[Updated: 9/18/08 - Added Zune media collection reset tool]

Hopefully everyone has smoothly gotten their Zune software to update without any issues and we are all busy spending time playing with them.  But are there any of you having problems with the Zune update?

There are a few update requirements that are needed for the new Zune software to work, such as:

• .NET
• Doctor Watson 2.0
• MS XML
• Windows Update Agent
• XMLLite
• Wireless LAN API
• Image Mastering API
• An unknown knowledge base download KB933720
• Windows Media Framework

What else can you do? Check after the break.

(more...)

Yep, run the software update check and you'll find that the 3.0 update is live!  5AM EDT (I know, I'm crazy for staying up to wait for it) and it's yours.  Go get it now!

Eliot Van Buskirk from Wired.com has has recently had a sneak preview of the new zune software, and wrote an interesting article comparing it to Apple's Genius. Apparently the new Mixview function makes Genius "look like a blast from the digital music's past."

While iTunes serves up a text list of recommended songs within your library and from the iTunes store, adding to the more basic recommendations its MiniStore feature used to make, Zune reinvented the recommendation concept by collapsing artists, albums and fans into the same recommendation engine, more accurately mirroring the way people think about music.

He goes on later to explain,

Granted, I'm not referring to the accuracy of one system's algorithms versus the other's; there will be plenty of time to compare them on those merits once the new Zune software is released. But in terms of breadth, layout and social utility, Zune sends Genius back to school.

To read more, check out the full article here.

It seems as though the zune team really got this new function right, and I don't know about you all, but I'm quite excited to give it a try in just 3 more days!

Well, it just looks like Zune may be taking a slightly different turn than some were expecting. Matt Rosoff from Cnet has some knowledge about the zune future plans, and gave us some hints with this little blurb in one of his recent posts.

As iPod fans will no doubt note, 120GB is still short of the 160GB offered by the top-capacity iPod Classic. I can't say much, but I've seen what Microsoft's planning, and befitting its status as a software plus services company, the real advances aren't going to be in the Zune hardware, but in the Zune software and associated services. Apple makes great devices, and so far iTunes has remained ahead of the Zune software, but Apple has sometimes fallen short in the services arena. Microsoft has a huge challenge taking on the iJuggernaut, but they are far from giving up. That's good news for us--competition means better products from all sides.

This obviously still leaves room for speculation, and only time will tell what we end up seeing. In my opinion though, the software always has been the obvious weak point, so putting extra effort into making it better,(and maybe speeding it up a bit..) is quite important. Hopefully we'll have some more news soon.

I'm only beginning to get into setting up Auto-playlists for myself, and if you've never tried it or played with the tool, it can be a little daunting. Thankfully, Matt Akers over at the Zune Insider blog has a whole gaggle of tips, tricks, and hints to setting up some great playlists in no time at all. After reading this, I'm definitely going to start playing with this more. Go check it out!

This hack was posted By Fez of DarkZune. His description of the hack is as follows:

"Introducing zInternational,
this hack:
-Unblocks Marketplace for the latest Zune Software.
-Lets you update your Play count in Zune Social.

After the latest Zune Software update the Zune Marketplace was blocked for International Zune users. This took away their ability to use the Zune Pass and download Music, Videos and Podcasts. Aden, Administrator and part of DarkZune's Hacking Team worked hard and got this hack ready.

Download Here"

NOTE:The download link requires registration to DarkZune.

Thanks to Ianko Dimitrov, a reader of Got Zune, we've added a some Zune backgrounds to the gallery in the Nature, Anime, and Cars section.

If you have Zune Backgrounds you want to submit, you can log in to the gallery and add them yourself or if you have a bunch, Zip them up by category and email them to me.

Update:
Soccerfreak sent some more in today as well. Check them out in Nature, Abstract, Zune, and Sports.

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?

Mike sends over the word that his Zune Software Customizer has been updated to 2.5 today....

I know what you are thinking, “Hey, what happened to the versions in between?“. Well I decided to just change the numbering scheme to coincide with the Zune Software Releases. Just seemed to make more sense. Does that mean you will always have to wait for a Zune Software release before seeing changes to the Zune Software Customizer? No, I’ll just make them point releases. Anyways on to the good stuff.

Just a note before I start, because of the way I handled the custom colors last release, it will have remembered all your settings, so if you left it off on the Dark Zune Theme it will go back to that or if you left it off with DarkGray being red it’ll go back to that, etc.

Head over to learn more.

With the new Videos section, auto-playlists, metadata improvements and a more social Social, there's a lot of big changes to love about the 2.5 spring update. But what I appreciate just as much from the Zune team is the little interface and usability touches that make the experience of using the Zune software that much more enjoyable. The great thing about them is that they're never really publicized or explained, you have to explore and find them on your own (or read blogs like this one). When the 2.0 software was released, I was amazed when I found the "Now Playing" screen when I clicked the little equalizer-looking icon by the play controls. This release doesn't have as many surprises as last time, but there's still a few gems to be found. Here's just a few I've come across so far.

The Video Preview

If you're playing a video (or video podcast) and you leave the full-screen view of it, you'll get a little version of it continuing to play down at the bottom-middle of the screen.

It's a tiny Michael Scott!

It even goes widescreen if the video is in that format. How great is that?

More Complete 'Now Playing' Screen

Before when I'd have the Now Playing screen up, there were many places where there wouldn't be album covers making up the background. I had a lot of cover-less music, either live recordings, one-offs, non-album tracks, or stuff that just plain wasn't in the Zune system. It didn't look bad, the Zune software filled in the spaces with squiggly artsy designs, but the completist in me always wished it could be full of my album covers. Now it is! I don't know if it's the metadata fixes that have added art for just about every album and song I have (whether it's the right one or not) or they just changed it to only pull actual album art, but now I've got nothing but wall-to-wall album covers, and I couldn't be happier.

'Show Episode List' for Podcasts on the Zune

On the Zune itself, I noticed a new entry when you bring up the menu while playing a podcast. There's now an option for "Show Episode List" where you can view all the episodes in the series and even change episodes mid-episode. Neato!

Hide the Playlist

When you're on the Now Playing screen, there's now a new icon that lets you hide (or un-hide) the playlist. It still auto-hides it after a few seconds like it did before, so I'm not entirely sure of the benefit of it, but hey, it's there.

That's what I've found so far. I'm sure there's tons of other little changes that I'll discover the more I explore through the new update. If I missed anything share it in the comments.

Oh and by the way, I'm Jonathan. I'm new 'round these parts, but I'm a bigtime Zune fan/evangelist and I couldn't be happier to be a part of the Got Zune team. Add me as a friend on the Social if you'd like.