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Comment of the Day: Nintendo Sixty-Fouuur Kid, Wii Generation
"The only thing that could've made this video any more real is if that guy was actually taking ridalin instead of pretending to be on it."--Eventhough

Dave Winer said he had an early peek inside the Zune corridor and saw lots of motivational images of Steve Jobs. He also wants details of the device's protocols.

When we last left off, the consensus was that Microsoft was still planning on rewarding song sharing with the Zune. Now we've got pretty much confirmation—unofficial, that is—that Microsoft is planning this feature.
At a conference in Seattle this past Saturday, both J Allard and Christina Calio, both from the Zune team, talked about implementing such a system. The Zune team plans to reward people with Microsoft Marketplace Points, the same points you use on both Zune Marketplace and Xbox 360 Marketplace.
A reader commented last time that this looks very similar to Weedshare, and it seems like Microsoft seems intent on cloning Weedshare for their own song sharing and rewarding functionality. – Jason Chen
Thanks to the tipster!
Weedshare

Zune boss Robbie Bach shared his thoughts on the Zune business and Sony's PlayStation 3 during an interview Monday at his office in Redmond. It may not captivate the gadget crowd, but I think the creative business approaches are where the Zune will really get traction against the iPod.
Bach also spent time with reporters in San Jose who ran a different Zune Q&A.
The San Jose guys were the latest to go off on the brown model. I didn't ask about the color because I think the subject has been covered enough -- Kim Peterson had a detailed story on it Monday -- but I think you'll hear more about Browngate as more reviewers get their hands on the device.
I think the brown Zune is a sort of Rohrschach test -- iPod fans over age 30 seem to think it's a big deal, potentially another misstep in Microsoft's ill-fated pursuit of Apple. Others seem just mildly curious.
At least that's my impression after carrying around a brown Zune for a few days. It makes me think of a c...

Microsoft's "social" Zune player is here. It'll appeal to the younger set, but the advanced features and foxy design could magnetize some wired adults. In Listening Post.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Listen up, Zunesters (someone out there did buy a Zune today, right?), we've got a job for you: bookmark this page, because we want to hear about the first time your Zune gets freaky with someone else's Zune. And we mean in the wild, too, like when you're out in public. Microsoft is really big on introducing all of us to "the social" with this thing, but remember that Metcalfe's Law cuts both ways and without other Zune users around the WiFi in the device is pretty much useless. Which is why we're dying to know how long it takes the average Zune user to actually get, uh, "social" with his or her new player. We want all the tawdry details of your Zune's promiscuity, too, and maybe you can tell us about the people you met in the process.
 
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We had a nice surprise this morning. Robbie, J and Bryan all came and thanked us for our efforts shipping Zune. Here's a few photos from the event.

If you had three and a half hours and absolutely nothing better to do, you could edit together a video of all the times Steve Jobs says "boom" in his presentations. Which is quite a lot. Good thing someone's already done this for you, so you can sit back and bask in the silliness that is...the boom. Q: Steve, if you could have one thing happen to the Zune, what would it be?
A: Bang? No, boom. That's it, boom. – Jason Chen
YouTube [via Boing Boing]

Here's a video of the Zune's UI to go along with our massive gallery, review, and all the other coverage.
The thing is pretty straightforward. The problem I have with using it is that I keep using the 5 way pad (up, down, left, right, select) as an iPod wheel. Apple habits, and fanboys, die hard. –Brian Lam
All Things Zune [Gizmodo]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
We speculated, we rumored, we announced, we complained, we poked... and now it's your turn. Microsoft just busted out the Zune, so now it's time for y'all to do your thing and buy this hunk like gangbusters or just point and laugh at the color selection and software foibles. Your $250, your call. 
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
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