“Apparently, Microsoft has been so focused on getting Zune out the door in time for the mad holiday rush that it hasn’t gotten around to supporting the player under its next-generation operating system,” AppleInsider reports.
“‘This operating system is currently not supported by Zune,’ reads an error message when trying to install Zune software on the latest versions of Microsoft’s own Windows Vista operating system,” AppleInsider reports.
AppleInsider reports, “In an official Zune support document, Microsoft, which will begin selling Vista to business customers in two weeks, confirms that the system ‘is not supported at this time.'”
Full article with links and screenshots here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “ChrissyOne” for the heads up.]
Can you believe this zune?! 
Related articles:
Dvorak: ‘If anything is doomed to failure, it’s Microsoft’s Zune’ – November 14, 2006
Ballmer: Zune’s Wi-Fi will help Microsoft challenge Apple’s iPod+iTunes – November 14, 2006
CNN ridicules Microsoft’s Zune while gushing over Apple’s new iPod shuffle – November 14, 2006
Engadget: Microsoft’s Zune software: ‘It sucks’ – November 13, 2006
Early Microsoft Zune customer greeted with Zune ‘Installation Error’ – November 13, 2006
Zuned: What’s the ‘deal’ with Microsoft Points? – November 12, 2006
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Apple has no need to worry about Microsoft’s cumbersome, chunkier Zune – November 11, 2006
BusinessWeek: ‘By this time next year, Microsoft’s Zune will be considered a dismal failure’ – November 10, 2006
USA Today’s Baig: Microsoft Zune is no Apple iPod – November 09, 2006
Forbes: Microsoft’s Zune stinks; like ‘Microsoft Bob,’ only more embarrassing – November 09, 2006
NY Times’ Pogue: Zune should come in green to match Microsoft’s iPod envy – November 09, 2006
Mossberg: MS Zune has ‘too many compromises, missing features’ vs. ‘thin, sleek, elegant’ Apple iPod – November 09, 2006
Microsoft to pay Universal for every Zune sold – November 09, 2006
Analysts: Microsoft Zune may end up being a flop – November 08, 2006
Are 58% of iPod owners really thinking of a Zune switch? – November 08, 2006
Survey: 58% of iPod owners planning another MP3 player purchase will consider Microsoft’s Zune – November 01, 2006
Zune is from Microsoft, but Microsoft doesn’t want anybody to know about it – November 07, 2006
Microsoft Zune to be US-only, no firm plans to launch anywhere else globally – November 03, 2006
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JupiterResearch: Apple’s iPod will dominate for foreseeable future; Microsoft’s Zune insignificant – October 25, 2006
Ellen DeGeneres Show gives away Microsoft Zunes, studio audience goes berserk – October 23, 2006
More Microsoft Zune myths explored – October 20, 2006
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Newsweek Q&A: Apple CEO Steve Jobs discusses iPod’s impact, Microsoft’s Zune, and more – October 15, 2006
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MP3.com founder: ‘Zune will be an expensive failure for Microsoft because consumers aren’t stupid’ – October 06, 2006
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Vista just got zuned!! I love it!!
Zune not compatible with an unreleased OS? Shocking.
Sux for everyone who go their free Zune on Ellen Degeneres Show.
That about 200 Unhappy customers right there.
They shoulda went Ipod. At least it supported by most OX Panther, Tiger, XP, 2000.
Zune, U’ra Loser!!!!
I saw the player up in person at walmart. Wow, need about 500 of them Brown zunes to resurface my front porch, and some mortar cament from Hom Depot.
They look better than the Actual brick.
on an earlier thread, “swordmaker” said that as of 4:00 pm today, his local “circuit city” had not sold one zune!!
anyone else have some 1st day sales info??
MDN, could you find that info, I think that would be interesting
Typical.
Does anyone know if Itunes is supported on vista??
What’s the big deal? Vista not even released yet. I’m sure when it is released, Zune will be supported.
Weren’t some stores supposed to open up at midnight last night to handle the throngs of buyers waiting to buy a brown squirter?
Hey, JON!
Vista IS, I repeat, IS released, you dumbass! Now that Redmond has officially handed off its new baby into the manufacturing channels, it is out of their hands and only weeks away from their customers! It is not “modifiable” as of this moment, so it has SHIPPED, moron!
Of course, what the above shocking piece of news portends is that Vista ALREADY needs the first patch of its illustrious life . . . and the shrinkwrap is not even off the box!
Gawd, how incompetent can Ballmer and the Boys in Redmond be?
(Reality Check, JON: Apple will release the Video iPod in January, most likely. What’s your bet that it will work with Leopard?)
Hey, “so w hat” . . .
Read my message to your idiot brother Jon, above! (And, BTW, do you guys not have a newspaper in your village? Try to keep up with the tech sector if you do, OK?)
WOOT!!!
Heads-Up-Cred!!!
GO ME!
Okay, so now that this fiasco is coming to an end, I think it might be time for One More Thing.
Pull the trigger, Steve.
-c
MW: ‘felt’ (like a gold bar, but not in a good way)
Honestly… no sarcasm involved here; does anyone else feel really bad for Microsoft today? I’m nearly as Apple devoted as they come, but reading the headlines all over the net today really made me cringe with pangs of sympathy for them. Sure, they have more cash than they know what to do with, but they still must be so despondent.
Sorry, Mr. Ballmer. Better luck next time, perhaps?
Randian, Vista is NOT released yet. When you can buy it in the store or on-line, it is released.. Until then, the fcuk up.
How ’bout that, Vista finally matches OS X at something.
Randian.
Stop making a fool of yourself. Its amazing how people throw insults at complete strangers while safely behind their computers.
The fact that Vista has been seeded to manufacturers means nothing. All MS has to do is release downloadable Zune software for Vista when Vista is finally released.
“So w hat” . . .
Man, are you the stupidest asshole that ever accessed a website or what?
As of this writing, thousands–if not hundreds of thousands–of PC’s have already been manufactured with Vista 1.0 shoveled onto their hard drives. TRUE OR FALSE, cretin?
Some poor bastards will buy THOSE computers in January of next year with the CURRENT, SHIPPING crapola version of an OS on it that doesn’t interface with the Zune! Can both digits of your IQ comprehend this fact or not? Of course, trying to understand and internalize the screwing that MonkeySoft has already given its first customers means you’ll have to put down your banjo, but give it a shot, OK?
Randian….
Who cares.. software update and suddenly Zune works…
The story is just a funny slip up, that’s all.. by no means indicating that Zune will.. .*groan… never work with Vista
“weeks” indeed. Next year genius.
ZWND!
Man, are you the stupidest asshole that ever accessed a website or what?
—————-
Hey Randian, “so what” is not the one arguing a moot point. Vista is not released. He is right, you are wrong. Sorry, buddy.
I’ll bet the iTunes software works with Vista. Well, maybe or maybe not, but based on feedback from people using the supported Windows releases, Apple seems to do a significantly better job of writing Windows software than Microsoft. “Shocking!”
Sounds like you could make a game called “Zune, Windows, PC” to figure out the LOSER of an argument.
Lets see, Windows hates Zune, Zune hates PC, PC hates Windows.
OK, Zune would be a tur-uh a fist. Windows could be an assho-er OKAY, and PC could be the finger.
Or maybe just rock, paper, scissors.
Randian
The crowd you run with must be easily impressed, but mirrors don’t count.
“Micro-shaft” (yes, it is a double entendre) is so f—ing stupid and innapropriate. I would pity them if they weren’t such shyster aholes.
The biggest problem here is. vista is already to manufacturing. That means Zune software won’t be supported in vista for some time to come. Congratulations again microsoft for not innovating and only immitating while further complicating your own platform.
HotinPlaya,
I installed iTunes and the iPod software on my Vista beta with no issues or error messages. Sync’d my 5G and my wife’s Nano no problem.
I gotta say though, that Windows/Zune update screen does kinda give me wood (could be from the moaning expression and the open mouth). It’s the only thing by Micro-shaft that ever has. Does anyone else have a similar reaction?
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Seems like everything the Evil Empire’s doing lately just keeps driving my AAPL shares higher.
I must remember to send Ballmer a thank-you note.
-jcr
I’m sure eventually Vista will support Zune…
But still having to patch their brand new “bug free” OS of the future on the very day of Zune release is simply embarrassing. It speaks volumes about the company and ethos.
By the time Vista supports Zune though…Zune may already have flopped, so it won’t matter.
thanks Ian
I figured as much, is funny tho,
anyone know 1st day sales??
Guys, you’re missing the point – Microsoft planned the release of Zune when Vista was supposed to have already been released (according to Microsoft a year or so ago).
The important part is that Microsoft makes both Vista and Zune, two products that are being released within a month of each other, and they’re incompatible.
So now those poor souls who buy a Vista PC or Vista in January and get a Zune for this holiday season (or maybe at the after Christmas sales events, when they’ll be REAL cheap) can’t even plug it in and use it. They have to download new software, probably after they tried to plug it in and received the error message.
Now we all know how easy it is to download and update Vista or other Microsoft software, so this won’t be an easy or seamless process.
How do you spend 7 years or more (revamping XP) preparing a “new” OS and don’t include compatibility with new products you’re releasing at or near the same time?
Hmmm…squirt
Ah, that’s something I forgot: how on Earth can anyone be expected to do this Zune thing when you can install iTunes on Windows? Wouldn’t it be funny if someone cracked the DRM so you could use iTunes tracks with your Zune, so no one buys their music from Microsoft, so Microsoft are paying Universal even though they aren’t selling any music? Hmm. That deal sounds a lot more insidious than it did already. Think about it: Microsoft have to pay Universal even if they don’t sell a single track. Universal, you are evil! Pure evil! Down with Universal! Maybe they’ll get Zuned too.
Randian, do take a breather. Yes, Vista has been shipped off to manufacturers. It’s even possible that thousands of computers have already been manufactured with the software preloaded on their hard drive. However, it is still impossible for an ordinary consumer to obtain a Final Edition of Vista (unless, perhaps, it has been pirated).
Furthermore, I would like to point out that your own use of facts is not particularly flawless. There is in fact no such operating system as Microsoft Vista 1.0. Vista is actually version 6 of Microsoft Windows, just as XP is version 5 (5.1, technically). You can see this for yourself if you check the about dialog box of a system component or run the WINVER.EXE application.
The Zune problem is unlikely to require a patch to the operating system. It probably will require an updated version of the Zune software. It does not seem particularly strange to me that Vista isn’t supported given that no one has it outside of beta testers.
Will the hilarity ever stop? SanDisk, Sony, nor Creative have to worry about getting Zuned.
¡Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja!, poor Microsoft fellows.
A company like Microsoft which attained its ubiquitous status in the tech sector through dubious means can’t be expected to create anything of technological value….really.
It’s that simple. Sorry Windows Fanboys.
I’ll bet the iPod will have no trouble working with Leopard…that’s the best comparison I can make.
Obviously, the folks in the Zune department can’t be bothered to talk to the folks in the OS Development department…
And Europe forces micro$oft to open their source, M$ cannot even synchronise their own mess..
Microsoft had more than five years to co-develop Vista and Zune. Regardless if Microsoft releases a “compatibility patch” sometime in 2007, the fact remains that Vista and Zune are not compatible now. What some people dismiss as a minor embarrassment is actually evidence of poor planning and questionable leadership.
Yes, it’s unreleased, and Zune can be updated online…
but: WTF is a MS fanboi to do???!!! How will they choose between beta Vista and Zune.
And since, from what I can tell, MS fanboi IS the audience for Zune, it IS a serious problem.
Clearly this thing was rushed to market (installation seems to work fine for people who download the software, but not with the software on the CD which is probably a few weeks old), as if it would have a dent on Apple’s Christmas. heh heh.
Well, this is certainly one sure fire way to prevent Vista squirting malware on a <strike>iBob</strike> Zune and vice versa.
re:Obviously, the folks in the Zune department can’t be bothered to talk to the folks in the OS Development department…
——————-
The biggest joke of all is that the OS department is probably next door to the zune department too!
ROFL!!
Actually, a bigger joke is that Homeland Security software is MS.
That joke is NOT funny.
All this negative Zune news is humorous. This is starting to look “sloppy” on MS’s part. Like how Ballmer looks…………………sloppy.
Yep.
*sigh*
If Vista has not been released how someone tried to install it on a PC running it in the first place?
Ok, we know it may not have been released for ordinary folks, but there are hundreds of thousands of Vista installations all over the world and a simple fact remains:
Zune cannot run under Vista. LOL.
Honestly… no sarcasm involved here; does anyone else feel really bad for Microsoft today? I’m nearly as Apple devoted as they come, but reading the headlines all over the net today really made me cringe with pangs of sympathy for them. Sure, they have more cash than they know what to do with, but they still must be so despondent.
Sorry, Mr. Ballmer. Better luck next time, perhaps?
NeoVoyager,
That Neo must mean something: if you were a little bit older, you would know there’s only one thing M$ deserves: complete and utter destruction.
Enough of this Zune stuff! And Vista and Microsoft.
I DON’T CARE!
I read this site for NEWS RELATING TO APPLE AND MACS AND OS X.
As others have said, Vista is out to thousands (hundreds of thousands?) for testing. It is these very testers that are good candidates (aka suckers) for buying a Zune. Apple would never find themselves in the same position of a new piece of hardware that was not compatible with an OS that it in testing.
I tend to agree: given the amount of time and energy given to Vista and Zune, its ridiculous that the two aren’t compatible out of the box. Not a major problem, but still a significant symptom of the problems afflicting the Giant of Redmond.
I briefly looked at a Zune at Target yesterday. They have an endcap on the aisle next to the iPods. I did think the Zune display looked pretty good, and that the background (displaying album art for the full size of the display) looked pretty good, and it seemed to function alright. But the fake-scroll wheel is a travesty.
Do you have to have a clue before you <b>squirt<b>/?
Zune said:
Did you ever fart so hard you ended up in another zip code?
..or planet
I’m with Randian. Vista not being “released” has nothing to do with it. I’ll guarantee you that iTunes works RIGHT NOW with Leopard, and likely did months ago. Oh yes, I know that Vista is “new”, but it’s not really THAT much of a disruption between that an XP. Fact is, it’s a little late in the game for the Zune not to be supported on Vista. After all, isn’t this the BETA testing period? How are you gonna test it if it’s not supported?
The “Zune Girl” (see install screenshot) is NEVER going to live this photo down.
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I find it hilarious that this little gem brought the MS apologists out of the woodwork.
Say what you want, drones (if all you posting in defense of MS or against Randian aren’t all the same person with different names), this is embarrassing.
The sad thing is MS has set the bar so low for so long that the MS fanboi crowd are used to this flavor of koolaid.
Truely sad.
Wasn’t the reason MS went with Apple’s ‘closed’ model (which it isn’t any more closed than PFS) so that they would have complete control over the OS/app/store/hardware for better integration?
Yet it shows little of the Apple ease of integration.
Randian –
The code for business is finalized. The Code for Ultlimate is still on target for a Jan. Gold Master…
Of course iTunes works with Leopard…You Dope..10.5 isnt exactly a major departure from 10.4 compared to XP/Vista…
Unless you count the constant kernel panics in the WWDC seed of 10.5…
That must be one of apples new “features”.
At least MS gave me a beta of an OS that is relatively stable…
C’mon guys! Don’t tell me I’m the only one here who gets wood from that stupid Zune error screen.
Please visit this website there have some software about Zune and ipod converter.Good Luck !
http://www.bestshareware.net/zune/