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NEWS > TECHNOLOGY > BUG FREEZES ZUNE PLAYERS AFFECTING ALMOST NOBODY

BUG FREEZES ZUNE PLAYERS AFFECTING ALMOST NOBODY

January 2 2009

Redmond, WA – Microsoft’s iPod competitor Zune went through an interesting and some would say archaic glitch as the year turned from 2008 to 2009 when every single version of one specific model was suddenly disabled. The glitch was apparently caused by an issue with the way the player handles the leap year and fully resolved itself by the time January first rolled around, satisfying the dozens of customers left without music for the New Years.

“With the silliness the world endured as we moved to the year 2000, getting the date right would seem to be a basic thing, especially for a major manufacturer like Microsoft. You’d think they’d have calendars in their offices but apparently not,” said Scrape TV technology analyst Ken Kevins. “When developing consumer products it’s quite common for there to be occasional glitches. No product testing in the world is going to make a complex piece of electronics perfect, but we’re talking about the date here, we’ve had dates for thousands of years and you would think they’d be able to lock this one down. Luckily the Zune hasn’t been much of a seller so they have minimized their risk for litigation.”

Zune has been a distant second place in the media player market place to Apple’s ubiquitous iPod, beating out only competitors like Sansa, and Zen. None of the Zune competitors have announced similar Y29 problems that the Redmond giant has endured. It

“In the case of the smaller competitors you have a situation where people aren’t willing to readily admit that they use something other than an iPod. The same goes for Zune. For many carrying one around just isn’t a source of pride so the numbers may actually be underreported,” continued Kevins. “If there were a bug with a smaller device it’s unlikely anyone would hear about it because they just don’t have a user base significant enough to generate a healthy complaint. Just all a part of the blessing and the curse of not being Apple.”

No similar problems were reported in respect to anyone of the multitude of versions of iPods on the market. Industry watchers regard the hiccup as little more than that, but do not the poetry of the struggling second place player falling behind in calendar efficiency.

“It’s not really that big a deal to be without music for a day or so and I don’t think anyone will be making a big deal of the bug for a bunch of reasons, which is ultimately Microsoft’s failing. If the Zune were really a significant player in the market and this happened then it would have been a much bigger deal. I’m guessing that’s the kind of bad attention they would love to receive,” said one insider who preferred to remain anonymous. “I can tell you there was a lot of giggling in Cupertino (the home city of Apple). I wouldn’t be surprised if a bunch of 2009 calendars showed up in Redmond early next week.”

So far no further issues have been reported in the New Year for the Zune. Equally, no new sales have been reported.  

Martin Philton, Technology Correspondent

NEWS > TECHNOLOGY > BUG FREEZES ZUNE PLAYERS AFFECTING ALMOST NOBODY

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