Just a quick post to share this entertinong video with fellow zuners:

Well, something is definitely going on at Microsoft regarding Zune, with Zune staff being split up and shifted around in ways that suggests that a completely new entity - encompassing the Zune player - is in the works. The folks at Zuneboards agree, arguing that the staff reshuffle :

is another sign that the next iteration of Zune won’t be a standalone MP3 player like the devices of old, but instead a component of Windows Mobile and/or some other upcoming phone platform.

More rumors - perhaps! - but one based on more than just wishful thinking, this time.

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Here is a contest where we can’t lose! At the very least we get a free song (by doing nothing) But the musical among us have the chance to win somewhat more! - a trip to Los Angeles, tickets to the Warped Tour on Aug. 23, flat-screen TV, Xbox 360 console and Zune 120-GB digital media player. Plus your song will be published on the Zune network and provided free to all comers.

And, if the grand prize proves elusive, there is still the chance to win one of four Xbox Elite 360 console and 120-GB digital Zune player packages.

How to win this nice prize?

Well, if you are a U.S. resident aged 18 and older and have a flair for composing and can produce an original song, score and lyrics by the March 13 deadline and can and make a video of yourself performing it - then this may be the comp for you!! Entry details are given on the Zune site.

Good luck!

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Its a strange fact of life that Zune vs iPod stories continue to appear at regular intervals around the internet. Why isn’t that story dead? Its certainly been done to death!

But no… It still apparently has enough chutzpah to even command center stage for a few moments in the Family Guy - this weeks episode no less.

OK - it IS funny!

But still, the debate began at least as far back as 2006 - lets face it, nuf said!

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In a previous post we showed how to get some fantastic free music for our Zune. In this post we will show you how to find free videos for Zune.

Wizzard.tv is a huge podcasting site. Apparently there were 1.2 billion podcast download requests from Wizzard in 2008 alone! If you go to their site you will see a link to “shows” in the top bar. Once you click that and are on the new page put your cursor over “Religion and Spirituality” to see the drop down menu. Select “TV & Film” and you will be taken to the page with “This months top TV and Film shows”.

Now, there are 9 videos to choose from (yes, only 9 - despite the category, most are audio!!). But, you ask, where are last months shows? or last years shows? How can we find them? Good question! We contacted Wizzard to ask just that - and they said:

Currently the only way to search the Wizzard.tv site is by category

Ha! Well, not to worry, we worked out how to find over 200 video producers (who then have anywhere from one to hundreds of videos available through Wizzard.tv) . Only interested in comedy shows? Or sport shows? We worked out how to find them as well. We like animation (though we did not find many of those) and so found this JoeCartoon video. .

But be warned - the Joecartoon show (above image) is a good example of where Wizzard is headed. In the last few weeks Wizzard have signed agreements with Sevenload ( Europe’s leading independent network that reaches 15 million users monthly) and with Attention Span Media LLC so that they can channel their podcasts to an even wider audience. Motive? To further “monetize” their traffic. That means that the ads that are inserted in to podcasts and video shows (hey, we are used to that, anyway) will earn even more money for the network and its podcasters.

The podcasts are still free but we do have to view ads as well!

So how do you find the shows? Just type [video site:www.wizzard.tv/shows2/] into your browser’s address bar (leave out the brackets).

We will cover more sophisticated searches in a later post when we plan to review some of the more interesting Wizzard videos. In the meantime - check them out. You will be pleasantly surprised by some (and disappointed in others - OK they aren’t all worth watching!)

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Well, Microsoft is doing for Zune what we all love best - bringing us some unique downloads for our Zunes - for free! In this case, Microsoft has joined with Mean Magazine to produce humerous videos staring well known celebs.

Now there is one small catch - we will have to watch ads as these are:

ad-supported episodic video shorts

All the same, this looks like it will be fun, as these videos are going to be comic retakes of classic scenes from popular movies done by:

some of the most talented actors, directors and producers in the entertainment industry

In fact, Mean has already had a go at this (which is what probably caught the interest of Microsoft in the first place) Check out this sample to see what is in store:

Mean Presents Bill Hader as The Bad Lieutenant from Mean Magazine on Vimeo.

The first episode will be available exclusively at Zune Marketplace for free download this spring. But the fun, apparently, won’t stop here - as Zune is planning to add live-action and animated comedy as well as music videos to this “Cinemash” series

In typical avente gard speak, Kashy Khaledi, publisher/creative director of MEAN magazine describes this joint project as

Zune and MEAN are joining forces to move the bar forward and create the most progressive, inspired series that will knock cinephiles off their feet

Well, that maybe going a bit far. But the videos will be free, and will showcase some of our favorite actors, so what the heck! We will keep you posted and preview the videos when they are released.

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