Entries tagged with zune - Channel 10

Special Edition Political Zunes

sarahintampa — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:36:00 GMT

Gizmodo reports that the delegates at both the Republican and the Democratic National Conventions will be receiving politically-branded Zunes this year. The Democratic one is green, with the DNC 08 logo and branding on the back. The Republicans’ Zune is red and features their convention’s logo and slogan. At the DNC, 4500 delegates received one of these Zunes which came pre-loaded with some content, including one game. The hope is that the delegates can use the devices for downloading speeches and videos from the convention. The Zunes are 4 GB models and arrive with an insert that touts a message about the environment, such as the one seen here.

Back-to-School Zune Skins

sarahintampa — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:06:00 GMT

The GotZune? site has the scoop on some back-to-school specials on Zune skins over at skinit.com. For anyone who likes to customize (and protect!) their gadgets, the official Zune skins over on skinit.com/zune are now only $14.95/each. The skins are all made from high quality 3M vinyl and are available for Zune 30GB, Zune 4/8GB, and the Zune 80GB. There are tons of categories to choose from, so you are sure to find a design you’ll like whether you want an artistic image or whether you would rather show your support for a cause, your favorite sports team, your school, your sorority or your frat.

Reverse Sync Your Zune

sarahintampa — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:56:00 GMT

A little known feature to those that don’t use a Microsoft Zune is the fact that Zunes have the ability to “reverse sync” back to a computer. What this means is that you can connect any Zune to any PC running Zune software and copy over music, videos, or pictures back to the PC. Matt recently blogged about this over on ZuneInsider when he surprised a friend by showing him how to he could copy an album from his friend’s Zune back to his own PC. He notes that he already owned the album in this example, but the secret here is that un-DRM’d content – like much of the content sold in the Zune Marketplace as well as on sites like Amazon’s MP3 store – makes this possible. With less restrictions on how the content can be moved around, accessed, and played, you aren’t as locked down as when you purchase DRM’d content like the majority of the music still sold today on iTunes. Not only is this helpful for letting friends share music with each other, it’s also a great feature for anyone with a multiple-PC household and more than one Zune or for taking your tunes to your office PC. For step-by-step instructions on how this is done, check out Matt’s post.

Free Comic-Con Videos for Zune

sarahintampa — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:39:00 GMT

The Xbox Live Marketplace team has added free Comic-Con 2008 videos to the Zune Marketplace. The event, which ran from July 24-27 in San Diego, California, is a huge convention for fans of comic books, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, horror, and other related arts spanning all genres from books to TV to film. Once devoted just to comics, today’s convention has everything from toys to video games to panels featuring Hollywood actors and producers talking about their latest big movie and screening trailers of highly anticipated films. Since not everyone can attend this event, the next best thing is to download free videos from Comic-Con 2008. All you need is the Zune software – if you don’t have a Zune, you can always just watch them on your PC.

Download Soapbox Videos to Your PC & Zune

sarahintampa — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:09:00 GMT

Thanks to a new feature in Soapbox, the section of user-generated videos found here on MSN Video, you can now automatically download and sync videos to your PC and to your Zune. With this new option, you can subscribe to Soapbox videos by category, user video list, or via a search. That last option is especially helpful, as it will retrieve any videos relating to a particular search term and have them automatically sync to your PC. So, for example, if you wanted to see all the videos about Live Mesh, you could just search for the term live mesh and subscribe the results.

To see the subscribe option for the videos found via a search, click “view all results” and you’ll notice both an RSS icon for subscribing to the videos in your preferred RSS software as well as a “subscribe with Zune” button ( ) to have the videos added to your podcast subscriptions in your Zune software (which, by the way, is a free download – you don’t need to own a Zune to use it).

If you need access to the video files themselves, you’ll find them in the Zune/Podcasts folder. Michael Gannotti recently blogged about this to demonstrate how you could access his SharePoint videos from Soapbox, so we thank him for providing us with this excellent tip!

Checking Out Zune Arts

sarahintampa — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:49:00 GMT

Have you seen the site Zune Arts? This rather hip site has been designed to promote the Zune by featuring experimental videos from various visual artists as well as tracks from several indie musicians, too. You can browse through, view, and stream the content available on the website or you can download it to your Zune. On Zune Arts, you can download full clips, Zune wallpaper, Zune desktops, buddy icons, and more.

This is a pretty fascinating way to sell the Zune and seems to go hand-in-hand with those otherworldly Zune TV commercials I’ve seen. Instead of seeming like an annoying advertisement, the site is actually a showcase of art -- art that you can move to your Zune and take with you.

The latest download from Zune Arts is a first for the site – a graphic novel. This graphic novel is called “The Lost Ones” and it’s written by Steve Niles, the writer of “30 Days of Night.” The artwork in the novel comes from graffiti artists Dr. Revolt, Gary Panter, Kime Buzzelli, and Morning Breath. According to I4U News, the novel “chronicles the adventures of four friends Duncan, Roxy, Rasheed, and Cynthia whose day of extreme planet jumping turns into a race to get home alive.”

Considering that modern-day MP3 players have screens for viewing video, it’s a wonder that we haven’t seen more graphic novels miniaturized for these devices – could this be the start of a whole new medium? I don’t know, but I’m downloading my copy now.

Zunes In Schools

sarahintampa — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:03:00 GMT

Last winter 125 Zunes were handed out to students in two U.S. schools – 100 at a New Mexico High School and 25 at a Missouri Junior High. The Zunes were given out in exchange for research data provided by the schools on how helpful the Zunes were in the classroom. Teachers were encouraged to create podcasts for the devices for their students to listen to, and, those that identified 20 podcasts to support their lesson plans as well as create 5 of their own received a $400 bonus. The full results of the case study will be released after this summer’s National Education Computing Conference, but for now, the reaction is somewhat mixed.

Foreign language teachers reported it was really helpful to have their students using the devices to help with vocabulary and pronunciations, but another teacher cited concerns about the devices not being used for studying at all. The students responded that, of course they were enjoying listening to music and trading songs, but they also insisted that they were using the Zunes to study, too.

Personally, I don’t see why the Zunes can’t be used for both entertainment and education. Just because a Zune lets you watch TV, listen to music, and listen to podcasts, that doesn’t mean that the academic aspects have no value simply because the devices can be used for fun, too.

I don’t imagine the students were allowed to keep the earplugs in during class, anyway, so who cares if they’re using them in between classes or after school to listen to music? If there are educational benefits to the devices, why not encourage their use?

Today’s students have grown up with technology all around them, so whether teachers like it or not, a lot of their education is already coming from digital media - for example, instead of books, students often use the internet for research and instead of magazines, they surf the web for the latest news. So why not enhance a traditional class with after-hours podcasts? This could be especially helpful for students struggling in a particular area of their studies. By being provided with educational podcasts, they could then play back the course, lecture, or guides created by the teacher at home, on their own time. Maybe the Zunes don’t need to literally be in the classroom…or in the halls either…that’s up the school to decide. But please, keep the podcasts coming!

Zune ID Cards

sarahintampa — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:06:00 GMT

Thanks to a Zunerama member, Trastan, there's now a simple ID card available that you can send to other Zune owners when you find yourself within wireless range of another Zune. To use the card, you download it to your device and then sent it out wirelessly using the Zune's built-in wireless send feature. This is a friendly way of saying "hello" to the other Zune users around you.

On the card says "Nice to meet you" and provides a brief intro that displays your Zune Tag and favorite genre. The cards aren't being generated by an app - there's pure manual labor involved. Trastan is creating cards for anyone who requests one on this forum post. There are also some blank backgrounds here if you want to design your own. (via/img via Zunerama)

Media Center University – Part 2

brianjo — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:44:00 GMT

Check out the CE Installer Blog, where Mike Seamons continues his presentation of Optimizing Media Center for Entertainment. In this installment, Mike discusses the steps he takes to optimize Windows Media Center. He discusses removing all unnecessary software, installing Windows Updates and other configuration. Additionally, he discusses how to integrate Zune with WMC.

Topics covered include:

Removing all Unnecessary Files

Network and Sharing Tips

Cleaning the Desktop

Setting the Resolution, sounds, and screen saver

Setting Up Windows Media Player

Syncing everything with Zune

Default Content Removal

Discovering Great XP and Vista Themes

sarahintampa — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:57:00 GMT

I was recently stumbled across a link to this XP Zune theme when searching for ways to jazz up my older laptop. I had forgotten, but I used to really love this theme! The theme was sort of a take off on the also awesome “lost” XP theme - Royale Noir, but with a few tweaks. It’s sort of funny to look at this today, nearly two years later, as I’m running Vista. I still have a very similar color scheme going on now – a dark taskbar and Start Menu and a simple background that shows off my widgets and icons (I guess I’m not much for desktop cleanliness after all). The only variation is that I have blue/greenish windows now. Of course, this led me down the path of looking for a way to customize Vista's themes even more. I know Stardock has professional software to do so, but what about a simple free theme? I ended up here where I discovered a whole slew of themes, skins, and wallpapers for Vista, including the sleek and simple Chocolate Theme (pictured). Nice!

Zune 4/8 Case Roundup

Larry — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:40:00 GMT

Over on Channel 8, Max has gotten hold of some of Cesar's cases out of the Zune group. He takes a look at them along with some pros and cons on each. Also making an appearance is arm-model Laura Foy.

ZuneLinks Have Launched

sarahintampa — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:06:00 GMT

Podcast producers will like this one, but so will anyone who’s ever wondered how to directly link to an artist, album, playlist, or podcast on Zune. Now there’s a new page of Zune Social to help with that: http://social.zune.net/links/ZuneLinks.aspx.

Here, you can do a search for anything available on Zune and get links that look like this:

There’s a link for the Zune Marketplace and another for Zune Social, which takes you right to a page where you can preview the tracks, read reviews, see the top listeners, and more.

(Thanks to the Addicted to Digital Media blog for the tip!)

ZuneTV

sarahintampa — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:23:00 GMT

Zune fansite ZuneBoards has recently launched a YouTube-like site for converting and sharing Zune clips with the community. The site is called ZuneTV. Here, users can upload videos, which are automatically converted into the Zune-compatible .wmv format. Those clips are then made available for download by any member. Like any social video sharing site, there are ways to rate, favorite, and comment on videos and the videos can be embedded anywhere on the net thanks to a handy copy-and-paste embed code. In order to participate on ZuneTV, you have to first get a ZuneBoards account, then you just head here: www.zunetv.net.

Colbert, Battlestar Galactica, SNL, & More Coming to Zune Marketplace

sarahintampa — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:22:00 GMT

A post on Zunerama (and ZuneInsider) gives the details on the upcoming schedule of releases for the Zune Marketplace. From now until June 6th, a total of 400 episodes from 19 TV shows will be added and made available for download. Here's the complete list:

May 28: Comedy Central
* The Colbert Report
* The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

May 30: NBC Universal
* Friday Night Lights
* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
* Law & Order
* Life
* Lipstick Jungle
* Saturday Night Live

June 3: Sci Fi Channel
* Battlestar Galactica Classics
* Destination Truth
* Ghost Hunters International
* Ghost Hunters
* Who Wants to Be a Superhero

June 6: USA Network
* Dr. Steve-O
* In Plain Sight
* Law & Order: Criminal Intent
* Monk
* Psych
* The Starter Wife

JD, Nic, and Brian Podcast - Episode 7

brianjo — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:44:00 GMT

This week, G. Andrew Duthie joins us to talk about Maker Faire, the Zune 2.5 update, and much, much more...

Links from today's show:

Maker Faire
Big Dog
Big Dog Parody
Ray Kurzweil on the singularity
Zune 2.5 on Channel 10
Zune.net
Zune.net Social
Games for Zune
Alien Agressors
Teched Tweener

How to Put Games On Your Zune!

Larry — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:09:00 GMT

Can't wait to play games on your Zune? Here's what you need to get started. Jump over to ZuneBoards.com and see instructions from a forum member who gives you the step by step guidelines to get started.

They point to two games to get you started, Galactic Wars 3 and Alien Aggressors (if you know of any others, leave them in the comments here.) The first reply in the comments on the ZuneBoards site says "More complicated than I hoped." Keep in mind you're in the land of early adopting here. :)

Já saiu o primeiro jogo brasileiro para o Zune!

Galileu — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:44:00 GMT

Nem deu tempo de postar as notícias do CTP de XNA 3.0 e o Jalf da Sharp Games já postou o primeiro jogo brasileiro, e possivelmente do mundo, para Zune no site da comunidade. Parabéns ao Jalf pelo belo feito! Confira o vídeo aqui: Video: My First Zune Game

Zune 2.5 Spring Update podcast with Q and A - unedited

Tina — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:12:00 GMT

Today is a new day Zuners....you get your spring update 2.5 style at Zune.net. Yesterday we spent the day chatting with the Zune team and tossing them questions about the new update and the future of zune software, hardware, the social and web experience. This is an unedited podcast and the Zune team was thrown some tough questions and you may be suprised with exactly how they responded.

What do the guts of a zune look like?
What about a walk-through ?

Lançado o CTP do XNA Game Studio 3.0 – agora com suporte para Zune

Galileu — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:44:00 GMT

Já está no ar o Community Technical Preview do XNA Game Studio 3.0. O XNA GS é o kit para desenvolvimento de vídeo games que a Microsoft disponibiliza. Ele roda em cima de Visual C# Express Edition e Visual Studio 2005 e 2008. Ou seja, ele é totalmente gratuito e permite o desenvolvimento simultâneo para Windows e Xbox 360. A novidade é a nova possibilidade de desenvolver jogos para o Zune. O foco desse preview é o desenvolvimento para Zune. Portanto, nessa versão não está habilitada o desenvolvimento para Xbox 360. Quem quiser desenvolver para o Xbox 360 tem que usar o XNA Game Studio 2.0. Outro ponto é que esse preview também não roda em Windows Vista 64-bits. Só para deixar claro, na versão final do XNA Game Studio 3.0 tudo isso estará funcionando.

Principais características desse CTP:

Criação e deploy de jogos 2D para todos os Zunes
Suporte para multiplayer local via o WiFi do Zune
Acesso às músicas no Zune para uso em jogos
API para efeitos especiais

Para quem quiser mais informações recomendo o anúncio oficial e o site de XNA. Também há uma comunidade bem legal no Brasil da galera que está desenvolvendo para XNA – a Sharp Games. E confira o vídeo do Zune rodando um joguinho.

Zune Spring Update 2.5 - The Video

Tina — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:48:00 GMT

Terry Farrell from the Zune team stopped by the Channel 10 studios today to give us a walk through of exactly the changes you can expect in the new Zune Update. We've brought you screenshots and cute commercials but Terry delivers the goods. He takes us through the new zune.net and dives into the software.

Zune Speaker Dock with Alarm Clock Coming Soon! [Zune Speaker Dock with Alarm Clock Coming Soon!]

Nic — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:34:00 GMT

Hooray! According to zumerama.com iHome are about to release a Zune speaker dock with built-in ALARM CLOCK!

From the post:

iHome will soon be releasing a Zune clock radio and audio system - the first such accessory for Zune.

The ZN9 features gradual wake and gradual sleep options, so you can use your Zune player to gently waken you in the morning or to play for a preset time in the night. Different alarms can be set for weekday and weekend days.

It'll be available in June 2008, for $99.99 with free shipping. You can see more, and pre-order, at this specs page.

in reply to Zune Speaker Dock with Alarm Clock Coming Soon!

Zune Guts

Tina — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:00:00 GMT

At Zune Blogger Day today we got an inside peek inside the Zune and I mean an inside peek. We were there to celebrate the Zune Spring Update Version 2.5 but the Zune team got a bit creative and threw us a few other tidbits. Here's a look at all things "inner" Zune.

Zune Spring Update Version 2.5 - the info

Tina — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:59:00 GMT

Gapless playback

Zune users will now be able to listen to an album without the brief gap between tracks, both on their Zune and the Zune software. Now play the album and the feature is automatically turned on. This is especially important for the continuity of live or electronic music albums.

Improved Sync

When your Zune is close to full, you’ll be able to manage the content to sync or remove with an easy to understand display, which highlights items taking up the most memory.

Organize Your Collection

In addition to sorting your music collection by artist or album, you cannow sort by genre. While browsing by genre, you can further sort your music by artist, album, or release year.

Editing Album and Trac k Information

Want to change the artist name on a song? Drag and drop the song to the artist. Want to change the genre of an album? Drag and drop the album into the new genre – the Zune software will update to reflect your changes.

The advanced metadata editing features make it easy to edit multiple tracks or survey album and artist information. Display info about any album in your collection; right click and select ‘find album info’ and quickly find the song names, the release year, the genre and more. You can quickly and universally apply these changes.If you have an image saved to your clipbook, you can paste that image toreplace the album art on any album in your music collection. You can click multiple albums and edit them all at the same time – just select them and the software will guide you through it. By right-clicking on any given song, you can quickly edit the artist, album, song title, genre and more.

Sync Groups

Sync groups allow you to have the benefits of automatic sync, for specific sets of content. When you drag and drop an album, artist, a Zune Card, or playlist from your Zune software to your Zune, a sync group is created. Your Zune can always have the latest versions of the media you love, because now you can create sync groups to control the content that syncs with your Zune. These are based upon rules that you specify (much like auto playlists) so that when you connect your Zune, any content that matches one of these rules will be added or removed from your Zune automatically.

Gapless playback

Improved Sync

Sync multiple Zune players at once – convenient for households with multiple Zune owners.Drag and drop to queue up content ready for syncing with an unconnected Zune. Once that Zune is connected or comes into range of a trusted Wi-Fi network, the content will automatically update to your Zune. When your Zune is close to full, you’ll be able to manage the content to sync or remove with an easy to understand display, which highlights items taking up the most memory.

Organize Your Collection

In addition to sorting your music collection by artist or album, you can now sort by genre. While browsing by genre, you can further sort your music by artist, album, or release year.

Special Edition Joy Division Zune

sarahintampa — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:48:00 GMT

In June, a new, special edition Zune will be launched to coordinate with a new DVD about the band, Joy Division. The Zune will be designed by Peter Saville, who is also responsible for the Joy Division album covers. No artwork is available yet, but Engadget put up a hopeful mockup of what they expect it to look like. We'll see! The new Zune will certainly appeal to fans of the post-punk band, whose members eventually went on to form New Order.

C8: Zune Rocker shows us Zune Social and the new FaceBook application

MaxPowerhouse7 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:06:00 GMT

From Channel 8:

"Cesar Menendez (my favorite Zune Rocker) has shown me how the Zune team has taken music back to its pre-digital roots when people used to gather at record stores and tell each other about the latest and best ways to rock out--or mellow out, depending on your style. It's called the Zune Social and it really is an interesting concept that leverages the back end from the XBox Live infrastructure and allows you to create a profile that displays your songs played, favorites, and friends. From there you can find out what others are listening to, get a taste of it, and share it with others... very cool stuff."

Cesar also demoes the integration with FaceBook in a new app which you can download by going to your Zune Social homepage.

Check out the video on Channel 8!