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 ZuneBoards was given an exclusive interview with the ZuneInsider himself - Cesar Menendez! We got to ask some questions pertaining to Cesar himself, and asked the easy and the tough questions about Zune. Click for more on what he said!...
zB: First off, we wanna know about you! Who are you? How did you begin working for Microsoft? How were you approached to become a part of the zune product team?
CM: Well, let’s see. I started at Microsoft in 2000, and I’ve worked on the Windows XP retail launch, Xbox, and working on Zune since around May of 06. On a personal note, I love to cook, and I’m addicted to that show West Wing, and the Xbox 360 game Mass Effect. Also I just got married last summer.
zB: What is the Zune working environment like? Do you have your own comfortable room? Nice cafeterias? Free vending machines? Is the Zune headquarter large?
CM: Zune has an open working environment, which means everyone (from J Allard on down) has an open cube. It makes it so that you can just say “hey, so n so” when you have a question, which is cool. And the building that we sit in now – we just moved – is a big one with high ceilings. No free vending machines, but the oft-mentioned free soda/juice is still going.
zB: Do you engage in Office pranks? Read any Dilbert by Scott Adams? Has some of those episodes in Dilbert struck home as in being something close to your reality? Which one?
CM: Haha, I try to engage in office pranks, but more often than not I get pranked. One word: teapot. I haven’t read much dilbert, so I don’t know what that is like.
zB: Switching gears to Zune - Why is Zune Marketplace/Zune Pass coming to Canada later after the launch in Spring '08?
CM: Customers in Canada have been asking for Zune since day one and we feel the time is right to bring Zune to Canada. We’re currently working out the details of Zune Marketplace content with our partners in the recording industry and we hope to have the Zune Marketplace online in Canada later this year.
zB: Robbie Bach mentioned, at CES 2008, there are 'opportunites to expand (beyond the US and Canada) later.' Are there any reasons why we're not seeing a world-wide release? Do you see any backlogs now that you plan on going international? I recall you having issues meeting the Zune 80's demand in the states.
CM: we want to make sure we do not over-extend ourselves so we made the decision to focus our resources first on the US experience. Our next step is to begin offering devices in Canada, but we are not announcing any broader plans right now
zB: J Allard hinted last year about a convergence of Xbox and Zune (http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/16/j-allard-talks-failure-hope-convergence-of-zune-and-xbox-servi/). Will the deals made with television and hollywood production companys made for the xbox be carried over to the zune? When do you think users are going to be able to access movies on the marketplace?
CM: This kind of integration is something that we’re working towards but we have nothing to announce at this time.
zB: The software, at the current moment, is possibly the most complained-about aspect of the Zune. We know Microsoft has 'promised' to fix auto-playlists (http://forums.zune.net/45590/ShowPost.aspx). Any information you can shed on what MS is doing to address many of the issues people see lacking in the software? Album Art issues? Editing of meta-tags? Organizing video? Implementing Manual Sync again (sync groups are not true manual sync)?
CM: We conducted extensive testing for Zune devices before they shipped, but as with most software there is an opportunity, once it has broad distribution, to get feedback from your customers as to things that could be better, and fix them as appropriate. We will continue to collect feedback from the Zune community about the Zune devices, Zune Social and Zune Marketplace and enter that feedback into the product development cycle,
zB: AVI is a nice format for the xbox to have; don't you think so, Cesar?
CM: Mmmhmm. Very. . . subtle ;)
zB: Don't you like the color blue, Cesar? We do too...we REALLY do....
CM: Again. . . subtle. .
zB: And finally, with Bill Gates leaving are you gonna miss him? And any plans of taking over his position, maybe in some mutinous coup?
CM: Coup!?!? What!? Who TOLD you tha. . . I mean. . . er. . . NO! Jk.  Thanks to the zB community for coming up with many of these questions, and a BIG thanks goes out to Cesar! Rock on Cesar!
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does any one think a petition would help speed the proces?