Microsoft Zune

Several months ago, I signed up at club.live.com. Club Live is an on-line search club that has interesting brain games that offer tickets as points for winning games. I like the crossword puzzles, which give 25 tickets per win. 800 games later, I had accumulated 20,000 tickets. I was actually playing for an X-Box 360 which was 35,000 tickets, but they sold out. So, I cashed out for a Microsoft Zune. It arrived in the mail yesterday.

My son and I eagerly opened the box to see what was inside. The packaging is interesting, if not confusing. there is a box that slides into a box cover. When the inner box is removed, there is a storage compartment that opens from the top, where the disc and flimsy manuals are stored. The other side of the box opens to reveal the Zune in the middle, with a smaller compartment to either side of the Zune, one containing ear phones, the other a USB cable for transferring data and charging the Zune.

I removed the disc and placed it into the D: drive and waited for the software to load. I proceeded to read the instructions, only to find that you get two pamphlets...the first is a quick-start guide that basically walks you through set-up using drawings and simple instructions. The other pamphlet talks about the battery, protecting your ears and the one year warranty that comes with the Zune. There were no instructions for actually transferring music from your PC to the Zune. However, there WAS a telephone number for Customer Support, appropriately, 1-800-GET-ZUNE.

I read bruguru's article on the Zune, and he obviously understands about ripping CD's, and must understand how to transfer these files without looking. I guess I could have asked him, too! I have never used this type of equipment or software (please don't use the word dinosaur), so I resorted to calling customer service. They must get a lot of idiot's like me on the phone because the lady at customer service was extremely pleasant. I am so used to number trees and rude customer service reps, that I have to say she really surprised me. She patiently walked me through the (in hindsight, ridiculously easy) steps for moving the files into the Zune directories, and then Syncing the device, so that the directories load onto the Zune. She also took the time to register my Zune for warranty purposes. I should also note that the Zune software sort of explains how to upload songs to your Zune, but if you haven't done it before, or don't understand how to sync, will seem like Greek. I don't have a Palm Pilot or any other device, so this was a learning experience for me. AND, it wasn't that hard. Customer Service for Microsoft Zune scores large.

Read More About Microsoft Zune