Ace over at ZuneBoards pointed out a recent article from c|net ("Best MP3 players and accessories of 2007"), where the iPod Classic is rated "Best overall MP3 player".

This is surprising since the Zune 80 has a c|net editor's rating of 8.3 and the iPod classic has a rating of 8.0. Also, the Zune 80 beat out the iPod Classic in 4 out of 5 categories in c|net's recent prizefight article "Apple iPod Classic vs. Microsoft Zune 80".

So why did c|net title the iPod classic as "Best overall MP3 player"? I contacted the article's author, Donald Bell, and this is what he wrote:

I realize that the individual product ratings and prizefight are seemingly sending mixed messages, but my decision to call the iPod Classic 2007's best "overall" MP3 player is no mistake.

Just to be clear, our prizefight editorials are based around the subjective opinions of three reviewers, which are then averaged together. Prizefights are meant to be fun and evocative, but ultimately, it's just a round-up of what three people like or dislike about two products.

Individual product reviews, on the other hand, try to sum up all the pros and cons of a given product and assign it a fair, objective rating. For MP3 players, this rating is based on the average of three scores for design, features, and performance.

Just because a product has a high rating, however, doesn't mean it's the single-best product for everyone. A product like the iRiver Clix has an 8.7 rating, but frankly, I think it's design is a little too feminine for men to use. One of my favorite devices, the Archos 605 WiFi, also has an 8.7 rating based on it's considerable value and feature-packed technology--but I would never suggest that my mother should buy one.

When I was asked to recommend the "best overall" MP3 player of 2007, I picked the iPod Classic over the Zune. The iPod Classic is an MP3 player I feel good recommending 90% of the time, whether you're young or old, tech-savvy or Luddite, Mac or PC. It's not a perfect device, but "overall" it's a sure bet, with lots of great accessories, solid software, and plenty of fellow iPod owners to help beginning users through the learning curve.

Now, if I had been asked what the "Best MP3 player for Donald Bell" is, or "Coolest MP3 player of 2007", I would have said the Zune 80. "Best overall" or "Safest bet" or "Most generically appropriate" would have all gone to the iPod Classic.

Hopefully it makes a little more sense now that I've given it some context. Thanks for the email.

-Donald

When I say light, something fairly simple. Not as powerful as vBulletin that I use on all my other sites, but something free. I don't want to deter comments (since we love them so much), but forums might give us another place to share and let some folks ask questions too.

On the other hand, there are a multitude of great sites with forums that are already active, including the Zune.net forums. We have a sub forum on Mobilitysite for Zune, it that enough. That and the other sites... I know many of you visit several sites daily, so it might become redundant to have yet another place.

Come on people, there have been no posts to the photos since early December, let's get some photos of you and your Zunes up there!

ZuneInsider has just given us news that there will be an upcoming Zune Firmware Update to fix the battery drain problems when put into sleep mode:

Good news for Zune 30 users! Following the Nov 13 firmware upgrade, a lot of people are noting an improvement in battery life.  To achieve this, we improved the Zune 30 codecs so they are more power-efficient, hence the better battery life.

That said, we have seen some reports of a separate battery issue related to the upgrade. This problem occurs when users suspend their Zune hard drives by holding down the play/pause button – in some cases the battery continues to drain. It seems to be affecting only a small percentage of Zune users at this point, but we’re working on including it in our December update (similar to last year) – stay tuned for details and specifics.

Hello everyone! As promised, whoever is the runner up (4th place) to the Got Zune Original Contest will receive this Schick Quattro Titanium Razor Zune Speaker set. Good luck to everyone and keep those contributions going!

Long time, no video. Just spent about $70 at Target and picked this useful toy up:

As some of you that have been around a while know, I am using a local hosting company where I get special attention to detail. In addition, I can drive 10 minutes down the road and actually touch the servers. I pay a little more than a bargain host but for the strain that is taken off me with this arrangement, it's well worth it.

The problem is that lately we have had more issues than i'd like. We have had more downtime in the last month than the previous 4 years 11 months combined. I am frustrated, but not as much as the hosting company. They have to deal with my bitching and many others too. hehe...

So, what is the problem? The issue that took us down most of a day a couple weeks ago was cut fibers. The few instances recently are because of power failures. There is a ton of construction going on in Downtown Tuscaloosa Alabama right now. They knocked down several city blocks and rebuilding new stuff. Read about that here. Anyhow, dozens of backhoes, a bunch of dumptrucks, etc running up and down the streets of our downtown make it look like a war zone. The point is, this construction is causing cut overs of power poles and such causing power loss to the hosting company.

Ok, so that's the problem. On top of that, the bios on our main server is not equipped with the ability to restart after a power failure. With that problem in mind, the main tech there is going to put a UPS on my servers to give us an hour before this happens. Their old center had generator backup, Maybe they can go that route in their new building. BTW, they had to move because of this downtown project.

Thanks for the patience. I am as frustrated as you guys are.

I am taking a break from blogging here for a bit. The current contests will still be run, but I am not sure I want to share anymore.

For the past month i've scoured the net for great tidbits to share with anyone that wants to read them here and that's turned into a decent number. The problem is I am tired of doing the legwork for other sites. I am not a news aggregator for other blogs. Idiots ruin fun. This blog is about fun and interactivity and I appreciate the interactivity you guys reading have shared, but the idiots out there have me too frustrated. Let them find their content and make their money.

Thanks. I am unsure the future here, but I'll be sure to let you all know.

Remember the Free Goo Goo Dolls concert Alltel was throwing in Arizona? Well, it's come and gone and here are the photos of this event. Looks like a great time was had by those that showed up in Phoenix! More than 2,000 Phoenix area residents enjoyed a free Goo Goo Dolls concert courtesy of Alltel Wireless at the Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Saturday, December 8, 2007. Through this once in a lifetime concert, Alltel Wireless wanted to thank Phoenix consumers for their support and the tremendous growth it is experiencing in the Phoenix area.

More after the break...

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Wow, what a weekend it has been. I saw Chris's post about his problem with his Zune and though I would share my issue with everyone. Maybe someone else is having the same problem, and I can help. As the old saying goes, you want something done right, do it yourself. So I did.

The day after I posted my video unboxing of my 80GB Zune Original, I was attempting to setup the wireless sync feature on my new Zune, but I kept getting two error messages:

• Can't find wireless networks
• Wireless Off

Upon seeing this, I spent about 2 hours researching the web, including google, message boards, the Zune website, and come up empty-handed. I then restorted to calling the Zune Tech Support phone number and chatted with them for a good total of 5 hours, and yet they did not know what was wrong. A representative informed me that he contacted their special response team and that they would call me once they figured out a solution. About a day and a half went by and I called back, stating that I wanted to return the player as DOA because it was not performing the basic functions as described. It states in the terms of purchase that a Zune player may be returned/exchanged if it is DOA or if they did not correctly apply the custom design on the back of the device. Yet, they REFUSED to take it as a return and INSISTED on sending a repair order which would take close to a month for me to receive. I was beginning to consider doing a Chargeback via my credit card company.

This morning, I called a friend of mine (a computer programmer who has no experience with Zune) and asked him what he thought I should do. He told me to uninstall the Zune software and reinstall it and only to use ONE Zune on my computer. The problem was that I had my new one and my old one on the same computer and they were interfering with each other. This caused the innability to setup wireless sync. Voila, his suggestion worked. I spent a good 5 hours on the phones with no luck and it was ultimately solved by someone with no experience with Zune in a 5 minute phone call. Microsoft, one suggestion, TRAIN your tech support representatives.

 I hope this will help anyone who is having the same problem. I went through a lot of useless hastle to figure it out.

 Guri

 PS: Don't forget about the GOTZUNE contest ending the 22nd of December for a Brand New customized "Got Zune" Zune Original!!