Well, Tip Tuesday sure fell off hard. I guess there just aren't enough good tips at this stage in the Zune's life (in other words I was too lazy to keep it going), but rest assured that we'll keep posting tips as we receive them. For now, enjoy this set of 10 great tips from Zune.net forum member khu.

Including such classic hits as:

1. Store content on Zune but not on PC
2. Drag and drop from explorer to Collection
3. Copy by Playlist
4. Import playlist
5. View your playcount
6. Shuffle...then shuffle more...
7. Zoom for that closeup
8. Use quicklist to repeat a single song
9. RDS and the FM Radio
10. Find location of file

Props and much love to khu for the detailed explanations. Got any more tips? Post 'em in our forums or the Zune.net forums.

ZuneBoards' renowned PityOnU has just dropped his highly anticipated zAlternator software. The hack, currently in RC, cloaks your Zune as a generic Windows Portable Device, allowing it to theoretically sync with WMP, WinAmp, iTunes, or your favorite media management library. The instructions are pretty basic too.


Yes, that's my Zune in WMP... I can view files, sync, and reverse-sync with the device. It's pretty cool.

Get your device into "sync" mode (have it show "syncing..." with the "starry night" Zune logo on the screen), and hit ctrl-alt-del, bring up Task Manager. Go to the Processes tab and end the process "Zune.exe". Now bring up zAlternator. Follow the instructions, setting the Desired Service Provider to "Generic" and then clicking "apply." Now open your program of choice and everything should be golden.

Just keep in mind that for those wanting to use iTunes (blech), the service is still in beta. Use at your own risk.

"Use a red Zune to inform your Valentine that you have no future together with a message like; "If I really loved you, this would have been an iPod Touch instead" or send this sweet message to your babies momma; "When your squircle gets stuck think of me... because I'm stuck with you and now you're stuck with Zune". Take the opportunity to tell your little gold digger how much she means to you by buying her a gift that's sure to have her doubting your intentions for the rest of the year. Place your order at Zune Originals by February 4th to ensure delivery by Valentine's Day. Because nothing says "I think so very little of you" better than sending someone a brand new Zune."

I can appreciate a good bit of humor as much as the next guy. Head over to iPhoneSavior.com for their take on the red 80.

T-Bone (a.k.a. Ted Borel) has an idea: he wants to bring weather forecasts to Zune—sort of. His idea is to use Weather.com's thrice-daily updated mp3 podcast and feature a picture of the current conditions as the album art. Right now, only Houston is functioning, but Ted says he plans to add more as users request it and ultimately host the whole business at ZuneWeather.com and Zune-Weather.com. Eventually, the site will serve the content dynamically, enabling the user to enter a few basic details to get their personal RSS feed. Until that time, post your thoughts in the thread.

I guess the Zune Team's really in the Valentines spirit; they've added new Valentines Day-themed Originals, Arts, Marketplace playlists, and backgrounds for those so inclined. Hit the link to check the damages.

"Just in time for Valentine's, Zune is releasing a Red Zune 80gb, available via Zune Originals starting today. We'll also have 20 new designs available through Zune Originals until Feb 14. Zune Marketplace will also have a collection of love-themed playlists, including “Talk to Me, Barry,” love jams from Barry White, featuring spoken introductions."


Wow these things are nice. It's good to see a new color come out for the 80s, and what a fine color it is--it'd make an excellent gift for whatever sweetheart you may have. Okay, it's a little expensive, but it sure beats the alternative....

And I'm not going to lie: I'm excited for "Talk To Me, Barry." I might just not be able to wait that long...

There's been a lot of complaints about the way the v2 Zune software handles your songs' metadata. Luckily, Zunerama member WillysJeepMan a.k.a. sracer (his avatar is Speed Racer) has laid out a detailed if somewhat lengthy step-by-step for cleaning up whatever mess has been left behind. Be warned—this could take the better part of a weekend to get everything in working order. Why can't metadata just be easy to work with?

Don't have time to watch Bill Gates' hour-long CES Keynote? Some kind soul has taken it upon himself to convert the transcript into zBook format so you can read it on the go.



I'm not much into eBooks, but it would definitely be handy to have a copy of Bill's last CES keynote—if for nothing other than geek cred.

Will our obsession with retro culture ever end? The story of this new Zune-Arts follows Laika, first dog in orbit, as she travels to what appears to be dog heaven. Missing the company of her friends, she brings back all the bacon, dog toys, and tennis balls she can. Kind of reminds me the last one, though.



Scottish band The Aliens provides "I am the Unknown" from their album Astronomy for Dogs (what else?). It's got a great sound reminiscent of some of the Beatles' more vocal-heavy ballads*, and it definitely encouraged me to check out the rest of their catalog. The animation was well-done, but nothing spectacular. I'm hoping for a hand-drawn short in the near future. Someone like Bill Plympton or John K would fit perfectly with Zune's offbeat and weird style they're going for.

*It reminded me a lot of Tears For Fears' "Who Killed Tangerine?" as it featured much of the same psych-pop sound. If you like this song, definitely check out "Who Killed Tangerine?".

Robbie Bach just announced that Zune is no longer US-only! Come Spring, Zune will be coming to Canada and other non-US countries. Stay tuned!


Credit:Aiiron (Zunerama)

EDIT: I just looked over the Engadget write-up, and they have the quote as "For the first time we'll begin selling the Zune outside the US, in Canada." So it looks like it's Canada-only for now, but still, pretty cool.