Rumors have been floating around the internet for months now about Microsoft’s mysterious “iPod Killer,” the Zune portable media player, but until now, little has been confirmed. Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the Toshiba 1089 player, which apparently will be marketed by Microsoft as the Zune player. Getting Toshiba to manufacture the player is hardly surprising on Microsoft’s part, especially given their long history together, including their support for the HD DVD platform. Utilizing Toshiba’s manufacturing resources also eliminates the need for Microsoft to construct their own factories.

Fortunately, the Zune does not appear to be just a re-skinned Toshiba Gigabeat. In terms of specifications, the Zune player appears to be hard-drive based, using a 1.8” 30GB hard drive. It also comes with a reasonable 3-inch TFT display as well as an integrated FM tuner and USB 2.0 connectivity. The most fascinating aspect of the Zune, however, comes from its built-in wireless capabilities. It seems the rumors about Microsoft’s Zune network for downloading and sharing music and other media may be true after all.

Read More | FCC

Gallery: FCC Approves Toshiba 1089, a.k.a Microsoft’s Zune Player

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (0)
• Forum Discussion
• Email this story

Trends have shown that a lot of you guys watching our show and into games. In fact, a few people on our Xbox Live friends list are there because of this show. We have received requests for more cool game footage, and we think we have delivered with this one. In this episode, Andru and Sparky head down to the Xbox Studios in Redmond to get a tour of the facilities and operations center. We also sit down with Major Nelson to talk about the Xbox 360, Live Arcade, and a bunch more. If you want to get a first-hand look at what goes on behind the scenes with the Xbox crew, check out this show.

Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed

|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)

IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Here's how to get the show:
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4

Gallery: The Bleeding Edge 020: Xbox Studios Tour, Major Nelson Interview

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (0)
• Forum Discussion
• Email this story

A few months ago on The Bleeding Edge, we made mention of how horrible the experience of getting your Xbox 360 repaired can be as it pertains to the content you have downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace. Ben Salem over at the Xbox Team Blog wrote up an entry talking about how the licensing for Xbox Live Marketplace content works, hoping to explain why some users have problems as it pertains to the DRM implementation of the Xbox 360.

When an item is purchased and subsequently downloaded for the first time, licenses to use the downloaded content are created and passed out to two separate locations. First, a license is created and issued to the console. This license enables all accounts to use this content freely, as long as the content is being accessed from said console – any profile being used on the console will be able to use the content while on the console.
Second, a license is created and issued to the profile used to purchase the item. This license is different in that it allows the profile to use the content on whichever console it currently resides on, but only if it is connected to live. Only the signed-in account can use the paid-for content – a license would have to be purchased on that console for everyone to be able to play. This seems to be where some people are getting tripped up – bringing a profile with a license on it to another console will not give the second console a license as well.

The problem with this is that when a user has to send in their Xbox for repair (and we know a bunch of different people who have had to, including myself), it seems more often than not they are just sent a replacement unit.

Click to continue reading A Look At Why Xbox Live Marketplace Licensing and DRM Doesn’t Work

Gallery: A Look At Why Xbox Live Marketplace Licensing and DRM Doesn’t Work

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (1)
• Forum Discussion
• Email this story

When we all started downloading Windows Vista Beta 2 when it was made available to the public, it was immediately noticeable to those of us running Media Center to an Xbox 360 that the interface took a dive from what it was like using Media Center 2005. Fear not - a recent build of Windows Vista running over an Xbox 360 shows vast improvement in the UI in terms of fluidity, and usability. Check out the video above to see for yourself.

Gallery: A Look At The Xbox 360 Vista Media Center Extender

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (0)
• Forum Discussion
• Email this story

Ever wonder what goes on behind closed doors at a major tech company? We hung out with the higher ups at iRiver America and got a tour of the place. We also sat down with iRiver America CEO Jonathan Sasse, and talked a bit about the company, the evolution of the iRiver clix, working with Microsoft and MTV, DRM, and a few other topics. Oh, and we got a look at the iRiver hummer.

Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed

|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)

IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Here's how to get the show:
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4

Gallery: The Bleeding Edge 018: A Visit To iRiver, Jonathan Sasse Interview

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (0)
• Email this story

Finally, Microsoft has given up some details on the Zune, the most significant detail being the confirmation that it exists. In an article in Billboard Magazine, the company reveals that Zune is much more than just a digital media player, but rather a family of hardware and software products which integrate various forms of digital entertainment services. The first implementation of this will be the portable music player and digital music service, which is essentially Microsoft’s first real attempt at going head to head with the Apple’s iTunes and iPod one-two punch combo. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft can put a dent in Apple’s 70% market share in digital music downloads, and 75% of the entire digital music player scene. If anyone has the pockets to do it, it’s them. Before counting them out, remember that the Xbox was nothing more than a joke when we first heard about it in 1999, and today it’s at the forefront of the game industry.

EDIT: A couple of official Zune related sites: Zune Insider, Coming Zune, and Madison and Pine

Read More | Billboard (Account Required)

Gallery: Microsoft Officially Confirms Zune

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (0)
• Forum Discussion
• Email this story

So, if the rumor mill is to be believed, Microsoft’s Zune should be launching this October, ready to get jacked on your trick-or-treat romp through the neighborhood. While others are hearing rumblings of a November launch date, one thing is for sure. If the Zune is to launch this year, it will hit retail by Black Friday. No one launches anything after Thanksgiving, as retailers want to plan out their holiday setup before the end of November. So, the good news is that this thing will drop by November. Other items of note appear to be that the Alexandria codename we have been hearing about may turn out to be the music and video service associated with the product. Not sure why Microsoft wouldn’t just play along with URGE here, since they have been pushing it pretty hard over the past month or so, but I guess we will all find out when all this conjecture becomes verified.

Read More | BetaNews

Gallery: Zune To Launch In October Alongside Alexandria Service?

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (0)
• Forum Discussion
• Email this story

We catch up with Greg Canessa, General Manager for Xbox Casual Games, and chat about the much anticipated Lumines Live for Xbox Live Arcade. Greg shows us around the game, going through the interface, and touching on music video integration. He also fills us in on details about matchmaking and competitive play over Xbox Live.

Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed

|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)

IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Here's how to get the show:
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4

Gallery: Bleeding Edge Byte 022: Lumines Live, Greg Canessa Interview

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (0)
• Forum Discussion
• Email this story

You want a chance to throw a party on Microsoft’s dime? If you have access to Xbox Live, the computer software giant is giving you the chance. They’ve got a promotion running now for “Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday Party-In-A-Box”, which is essentially getting you to have a party on a Wednesday night tied to the weekly release of a new Xbox Live Arcade title. In exchange for taking photos and submitting them to Microsoft along with details of your shindig, they’ll give you a coupon for a free Papa John’s pizza, 1000 Microsoft points to download Xbox Live Arcade titles and a free digital music download for your favorite 80s tunes. How retro…

Read More | Microsoft Xbox Newsflash

Gallery: A Party on Microsoft’s Dime

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (1)
• Email this story

If you’re one of those MSN Messenger (sorry…Windows Live Messenger) or Yahoo Messenger fans who is really devoted to your IM client but has friends on the other network, fear not – Microsoft and Yahoo have officially declared it safe for your IM client to now chat with your buddy. The Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger with Voice applications can now connect with one another via a limited public beta program which can be signed up for at Microsoft or Yahoo’s Web sites. Features which will be usable between the two IM clients include exchanging instant messages, seeing one’s online presence, viewing status messages, share select emoticons, viewing offline messages and adding new contacts from either service.

Read More | Microsoft Press Release

Gallery: Yahoo, Microsoft Hop in IM Bed Together

• Tools:
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Comments (1)
• Email this story