luminar Neo photo editor.

Microsoft re-launched Zune.net last month alongside the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. The collaboration seemed to increase the interest in the long-unsupported media player. In today's Insider build of Windows 11, Microsoft fixed an issue that stopped the original Zune drivers to install on Windows 11.

The company made a tongue-in-cheek comment about how people can now use their "totally unsupported and still discontinued" Zune on a Windows 11 PC.

Here's everything that's new, changed, and improved in Windows 11 Build 25905, as listed by Microsoft:

What's new

This build includes new features from the Dev Channel, such as Dev Drive, Backup and Restore improvements (Windows Backup), Dynamic Lighting, the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer and Gallery, and more.

Rust offers advantages in reliability and security over traditional programs written in C/C++.  This preview shipped with an early implementation of critical kernel features in safe Rust. Specifically, win32kbase_rs.sys contains a new implementation of GDI region. While this is a small trial, we will continue to increase the usage of Rust in the kernel. Stay tuned!

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders in the Canary Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]  

Starting in this Insider Preview build in the Canary Channel, we have removed support for Arm32 UWP applications from Windows on Arm, as documented here: Windows 11 Specs and System Requirements. After the OS upgrade, any installed Arm32 applications will no longer launch on your device. Note that this does not affect Arm64 applications.

• During setup, you will see a message with a list of applications that are currently Arm32 installed on the system.
• In many cases, the list of impacted applications will be reduced by manually forcing the Microsoft Store to install any pending application updates prior to the OS upgrade. To do this, launch the Microsoft Store application, choose “library”, then click on the “Get Updates” button.
• After the OS upgrade is complete, to fix any Arm32 applications, you will need to manually uninstall then reinstall those applications from the Microsoft Store. By doing so, you will install a compatible version that will run on your device.

Thank you everyone who gave us feedback on the new Windows Local Administrator Password Solution feature which we shipped a few months ago. Several customers pointed out that the new Post Authentication Actions feature (PAA) only handled termination of interactive logon sessions. This meant that PAA was not able to terminate specific individual processes that were launched in an OTS (over-the-shoulder) elevation scenario, for example using runas.exe. We are announcing an improvement with this build that addresses this feedback on that limitation. A new option has been added to the PostAuthenticationActions Group Policy in this Insider Preview build.

Changes & Improvements

Emoji

• With the update of our color font format to COLRv1, Windows is now able to display richer emoji with a 3D like appearance with support coming soon to some apps and browsers. These emoji use gradients to bring the design style that our customers have been asking for. The new emoji will bring more expression to your communications.

Zune

• In celebration of Marvel Studio’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, we temporarily re-launched Zune.net last month. We also took the opportunity to fix an issue that was causing some challenges in getting the original Zune drivers to install in Windows 11 with this build in the Canary Channel. So now it should be easier to use your (totally unsupported and still discontinued) Zune on Windows 11. Over time, the fix will make its way through the Insider Channels and eventually to all Windows 11 customers. For fun, check out how Scott Hanselman brought a few Zunes back to life.

What you need to know:

• Microsoft's Zune mp3 player was discontinued in 2012 after struggling to find its place in a world that was rapidly moving toward multipurpose smart devices.
• The appearance of the device in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise has led to a resurgence of interest in the Zune.
• The official Microsoft Twitter account posted a giveaway tweet where the prize is one unopened Microsoft Zune.
• The giveaway is listed AS-IS and does not guarantee that the Zune will work.

Have you ever wanted to get your hands on a 10-year-old piece of defunct technology? Now's your chance, as Microsoft's official Twitter account is hosting a giveaway for an unopened Microsoft Zune. Though whether or not it works is anybody's guess, and Microsoft will not guarantee it to be in working order for the winner. 

In the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise the main character, Peter Quill, has long connected to memories of his mother via music. Traditionally, this connection was represented through mix tapes played over a Sony Walkman. As a throwaway joke at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 filmmaker James Gunn opted to have Quill's tape deck "upgraded" to a digital music player—the ill-fated Microsoft Zune. In a Facebook Q&A following Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. James Gunn stated that Microsoft was not actually happy to see the Zune being mocked in the film.

Any animosity toward the depiction of the Zune seems to have been cleared up with the recent release of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, however, as Microsoft has even revived the Zune.net website — albeit for STEM research in space. While there seems to be some frustration that a full revival of the Zune didn't happen, you can still luck out and add one of the defunct players to your collection should you happen to win the Twitter giveaway. In the official giveaway rules, Microsoft does stress that the Zune that the winner will receive has been unopened and thus untested, so the prize is listed AS-IS with no guarantee that it will work upon receipt by the lucky winner.

Even if the Zune does work, it may not pair with one of our favorite headsets. With or without a Zune, you can still listen to all your tunes and attend all your meetings in silence and comfort with a pair of Surface Headphones 2.

I was an iPod guy. I liked the iPod and still have a fondness for it, but as I wrote about five years ago, I do feel like the wrong digital music player won out. And I definitely bought the wrong one. But the Zune is back, sort of. 

At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, was presented with his very own Zune to replace his lost, much-loved Sony Walkman. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now here, and the Zune is in the spotlight. 

I've joked on social media that it took until 2023 and a Marvel movie, but finally the Zune will be cooler than the iPod. But there's also an element of truth in it. The Zune is going to be in the spotlight, and having seen the movie now (don't worry, no spoilers will follow) I can't help but feel like Microsoft has missed a huge opportunity with this. 

Where is the Zune? Why can't I buy one? 

Surely there's a warehouse with unsold stock in it? 

Obviously, the Zune is a dead product. But Microsoft is one of the biggest companies on the planet. What they've done so far with kinda, sorta reviving the Zune website is awesome, but I know that a ton of people are going to want to buy one now. 

And the eBay profiteers are going to jack the prices through the roof. Just try and buy the Sony Walkman that featured from the first moments of the first movie. It's not even a high-end model. 

This has been years in the making. The previous movie came out six years ago and it was clear from that point on that Marvel would be featuring the Zune in the next one. Six years in tech is an eternity to produce a terrific way to piggyback on this. 

Surely there's a warehouse somewhere with a bunch of unsold stock? Or did they all get buried in the desert like that awful ET game way back? Obviously, the Zune software and the services linked to it are long gone, but where there's a will, there's a way. We've already seen one Microsoft employee show how to bring one back to life in 2023. Imagine what Microsoft could have done?! 

The Zune HD I had in my possession five years ago, which, by the way, was still after it made its first Marvel appearance, has sadly died and gone to Silicon Heaven. I've always wanted to replace it, now I really want to replace it. 

How good would it have been to see a limited run of Zunes released to tie in with the movie? 

Or how about a new one with Android on? 

Here's an alternative, radical, thought. How about a small run of new Zunes powered by Android? Microsoft isn't exactly doing well with the Surface Duo, sure, but nobody will ever convince me against the thought that if they did it, they would sell every last one of them. 

Sony still sells Walkman hardware powered by Android, and unlike a phone, nobody is going to be screaming for the latest version or constant updates and new features.  An Android base with a Zune app designed to mimic the old one would be killer. Especially since anyone with an Android phone could also have said app. 

There's a reason that I'm not in charge of a multi trillion-dollar company, because I'd do crazy things like this. I'd dig up all those old Zunes from wherever it is they went, or I'd make new ones. 

This partnership with Marvel is huge though. And it's not like it's a passing glance of the Zune in the movie either. You see it a lot. Star-Lord has it integrated into the ship, into Knowhere, he's always listening to it. The missed opportunity is large. 

Let's not also forget that retro is in again. In the age of streaming, vinyl music sales are going through the roof. Vintage fashion is a whole thing. What's old is new again. I'm just sad there hasn't been more made of this. And that if I do want to replace my own lost Zune, it's now likely to cost a small fortune. 

What you need to know

• Microsoft has brought back the Zune website, though it is no longer a page dedicated to the music player.
• Instead, the website has been relaunched with a focus on STEM research.
• The resurrection of Zune.net is also part of a promotion for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which comes out in theaters this week.

Fans of Marvel movies and Microsoft enthusiasts giggled when Chris Pratt's Star-Lord was given a Zune at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The long-dead music player was given to the protagonist of the film by Kraglin, who claimed "It's what everybody's listening to on Earth nowadays." The joke being, of course, that the Zune was retired ages ago.

Microsoft turned into the skid and embraced Zune being part of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. The tech giant has restored the Zune.net website that has been inactive for over ten years. The page is now about STEM research, however, rather than selling or supporting Zune devices.

Zune.net now has articles about STEM research, including multiple links about how science is used in space. A video show Redwire engineers 3-D printing in zero-gravity. There are also guides and resources for teachers about 3-D printing aboard the International Space Station.

Star-Lord makes an appearance as well in a video about getting his Zune fixed. The hero sends a message to the International Space Station requesting help and then floats his Zune over. The astronauts then 3-D print Star-Lord a new Zune.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters this week. We'll keep our eyes peeled for any shots of the Zune in action. The music player is thick enough to take a punch from a supervillain, so maybe it'll come in handy.

If you have a Zune laying around, it is possible to get it up and running in 2023. It requires some third-party software and technical knowledge, but it is possible. Microsoft's Scott Hanselman shared a video of how he got his Zune back in working order.

What you need to know

• Hyperkin is an electronics company that typically make rad gaming accessories.
• The company recently tweeted @Xbox that they'd like to revive Microsoft's deceased music player, the Zune.
• It might be a joke... but?

The year is 2006. The 90s haven't quite fully dissipated yet, but they're on the way out, as a new era of sleek new digital smart devices begin to proliferate across the globe. Apple's iPhone was about to launch, as a big follow up to their wildly successful iPod music platform. The iPhone redefined digital media consumption as we know it, forever, and unfortunately for Microsoft, their Zune player was perhaps a little too late to the party.

While it got caught in the rapid death of the mp3 player, the Zune was a remarkable product for its time, with a sleek interface, powered by a great music service. The design language of the Zune would eventually get incorporated into Windows Phone, and disseminated across Windows itself in various forms. Even in Windows 11, some of its influence can still be felt.

Nowadays, most people simply use their smartphones coupled with a streaming music service like Spotify to get their music fix on the go, but some retro methods have been making a comeback. Vinyl records have begun outselling CDs for the first time since the 80s, as people seek a classic experience that digital mediums simply cannot replicate.

Spotify has found itself in hot water lately over the political content of some of the podcasts on its service, which has led to discussions across social media about the value of some of these streaming platforms and services. It's no secret that Spotify and others pay artists absurdly low amounts for streaming their content, much of which go straight to record labels rather than creators themselves.

Could the humble mp3 player make a comeback? Probably not, although Apple still does sell the iPod, it's practically the only one on the market that still does sell. Is there a timeline where Zune makes a comeback?

Accessory manufacturer Hyperkin is known to Xbox fans for their revival of the classic Xbox OG Duke controller, and today, the team was caught tweeting @Xbox, about possibly reviving an old friend.

Sure, it's most likely a joke... but what if?! Would you pick up a modern Zune to digitize your music collection? Are there enough Zune fans out there to justify it? Sound off in the comments, and who knows? Maybe Hyperkin and Microsoft will hook up on the most unlikely comeback this side of a new Windows phone.

It's the spookiest time of the year, Halloween. In honor of the holiday, we have a horrific poll this weekend. We'd like to know which Microsoft product or service you'd like to see brought back from the dead. From MSN Messenger to the Windows 10 Start menu, Microsoft has a kill count higher than Michael Myers. In fact, it was difficult to keep the list of options short enough to make a functional poll. So: If you could pick just one item to have Microsoft resurrect, which would it be?

We expect Windows Phone to take the lion's share of the votes, but there are some other beloved Microsoft services that have been buried over the years. Many miss Windows Media Center being the center of the living room. There are still Zune enthusiasts, including one fan who made a digital coffee book dedicated to the history of the music player. Others mourned the end of Minecraft Earth.

If your favorite dead Microsoft product or service didn't make the list, please share it in the comments below. If you want to take a trip down memory lane, you can check out Killed by Microsoft for a complete list of everything the company has axed over the years.

Some Microsoft services are already honoring the spirit of Halloween. The Kinect is being used by ghost hunters looking to search out the undead. Some claim that the camera can track "skeletal figures that aren't there." We can't verify that claim, but we can confirm that it worked well with Sonic Free Riders, one of the favorite Kinect games of our news editor Robert Carnevale.

What you need to know

• An unofficial digital coffee table book runs through the history of Zune.
• The book includes sections on hardware, software, the platform, and special edition devices.
• The Zune was initially announced 15 years ago in 2006.

Readers of Windows Central are no strangers to passionate displays about discontinued devices. From Windows Phone to the Kinect, we've seen our share of dead devices receiving love letters. Now, Zune enthusiasts have a new project to enjoy. A software engineer named Peter Bull created "Zunepedia," an unofficial digital coffee table book that runs through the journey of Zune. You can read about the book and download a PDF of it on the Zunepedia website.

The book runs through the history of Zune devices, hardware, and services. It also highlights a community of Zune enthusiasts that's still active in 2021. Zunepedia is over 40 pages of nostalgia covering the familiar yet mostly forgotten music player.

Zune first launched in 2006. It earned a passionate following which still has active remnants today. Ultimately, Zune hardware was discontinued in 2011. It lived briefly as a service on Windows Phones and Xbox consoles, but in 2012 Microsoft shifted to a different branding strategy.

If you know where to look, you can still find remnants of Zune in Microsoft services today. Bull points out that the Segoe font serves as a legacy for the music player. There's also a group of people that collect Zune hardware. Our managing editor sometimes uses a Zune with his Surface Earbuds. There are also several special edition devices, including Halo 3 and Gears of War 2 versions, which are popular among collectors.

The most recent major mention of Zune in pop culture is its appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Perhaps Zune will make a return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3., though by then Starlord may have moved onto a Lumia 1020.

Zune turned 13 years old in 2019, and that realization made me a bit sentimental. Yeah, it's long dead, and it never stood a real chance of challenging the iPod on a large scale. But Microsoft's plucky music player was innovative in its own ways, and it was cool to me despite its very uncool reputation.

In a world of iPods in every backpack, I was one of those weirdos carrying around the OG Zune after I saved up enough to buy one in 2007. Yeah, I understood the allure of the iPod then, and there was always the pressure to fit in. However, it was precisely because the Zune was so different that it appealed to me.

And when I say different, I mean it. For the young ones reading this, that original Zune was a heavy brick of a device that definitely didn't look as elegant as the iPods of the time. Instead of Apple's smooth click wheel navigation, you had to punch your way through songs using regular old buttons. Oh, the horror.

Despite its size, the original Zune had a lot going for its design, though. For one, it felt sturdy as hell; like you could chuck it through a wall and it'd be just fine. There was also the plastic it was made of, which had this super premium feel and a slight translucent quality that looked great.

Beyond its exterior design, though, it was the interface that really drew me in. You could tell Microsoft put a lot of care into not only how you sorted through and selected songs, but how it looked. The design felt fresh and futuristic. It was well beyond the iPod's boring, simple menus of the era. And though you were unlikely to run into many Zunes in the wild, Microsoft had this neat feature where you could quickly share songs with other Zune users. That was a big deal at the time.

The chunky Zune went through a couple of design iterations in the coming years, slimming things down, altering the look of the buttons, and more. It was the Zune HD in 2009 that completely overhauled the look and feel of the player, adopting an elegant aluminum shell, a fantastic (for the time) OLED screen, and a redesigned UI that would lay the groundwork for Microsoft's Metro design philosophy seen in Windows phones.

The Zune HD was a bit of a revelation for me. It competed with the iPod Touch, adding support for apps (though there were few) and a web browser. In a time before I had yet to jump on the smartphone bandwagon, the Zune HD was my smartphone (so long as I was in range of Wi-Fi).

But it was the Zune PC software and subscription service that really had me hooked. You could, at the time, subscribe to Zune Pass, which let you access and download millions of songs from the Zune Marketplace's catalog for a monthly fee. For a time, that also gave you 10 free songs to keep each month.

This was before music streaming with apps like Spotify was common, and it made the iPod feel like it was stuck in the stone age. It also fostered a sense of music discovery that was hugely important to me at the time. I found a ton of artists and songs that I never would have otherwise if I had the barrier of buying every track before I could listen to it.

Nowadays, we're spoiled for choice when it comes to having access to millions of songs within seconds anywhere we go, and that's a good thing. But for me, I'll always look back on Zune as the piece of tech that left the biggest impression on me. The hardware was unique, the software design was polished and modern, and Zune Pass gave me an unprecedented feeling of freedom in music exploration.

Updated June 12, 2020: This article originally ran for Zune's thirteenth anniversary in November of 2019. It has been updated and edited slightly for our nostalgia series.

Zune HD made me wish I never bought an iPod

Put those rose-colored glasses on and embrace the past with more in our tech nostalgia series.

• Windows Central
  • 35 (glorious) years of Windows
  • Remembering Windows Phone
  • PC gaming changed my life
  • Legacy of the Pocket PC
  • Best video games of the '80s
  • Why Zune left a permanent impression on us
  • Remembering Xbox 360
  • A love letter to Diablo II
• Android Central
  • The best Android tablet was the Pixel C
  • Galaxy S Fascinate retrospective review
  • HTC Inspire 4G retrospective review
  • Why the Moto X was the best
  • Honeycomb: The Android version we all forgot
  • Nexus Q was super weird but influential
  • NVIDIA Shield is timeless
  • The phones that made us fall for Android
  • How Android has changed over the years
  • Android phones with physical keyboards
  • Admit it, Android sucked before 2017
  • The wild early days of Android smartwatches
• iMore
  • First Mac memories
  • Remembering arcades
  • Love for LAN
  • Lemonade Stand memories
  • The classy iPod Classic
  • Game manual memorabilia
  • Nintendo Nostalgia
  • Cassettes vs digital music

If you head to the Microsoft Answers forum for any expecting official technical support for an older Microsoft product, you'll soon be out of luck. The company announced today that it will no longer be providing technical support from Microsoft agents for a slew of products, including older versions of Windows and Office, along with Microsoft Band, Zune, and older Surface PCs (via MSPU).

Here's a look at all of the products that will be "discontinued across different forums in the community" as of July, 2018:

• Windows 7, 8.1, 8.1 RT
• Microsoft Security Essentials
• Internet Explorer 10
• Office 2010, 2013
• Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface RT, Surface 2
• Microsoft Band – this topic will be locked. Users are invited to participate in Microsoft Band 2 topic.
• Mobile devices forum – Microsoft support will continue in "Other Windows mobile devices" topic
• Zune – this topic will be locked, but will remain available for browsing

According to Microsoft, the move is being made to "shift" its support scope. Staff will still moderate the forums, and community members are asked to continue to participate in topics that remain open. However, Microsoft says there will no longer be "proactive reviews, monitoring, answering or answer marking of questions."

If you've seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, you'll likely remember the appearance of a Microsoft Zune near the end. The ill-fated MP3 player was used as a bit of a joke, but also as a way to connect protagonist Peter "Star-Lord" Quill with his mother, Meredith, through music.

As it turns out, the Zune was meant to achieve more than a chuckle and a heartwarming moment. According to a recent Facebook Live Q&A with the movie's director, James Gunn, Star-Lord's newly acquired Zune will also serve as a way for his (spoiler) now-dead surrogate father, Yondu, to communicate with him through song in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (via Polygon).

The Zune's best years may be behind it, but it's neat to see it still seeing some relevance more than a decade after its debut — even if slightly in jest. No word on what type of music we'll be hearing from the Zune in the next movie, but the move from the franchise's signature Sony Walkman to the Zune certainly opens up the possibility of slightly more current song choices.

For more, check out the full Q&A with James Gunn in the Facebook video below.

Microsoft has started alerting users of the impending retirement of the Zune Music Pass. Alongside the alert, a support document details the transition to the Groove Music Pass and the death of the beloved free 10 tracks per month download. From the Zune retirement FAQ:

So, when November 15 rolls around, Zune Music Pass subscribers will be automatically converted over to Groove Music Pass. Microsoft notes that this will occur for monthly subscribers on their next renewal date at a rate of $9.99 per month, while 3-month and annual subscribers will be converted sometime between October and November. It's important to note, however, that Microsoft says 3-month subscribers will be moved to the monthly subscription.

Finally, if users wish to cancel their 3-month or annual subscriptions before their subscription runs out, they may be eligible for a partial refund.

Thanks to Anthony and Franklin for the tips!

Source: Microsoft

Last week we announced a minor update that was pushed for Xbox Music on Widows 8.1.  The update had seemed to simply include a variety of bug fixes and performance tweaks, but a member from our forums has pointed out that the update has brought back a feature that had been previously taken out in a past update – full screen artist visualizations.

User John Balacano has pointed out the latest release of Xbox Music brings back the long loved “full screen artist” back to our Windows 8.1 PCs. For those of you who are feeling a bit homesick from the legacy Zune desktop software, this will sure make you feel at home.

The original Zune software was released way back in 2006 for syncing Zune devices – the ability to sync Windows Phone devices was later added on in 2010 when the first version of the mobile operating system appeared on the market. Many users today still continue to use the Zune software despite the fact that Microsoft has ceased to provide updates after it was replaced by the, now, Xbox Music app for Windows 8.

If the visualizations are one of the reasons you prefer the Zune software over the Xbox Music application, then you can check that item off of your list. The full screen artist visualizations look best if you happen to have a second monitor on which you can keep the Xbox Music app open, while working on the other. To check out the visualization mode, simply navigate to the “Now Playing” tab on the left hand side and then click the full screen button on the right hand side of the screen.

If you don’t already have the latest version of the Xbox Music software, you can grab it by clicking here. If you want to discuss the update with others, you can head over to the original forum thread by clicking here.

So, readers – are you happy to see the artist visualizations back?

Remember Microsoft’s Zune line of multimedia players? I haven’t forgotten, and to this day, the Zune 120 GB Black "Brick" remains as one of my favorite pieces of hardware from the past. To help everyone relax, while bringing back some Microsoft nostalgia, below is a short video list of some of the rocking (and mellow) tunes used in the original commercials.

The playlist includes the following as of now:

Wanna Be a Star by Walter Meego

​With Microsoft’s launch of the third generation Zune, they wanted to show off what it could do with some punchy pop music. The commercial makes sure to show off the Zune’s FM radio, wireless PC syncing, music sharing with friends, and of course that gorgeous display on the 30/80/120 GB units.

This is Why I’m Hot (Rock Mix) by MiMs

One of Microsoft’s first Zune commercials kicks it off with some rock and isn’t afraid to show why it "rocks". Wireless music sharing, the FM radio, and gigantic display are front row in this ad.

Universal Mind Control by Common

Remember the Zune social? This commercial from the Redmond team aims to show the Social’s discover ability. This ad isn’t actually about the Zune device itself, but the 3.0 release of the Zune desktop software.

Trash by The Whip

Flashy and sexy – it all screams Zune HD. This quick sixteen second (and super widescreen) advertisement using some fast past music to get your adrenalin pumping.

Lake Michigan by Rogue Wave

Here is a mellower Zune commercial; a girl touches her device and enters, what I like to call, a "wicked acid trip". This is one of a few Zune commercials that really went far beyond what we expected to see from an MP3 player commercial. Specifically it focuses on the smaller 4/8/16 GB Zunes.

Sleeping Lessons by The Shins

This is another trippy Zune music commercial that takes a jump inside one guy’s mind and the creativity that comes with music. I find the song that accompanies this ad to be extremely disturbing, but hey, that is just me. One commenter on YouTube, says he has begun "sleeping to this song".

Check out the videos and sample the songs above, then head to your favorite streaming music service via the provided links below and start grooving. What was your favorite Zune commercial? If you have a “Zune tune” that we forgot, make sure to hit us up in the comments and I will be sure to add it.

Click here to launch the playlist in Spotify.

Click here to launch the playlist in Rdio.

(Sorry, we can’t share a playlist through Xbox Music - blame Microsoft not us!)

Have a great weekend!

The desktop Zune client could easily go down as one of the greatest desktop applications of all time. It was loved by many for its modern interface, features, and operability with Windows Phone 7. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to unify its entertainment offerings under the Xbox branding, which is why we now have Xbox Music and Xbox Video. Zune still lives though, it’s essential to users who are still on Windows Phone 7.x or those hanging onto their legacy Zune devices. Sadly, video won’t work after February of 2014.

Emails are going out to customers that don’t bode well for anyone hanging onto some old Zune devices. Here’s what it says:

That’s a big bummer if you regularly used your device for video. They go onto to say in the email that you can enjoy your video content at through your browser, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows 8 and 8.1 PC, and Windows Phone. Hopefully we’ll be seeing Xbox Video on Windows Phone before late February.

Earlier this summer, Microsoft phased out rental support for the Zune Marketplace.

Does this impact you?                                                                               

Thanks for the tip Zack W!

Source: Microsoft

GDR2 is slowly rolling out to Windows Phone 8 handsets around the globe. Some devices, like the Lumia 925 and 1020, already come with GDR2 preinstalled. For everyone else, the updates are slowly coming.

We’ve always had a pretty good idea of what’s new in GDR2, but some items were slightly vague. For example we knew Microsoft made "improvements to Xbox Music", but didn’t know exactly what that meant. Thanks to a blog posting by the Windows Phone team, we now know what's changed.

We’ve lamented the regressed music experience in Windows Phone 8 with Xbox Music compared to Zune on Windows Phone 7 before, so it’s nice to see Microsoft improving the experience (although we wish the rate was faster). Here’s what’s been improved in GDR2 on Windows Phone 8 for your Xbox Music cloud collection:

• We fixed a bug that caused duplicate songs to appear on phones when users copied over a song from their PC that also exists in their cloud collection. (To remove existing duplicates on your phone, you’ll need to update your PC companion app, then delete and re-sync your music.)
• We now sync cloud collection to the Music+Videos Hub more frequently, so tweaks you make on the PC are reflected more quickly on the phone.
• We made it easier to select multiple—or all songs—from cloud-based playlists and download them to your phone

The idea behind the cloud collection has always been appealing to us, but it has been a frustrating experience in the past with duplicate songs and a slow sync rate between PC and phone. Microsoft claims the fixes for the cloud collection in GDR2 will result in fewer instances of wrong album art popping up and albums getting split into two.

The team has also made other small improvements and fixes with Xbox Music in GDR2. Here’s what else you can look forward to:

• Steps taken so artists, song, or album metadata doesn’t inadvertently get overwritten. Metadata is now looked up to your music only if synced track is missing key info
• Issues fixed that prevented former Zune Pass and current Xbox Music subscribers from playing tracks with DRM on their phone
• Transfer playlists made in the Music app on Windows 8 to your Windows Phone. You’ll need both the latest updates for the Music and the Windows Phone app on Windows 8. Select a playlist and share with the Share charm to your phone. Currently only on x86-based devices.
• Streaming has been improved. Tracks less likely to skip or pause because Xbox Music will start fetching the next track before the current one you’re listening to fades out.

All these changes are very welcomed for Windows Phone 8 users who have been frustrated with Xbox Music and its slow progress. However, GDR2 won’t support Xbox Video, that won’t come until “later this year”.

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Sometimes technology is a collection of circuitry and silicon, sometimes though – it is a magical moment full of feelings and memories. The best experiences are born when technology transcends our knowledge and connects us with what we love. British science fiction writer and futurist, Arthur C. Clarke, once said:

Microsoft has been around for a long time and for those of us who live off of the technology they provide, some of the memories will never seep away.

In 2007, the company released a four minute commercial that has come to be known as “Your Digital Lifestyle”. The ad highlighted the then current hi-tech Microsoft products of the time and how one green shirted hipster used them to party the night away. The commercial is set to a cover of Ash’s Girl from Mars by Canadian group, Magneta Lane.

Buckle up, because we are going on a field trip to six years ago; along the way, we are going to jam with our green shirted friend and revisit some of our past Microsoft technology goodies. Windows Vista will probably be seen along the way, but there will be plenty of other experiences to combat that bad flavor.

Okay, roll the footage!

Windows Live Messenger

Our friend Mark, is at work and on his PC when he receives a Windows Live Messenger chat from his friend Pia (she must be the girl from Mars). Today we know that Microsoft’s messenger software is deprecated, but in 2007 – most of the world still used it. The service was first rolled out as “MSN Messenger” on July 22, 1999 until it was rebranded in 2005. Until its death, Microsoft reported that over 330 million active users a month used the service.

What happened next you ask? Microsoft purchased Skype and merged the two services. Finally in 2012, the service was killed in favor of fully utilizing Skype. This marks our first evolution of a Microsoft service: MSN Messenger -> Windows Live Messenger -> Skype with Windows Live Messenger -> Skype.

Windows Live Spaces

On we go! Pia sends Mark a link to Windows Live Spaces where he can check out party details and RSVP to the event. Windows Live Spaces was Microsoft’s poorly known social network and launched in 2004 as MSN Spaces. The goal of the site was to compete with other networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter (Sorry kids, grandpa didn’t have Google+ yet).

The problem with Microsoft’s social networking platform was that it didn’t offer any differentiating features from its already popular competitor, Facebook. The network was shut down in 2011 and has not been rebranded or reestablished.

Microsoft has launched a new, but unrelated, social networking site called Socl which you can read more about here.

Live Search Maps 3D

Mark decides he wants to go to get his groove on, so he heads to Live Search Maps 3D and spins around a view of the city before dashing off.  Why he spins the city around in circles, we can’t tell you. What we can tell you is what happed to 3D maps – they died. The service was an attempt to achiever near-photorealism of a city with high resolution models and aerial photography. Needless to say, the service was expensive and less than 68 cities were rendered before the program was dropped in 2010. According to Microsoft, they wanted to focus more on their new service – Bing Maps (more on that in a bit).

Windows Live Search

With his dashing lime green sweater now on, he pulls out his HTC phone and uses Live Search to look up traffic. Microsoft has been in the search game for a long time; they launched their first web search product in 1998 and crowned it, MSN Search. The newly launched service consisted of a search engine, index, and web crawler. It isn’t well known that from 1998 to 2005, Microsoft didn’t actually provide its own search engine results; the company partnered with Inktomi, Looksmart, and AltaVista until 2004 when Microsoft decided to go at it on their own.

In 2006, Microsoft rebranded MSN Search to Windows Live Search then changed their mind in 2007 and settled on Live Search. For the first time in history, Microsoft now powered their entire search engine internally. A problem still remained though, the company wanted to separate their search platform from their Windows division and “Live Search” just wasn’t doing the job. On June 3^rd, 2008 – Microsoft launched Bing! Another evolution pattern emerges: MSN Search -> Windows Live Search -> Live Search -> Bing!

Zune

Now that Mark is safely buckled in and ready to put the petal to the metal, he docks his gigantic first generation Zune into a car dock and rocks some tunes. You will have to give me a minute to mourn Zune as it was one of my favorite Microsoft babies… okay, I’m good now.

Zune was launched in November 2006 as a direct competitor to Apple’s line of iPod multimedia devices. Toshiba helped design and develop the first generation Zune units under code name “Argo”. The original Zune was criticized for its bulky size and it’s (uh) interesting color choice of brown. It also didn’t help Microsoft that on December 31^st 2008 at midnight, many first generation Zune 30 GB models froze due to an internal clock driver problem - luckily the devices resumed working 24 hours later.

The second and third generations of Zune were manufactured by Flextronics and gave birth to the squircle (not to be confused with the Pokémon, squirtal) shaped Zune Pad; this ingenious touch-sensitive pad allowed users to flick through content or click in on the edges to navigate the metro style interface.

On September 15, 2009 the last and final fourth generation Zune was released – the Zune HD. Oh, the excitement I remember experiencing when I ran to BestBuy and picked up my beautiful Zune HD with platinum backing. The design of the unit was superb, taking cues from industrial styling. And of course I could not forget the OLED touch screen which, at the time, made the iPhone look dull and washed out. Unfortunately, Apple’s iPod Touch had accumulated a massive store of applications while the Zune HD’s list of apps could be counted on two hands.

On March 15, 2011 Microsoft’s Zune brand was killed as it failed to capture any significant market share. Zune isn’t completely gone though, it has been rebranded. Production of any Zune players may have stopped, but the Zune Marketplace services were rebranded as Xbox Music and Xbox Video. The spirit of Zune continues to live on within Microsoft’s Windows Phone line of devices.

Games for Windows

Back to Mark - unfortunately his car has failed him and like any true hipster, he has a foldable bike in his trunk. He hops on his bike and pulls out Live Search once again to find directions to the closest pizzeria (although, if he lived in the area, you think he would know where a pizza place is located). After arriving at the pizza place, a semi-psychotic man jumping up and down playing a shoot-em-up video game, is behind the counter. Video games on a PC? This must be a Windows machine!

One of the major reasons Microsoft has been able to keep its following, is PC gaming. For the intense gamer, the PC platform provides a more open and moldable playing field. Using online stores like Steam, gamers can access a barrage of content available for download. Faster and more powerful hardware allows for graphics that can blow consoles out of the water. Quite frankly, if you haven’t played Crysis on Ultra settings with three surround-view monitors – you haven’t lived.

Games for PC were not united under a single brand name until 2007 when Microsoft launched “Games for Windows”. The new service and branding allowed Windows Vista games to access the Xbox LIVE service. With Games for Windows, players can cumulate achievements, chat with friends, and more. Some games, like Shadowrun, allowed for cross platform play between a Windows PC and Xbox 360 game console. The service was eventually renamed to “Games for Windows LIVE” with support on Windows 7 machines. Newer, Windows 8 machines, take advantage of their Xbox integration and run games under the title: “Xbox LIVE on Windows”.

Whatever you would like to call the service, it did not fair too well. The marketplace based around “Games for Windows” was eventually scrapped. Microsoft may be the number one PC platform for gaming, but in terms of a marketplace – they are ages late. Most PC gamers will love to tell you all about their devote loyalty to the Steam Marketplace; while they do that – let us, move on.

Xbox 360

The commercial snaps away to a scene of party goers (does that give away how often I am not invited to parties) gaming on an Xbox 360 game console.

Xbox was launched in North America on November 15^th, 2001 to compete against Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s GameCube. The idea was first pitched in 1998 by four engineers working on Microsoft’s DirectX team. The engineers built a prototype Windows based console from pats of a dissembled Dell laptop. The idea was pitched to executives and eventually approved.

The marketing team at Microsoft hated the Xbox name and made many suggestions in favor of a name change. In the end, consumer testing had revealed that Xbox was the preferred name for the console and it stuck. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the name Xbox, was derived from the word “DirectX” – the software platform the console was based on.

The unit launched with impressive features such as Xbox LIVE, an online based gaming service with buddy list integration, and a build in HDD, to store save game data without the need of a memory card. For those wondering, the internal specs were as follows: Intel Pentium 3 CPU, 8-10 GB HDD, 64 MB of RAM, and a 233 MHz NVidia GPU.

Microsoft’s first step into the console world was a success with the Xbox selling over 24 million consoles.

The Xbox 360, the console seen in the commercial, was the second game console developed by Microsoft and the successor to the original Xbox. The unit competed against the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii and sold 70 million consoles as of September 2012. The console was a hit and sold out upon release in all regions except Japan.

Stepping up from its predecessor, the Xbox 360 contained a PowerPC tri-core CPU, a 500 MHz ATi GPU, 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM, and 4GB – 250 GB of internal storage.

Later this year Microsoft will be launching the Xbox One, a new game console, with tight TV and Windows 8/RT integration. The unit will feature an eight-core AMD CPU, AMD DirectX graphics, and 8 GB of DDR3 RAM. If you missed the original announcement for the console, you can check out our Reveal Day Overview here.

Windows Mobile

While our “bestie” Mark is out, the girl from Mars sends him a picture text message via her Windows Mobile device - she needs beer and chips!

Windows Phone Central is all about Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system and we could spend a week giving you the lowdown on the evolution of Windows Mobile, so here is the very just of it.

Windows Mobile was launched on April 19^th, 2000 and originally called Pocket PC. In 2003, Microsoft decided to rename Pocket PC to Windows Mobile.

The software was released in four editions including: Windows Mobile for Pocket PC Premium, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC Professional, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, and Windows Mobile for Pocket PC Phone. If you think that naming scheme is confusing, just imagine how the average consumer felt.

Eventually, Microsoft narrowed down the operating system to three different iterations including: Windows Mobile Professional, Windows Mobile Standard, and Windows Mobile Classic. Professional was designed to run on smartphones with touchscreens, Standard was designed to run on mobile phones without touchscreens, and Classic was designed to run on PDAs or Pocket PCs (AKA: Anything without a mobile broadband connection).

In 2004, Windows Mobile’s market share was 11.3%; it increased to a maximum high of 42% in 2007 and then decreased down to 3% by 2011 – Blackberry and iPhone were becoming too strong of a force to deal with.

On November 8th 2010, Microsoft launched its successor to Windows Mobile – Windows Phone. Besides the massive changes to the front end of the OS and a complete recoding of the backend, Windows Phone was aimed at an entirely new market audience; the previous phone OS from Redmond was aimed at business users and enterprise, while Windows Phone is aimed at consumers.

Currently, Windows Phone has a growth rate of 133% per year, surpassing Android OS’ 79.5%. As of now, Nokia dominates the Windows Phone hardware market with an 83% share outside of the United States of America.

More Zune

Like any good guy chasing a girl, Mark follows the instructions Pia has sent him, and heads to a local convenience store to pick up the goods. While there, he notices the cashier has a Zune also and decides to squirt her.

No, get your mind out of the gutter you internet reader! Squirting a user was a feature on Zune in which you could easily share your music wirelessly with others. It was important to note that if the user did not have a Zune Pass they would only be able to share a sixty second clip.

After Mark squirts the woman behind the counter (seriously guys, stop thinking like that) he rushes out of the store and heads over to the party he has been so anxious to get to.

Windows Live Essentials

Know what is cooler than viewing pictures of a party? Viewing pictures of a party while you are still at that party. The girls decide to take a barrage of photos and (because nothing else fun is going on) organize and share them with Windows Live Photo Gallery.

Apple’s Macs have come preloaded with iLife, a suite of video and photo editing software, for years. Microsoft needed to badly cut in on the home multimedia action for their Windows platform. In 2006, the company released what they called “Windows Live Essentials” – a package that included: Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Writer, SkyDrive (formally Mesh), and Windows Live Family Safety Tools.

The software has proved to work well and it is in its fifth wave (or distribution). The software suite, had been renamed to Windows Essentials in its last release; this ensured that the brand name stayed in line with Microsoft’s corporate setup. Just as Live Search was renamed to Bing, Windows Live Essentials was renamed to Windows Essentials - dropping the “Live” branding.

Windows Vista

Mark finally arrives at the party with a collection of pizzas and starts dancing the night away. And as we all know, the perfect way to end a commercial is with Windows Vista – oh my. We have to talk about Windows Vista now, don’t we? Let’s do this, to spare you pain and to spare myself pain, I will make the Windows Vista discussion brief.

Microsoft’s redesigned operating system Windows Vista was released six years ago on January 30^th, 2007. The list of criticisms for this iteration of the Redmond OS can go so long that there is an entire Wikipedia page (and many angry webpages) devoted to it.

Here is the just of the worst Windows Vista features: To start, the operating system was incompatible with almost all Windows XP drivers because the code base was rewritten; this caused extreme hardware issues with new and old devices alike. It took manufacturers months to provide correct driver compatibility and even then – they didn’t work too well.

Windows Vista was also the introduction of User Account Control, a software mechanisms designed to keep users safe when installing content or running applications as administrator. The problem – the feature was over intrusive and constantly nagged at you to approve EVERYTHING.

Let’s conclude with the fact that Windows Vista was bloated and slow. The new aero interface taxed heavily on your graphics card and the system seemed to have no mercy unless you had the top of the line hardware.

Want to know a secret of mine? Windows Vista was so bad, that I ran out and purchased a MacBook Pro. That is right, I switched to Mac during the Windows Vista years and returned when Windows 7 was released.

The Road Ahead

I’ve had a ton of fun taking a semi-brief look back at Microsoft six years ago. The company has changed much since then and we are being shot forward into a future of crazy bright colors and live tiles. Technology is an industry that is moving faster than ever and it is almost impossible to properly predict. Will Xbox One be a hit or flop? Will consumers grow to love Windows 8 or not? We will have to wait and find out – this road trip is over.

If you are wondering what happened to our friend Mark at the end of the video, check it out for yourself.

Tell us, what is your favorite piece of Microsoft nostalgia? I personally, to this day, remain in love with the Zune line of devices. In fact – just last night I had a dream that I was running Spotify off of my old Zune HD…. Probably a sign that I need a vacation.

Chat soon fellow Microsofties!

Microsoft has fired out an email introducing consumers to the Xbox Music Pass, which was previously branded the Zune Pass. The subscription model opens up an impressive catalogue of music that's available for streaming, download and purchase (should one wish to cancel the subscription but retain music tracks). We've previously expected the company to launch the rebranded streaming service as successor.

Paving way for the future, the Xbox Music Pass will work on Windows Phone, Windows 8 and the Xbox video game console (only streaming is supported on the console). Consumers are able to add up to 5 devices at any one time, and only two may be removed every 30 days. This limit is more than enough for the average user, but has leeway for those who have multiple desktops, laptops and phones.

For $9.99 it's well worth the investment. The service is pretty expansive and has room for improvement. So in case you've been hiding away, Xbox Music and the Xbox Music Pass is what we're dealing with now.

This post started as a quick 30 second tutorial on how to make your music experience a bit better on your new device running Windows Phone 8. However, it kind of morphed into a bit of a rant about one aspect of Xbox Music. So sit back and read my thoughts and criticisms about the cloud collection or jump to the end for a quick tip that could save your sanity and help your wallet.

The complaint

So, if you’re anything like me most of the music you listen to on a daily basis might have recently been downloaded. Which is awesome with Windows Phone, because there is a ‘new’ section when you launch the music and video hub that shows your recently downloaded/added music. It started in Windows Phone 7 and can still be found in Windows Phone 8. However, you might find an album or two that is ‘new’ but not stored locally on the phone. You see, with the Xbox Music Cloud your playlists are synced across all your different devices. Which is great for an overall experience with Xbox Music, but can be a tad annoying in the new section on Windows Phone. There are a few reasons why it’s annoying for me.

The first is that the quality of the music is dependent on your data connection. If you’re on a Wi-Fi network that shouldn’t be an issue and I’m sure I’ll read the comments below with most of you saying you’re near Wi-FI 90% of the time. That’s great, but I drive a lot and rely on my cellular connection. I’d argue the experience is broken when I click on an album expecting it to play instantly but instead need to wait while it buffers.

My second complaint is that data isn’t cheap. I don’t want to spend my monthly allotment of data on music and easily went through a bit of my plan the first week with my Lumia 920. I can see a lot of users checking their first bill and being surprised at how much data they used up. For the record, the users I referred to in that last sentence probably isn’t you. Instead its people like my mom or who may not be able to easily tell the difference between which music is stored on her phone vs. the cloud. Those of who you pay for unlimited data or are grandfathered into a plan won’t be bothered by this, but I feel for those out there who are already getting shafted by carriers.

The last annoyance with this issue was referenced in the last paragraph. There is no visual indication of whether an album is stored locally or the cloud. Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing an album I just downloaded on my Windows 8 PC show up on my Windows Phone, it’s an overall great experience. There just needs to be a quick way to tell if I’m about to eat into my data plan and currently there isn’t.

The solution for Microsoft

This is a simple suggestion that I think could help alleviate all the problems I see with it right now. Adding a visual element to an album cover can show when it’s in the cloud. Here is a two second mock-up just to illustrate what I mean. The image on the right is a sample of an album that isn't on your device, but instead in your Xbox Music cloud collection. What do you think?

The solution for now

So first few days I had my Lumia 920 I was frustrated that some of the content in the new section wasn’t actually on my device. I just put up with it as a new quirk of the operating system. Thankfully, this isn’t the case. The super simple fix to get it to just show your local content: in the settings for ‘music+video’ you have an option to turn off Xbox Music cloud collection. Turn that off and you’ll only see content stored on your phone. This may be a minor annoyance, but I hope the super simple fix helps some of you. 

What other complaints or concerns do you have with the new Xbox Music service?

This guide is aimed at those who already have a previous generation Windows Phone handset but can also be worthwhile for those of you who are new to the platform.

We’re going to cover what you need to know in order to ease the transition from old to new so you can get back to top speed and start enjoying your new device.

When you first switch on your new handset it will talk you through the main bits about signing in with your Microsoft ID. It’s really important that you get signed in as soon as possible as it will bring down all your account information, contacts, emails, calendar and some other items.

Where are my apps?

One of the great things about Windows Phone is that if you ever bought an app from the marketplace you won’t have to buy it again when you get a replacement device. That same rule applies to Windows Phone 8 devices too. If you bought an app on your old handset you can install it on your new one by browsing the Windows Phone Store to find it and then click “buy”. Don’t worry though, you won’t be buying the app again, the system will then register that you already bought it in the past and ask if you want to install it again.

Get your purchase history and start reinstalling on the windows Phone website

Remembering what apps you bought can be a pain so there are few things you can do to help this process on. Firstly you can head over to www.windowsphone.com and sign in with that Microsoft ID, click on the menu and select ‘Purchase History’. From the following page(s) you can reinstall your previous apps from the comfort of your web browser. Best to make sure your phone is connected to Wi-Fi and plugged in and charging while you do that bit.

Backup your old Phone before you forget!

While it’s easy to get blinded by the newest thing in the room, make sure you plug in your previous Windows Phone and backup your photos and any music you have there. If you’re using a PC, you’ll need the easy to use Zune Desktop Client which you can grab here or if you’re using an Apple Mac then you’ll need the Mac Connector Client which you can grab from here. If it’s been a while since you last connected up the phone, you might be surprised at what you’ll find.

Syncing your content on Windows Phone 8

Things have changed with the latest version of Windows Phone, you’ll now have a number of ways to move data back and forth between your computer and your handset.

Windows 8/RT App

Windows 8 Sync App

If you’re your running Microsoft’s latest and greatest OS, Windows 8 you will need to jump to the App Store and grab the touch friendly WinRT software there. The app will let you automatically import your photos and videos from the phone and of course let you add music, video and photos back to the device.

When adding music you can choose to add songs individually or by just selecting a folder. The app also gives you some shortcuts to browse for apps in the web version of the app store as well as pointing you to www.windowsphone.com which we already covered at the start of this feature.  The app is rather light on features at the moment, you may even notice there is no podcast support here we’ll tackle that later in the article.

Desktop application - podcast syncing is possible via iTunes.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 Desktop Software

At the moment the desktop version of the syncing tool is probably the best option for the time being as it simply has more functionality. It can even make things easier if you predominantly use iTunes to buy and manage your collection (how things change!). The software works on both Windows 7 and 8 and it runs as a desktop application. As it is a desktop application this means you cannot install and use this if you have a Surface tablet running Windows RT, you’ll need to stick to the WinRT app mentioned previously.

With the desktop app you can check to see how the space is being used on your device and can of course import your photos and videos to your PC. The software shows you two views, one of the phones content and the other of the PC’s content. If you’re looking at the PC content you get to choose to sync things piecemeal or by selecting ‘sync all music’ it will do the lot. You also get similar options for syncing photos and videos.

What about those podcasts?

In the settings menu of the Windows Phone sync software its likely setup to ‘sync music, videos and more’ using Windows Libraries. Unfortunately in this mode it currently doesn’t understand or recognise podcasts. If you have been using the Zune desktop software in the past to download and manage your podcasts from your PC then that content won’t show up at present, we hope this changes rapidly.

The other option in the sync software is to use *gasp* iTunes as the source instead of Windows Libraries. The advantage of this is it gives you the option to manage podcast subscriptions on the iTunes software (which frankly does a better job of it and works globally). With iTunes comes the task of “adding” your music and video to its catalogue, once you have done that (you can just drag and drop your music folder onto iTunes when it’s open to kick this off). The content gets indexed by iTunes and will become visible in the Windows Phone syncing software. Your podcasts can now be synced properly to your device.

Desktop App now using iTunes to manage content - happy to see iTunes back?

At present the desktop Windows Phone syncing software is still in ‘preview’ form so things are bound to change and features will be added. At the moment though, especially if you’re keen to keep up to date on your podcasts we recommend using iTunes. If you’re in the USA then you can browse and subscribe to podcasts from the Store on your phone. Microsoft have never allowed folks outside the US to subscribe to podcasts using their Store mechanism, we are unable to find out why or even if this will change.

You can now drag and drop content to and from your device

Windows Phone 8 now reveals itself properly in Windows Explorer, when you plug it in to your machine it will simply appear as a storage device under ‘Computer’, just like a removal disk such as a USB stick or memory card does. You can now simply double click on the phone and add and remove content as you see fit. Just drag and drop things in there, it’s really easy. We covered this in depth a while back so we’d urge you to go and take a look. For video syncing and converting the drag and drop method seems to work best at the moment.

Music you have bought from the Zune Marketplace or Xbox Music

Get your previous purchases on your Windows Phone 8 device.

Xbox Music on Windows Phone 8 and the Windows 8 apps now allow you to download your past purchases. On Windows Phone 8 launch Xbox Music, hit settings and ensure that “Xbox Music cloud collection” is enabled. Once you have done that your previous purchases will show up in your music collection. You can then just stream them on your device or if you press and hold you can opt to download the tracks to your phone.

Sounding off

As you can see there are plenty of ways to get your new phone back up and running like you had it before. The syncing software for Windows 8 is in its very early stages and we expect much of this to settle down and get better along the way.

If you have any tips or ideas for getting started or moving your things to your new device then please get in touch and let us know. The comments below are a good place to start but if you have more to say you can drop me a line using the contact form below.

As we move ever closer to the launch of Windows 8 we also near the relaunch of Microsoft’s music services. All traces of Zune branding are being replaced with the upcoming Xbox Music.

On trying to go to www.zune.net we now get a re-direct to Xbox.com to be told that Zune Music is now Xbox Music. We’re going to miss that crazy pink and white website but it's had its time.

Microsoft didn’t have much luck with its iPod competitor but the devices and the eat as much as you like music service was much loved by those in the know. The Zune service, while innovative at the time, failed to keep pace with the rest and fell behind in features and content. Microsoft have been tidying up their often confusing branding and now entertainment products are going to get the Xbox name.

RIP Zune

Helpfully, the Xbox redirect actually has a FAQ section about what is happening. Perhaps Microsoft should have made this change when they announced Xbox Music instead of leaving existing customers confused. The page does still allow for contacting Zune Support and downloading the Zune Software so the rebranding isn’t fully complete. The Zune desktop software is essential for Windows Phone 7 for updating and file management, we still haven’t had any indication this will be updated to reflect the new naming.

With the destruction of the Zune site comes the promise of greater things. With a new website will come a host of new features and we’re excited to see a radical improvement to the often clunky and confusing Zune site. We’re being promised new social features along with a radically expanded music collection, topping 30 million tracks. We’ll have scan and match capabilities along with Xbox Music clients for iOS and Android. We'd like to see a massive hike in music discovery features and perhaps concert guides too.

The Zune service was almost there with its set of features, we're excited to see Microsoft take Music seriously again. This service will be pre-installed on every Windows 8 and Windows RT device along with Windows Phone 8 and Xbox 360. At present we have so many different services, each offering an incomplete picture, will Xbox Music be able to finally offer the best overall service? Only time will tell.

Feeling sad panda about the loss of zune.net? What do you think is coming with Xbox Music?

If you’re a current Zune Pass subscriber, you may want to check your email. Microsoft has just sent out the Xbox Music update details for those who are using Zune Pass and what’s more, they’re throwing in a 1,000 MS Points to celebrate.

Those points (worth $12.50 or an average album) can be used “on any of the music, video, or game content on Xbox LIVE”. (Wait, we’re still calling it Xbox LIVE?)

The email gives a straightforward description of what Zune users can expect. Zune accounts are automatically migrated over to Xbox Music meaning there is nothing to do except redeem your 1,000 MS Points. From the email:

“There's nothing you need to do. Your Zune Music Pass is now an Xbox Music Pass, giving you access to everything you enjoy today and a whole lot more.”

1. More music – Stream or download songs from one of the largest digital music catalogs on the planet ... over 18 million songs and counting.
2. Cloud connected – Build your music collection and create playlists. They effortlessly sync across your Xbox 360, Windows 8 tablet and PC, and Windows Phone 8 so your music is accessible anytime, anywhere.
3. Save your favorites – On your Xbox 360, create playlists and pin your favorite artists for easy access to the music you love.
4. Import playlists – On Windows 8 tablets and PCs you can import your Zune Music collection, including playlists you've created.
5. Keep listening – Your Xbox Music Pass will continue to work in the Zune PC software and on Windows Phone 7 devices.

Not a bad deal and while we’re at it, you can head to the new Xbox Music website to get even more details.

Microsoft have now officially unveiled their new music service. Simply called Xbox Music, it's going to begin rolling out tomorrow. 

Designed to replace the Zune services of old, Xbox Music will bring with it new capabilities and eventual availability on other platforms in the coming year.

We had already reported that Microsoft would be adding a free streaming aspect to the service, this looks to have come to pass. The press release only mentions that free streaming will be available for Windows 8 and Windows RT devices in 15 markets initially. In the small print it goes on to say that there will be limited hours of free streaming after six months. From the same small print it looks as though there will be no free option for Xbox 360 owners as it mentions you’ll need additional subscriptions (each sold separately).

Xbox Music - going GaGa with features

Xbox Music is a revamp Zune and so with it comes the usual options for buying music a la carte as well as subscribing to an eat as much as you like monthly subscription. The service as a whole looks to be getting a whopping update in how much actual content is now available, comparing itself directly to iTunes, it will now boast over 30 million tracks. The music pass will be available in 22 countries initially with new regions said to be picking up availability in the coming year.

Back when many music services were still selling tracks individually, Microsoft offered its Zune pass to stream and download as much music as you liked. The only problem was that Microsoft never made it available to use on iOS, Android or other devices. That looks set to change with the implicit announcement that Xbox Music will be coming to other devices later in the year. When paying for a music subscription, the expectation is that it’s universally available across all devices, so it’s good to know there are plans for this.

Zune also had some great but painfully underdeveloped social features which had recently been removed all together from the service. Back when it was operational the service offered the ability to see what other friends were playing, send tracks to people and see how you rated as a listener against others using the service. The press release announces that Xbox Music will add in unique social features in the coming year to share your music experiences with friends and family. How deep that will go and what it will look like is not known, but it’s good to hear they aren’t dropping the social side of music completely.

With 30 million tracks GaGa wont be the only thing available - phew!

Also set to come will be a scan and match feature which they say will allow you to add your own music to your cloud storage. If this is anything like similar services it will scan your collection to see if it has a particular track in the store and if it doesn’t simply upload it from your collection to the cloud, by cloud we presume they mean SkyDrive. Using the good old cloud again they look set to unleash your playlists from being stuck on the device you created it on and allow it to sync across all your Xbox Music players.

Here are the highlights:

• Free streaming music on Windows 8 and Windows RT. Enjoy on-demand access to tens of millions of songs for free on all Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs. Discovering and enjoying free music on Windows 8 and Windows RT is as easy as typing an artist or song name and hitting “play” — songs are instantly available to stream and for you to create an unlimited amount of playlists.
• Xbox Music Pass. Want unlimited access to the songs and artists you care about, including offline access? Get an Xbox Music Pass for ad-free, unlimited playback of any track in our subscription catalogue across your tablet, PC, phone and Xbox 3601 for US$9.99 per month. Xbox Music Pass also unlocks unlimited access to tens of thousands of music videos on your Xbox 360.
• Xbox Music Store. Want to own the music you love? The Xbox Music Store is a comprehensive MP3 marketplace giving you the opportunity to purchase a single track or entire album on your Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet or PC and Windows Phone 8.
• Smart DJ. Creating a new form of artist-based radio, the Smart DJ feature is a quick and dynamic way to personalize your collection, discover new favourites and create ultimate playlists by launching instant mixes based on your favourite artists. With unlimited skips and a view of the full recommended music stream, Smart DJ puts you in control of your Internet radio experience.
• Cloud Storage. Available in the coming year, a scan-and-match feature will take you beyond the 30 million tracks globally offered through Xbox Music. It will add all the music you own to your Xbox Music cloud catalogue, including music acquired through other services. This means you can add almost any content you have to your personal Xbox Music collection, even if it’s not available in the Xbox Music catalogue.
• Social Music. Xbox Music will add unique social features in the coming year that let you share your music experiences with friends and family.
• Platform Expansion. Xbox Music will become available on other platforms in the coming year.

Free unlimited streaming music? Wait up, there are limits! 

According to the official small print that free streaming option will come with some heavy restrictions after six months. They state that after six months you’ll be limited to a paltry 10 hours month. That certainly puts the service in a different league to that of Spotify where its ad supported and unlimited. That could signal Microsoft’s desire to get everyone on a paid plan or just simply mean they are hedging their bets until they can fun the service with ads. 

In fact, Spotify offer exactly the same restrictions when using their free streaming option. They too want to push users to subscribing. With that in mind and considering the coming music matching service we could be in for an interesting time ahead for music services...

Wait, what about Windows 7 and Window Phone 7 devices?

Xbox music as mentioned above is a revamp of Zune, Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7 both have access to those services now in the form of Zune desktop client and the built in capability of the phone. Xbox music doesn’t offer anything radically different that can’t be replicated in the existing software and since Windows 7 isn’t going to get free streaming anyway it’s unlikely anything needs to change.

The best all round music service is here?

Microsoft already had a great service with Zune that was unfortunately left to languish for too long instead of being updated. The intent of Microsoft to become a devices and services company means that it can’t leave these features to others if it wants to create a compelling all in one eco system. Xbox Music should help them on the way, we’re really excited to see the free streaming option and intention to make Xbox music platform agonistic rather than just be available on MS devices.

The expansion of the catalogue will please many that have slightly less generic music tastes and perhaps tempt them away from Spotify and other services if they have Xbox and Windows 8 PCs. The term "better together" will definitely apply to those who have an all Microsoft setup but with the promise of bringing these features to other users who currently have iPhone and Android devices it could expand the services appeal greatly. 

We’d love to know what you think. Miffed at the absence of a free streaming option for Xbox and Windows Phone users? Think MS will convince Spotify subscribers to flock to Xbox Music?

Lyrics for your Windows Phone was recently updated which added a few performance tweaks and Music ID. Lyrics is integrated with Zune to pull up not only the tracks in your music library but also the ability to list the lyrics as well.

Lyrics by Musixmatch  has a library of over 5.5 million officially licensed lyrics in eighteen languages. If the lyrics are in the library, Lyrics will help you sing along without missing a beat (or a word).

Other key features of Lyrics include:

• Displays artist biographies, twitter handle and lyrics catalog artist by artist
• Instant Search for songs by Title, Artist Name, or Lyrics Phrase
• Add all your lyrics to your favorite list
• Share a single verse or the full song on Twitter
• Dedicate the lyrics through Facebook/SMS/Email to your significant other
• Follows Windows Phone Theme

In testing the Music ID feature, it took little time identifying songs ranging from "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick to "Cinderella" by Firefall to "Riverdance" by Bill Whelan. Lyrics even coughed up the lyrics on all three as well.

Overall, Lyrics by Musixmatch is an impressive music player for your Windows Phone. Lyrics is a free app for your Windows Phone that you can grab here at the Windows Phone Store.

Enjoying music collections while on the go is a breeze with Windows Phone. Simply synchronise selected media onto a device and either Zune or the Windows Phone Connector for Mac will do the rest. But what if you wanted to organise music into moods, easy-to-sync lists or to quickly extract favourite music? This is where playlists come in.

Many make use of playlists in media players already. Sorting through 30,000 songs to build a collection of favourites is a task majority of music fans go through when wanting to take their sounds on the move. Most devices and smartphones have a limited capacity for media, so until we have 1TB storage options for Windows Phone, it makes sense to move across said playlists.

How does one go about achieving this?

It's relatively straight forward, thankfully. Both Zune (Windows) and iTunes (Mac) are used for the process. Should you already have playlists in either of these programs (depending on which desktop OS you're using) you're almost ready to go - go get syncing! If not, be sure to read on through our walkthroughs for both Windows and Mac.

Setting up Windows Phone playlists on Windows

The Zune software suite is used to synchronise Windows Phone on Microsoft's desktop operating system. We'll be using Zune in this walkthrough for creating and deploying playlists to our smartphone. 

Step 1 - First things first, launch Zune. Once it's ready to go, head on into your music collection. On the right hand-side will be five filters, we'll need to select 'playlists', which will then display any we've previously created. If you have none (see above image), then be sure to select 'new playlist' to create a new one.

Step 2 - After you've named the playlist from step 1, you'll now need to add songs you'd like to have synchronised to your Windows Phone. This is pretty straightforward - simply right-click songs, albums, etc. you'd like added and select 'add to playlist'. Choose the correct playlist from the selection available (remember: we can synchronise more than one playlist on Windows Phone!)

Step 3 - Once we have our playlist(s) set up and ready to go, we can plug our Windows Phone into the computer (if not done so already). All that's left to do is to right-click each one and select 'sync with...' which will synchronise the selected playlists (and music within) to the attached Windows Phone.

There you have it, folks. Favourite music on your Windows Phone. Slap on those Nokia Purity headphones and you'll be rocking the bus.

Setting up Windows Phone playlists on Mac

We've not forgotten about our Mac Windows Phone owners, which includes a few of us here at Windows Phone Central (including our Daniel Rubino!) It's just as easy to add playlists to Windows Phone using iTunes. In fact... it's arguably quicker than Windows with Zune. 

Step 1 - As was the case with our Windows walkthrough, be sure to launch iTunes. Once it's open, click the plus ('+') icon in the lower-left corner of the media player. This will create a new playlist (should you not have any already), which can then be renamed from default.

Step 2 - Duplicating the above step 2, we now need to add music to the newly created playlist(s). This functionality is also straightforward in iTunes. Simply browse your music library and drag and drop songs to desired playlists. 

Step 2 - Once we have populated playlists, we now need to synchronise them with our Windows Phone. This is where the Windows Phone Connector for Mac comes in. Launch the suite and select 'music' from the menu under the device name. This will bring up the music selection window. Ensure 'sync music from iTunes library' is selected and then pick and choose playlists you wish to be stored on your Windows Phone. Click 'sync' to finalise changes.

Violas! We're all set to go. Hopefully these walkthroughs have shed light on the issue of effectively managing music on Windows Phone through the use of playlists. Adding and removing songs from the playlists and then synchronising should update available music on Windows Phone to reflect changes.

Of course, should you wish to create playlists while on the move, you can by adding individual tracks on your Windows Phone to 'now playing' and then create a new playlist with those selected songs. But with the above walkthroughs, we have more choice available from larger libraries of music.

Be sure to let us know your experiences or tips in the comments.

If you've launched your Zune Desktop lately, you've probably seen the pop-up message alerting you that features have changed. When you re-launch Zune you will find that there is no longer a Zune HD marketplace listing.

The only options available under the Zune Desktop Marketplace listing are Picks, Music, Videos and Podcasts. The option to view Apps, both Zune and the resurgent Windows Phone 7 apps, have vanished. We know that Microsoft is in the process of renovating the Zune services over to Xbox Music and this change could be part of that process.

While the Zune Desktop is still used for music, video play and syncing with your Windows Phone, Microsoft shifted the app marketplace for Windows Phone to the web Marketplace back in May. Citing that more used the web option more, Microsoft shut down the Zune avenue.

For those of you who want the desktop Marketplace back, you can re-enable with a registry editor and 30 seconds of your time. The method came from Russian Windows Phone users and was tipped in our comments:

1. Open registry editor, go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Zune
2. Create a key with the name "FeaturesOverride"
3. Inside this key create a DWORD value with the name "Apps" Set "1" to created value
4. Close registry editor, start Zune and if it works

Not sure what the next feature change will be with the Zune Desktop.  Maybe change the change the "Marketplace" listing to "Xbox Music"?

Thanks, Aaron, for the tip!

Back at the end of May, Microsoft surprisingly turned off the Windows Phone Marketplace from Zune Desktop. The “update” wasn’t software based but instead just altered a configuration file on the user’s computer, causing the Marketplace to be hidden.

We ended up using a simple hack (more of that below) to bring ours back but now a user in our forum (“rockstarzzz”) is claiming that they’ve received another feature-change notification…

Have any of our other users noticed such a change? This won't be a software update but rather a simple registry change not requiring a new download. As we mentioned, we’re using a simple registry “hack” that brought ours back so it is a little hard for us to test. Our own George Ponder says he has not seen any pop-ups indicating a change and so far this seems contingent upon either running Windows 8 preview or some other anomaly.

Back in May, Microsoft detailed why they removed the Marketplace for the desktop noting simply that most people did not choose to use that as an option but instead used the Web Marketplace of just their phones. In order to prioritize their engineering teams, Microsoft nixed the desktop version and to be honest, there has been very little blowback.

Another interpretation though is that Microsoft temporarily suspended the desktop version during their “upgrade” process where apps were encrypted, the AppHub changed over to the Dev Center and other behind the scenes alterations were made. Now that those are complete, perhaps Microsoft is looking to bring back the function—at least for Windows 8 users whom will have some type of desktop option.

For those of you who want the desktop Marketplace back, you can re-enable with a registry editor and 30 seconds of your time. The method came from Russian Windows Phone users and was tipped in our comments:

1. Open registry editor, go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Zune
2. Create a key with the name "FeaturesOverride"
3. Inside this key create a DWORD value with the name "Apps"
4. Set "1" to created value.
5. Close registry editor, start Zune and if it works

Either way, we’ll keep an eye out for any further changes from Microsoft. Let us know in comments if you notice anything new too or head to our Forum for further discussion.

Uploading photos from your Windows Phone to SkyDrive can be a pain, especially since full resolution photos are resized when sent to the cloud. This is presumably due to Microsoft taking measures to optimise transfer for those on tight data plans who may not be connected to a WiFi network. While perfectly understandable, it would make sense to have this option in the Windows Phone settings for the user to configure how they'd like their photos uploaded to their SkyDrive account.

For now there's a workaround of sorts. Unfortunately a Windows PC is required with Zune installed, sporting an active Internet connection, and of course the native SkyDrive client for Windows. Luckily, Microsoft has developed sturdy software enabling Windows users to access and synchronise their SkyDrive storage locally with a smart folder set on their machine. This is what we'll be using through Zune to automatically upload photos from the Windows Phone to the cloud.

Matt Stein got in touch with us and we were alerted to a simple feature of Zune, which would allow us to automatically save our photos from the device to a designated SkyDrive folder. Instead of allowing Zune to save imported photos to default library locations (User/Pictures) we were able to configure the software suite to use our local SkyDrive smart folder and select the destination. When the Windows Phone is plugged in and new photos are detected, Zune will automatically import them to the SkyDrive folder at full resolution, where Microsoft's cloud service would then take care of the rest.

Step 1 - Launch Zune and head on over to the settings. Scroll down and select "Pictures & Videos" from the navigation list and we'll now have some options to configure. Before we continue, you can alter the 'image quality' to original should you so desire. We're here to change the location where Zune saves imported photos from connected devices. Hit "manage" and a pop-up window will appear.

Step 2 - You'll now be able to see the window below where we can change the location to our designated SkyDrive folder. Should you be seeing this window for the first time, you may have multiple default options already present. Be sure to choose between (or remove should they not be required) to achieve the desired result. By the end we'll want to have our pictures library location to be defaulted to our SkyDrive folder. 

Now plugging in your Windows Phone will see Zune import photos from the device to your SkyDrive folder, which will then be synchronised with the cloud. Visiting the account on the web (or on another device) will show full quality photos captured and uploaded from your Windows Phone. All that's required is a quick sync every now and then (or whenever is required to extract media).

Let us know if you have attempted to configure Zune this way and whether you were able to achieve the same result. Be sure to check out other tips and tricks for SkyDrive on your Windows Phone.

Thankls, @mattjstein, for the tip!

The human race enjoys shoving plastic and metal into (or around) the ear, but a new patent shows just what Microsoft had in mind to make this more enjoyable for those who listen to music while on the go. Think headphones, think Zune, now think of both of those connected as one, slapped on top of your skull.

As one can see in the above image, the headphones enable the user to connect a Zune music player to the side, while the opposite connector is free for rechargeable battery packs, storage extensions, WiFi adapters, and more. The Zune device looks to be a fairly minute music player, presumably along the dimensions of the Apple iPod Nano.

According to the documentation, the headphones could also house controls to operate peripherals, not to mention an optional microphone and even USB ports. It's an interesting concept that allows the consumer to personalise the headphones to suit the individual needs.

The only downside is this patent was filled back in 2008 and we know that Zune hardware is no longer with us. Who knows, perhaps Microsoft also planned to include voice control - "Beam me up Ballmer!"

Source: Engadget, via: Being Manan

Although we're of the camp that doesn't mind that the Windows Phone Marketplace for apps has been retired from Zune Desktop, we imagine some of you think otherwise.

Luckily, Windows Phone guru Den Delimarsky has you covered. He figured out exactly what the change was that Microsoft pushed on to us all yesterday. More importantly, he also figured out to block that change so you can get back the Marketplace for those apps.

Unfortunately the change is a little tricky. Evidently the "update" comes from a simple modification in the configuration.xml that is sent from Microsoft every time you launch Zune Desktop. All you need to do is switch a "disabled" setting to "enabled" but the tough part is you have to intercept that .xml file.

That's where you'll need a mini-server (or something analogous). Basically you redirect your Zune Desktop to a local server where you can have it fetch your modified .xml file and boom, you're in business. Now of course, this is only works so long as you stay with version 4.8. If you update the Desktop client (and Microsoft is sure to push one eventually) you can probably kiss this trick goodbye.

Anyway, cool stuff just remember, you're using this at your own risk (sorry Microsoft if you get mad!). Go read the whole thing at Den's site for all the details.

Microsoft is set to unveil a sneaky preview of its upcoming service at this year's E3 that will replace Zune, according to unknown sources familiar with company plans. The new service, code named Woodstock, will add a few more nails to the Zune coffin and continue Microsoft's move from the Zune brand to either the Windows or Xbox umbrella. The sources also revealed that the service replacing Zune will support multiple platforms, including: Windows 8, Xbox, Android, and iOS. No word on what's planned for Windows Phone.

Much like the current music streaming service, Woodstock will feature browser playback. As well as not requiring any browser plugins, it is reported that the plan is to integrate the service into Facebook, enabling friends to build group playlists and share music. Similar matching functionality, much like iTunes Match, is also being tested that will allow users to identify existing music tracks on the service. It is expected to launch later in 2012. Unfortunately, no details surrounding pricing has arisen yet, but we'd expect it to compete with other services available on the market.

Source: The Verge; thanks everyone who tipped us!

,

In a surprising move, Microsoft announced today on the Windows Phone blog that in the near future starting today you, won't be able to purchase or browse apps using the Zune Desktop software. (If you launch Zune Desktop, you'll be notified of the changes). In addition, you'll need Windows Phone 7.5+ to access and purchase new apps in the Marketplace, basically forcing users who are still on NoDo to finally update.

The Zune Desktop move seems odd until Microsoft explains that the overwhelming majority of users browse and purchase apps right on their phone or at the very least, use the Web Marketplace. So trying to focus their engineering efforts where it matters, Microsoft has decided to concentrate their efforts on those two areas and to forsake the Zune Desktop client.

Of course, we've also heard a lot of rumblings that come Windows 8 (and Windows Phone 8), Zune Desktop as we know will be completely gone. Instead, purchasing Windows 8 apps and music will be handled more natively by the OS itself and plugging in your phone will be more akin to the Active Sync experience back in the Windows Mobile heyday.

The other requirement, needing Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" to access the store is also an interesting move. Without going into specific details, Mazhar Mohammed explains "Requiring Windows Phone 7.5 is part of a larger effort aimed at improving Marketplace performance and security, and paving the way for even faster growth and more new features."

We're not sure what the engineering limits are that are forcing these changes but evidently Microsoft considers it a priority enough to enforce it in the Marketplace.

Regarding  the Zune Desktop situation we have mixed feelings. On the one hand, we have to recognize that it is very likely to be a thing of the past in 6-8 months and we need to move on. On the other, one could argue that Zune Desktop absolutely killed iTunes as far as usability and it was one of Microsoft's really innovative desktop apps, so we're sad to see it slowly loose functionality.

How do these changes affect you? Sound off in comments and let us hear your thoughts.

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Though they had a good run, it appears Microsoft's Zune and Windows Live brands are going the way of the Dodo.  The Windows 8 Consumer Preview shows that the Windows Live group of applications have been replaced by a pre-installed "Windows Communications" group. "Windows Live ID," the current all-in-one login for Microsoft services, will be replaced with the generic "Microsoft Account." [Edit: It's actually called "Microsoft Your Account", see below] The "Zune" name is also glaringly absent in the Windows Store and in relation to music and movie apps.  Zune Pass, however, still works.

The new multimedia branding in Windows 8 will be called "Xbox Live for Windows" and will include apps for music, movies and games.  Rumor is that Zune will officially be gone by the summer, and may even be replaced by a music service that resembles Spotify via Xbox Live.  Throw in the demise of the Zune desktop client for Windows Phone, and voila!, bye-bye Zune.

The overall simplification of Microsoft's branding goes like this:

• Windows Live ID --> Microsoft Account
• Windows Live Mail --> Mail
• Windows Live Calendar --> Calendar
• Windows Live Contacts --> People
• Windows Live Photo Gallery --> Photos
• Zune Music Player --> Music
• Zune Video Player --> Videos

Source: TheVerge, Head to WithinWindows for more images of 'Your Account' as seen above

The ability to play your music via voice command was something that Windows Mobile users were accustomed to back in 2006. To not have the ability to say "Play " on a Windows Phone in 2012 is a bit absurd but we'll assume that something had to be cut for those 500 new features in Mango.

However, an app is now available that fulfills this task: Speak To Play by developer Puno-Z. The app is a clean, minimalist design with a large microphone graphic that you "push to speak". From there you can tell it to play an artist, song, album, playlist or even genre.

In our usage with it tonight, we'll agree with those multiple five-star reviews in the Marketplace--it works very well. We had no issues with it recognizing what we wanted to do and it gets the job done. It's of course still not as nice as being able to run TellMe via the Search button "from anywhere" in the OS--having to launch an app and then push the button is still more task-intensive than we'd like. But until Microsoft blesses us with this function, Speak To Play is the next best thing.

The app fetches for $1.99 in the Marketplace with a free trial. That's a bit high in our mind but if you think you would use this feature a lot then it's probably worth it. You can of course trial it before you buy to make sure you're getting what you want. Pick it up here in the Marketplace. Thanks, Ben H., for the tip!

Just a quick follow up on an earlier story about Microsoft updating it's EULA on the Marketplace.  If you are in the Windows Phone Marketplace Online shopping for an app and see a warning message that reads,

Microsoft hasn't necessarily revoked your Zune Account.  You just need to accept the new terms before you can resume your online Marketplace activities.  Just scanning the rather lengthy and wordy Terms of Service document, it appears the changes concentrate on XBox Live services, legal terms and dispute resolution.

If you hit the "Edit or Create Zune Account" link you are sent to a summary of the update where you can review the changes and accept them. Once you accept the changes, your Marketplace account is restored and you can return to buying your app.  You can find the full TOS from Microsoft here.

We touched on Microsoft announcing the news that Australia will be getting the Zune Pass on November 16th, but new details have come to light about what will (and wont be) present and included in the subscription. With the announcement being made by Microsoft, WPDownUnder contacted the software giant for clarification on features tied to the Zune Pass:

• Artist biographies won't be present. Background are will be available but only for international artists, not local ones.
• Individual tracks and album purchases will be made possible by MS points or an attached credit card.
• Australia will not be getting Zune podcast support.
• Zune Pass will work with Australians who own an Australia-only Live ID.
• Australian Zune HD owners will not be able to view (or download) free apps and games on the app Marketplace.

With the Zune Pass Australian launch just around the corner, more information is likely to come to light in the coming days. WPDownUnder is set to interview a local Microsoft representative to hopefully extract more information surrounding the release of the Zune Pass.

Source: WPDownUnder

You've got to wonder if Mark Twain had the Zune HD in mind when he said, "The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated".  Yep, that's right.  It looks as if the Zune HD is still kicking.

Remember yesterday when we shared the Zune HD support page that said the devices were no longer in production? Where Microsoft would continue to honor warranties and support the devices but were focusing on the Windows Phone as their mobile music and video devices? Well that page is now gone.

You also have a tweet from @ZuneSupport stating that support page was added in error. Just as pulling the Zune HD from sales channels was a publishing mishap?

We still believe that Microsoft will end production of the Zune players. Microsoft may just need a bigger boat to pull the Zune HD off the market. Either that or get the Zune Team all on the same page the next time they report the unfortunate death of the Zune HD to avoid a trilogy.

via: @WP_DownUnder/WP Down Under

Sure, Mango has started rolling out today, but only 10% of eligible customers are actually scheduled to receive the update on day one. The entire process may take up to four weeks. That’s practically a month. I don’t know about you, but my go-go lifestyle doesn’t allow for that kind of waiting.

Thankfully there is a solution. No, I don’t mean to bury yourself under the snow and ask a friend to thaw you out after four weeks are up. That could totally backfire! Instead, why not trick Zune into giving you the update right away? The process has worked our staff and many of our readers, even European ones.

Find out how after the break.

Before we begin, keep in mind that a total of three updates must be installed on the path to Mango: 7392, 7403, and 7720, which is Mango itself. The process will take a while. Some people may already have 7392, in which case things will move a bit faster. I also recommend removing any music and unessential apps from the phone beforehand, as that can significantly cut down on the time it takes to backup and restore the phone's data.

Steps to force a Mango update on phones for which Mango has started rolling out:

1. Connect your Windows Phone to a PC and launch the Zune software
2. Click on Phone > Settings > Update. Allow the software to tell you whether an update is available. If so, skip this guide. If not continue to the next step.
3. Time to force the update. Click another button (any of the options above or below the word Update). Then click the Update button again, and this time disconnect your computer from the internet after 1-2 seconds. Do this by pulling out the Ethernet cable, disabling Wi-Fi, etc. If it says your phone is already up to date, you didn't disconnect quickly enough and need to try this step again.
4. Wait 30 seconds or so and Zune should display a notification that an update is available. This is 7392, the first Mango pre-update.
5. Now reconnect to the internet and continue with the update process through the Zune software.
6. After 7392 is fully installed, you may receive a notification that another update is available. If so, install it now. If not, proceed to the next step.
7. If the second update isn't popping up on its own, repeat steps 3-5, causing the 7403 update to appear.
8. Install 7403, brave reader. Speeding right along, isn't it? ;)
9. Mango time! At this point, Zune should automatically start installing the last update, 7720, aka Mango. If it doesn't happen automatically, force it like we did in previous steps.
10. This last step is very important! Celebrate your phone’s new found Mango status by purchasing a mango smoothie at your nearest Smoothie King, Jamba Juice, Baskin Robbins, or similar establishment.

That’s it! Let us know how this works out for you.

Want to discuss your new Mango-fied phone even more? Need help? Head over into our forums where there is endless, enlightening and informing discussion going right this minute. Join the biggest Windows Phone community around!

Thanks to reader Paul Gomez for the tip!

All signs point to tomorrow as a big day for Windows Phone and Mango, so it shouldn't be of too much surprise that those same servers that will be pushing out Mango to the masses have been turned off.

Specifically, some folks are now trying to upgrade to the developer build (7712) or even the security update (7392) for various reasons and they are finding that Microsoft's servers are reporting their phones as being "up to date" even though they were on the very old 7004 (aka pre-NoDo). Users at XDA and WPCentral forums have both reported the same phenomenon of not being able to do any updates.

The speculation is of course that MS is prepping their servers for Mango and therefore have disabled all further updates. We've also noticed the Marketplace has ceased publishing new apps (though old ones are being updated). We're gonna call this a pretty good sign that something big is about to happen and we're not writing it off as coincidence.

Thanks, Ashish Mohta, for the tip!

It seems Australia are in line for some Zune improvements. The Mango 4.8 Zune client displays the music tab when locality is set to Australia and/or an Australian Live ID is used. What's more interesting is that while there's only a small selection of songs and albums available, it does reveal a proposed pricing scheme (using Microsoft Points).

Songs will set music lovers back 129 points (AUD$2.13) and albums seem to be priced per song, capped at 1299 points (AUD$21.43). As an extra bonus, Microsoft has also reportedly enabled podcasts too. These are positive signs for the expanding Zune service in Australia accompanying Windows Phone Mango and the Zune Pass.

Source: iStartedSomething

In the Redmond, WA Area? Have two hours to kill? If so, Microsoft User Research is looking for Zune Pass users to participate in a two hour study. The study will take place on Microsoft’s Redmond campus with participants offered a choice of new Microsoft software, hardware or games from a list of our current most popular titles.

Sound interesting? To sign up for the survey just send the following information to https://www.windowscentral.com/e?link=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.linksynergy.com%2Fdeeplink%3Fid%3DkXQk6%252AivFEQ%26mid%3D24542%26u1%3DUUwpUdUnU7229%26murl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.microsoft.com%252Fen-us%252F&token=22lpo-P3 with “Zune” in the title:

• Name/Phone Number
• Job/Company
• Are you a monthly subscriber to Zune Pass?
• How frequently do you watch movies online on your computer/console (Hulu, Netflix, Zune, etc.)?
• How often do you make online purchases with a debit or credit card?

The study is between 3:30-6:30pm. Microsoft hopes to use the feedback and opinions for what they are describing as the next generation of Microsoft services and products.

UPDATE: Microsoft has pushed the date of the survey back and extended the hours.  The new date and time for the Zune Pass Survey is July 8th from 8:00am until 6:30pm PDT.  You still need to be in Redmond to participate but at least now you've got a little time to make the trek.  Thanks Eli for the update!

Source: Facebook

The Windows Phone Blog has a nice writeup on the new features we will see in the Mango Music + Video Hub. We've known about some of the features for awhile now (see our "Big Mango consumer list" for what we know so far), but it's great to have official confirmation and more details. There are also quite a few smaller updates that don't merit their own bullet point, but will help smooth out the experience.

The on-device podcast support is a welcome feature, and many users have been asking for it since day one. The iPhone supports it out of the box, and there are a few apps in the Marketplace (e.g. Bring Cast and Podcasts!) that offer some podcast functionality, but so far, only Windows Phone has announced on-device podcast subscriptions, baked into the OS. The standard download-for-later, and stream-it-now options are supported, and users will be able to download or stream over WiFi or GSM/CDMA. New podcasts will only download automatically while your phone is charging, though, and for now, it looks like this is a US only feature. 

One of the Zune's greatest features is the Smart DJ (see earlier leak). Smart DJ mixes have always been playable on your Windows Phone, but you've had to create them on your computer, and transfer them over. Mango will give us the ability to generate them on the device, by just long-tapping the "seed" artist, song, or album, and selecting "smart dj." The Music +Video hub will then store your mixes in the History pivot.

To round out the experience, the team has modified the UI/UX a bit. They have moved around a few items, like the repeat and shuffle buttons, to make them easier to find, added bigger playback control buttons, added lock-screen music controls, better images, lockscreen album art, a streaming icon, and on-device playlist creation.

Jump on past the break for the full changelog from Microsoft themselves...it's quite the read.

• More discoverable playback options: Research showed we provided a great option—“shuffle all music”— that almost nobody knew we had! So we’ve moved the button and updated the icon to make it stand out. Ditto for the old Rate, Shuffle, and Repeat playback options, which were hidden behind album art. In Mango, they’re front and center.
• Improved History and New: These areas are designed to make it easier to find and play content. But usability studies taught us the horizontal layout and 8-item limit slowed people down. So in Mango, we’ve gone vertical— and added room for 25 items.
• Better mini-playback control: We noticed people were having trouble tapping the small buttons of our handy mini-playback control. Now when you tap the volume button on your phone you’ll see bigger, easier-to-tap music controls as well as the artist name and what’s playing. Tap on that info to launch the full music player and turn on options like shuffle or repeat.
• New lock-screen options: We thought it would be handy if you could easily control your music player while your phone is locked, so in Mango you’ll find playback controls there.
• New artist wallpapers: We also figured music lovers would like to see those great artist images in the Music + Videos Hub show up as wallpaper on the lock screen. In Mango, that’s now a settings option. (We keep this one off by default, since it does have a small impact on your battery life).
• Better playback controls: The playback controls are bigger and are now aligned with the mini-playback control—so your thumbs always know where to go.
• Better artist images: We found that the background artist images were sometimes too bright, which made some controls hard to see. Our design team worked hard to find the right opacity for the images. The end result you’ll see in Mango has a great layered look and never interferes with the controls.
• More playback info: We’ve added the artist name to the music player queue so that when you’re jamming to your new Smart DJ mix, you know exactly what’s up next.
• More playback options: Tap the Repeat button a couple of times and you’ll see the addition of a Repeat Once mode for those songs you just can’t get enough of.
• New playlist option: Yep, that’s right—you can finally create playlists on your device. Add a mix of whatever you want to your queue or start a Smart DJ mix and save it as a playlist.
• Better data management: In Mango, Zune Pass subscribers now see an icon on the phone when they’re listening to streamed music—so you always know when you’re consuming data.
• More video options: Last but not least, for videos, we’ve added a full-screen toggle and video scrubbing (where supported) so you have quick access to the parts of your videos you love most—features we heard you ask for!

Source: Windows Phone Blog

A member over at the XDA Developer forum, by the username hx4700Killer, has come up with a backup tool for your Windows Phone 7 device. It's a simple .Net program that allows users to backup their device via Zune and can be used for restoration when you use the "update" option.

There are a few prerequisites that need to be seen to before-hand:

• Zune software installed (sorry OS X users)
• Windows Phone Support Tool installed (x64 or x86)
• An update package from any phone (link)

Should you be missing any of the above the application will alert you and even open a web page to point you in the correct direction for the absent link in the chain. To download and find out more information, check the source below.

Source: XDA Dev Forum, via PocketPC.ch; Thanks Stevie B., for the heads up

Recent reports have suggested that the almighty powerful Steve Ballmer has shelved plans to build a staggering 300 Microsoft stores to compete with Apple. While this is probably a good move as they’re still building on WP7’s early days, the question should be put forward to them, do they need the stores? More importantly, do we need them?

Since announcing the new retail plan back in 2009, Microsoft has opened only eight stores, and recently announced plans for a further two to be located in Atlanta and Seattle. Not such a great push some were expecting/hoping. Where’s our London store, Mr. Ballmer?

But let’s forget statistics for a minute, and hop into the time machine to return to the question I asked in the opening of this article, do both Microsoft and their customers need the stores? Yes and no. Yes for improving the company’s image and ensuring there’s some sort of customer satisfaction when purchasing their products, namely WP7, Xbox 360, Office, Windows and possibly subscriptions to the Zune service. No because they don’t really have a large number of physical products like Apple does. HP, Acer, Sony, ASUS, Dell - just to name a few - all build devices that run Windows software. Not only that, Microsoft depends on retailers to make the sells such as online sites like Amazon and Best Buy, as well as PC World and other physical retail chains.

Deploying a large number of stores featuring Microsoft’s products (and services) as well as displaying flagship desktop and laptop devices could in-turn have a negative impact for retailers already stocking. What’s more is Microsoft’s main products are software (Windows OS and Office) and while demonstrations, tutorials and support could be offered in-store, you could only populate limited shelving with boxes of Windows 7. On the other hand, seeing (and walking into) a Microsoft store must be awesome.

What could they do to counteract the negative ‘no’ above? By having demonstrations as to how their products can be used, in the house more than anywhere. A lounge area featuring a HD TV, Xbox 360 (with Kinect), WHS (home server), Windows 7, Zune etc. and allow potential customers use the products as they would at home. Another idea would be to produce their own machines, like Apple. Any PC savvy enthusiast will more than likely build their own machine, whereas an OS X user (like myself) loves the product design, both hardware and software that Apple provides. I don’t want a HP, Acer, Samsung, ASUS or Dell, I wouldn’t mind owning a true Microsoft laptop though. Same with WP7 in a sense.

Microsoft’s product line seems slightly fragmented when looking at what they have to offer customers in comparison to their main competitor. While it could be relatively easy to get the products defragmented and presentable as Microsoft alone, it could bring severe consequences for manufacturers. C’mon Microsoft, enough dancing to Black Eyed Peas, sort yourselves out corporately with where the company is going to be heading.

What do you think about the stores, and do you believe Microsoft could populate them enough to drive attention from Apple?

Source: Techradar

One of our readers, Kibosh, has posted on our forum that he seems to be experiencing some issues with language in the Marketplace. Being fluent in Dutch (with good English), he has trouble browsing and - in rare cases - using apps on his device due to the Marketplace being displayed in French.

As one could imagine, this is frustrating for Kibosh and he posted a reply to a Microsoft Answers thread covering language issues on Windows Mobile. Doing some searching, we managed to come across a similar scenario where someone from Switzerland had to browse the Marketplace in German. A few replies later and a solution was posted for a new Live ID and Zune account to be created (with correct settings to force English or a desired language), coupled with resetting the device to attach the new accounts.

Seems a bit much work to change the language, hopefully Microsoft will work on a feature that allows one to alter their language across their Live ID, Zune account and device with one selection. Have you had any trouble with the wrong language being displayed in the Marketplace?

Attention fellow OS X users, Windows Phone 7 Connector 1.1 is here! Not much to report on (feature wise) since their gold release, but there is one huge improvement in functionality for majority of users. The software can now be configured to start up automatically when a supported device is detected. I was always unsure as to why this wasn't available from the off.

As well as the above change, we have performance improvements and high CPU synchronisation issues solved which is a welcomed fix. The only feature we need now is actual Zune service integration so we can use our passes without firing up the web browser.

If you haven't done so already, download the connector now.

Thanks Ali for the tip!

Microsoft has responded to the "Zune (hardware) is dead" meme that has taken off like a hurricane ever since the Bloomberg article the other day:

That sure doesn't sound like a denial, lending more credence to the Bloomberg claim from "sources familiar". Now, Dave McLauchlan, who does business development at Microsoft for the Zune HD, has now responded in the Anything But Ipod forums, where he's been a member since 2006. While not revealing anything too specific, it sure sounds as if the story is more...complicated...than Bloomberg has made it out to be. We'll just quote the meaty parts of his post:

We're not 100% sure what to make of this outside he still has a job working on Zune hardware and evidently it's not as black and white as everyone seems to be thinking it is. Of course if Zune hardware is dead, it forces the question of why Microsoft, and now McLauchlan, are pushing backing looking to clarify the matter. Like we said, we think there may be more to this story than what we know so far.

Source: Anything But Ipod Forums; via ZuneBoards; Thanks, @hallucinogen52

It seems Microsoft have finally chosen to halt development of the much greatly under-performing Zune media player, in a report published by Bloomberg. Is this a wise decision to cut off their portable media player?

We think so. Sure, the Zune has had its fair share of sales and use but for Microsoft to take the mobile competition seriously and contend with all guns blazing, they need to step up their game and increase development efforts with WP7. While the product line has suffered, the software and service has been a slight-success with the additional coverage on the Xbox 360 and WP7 platforms.

Included in the report, Bloomberg states that Microsoft will continue to sell existing models of the Zune, but will not introduce anything new. What do you think of this latest move, and do you believe it will have a positive effect on Windows Phone 7 development?

Source: Bloomberg; via BusinessInsider

Pandora is one of those services that use databases and high end math to answer a simple question, what music would I like? Sadly, Pandora hasn’t made an appearance on Windows Phone 7 yet; though Slacker Radio is a good alternative.

The rumor mill is starting to churn at the possibility that Microsoft is building a social-centric music discovery service codenamed Ventura. Obviously details like cost and scope are unavailable but the thought of having a service like this definitely has us chomping at the bit, especially since Windows Phone would be the perfect platform to push such a service on.

Our hope is that Ventura is a piece to the puzzle as to why the Mango update has been referred to as the "entertainment" branch.

Source: Mary Jo Foley; Via: Business Insider

Seems us Samsung folk (I’m really beginning to regret leaving HTC) are still experiencing issues with the pre-NoDO update (take 2). Pulling the original release, this second attempt was meant to have fixed the teething issues, but alas there are still problems being reported. I’m just grateful we haven’t gone down the Windows Vista/7 route with displaying a notification that we have 130 updates available.

damiao_jr on Twitter has voiced more concern over the updating (through Zune) with attaching the error code that is displayed. WindowsPhoneSupport replied to the tweet with a snappy statement “we are looking into it right now”. Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident, and I truly feel for the WP7 development team right now with the serious run of problems that have been present with the first update.

I - myself - gave the update another attempt today after the miserable attempt previously when the pre-NoDo update was first pushed out. When I tried to update my Samsung Omnia 7 device the first time round it simply failed at the backup stage, and would just freeze until unplugged. The device remained unaffected, however, and strangely alerted me to the update being available every time we tried and failed - I gave my phone credit for being optimistic.

Today was an entirely different story. The update process (running the Windows Phone Connector on OS X) managed to pass through the backup stage, but all hell broke loose afterwards. Upon restarting my device and pushing the update via the cable, an error dialogue appeared stating the update failed and that a backup will now be restored. I thought “ah well, I tried and failed, at least the backup will roll me back before I ran the process”, boy was I wrong.

Instead, I received the message pop-up “the backup could not be restored”, and from that moment onwards the Windows Phone Connector software and my device remained dormant, frozen and non-responsive. Rebooting my device after unplugging it from my MacBook only brought it to the ‘please connect me to your computer’ screen, which would loop the entire process resulting in continuous fail.

Stuck at a wall, the only way to sort this issue out and break the loop was to hard-reset my phone, re-plug it into my laptop and have it return to factory defaults. It meant I have a working device I spent over £400 on, but with absolutely everything lost (contacts, music, apps, photos, saved games etc.). All in all, it was amusing reinstalling all my applications and games.

Are any of you experiencing issues with the update still?

Looks like all is not going well with that Windows Phone update that are rolling out today as reports are coming in that the Samsung Omnia 7 is having some stability issues when updating.

Specifically, we're told that the "backup gets stuck at 100% (Step 7 of 10) and the update doesn't carry on". So while the phone is still usable (luckily), users can't proceed with the update which also means the 'NoDo' update will be out of reach as well. This isn't just one or two people either as @winhonesupport is dealing with quite a number of user-generated problems with the same description.

Windows Phone Support is already on the case, looking into what is happening exactly. So far though, this seems to be Samsung/Omnia 7 specific, so for now we'll have to advise those to wait a bit before updating.

Thanks, Steve F, for letting us know!