So…it seems that Zune 30s around the world decided upon a collective “strike” starting today. Something about Dec. 31st, 2008 makes the old Zune 30s just freeze at the bootup screen. Shortly after reading this I called home to have my wife check hers. What do you know? It’s frozen. No worky. 😦
On a positive note, the newer-gen Zunes (4, 8, 80, 120) appear to be thus far unaffected by this, so we still have two functioning Zunes in the house! I feel bad for our friends across the street, though, who only have Zune 30s. Need to borrow mine, Eric?
What’s really sad about this – aside from the “freezing” issue itself, which is very lame – is the very negative press that will come out of this. Zune has been making some great strides over this past year, and this is definitely something that will most certainly set them back a bit – if only in the eyes of the average consumer. Also, I’m *very* curious to find out what the “fix” is going to be! Evidently, Microsoft is “working on it”…
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UPDATE: The Zune Team has posted a “fix”, if you will, which pretty much states that you’ll need to wait until tomorrow (1/1/2009), run the battery down, and all will be well.
Evidently the issue is related to a part found *only* in the Zune30 devices that improperly handles the last day of a leap year. Since the Zune30 devices are essentially rebranded Toshiba Gigabeat players, I’m guessing that those players have suffered the same fate. I don’t really know, though.
Anyhow, watch our for 2012 when the next leap year rolls around! 🙂
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UPDATE #2: Tested our Zune30 shortly after midnight (1/1/09), charged it for about 10 minutes, and voila! – back in action. I guess the Zune30s around the world just needed a 24 hour siesta.
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UPDATE #3: As expected (in my first “update”), the Toshiba Gigabeat products, of which the Zune30 is based upon, had the *exact* same issue, though there was n’ery a mention of those players. Still, the Zune is Microsoft’s baby and the buck stops with them.
Personally, I applaud Microsoft for owning up to it and responding quickly.
Y.I.P.C.A.N.J.O 