Microsoft is running a promotion where if you try MSN Mobile, you will have a chance to win a Zune.  I have used MSN Mobile and it is pretty good.  Check their site for details, and best of luck scoring a free Zune!

http://www.msnmobilefix.com/zune/

Continuing with the 2-cent suggestions, here are ways to improve and expand "The Social".  This is one area the Zune markets itself above the rest as other portable media players do not have social sharing aspects to them.  The current Social is a great start, but there are definite areas to improve upon.

2 CENT SUGGESTIONS - ZUNE SOCIAL

• Drop the 3 plays limit and DRM on non-DRM Files.  There should not be any DRM on unprotected audio files I have on my device which I want to share with other Zune users.  Not everyone is a music pirate and not everything shared is under copyright.  If it was a purchased DRM song, then I can understand keeping the DRM limits on it, but other than that, drop the DRM and limits on shared media.
• Podcasts displayed on Zune Tag.  A great feature of The Social is showing what you are listening to on your Zune Tag.  Why can't the podcasts I listen to show up on my Zune tag?  It would be great if a user could click on the podcast I recently listened to on the Zune Tag, in which they can directly listen, watch or subscribe to the podcast.
• New ways to discover new music.  Many of us want to discover new music.  Pre-populating your friends list with people who have "similar" music tastes as your own is a good place to start as not everyone is walking down the street with a Zune just yet, but I feel more friends could be pre-populated based on your listening preferences.  With the 2.5 update, one friend was added to my friends list with dissimilar musical tastes.  Sites such as eMusic.com and Netflix.com show users with similar tastes to yours and suggest new media for you.  Possibly have music suggestions based on the styles you listen to, much the way Pandora.com does, and even have clips of the songs downloaded to the Zune so you can listen to them while on the go.
• Video Sharing.  I want to be able to share a video just as I can share audio and pictures.  Sending a video over Wi-Fi is currently not possible.
• Shared files are transferred to the computer at sync time.  Someone just shared you a great song or picture of a friend's recent engagement; wouldn't it be nice to have it transferred back to your computer the next time you sync your Zune at home?
• Share within the Zune software.  Wouldn't it be great to be able to share media directly via the Zune software or Zune.net just by right-clicking a media file and sharing it with a friend?

Any other ways to improve The Social?

This is the first in a series I would like to call "2 Cent Suggestions" which I will take specific topics and suggest improvements to help make the Zune experience the best around.  Now that I have had some time to play with the Zune 2.5 Spring Update, it is a welcomed necessary update, yet there are many more features Microsoft needs to add.  There are other minor changes they did to the software, but I will focus on some of the bigger changes they did, followed by suggested software upgrades they should include in future updates.  I am happy to say that many of the features in the 2.5 spring update were originally on my suggestion list, and can now be listed as completed updates, though there could be a bit more tweaking to make them even better.

ZUNE 2.5 UPDATED SOFTWARE FEATURES

-Gap-less playback. This is essential for DJ mixes and many albums, yet there is still an ever so slight skip between the tracks so it is not completely seamless.
-MP3 Tag editing.  The previous tag editing in the Zune software was nearly unusable.  The editing in Windows Media Player is still better, but the tag editing update is a huge improvement over the previous Zune software.  The ability to drag and drop files between albums and genres is wonderful.
-Improved Social.  You can now see your and your friends Zune cards within the Zune software, as well as send short messages to each other.  Too bad I only have one other friend that has a Zune and our musical tastes are completely different.
-Auto Playlists.  I am glad to see the feature back and have it carry over to the Zune hardware, though it is lacking the ability to create an auto-playlist of recently played items.
-Browse by Genre.  Not much to say about this one, but I am glad this is here.

2 CENT ZUNE SOFTWARE SUGGESTIONS
-Background Podcast Downloading. Enable the Zune software to run as a service in the background downloading podcasts, so the program does not have to be open.
-Rating System. The "heart" rating system is lacking.  Bring back the 5 stars rating system.
-Twist Interface. The "twist" interface is great on the Zune hardware.  Why can't we have the "twist" interface for the Zune software?
-Easy Download Viewing. Add an icon in the lower-left hand side near the Zune and CD icon to display if downloads are occurring and the percentage done.  If one clicks on it, it will take them to what downloads are occurring.
-Custom Backgrounds. Make it mine?  Too bad I can only select a few backgrounds.  I want to select my own backgrounds.  Make it so when I change a background in in either my Zune Tag, Zune device or Zune software the picture is applied to the background for all.
-Past Album Art. The ability to paste album art with a right-click, not search for it on the hard drive to add it.  Windows Media Player does not have this problem.
-Automatic File Management. The ability for the software to automatically manage the library by renaming, and moving files into folders to keep things organized would be a nice optional feature.
-DivX support.  The Xbox 360 was recently updated to support DivX.  Also, the Zune software is very particular about what MP4 formats it will find and play.
-Pink Bar Fullscreen Annoyance.  When viewing video fullscreen, it always shows the bottom pink bar which is annoying and needs to be removed.
-Integration with Window Media Center. Make the Zune software sync with Windows Media Center (it claims it will in Microsoft advertising, but no one I have talked to at Microsoft knows how to do this), and make it be able to sync both standard def and high-def.  Most major shows are HDTV now, so make it sync them.  Have it auto-detect the presence of shows recorded in Windows Media Center.
-High Quality Ripping.  Ripping needs industry standard formats such as AAC and VBR MP3 with the LAME codec for high quality sound.
-Burning Data CDs with Folder Structure.  When I burn multiple podcasts/albums as a data CD, they should be burned into multiple folders.  Windows Media Player does this right.  Zune does not, it burns them all to the root directory and they are all mixed together.
-Frequent Updates.  Don't wait six months or more to release these updates, as they need to be released more frequently.

I will list suggestions on other topics such as the hardware, marketplace, social and other features in future posts.  How do you feel about the proposed software suggestions?  Do you have any suggestions for the software I may have missed that would help make the Zune software the best media player around?