Zune users complain of fast-draining battery with latest firmware

looks like there’s another issue brewing, with a number of users complaining of battery problems with Zune 30s and 80s loaded with the most recent firmware. Apparently, the Zunes have the unfortunate tendency to rapidly drain their batteries, even when the player is not in use. Judging from the discussion on the Zune.net message boards, that particular issue seems to be due to some unknown difficulty the Zune has with entering hibernate mode which it, seemingly, doesn’t do at all.

Fix : (For Zune 3.0 ) To get things started, you’ll have to first drain the Zune until you get the exclamation point, and then fully charge it again (leaving it overnight, if necessary). After that’s done, you then reset the Zune by pressing up and back simultaneously, which should set things back on track . Not a perfect solution, obviously, but it seems to be the best option for now.

Microsoft shows next version of Windows Mobile

Nope its not windows mobile 7 or anything its just an update to current OS but with lots of features that were long overdue.

Vista SP1 release candidate goes out to testers

The fall air certainly seems to have put a spring in the step of OS devs everywhere, and Microsoft’s getting in the fun too, releasing the first release candidate of Vista SP1 to beta testers today. Although there don’t appear to be many new features on top of what we’ve already seen, SP1 appears to be well-received, with testers reporting better laptop battery life, faster networking, and improved wake-from-sleep speeds. There’s still no word on when the final release of SP1 will hit, but if you’re in Microsoft’s tester program, SP1 RC1 is available online now.

Windows CE 6.0 R2 to support videoconferencing

Microsoft isn’t actually officially announcing R2 until Thursday at an event in Japan, but the changelog and a download have already appeared on the web for your eager eyes—revealing the big addition of video over IP calling in addition to bolstered VoIP features and other obvious-but-welcome tweaks like SDHC support and Remote Desktop Protocol 6.0. No word on when OEMs will start rolling any of this out.

Zune 30 Firmware Update

The new Zunes now have the ability to wirelessly sync within range of a host computer. Microsoft also dropped the 3-day limitation from its “3-day-or-3-play” DRM scheme, gave the Zune the ability to playback content from Windows Media Center-enabled PCs and added support for h.264 and MPEG-4 file formats.

When Microsoft announced the new Zune, it also shocked many in the industry when it noted that first generation Zunes — now called the Zune 30 — would also receive the new Zune software features via a firmware update.

Microsoft sent out an email to current Zune 30 owners yesterday informing them that the new firmware update along with updated Zune Marketplace software will be available on November 13.