I can still remember all the news circulating about the Zune guy, and I think he was also planning to legally change his name.  Just a reminder why you don't tattoo names on your body.  I love my Zune and I can share in the frustration of anticipating new things from Microsoft Zune but come on.  You asked for this buddy.

This brings on the other question of whether or not J. Allard is actually contributing to the Zune future or still working on XBox development.  Hmmmm..

Say it ain't so! America's most loyal advocate for Microsoft's Zune is apparently throwing in the towel. Of course, we should warn you that this could very well be a simple ploy for attention, but if the man keeps his word, he will soon be covering his Zune tattoos with... something else. Curiously, he didn't say whether or not he would be playing the traitor card and picking up some sort of iPod, but considering that more people have seen this guy's body art in the wild than actual Zunes, the general public should know soon enough. You fought a good fight, Zune Guy, but consider yourself expelled from The Social.

SOURCE: Zune Guy fed up with Zune, seeks to cover up tattoos

Most folks like the comfort zone where complacency meets safety. There are no worries and you have more certainty but at what cost. Exposure! What am I talking about? Changing your music choices to something you may not normally listen to even if you love the classics in your music genres, there is an artist you haven't heard.

I have spent much of my free time between full-time work school to continue exploring the Zune Social to check out all of the music my friends and my friends’ friends are listening to. I have found quite a bit of good music and most of the people that I have met through the Social have sent me messages with recommendations.  Thanks everyone!

Here are a few ideas for finding new music artists:

1. Explore the Social. You may be amazed at the stuff people are listening to, no really amazed. It can be nothing like your personal taste, you listen to it long enough to like it or you stumble across a rare find. Adding people to your social is easy and with the constantly growing features of the Social online or in the Zune software.
2. Find new artists or independents. Sitting in a café on Miami Beach over the weekend listening to a live singer perform or just visiting the Starbucks Music store on Lincoln Road. You can help but hear music all around you. Most restaurants and clothing stores have something playing or their own CDs, stop in and ask what song is playing. There are also the online Indie Feeds such as Indie-Music.com, BeatPick.com, AllMusic.com, AudioFeeds.org and even looking at the Billboard.com Charts songs for what is playing on the radio. You’ll be surprised at how often music changes.
   Also try muxfind.com or muxtape.com (thank Jonathan Flowers for the last two.)
3.  Strange Online Services. Pandora (Radio from the Music Genome Project©) is a great example of a service designed to better understand your music listening habits. Of course you should try to stay within some guidelines for your new music selection but don’t go from one extreme to the other like the difference between Acapella and Zydeco. Exploring what others have contributed brings me to the next idea.
4. Browsing the web. Where do you start and what do you do? Start with browsing your Zune Marketplace, Amazon Music, various radio stations online (recently played list) and any other idea you can think of. Remember the Internet is limitless, although I think I did reach the end of it once or twice.

I leave you with a quote to keep in mind with your music search and everyday life.  Happy hunting and enjoy music more.

“If you do what you have always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.� - unknown

It appears that a single male Zuner out in LA is looking for some hot music-swapping action on Craigslist.  Though it's listed in the "strictly platonic" section, we all know what can happen when things in The Social heat up.  It starts innocently enough, with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" but things escalate quickly to "My Humps" and "I Wanna Sex You Up" and soon enough you're doing the "Wild Thing".  Next thing you know, somebody's "Knocked Up".  I've seen it a million times. 

Remember kids, practice safe Zuning!

Source

This is one of the nicer additions to the Zune Social with Spring (Zune 2.5)...

We’ve created a new page designed to give a comprehensive overview
of the music your entire circle of friends is playing. This “My Social� page
acts as your new home page, displaying an animated mosaic of artists
and album pictures automatically refreshed by the selections your friends
are playing. This dynamic view includes great artist images along with the
ability to sample tracks on your friend’s cards. Just mouse over images to
see who’s been listening to what.

(more...)

So, I was at the Microsoft Company store and there was just nothing I could really talk myself into buying, so myself and some fellow MVPs popped down to the Visitor Center just below the store. This was a museum of sorts featuring the life of Microsoft. All that was fine and dandy, but I spent my time playing with the Zunes...

Please pardon the camera phone quality.

Thanks to Wetworker, regular reader and the guy behind Zunecards.net, he has formatting this from channel 8 into a YouTube video.

In this video, Cesar Menendez, of Zuneinsider shows off the Zune Social and the applications on FaceBook and MySpace.

Cesar is too funny

OK, so I was redesigning my personal blog (ChrisLeckness.com) yesterday and while I was working on my photo gallery, I noticed the set from the Linkin Park show I attended a few months ago. This event was put on by Sandisk to launch their 8gb MicroSD card. It was a huge party and Linkin Park was the headliner. They played to a small, intimate crowd that I was lucky enough to be at. (Thanks Sandisk). I really love Zune, but I also like Sandisk's offerings as well. Even though I am quite bias towards Zune, I give Apple and Sandisk a fair shake. For a while, I used the Sansa Connect Exclusively. I really liked the Yahoo Music Service integration.

Anywho... I was thinking... Open your ears Zune Team. Zune 3 Launch (we can only assume that there will be one) Why don't you guys pull in a HUGE artist like Linkin Park for a launch party next time around. I know that the Zune vibe tends to evolve around indie type artists, but take it to the big timers next time. I wasn't at any of the pre-Zune 2 launch stuff, so I can't even tell you who was there, but I don't think anyone as large as LP.

Just my thoughts... After the break, I have republished my report from this Linkin Park show as it was posted on Mobilitysite.

(more...)

So, I have been using a Zune (1 and 2) from the start and I can say with all certainty that I have only seen neighboring Zunes on my Social Tab Nearby Screen only once. I check in the airports, I check in the mall, or any other venue that I have a Zune with me and lots of people. That's not to say that others around me don't have Zunes, but hey... if you have them, you are in public... turn the damn thing on. I wanna see ya!

Anyhow, the only place I have seen others is at an Mobius Meetup at CES in 2007. I think it was 4 or 5. Judie Lipsett from Gear Diary, Matt Miller from Zdnet, myself, and a couple others whipped out our Zunes and squirted and such... Jason Dunn from Zune Thoughts was there as well, but I can't recall him whipping it out. That was the only time I saw other Zunes. Sadly.

Three Legged Leg's Exclusive "Behind-the-Scenes: Piece of Me, Piece of You� Released Today

The magic and creativity of Zune Arts is now officially available through a new podcast series on the Zune Marketplace. The Zune Arts podcast is a weekly showcase of today's most cutting edge cultural artists expressing themselves through film, music, design, illustration, and everything in between. The podcasts are available for free download, and fans can subscribe to automated feeds so the series is synced with their Zune devices. The weekly podcasts are a new way to enjoy archived Zune Arts material, and will also include exclusive content, including behind-the-scenes short films, artist interviews, and other fun content aimed at extending and enhancing the Zune Arts experience.

The latest addition to the Zune Arts podcast is called "Behind-the-Scenes: Piece of Me, Piece of You," which features the production madness and creative genius that goes into the making of a Zune Arts film. In this latest piece, Greg, Reza and Casey of Three Legged Legs show us how it takes collaboration, innovation and copious amounts of felt to turn near life-sized puppets, created by artist Adam Parker Smith, into mad, pop-locking zombies. This marks the Three Legged Legs trio's first foray into the world of puppetry, but the crew has previously cut their directorial teeth with animation for Sony Vaio, Amp Energy Drink and various independent endeavors. 

The behind-the-scenes podcast is available in advance of the upcoming "Piece of Me, Piece of You" Zune Arts film, which features musical duo Chromeo's "Fancy Footwork" as the backing track to this surreal and frighteningly imaginative piece that demonstrates how sharing can lead to infectious forms of self-expression and discovery. As Reza explains "we're shooting a bunch of zombie puppets attacking each other and infecting each other with dance, all over a Chromeo track, which is hot!" The "Piece of Me, Piece of You" film will premiere on the Zune Arts website April 1, and the behind-the-scenes podcast released today will give fans a fun taste of what to look forward to.

Zune Arts brings the best creative minds together to collaborate on inspiring works of art under the Zune brand themes of sharing, connectivity, discovery, and friendship. Zune Arts is continuously growing, ever-evolving, and always open to new voices, influences and ideas.

To watch the behind-the-scenes footage for "Piece of Me, Piece of You," visit http://zune-arts.net/news_3llpodcast

To subscribe to the Zune Arts podcasts, visit http://www.zune.net/en-US/videos/default.htm

Source: Zune.net press release

Zune Card Automatically Updates to Show Recently Played Music Which Helps Inspire Your Friends

Zune has released the official Zune Social application for Facebook. The portable Zune Card can be placed on your Facebook page where it updates automatically to show people what you've recently been listening to on your Zune or via the Zune software on your PC. The Zune Card is the centerpiece of the Zune Social where Zune users can define their circle of friends and family. The Card is created automatically by joining the Zune Social beta Web site, which is available for both Zune and non-Zune users and can be easily tailored with photos and designs. In the Social, those friends can find new music by seeing what you're listening to. They can listen to a sample of your favorite songs, and buy the track directly from the Card if they like it.  

The Zune Card application is available through the Facebook applications page, as well as through the Zune Social site. After downloading the application, the user's Zune Card will be displayed on their personal profile page. Users of other social networking sites, such as MySpace, and anyone with a personal blog can display their Zune Card by pasting the application HTML code from the Zune Social Gadgets page onto their personal page.

Join Facebook or add the Zune Social Application to your profile page: www.facebook.com

Visit the Zune Social Gadgets page: http://social.zune.net/profile/gadgets.aspx

Source: Zune.net press release