'Z2K9': World's 30GB Zunes Freeze As One
Today might be a tough day if you're looking to play a little XNA Tetris on your 30GB Zune. Why? Because sometime last night thousands of Microsoft's Zune MP3 players froze up at more or less the same time, prompting the overnight coinage of the term "Z2K9," a Zune-in-cheek reference to the Y2K non-event of 2000, nine years ago to the day.
CNN's iReporters (we used to call them readers) painted a picture of the unusually well-synchronized error:
"It seems that every Zune on the planet has just frozen up and will not work," posted a Mountain Home, Idaho, user on CNN's iReport.com. "I have 3 and they all in the same night stopped working."Another iReporter said he was working the night shift at a Toys R Us store in Puerto Rico when his Zune player and the Zunes of four co-workers all failed about 1:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
Microsoft's response included the rare appearance of an exclamation mark:
"Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware. We're aware of the problem and are working to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!"
There seems to be no problem with 80GB or 120GB Zunes, so it's only the thrifty being shafted. And if there's one thing the thrifty are used to these days, it's the shaft. Check Zune.com/support for updates if you're one of the poor sods with a 30GB Zune.
Users baffled as Zune MP3 players freeze up [CNN]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany on 31 December 2008
· Comments (10)
Other stuff like this: freeze, microsoft, zune
you know what's weird
i'm in mountain home idaho this second
Apparently they'll fix themselves tomorrow. (Or today, I don't know.) They weren't configured for a leap year is all.
People still seem pretty ticked about it, though. This has got to be hurting Microsoft. Then again, the 30GB Zune *is* launch hardware, and those tend to be chockful of problems no matter what the product.
Whatever happened to "from homotron"?
Broken MP3 players, broken consoles, broken software... how do these guys get away with it? Lmao at M$ fans... you poor idiots!
What's this? MORE M$ hardware that doesn't work right? Colour me surprised. M$ should stick to what they can do badly (operating systems) and quit branching out into areas they can only do worse in. First the 360's have a disgusting failure rate, now Zunes are bricking. What's next?
Now I'm really, really glad I forked out for an 80gb iPod and a PS3...
tough break indeed. first the X-box meltdown and now the this. at least the Zune seems to be more fixable...
My Zune 30 died 2 days ago. I was about to get rid of it when I just happened to come across this today. Whew!
they didn't die so much as they didn't exist for a day. or vice versa, the day did not exist to the zune. so it simply just stopped working. it as weird an error as i've ever heard. i wonder if i can get away with doing that next leap year. the old, "i don't see why i should have to work an extra day this year" excuse.
Has anyone checked out the "Simple Fix" on their website?
Step 1) Wait until Zune runs out of power
Step 2) Plug in after 12pm Jan 1st
Note: If you just charged your Zune - its gonna be a while. Go get a good book and bust that old CD walkman out.
I may use a Windows PC because I'm lazy and cheap, but thats where I draw the line on the Microsoft brand. If it has a microsoft logo on the box - there's no way it's comin home with me. I've considdered getting an xBox, but then these stories come out and I realize how they deserve *no one's* money. Just because they have a monopoly doesn't mean you can repeatedly shove products that basically blow up within the year. Its snake oil salesmenship at its finest.
Just think - what if this problem affected Windows and shut down a hospital?
It may be a "simple fix" but the plain fact is that it *shouldn't* happen, not 9 years after the Y2K panic. This is just another example of crappy M$ workmanship and why I give them as little money as possible.
And yeah, it doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened if this had been something that could have cost lives, as it is it was *only* a music player.