Microsoft elves confirm that the next generation Zune will probably hit stores this holiday season. All their future Ho! Ho! Ho! as told to blog Whizbyte after the jump.
We have seen the rumors floating around, but we haven't announced specific dates or details for the next generation of the Zune devices or service. That said, Zune follows the cycle of the consumer electronics cycle so you can expect an update later this year prior to the holiday season. There are three predictable paths along which we'll expand Zune:
Device family - adding in new sizes, styles and price points
Features - we'll move towards parity with iPod building in support for video, podcasting, etc and at the same time build on key differentiators such as the wireless feature, the FM tuner, etc.
They also said that the international launch is still unclear and they will release it in other countries "only when we can ensure an offering which is tailored to that market." [Whizb...

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Oh sure, Microsoft is kind of bummed about a few things. It just posted a $1.9 billion loss ($1.2bn coming from Q406, when it started dealing with the red ring of death) and its head of Xbox, Peter Moore, just took off (or was fired); the Zune may be a bit of a laggard, selling just 1.2m units in the course of ten months (compare to Apple's brisk iPhone sales, thought to be between 500k - 1m or more in just a few days), and the fact that "Vista is doing ok, but it isn't blowing the doors off," according to one Microsoft-trading stock manager. Still, Microsoft's bottom line ain't nothing to scoff at: profit is up 7.3%, with the company taking in $3.04 billion over $51.1 billion in sales in its last financial. These figures are boring to some, we're sure, but there's something kind of fun knowing that Redmond could probably afford to buy the world's beaches at $1 per grain of sand.

Read - Microsoft finan...

The FedComCom has the scoop on the latest Toshiba Gigabeat device, complete with Wi-Fi and Windows Embedded. There's not much art in the FCC filing, which makes us wonder if the MET401 could possibly be a future Zune device or just one of Toshiba's own media players. [FCC via Engadget]

newVideoPlayer("fulltank_dogfight_gawker.flv", 475, 376);This latest edition to Zune Arts, Microsoft's repository for community-made Zune videos, looks as good as anything from either Microsoft or Apple on TV. It looks more like a short film than an ad, which is something touched on in the interview with the creator and the agency that's in charge of the whole effort. Hop on over to Motionographer to see the full interview, and check out the gallery for some art from the video. Our thoughts? This needs to be an actual Zune ad, despite not really having anything to do with the Zune. [Motionographer]
galleryPost('zuneartsdogfight', 5, 'Zune Arts Dogfight');

Some people see the Hide-A-Pod fake Zune case for iPods—a totally fictitious product—and chuckle to themselves. A pocketful of Zune fanatics saw it and decided to invent their own fake rebuttal product, which they also called Hide-A-Pod. While the pro-iPod Hide-A-Pod is a protective shell, the anti-iPod pro-Zune Hide-A-Pod is a colorful gel. The gist is that iPod owners who wish to protect their investment can lube up and "stick it where the sun don't shine." For the shuffle you need just 2 oz., says the fake ad for the fake goo, but if you own an iPhone, you're gonna want a gallon. [Hideapod Gel]
Thanks Nate!

Now this is just mean. Some Apple-loving pranksters have created the "Hide-a-Pod," an anti-theft device for the iPod that disguises it in something no gadget thief would want: a Zune. Sure, the Zune might not be all that social, but somehow I think that the types of people who steal devices off you in the subway aren't ones to discriminate by brand. If you really want to protect your iPod (or Zune), you should hollow out something that nobody wants, like a book of Buffy the Vampire fan fiction or something. [Hide-a-Pod]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Bill was a hired infomercial actor pretending to be on the brink. He used to lose at least half a dozen iPods to relentless and cunning thieves, continually able to outsmart him and relieve him of his portable music boxes. Then, like a shining light at the end of the tunnel, along came Hide-a-Pod*. "It was like a dream come true," Bill exclaimed: "I picked up a Hide-a-Pod, and I haven't lost an iPod since. If I leave it somewhere and go back later it's always right there were I left it." Harnessing the mathematical perfection of ugliness that only the Brown Zune possesses, Hide-a-Pod makes iPods physically invisible to lower standing members of society. You too can be like Bill, by ordering the Hide-a-Pod today!

[Thanks, David]

*Warning: Hide-a-Pod not a real product. Will cause extreme ridicule if taken seriously.
 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xb...

A new edition of FairUse4WM has been released, allowing for Zune Marketplace WMAs to be stripped of their DRM so you can have fair use rights your purchases—copying to other devices at will. Think of it as a Zune without the Zune...or better yet...iTunes DRM-free without the Mac vs. PC bickering. For XP and Vista. [doom9]
Thanks Adam!

Filed under: Portable Audio
Oh, IT'S ON. After months of eager anticipation, it looks like either Viodentia has finally come out of hiding, or s/he's passed the torch on to another (Doom9 forum user Divine Tao?) -- but either way it looks like MS DRM IBX components up to version 11.0.6000.6324 are good to go with the latest version of FairUse4WM, v1.3 Fix 2 (read: this is the update we know you've all been waiting for). We haven't yet confirmed ourselves, but feel free to tell us whether you got a sweet taste of DRM freedom without having to continue using XP and Windows Media Player 10 with that subscription music service.

[Thanks, Abdul] 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

I wonder what Apple fans will think of the next iPod if it mimics the Zune's wireless-media sharing feature.
That's a direction suggested by a newly surfaced Apple patent application. Macsimum News dug it up and CNET chased the story today.
Now, if Apple, Microsoft or someone else would blend Wi-Fi, touchscreen navigation and DRM-free song sharing, then we'd be getting somewhere. I'd like one with a 64 gigabyte solid-state drive?