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Microsoft’s original 30 GB Zune MP3 players apparently started New Year’s partying a day too soon and are now frozen in hungover immobility:
Right, so this is a weird one: we’re getting tons of reports—tons—about failing Zune 30s. Apparently, the players began freezing at about midnight last night, becoming totally unresponsive and practically useless.
The crisis has been dubbed by Zune users ‘Z2K9′, due to the apparently synchronized faceplantings across the country. According to tipster Michael, the Zune users experienced something like this:
Apparently, around 2:00 AM today, the Zune models either reset, or were already off. Upon when turning on, the thing loads up and… freezes with a full loading bar (as pictured above). I thought my brother was the only one with it, but then it happened to my Zune. Then I checked out the forums and it seems everyone with a 30GB HDD model has had this happen to them
This report is consistently corroborated by literally hundreds of others across the various Zune support and fan forums.
Theories abound as to the cause of the problem, but the only thing that is certain is that only the original 30GB Zunes are affected. Microsoft says they are on the case:
We were made aware of a widespread issue facing owners of Zune 30 devices this morning. We have a technical team working hard to isolate the issue right now and will update everyone as much as possible. Thanks for your patience while we get to the bottom of this.
No New Year’s partying for the technical team I guess. Updates from the team will be made at http://zune.net/support.
Update: Microsoft has a fix and luckily it doesn’t involve any more than letting the battery discharge and reconnecting only after noon GMT on January 1, 2009. It turns out that it was a leap year problem.
The Crispin Porter + Bogusky advertising and PR campaign to make Microsoft seem cool has really hit rock bottom. Their latest brainwave is the release of a line of retro Microsoft t-shirts:
Microsoft is going from marketing computer programs to making clothes, with a new line of graphic tees dubbed "Softwear by Microsoft."
"Softwear," instead of software. Get it?
It’s no surprise that Crispin Porter & Bogusky—the agency Microsoft is relying on to make it cool—had a hand in the line of urban geek shirts expected to hit select stores on December 15. Crispin conceived of the collection, the branding and many of the designs, as well as all the marketing materials, an agency representative said.
Nice of them to take the blame although Microsoft still paid for it.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant once again called upon a celebrity spokesperson to help it gain some street cred, this time, in the form of rapper Common. He contributed designs to the collection, reminiscent of the 80s, a time when he and Microsoft both came of age.
With due respect to the entrepreneurial instincts of Mr. Common, I am hard pressed to discern exactly what he brings to the table.
The line features retro MS-DOS fonts and a Bill Gates mugshot tee. It launched this week with a bash in New York.
The mind boggles at what the "bash" could possibly have been like. Still, while the Bill Gates mugshot tee may get some buzz, the designs actually pictured in the article are incredibly boring. Since CP+B are clearly lost on this Microsoft deal, I thought I would help them out with some designs of my own:
Now what computer knowledgeable person wouldn’t go for one of those?
Microsoft was touting a deal with personal computer giant Hewlett-Packard for Black Friday shopping this holiday weekend that offered shoppers 40% discounts if they went through Microsoft’s incentive shopping service, Live Search cashback. Unfortunately, Microsoft was not prepared for the load on their servers:
First, Microsoft’s Live Search Cashback site was down for a good part of the day, preventing many online shoppers from taking advantage of the Black Friday cashback promotions from HP and others. Now, some of the people who did get through to the site are reporting that they received a mere 3 percent cashback from their HP purchases, not the promised 40 percent.
The 3% instead of 40% is fixable with a lot of elbow grease from Microsoft and HP employees and yes, Web site overloads from holiday shopping frenzy aren’t uncommon, but this is certainly a PR black eye for Live Search. Even worse,it is extraneous to Live Search’s mission as a Web Search alternative to Google and Yahoo.
From a bean counter perspective, Microsoft likely is subsidizing Live Search cashback so the glitches may have actually saved money, but if the folks at HP wisely put a reimbursement clause in the contract it may get very expensive for Microsoft. As for HP, their online store just missed one of the biggest shopping days of the year so I am sure they are rather grumpy. Next year, I bet the "doorbuster specials" won’t be Live Search cashback exclusive.
Microsoft says they are pulling the plug on their Windows Live OneCare antivirus package in favor of a free offering code-named "Morro" to be available in the second half of 2009:
To address the growing need for a PC security solution tailored to the demands of emerging markets, smaller PC form factors and rapid increases in the incidence of malware, Microsoft Corp. plans to offer a new consumer security offering focused on core anti-malware protection.
Code-named “Morro,” this streamlined solution will be available in the second half of 2009 and will provide comprehensive protection from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. This new solution, to be offered at no charge to consumers, will be architected for a smaller footprint that will use fewer computing resources, making it ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs. As part of Microsoft’s move to focus on this simplified offering, the company also announced today that it will discontinue retail sales of its Windows Live OneCare subscription service effective June 30, 2009.
“Customers around the world have told us that they need comprehensive, ongoing protection from new and existing threats, and we take that concern seriously,” said Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division at Microsoft. “This new, no-cost offering will give us the ability to protect an even greater number of consumers, especially in markets where the growth of new PC purchases is outpaced only by the growth of malware.”
Built on Microsoft’s award-winning malware protection engine, “Morro” will take advantage of the same core anti-malware technology that fuels the company’s current line of security products, which have received the VB100 award from Virus Bulletin, Checkmark Certification from West Coast Labs and certification from the International Computer Security Association Labs. The new solution will deliver the same core protection against malware as that offered through Microsoft’s enterprise solutions, but will not include many of the additional non-security features found in many consumer security suites.
Microsoft is touting this as a public service (particularly in developing nations), but I am sure the competing security software vendors will view it differently. Presumably to reduce complaints, Microsoft is taking great pains to say that they won’t be giving away any of the non-malware fighting functionality that was in OneCare (and typically in competing Internet security suites), but most of that is only marginally useful at best and certainly won’t support the yearly subscription fees that are currently being charged.
I am very sympathetic to this plan, but cannot believe it will not face hostility from antitrust regulators.
More details:
“Morro” will be available as a stand-alone download and offer malware protection for the Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems. When used in conjunction with the ongoing security and privacy enhancements of Windows and Internet Explorer, this new solution will offer consumers a robust, no-cost security solution to help protect against the majority of online threats.
Windows Live OneCare will continue to be sold for Windows XP and Windows Vista at retail through June 30, 2009. Direct sales of OneCare will be gradually phased out when “Morro” becomes available. Regardless of their method of purchase, Microsoft will ensure that all current customers remain protected through the life of their subscriptions.
More information is available on the Windows Live OneCare Team Blog at http://windowsonecare.spaces.live.com.
Update: Mary Jo Foley points out some other fallout:
- Microsoft’s Equipt — which Microsoft launched in July of this year — is dead and Microsoft is having to go back and pull copies of Equipt from the channel (Circuit City in the U.S. and DSGI in the U.K.). Microsoft is offering customers a pro-rated refund for the service and allowing purchasers to keep Office Home & Student edition for free forever, Microsoft officials said.
- Windows Live OneCare for Server — which Microsoft began shipping on November 12, also is dead. A corporate spokesperson confirmed this with the following statement: “Microsoft will continue to support Windows Live OneCare for Server on SBS 2008 through June 30, 2009. Windows Live OneCare for Server subscribers will be supported for the duration of their subscription.”
I mentioned the Equipt consumer subscription offering back in July. Curiouser and curiouser.
