Yep, I did it.  A certified Microsoft fanboy went against everything he believes and bought an iPod Touch.  I’ve moved towards the darkside and while it hurts a bit, there are reasons for it.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to, not review the Touch, but explain how people’s views can change and the reasons behind it.  First is a little history.
I’ve been a Zune owner since the Zune80 was released.  I liked the fact that it was from MS since I use a lot of their …

Back again and now that CEDIA is finally over we can talk about some of the other news that came out of the expo.  We can’t really call this part 2 of the CEDIA series since we’re saving that title for a special show.  A lot of what we discuss continues to focus on CableCard but again, there was some other good news last week and you’ll find the links below.
Once again, our listeners haven’t disappointed us with responding.  We had a lot of great comments and email that …

While many times we like to think that Microsoft just doesn’t get it, once in awhile there’s a ray of hope.  It seems that the new Zune 4.0 software has a marketplace tab for applications.  While I haven’t been able to view them yet since I just installed the software and it’s telling me that there’s nothing in the marketplace (including music and video) the tab is there waiting.
According to Zunerama, Microsoft is saying that more apps are coming including twitter, facebook and more games.  There are only a few …

Tuesday marks the release of the new ZuneHD and while I won’t have one right off the bat I eventually want to pick one up.  Now a new video has hit Youtube showing games.
While Microsoft has yet to show apps or or games for the ZuneHD, the video clearly shows a 3D racing game being run on the device.  The user who posted the video is calling it a Forza 3 port though I’d be surprised if that were the case.  For all we know, this could simply be …

It’s a slow, slow week leading up to CEDIA folks and with not having read the listener comments and email from Episode 42, we decided it was a good idea to turn the show over to you, the listener!  This week Josh and I spend the majority of the show reading and responding to listener comments and questions.  We always enjoy reading comments and emails so keep them coming!
Expanding on the comments from last week’s show as well as emails we received, Josh and I attempted to discuss some …

Back again folks!  Thanks for joining us on this week of not such good news for Media Center enthusiasts.  But, like any good enthusiasts, we take our lumps and keep moving!
There is some good news this week amid all the turmoil however.  The best (for me) being that it’s now possible to convert non-MCE supported video containers to DVR-MS.  Not only can you flip MKV and AVI formats to something native to Media Center, but the conversions are high quality and the software is free!  Anyone who’s paid for …

Well, the time has come.  If you’ve been looking forward to this as much as I have, Amazon is ready to take your money and on September 15th ship you out your brand new Zune HD 16 or 32GB portable media player.
I’m personally surprised it’s taken this long to get the pre-orders started but dates and pricing just broke earlier this week so it makes sense.  The pricing rumored on Monday has stuck.  You can pick up the Zune HD 16GB for $219.99 and the Zune HD 32GB for …

It seems like there isn’t a day that goes by now without someone coming out with more “leaked” ZuneHD info.  I’ve been holding off on posting more about it since there’s a lot of speculation here but the fact is that confirming reports are starting to come in along with pictures that make things look less like rumors and more like fact.
First there was the pricing leak from Best Buy.  Apparently this has been backed up by a listing on Amazon.com for the 16 and 32GB versions that match …

It looks like Gizmodo, who’s been all over the ZuneHD so far, might have some solid intel on pricing.  It seems the site was able to grab some screenshots detailing the pricing info on the 16 and 32GB devices.  Not only that but the shots, if accurate, would become the 3rd peice of evidence pointing to a September 8th launch date.
With the 16GB showing $219 and the 32GB at $289, that puts the price under current iPod Touch pricing.  Something Microsoft is probably banking on to help cut into …

Sometimes, I wish I worked for CNet.  Or, any of the other outlets that are getting the opportunity that Donald Bell of MP3 Insider recently got.  Seems that Mr. Bell was able to get about an hour of play time with the forthcoming ZuneHD and he’s walked away impressed.
By now we know most of the specs for the device and they’re very impressive.  But, that said, actually getting to hear from someone who’s held and messed with it adds more info.
Speaking of Wi-Fi, the Zune’s new Web browser smokes. …