Is there a way to use zAlternator with Zune 3.0 or 3.1 coming soon?

[russell52]

I've been having fun (sic) trying to get my Zune 80 to sync to my home computer. I have no internet access at home because I live in the country up on a hill. I simply want to get all the 320 hours of CD's I laboriously loaded into my Windows Media Player to sync to and get on my Zune 80 so that I can listen to them in my car. I was able to first load Zune software from a Zune 30 a friend loaned me and, after going through the 3.0 extraction using WinRar work-around got it to sync to the Zune software and got about half my CD's on it to try out using an FM transmitter via my car stereo. It really sounds bad compared to the CDROM's I burned of the same material using WMP11. After a lot of research I came to the conclusion that the poor equalization choices (yes, I did try a higher bps first) in the Zune program were no match for the graphic EQ in the WMP. A/B'ing the same songs played through WMP or Zune software on the computer speakers or from CDROM's compared to Zune player in the car really shows a difference in sound quality. I'm now convinced that the best alternative is to get the Zune 80 to sync to WMP11 and hopefully get better reproduction. (By the way, the Zune 80 sounds a bit better when compared to the same songs from the Zune 30 in the car!)

So, to finally get to the point, I did the searching and got registered and downloaded zSuite. However, I did read the string above the link and realize that zAlternator works with the 2.0 versions and not the 3.0 versions of Zune so I'm not expecting success with what I need to do. In the meantime, I used the laptop to download 3.1 and also upgraded the software of the Zune80 to the latest version (which, of course, is now not allowing it to sync with the home computer on 3.0 using the Zune program). The laptop sync's fine with the Zune 80. Here's my wish list:

1. Get zAlternator to work with Zune 3.1 so that I can sync to my offline computer.
2. Sync successfully to WMP11 and get my 320 hours or music onto the Zune 80.
3. Plug it into my car (I was told a jack is superior to any FM transmitter) and
zone out on shuffle on my long car trips.
4. Gain the benefit (hopefully) of the full equalization of the WMP11 files as
opposed to the limited choices the Zune software allows (concert hall,
etc.).

Lastly, does anyone know what the hertz range is on a Zune? I found specs on harmonic distortion, etc. but that one eludes me.

Thanks for taking time to read all of this.....I'd welcome any comments or proposed solutions. I like the Zune 80 vs the Zune 30 and hope it was the right choice to give me fidelity and freedom from all those highly scratchable,
short-lived CDROM compilations I've been making.

Russell52

[Azu-nyan]

Sorry to say, but there isn't any indication that this hack will work again. =/ Basically, MS closed up the piggyback method we used before, which broke anything that used it like zAlternator and RIG. Basically, unless MS decides they want to open the platform up again, there's not much of a chance of getting such hacks to work again.

[Machiventa]

Even if you could sync via WMP11 I don't think it adds EQ to the tracks before syncing. Unless of course you apply EQ to the tracks but I would imagine adding EQ to 320 hrs of music would literally take forever.

[zman519]

i keep reading thread after thread about people wanting to do parts of what i want to do. Its so sad that MS locked the zune up, i just dont get it if apple has no problems with you putting files on the ipod why does M$. & as for M$ they really have lost me. i was the biggest xbox fan & after the 360 vista & now locking up the zune i dont see myself buying there stuff any more PS4 any one ok done ranting

[Bolt]

Microsoft likely locked up the zune to stop the massive piracy and hacks that may occur. Ever heard of PSP Custom Firmware? Most people end up getting that to pirate games

[Azu-nyan]

Originally Posted by Bolt

Microsoft likely locked up the zune to stop the massive piracy and hacks that may occur. Ever heard of PSP Custom Firmware? Most people end up getting that to pirate games

It's not so much piracy as brand/quality control. Here's a little piece I wrote about the HD hack, but it applies here too:

Originally Posted by Locke

There's a good reason why it got broken. MS wants to make the Zune as secure and locked down as they can so that only they have access and any use of the platform goes through them. This is the epitome of closed source design. That is why we can't run custom firmware and hacks, why XNA is so locked down, and so on. If they are in control, they alone manage the quality and they alone reap the profits. The main motivation behind not allowing a HD hack is that if they allow any weakness or opening into their design, it could be an inroads to later hacking. They don't want hackers to even stand a chance, even if they provide a useful tool that might bring people into the Zune fold. They may implement this feature in the future, but if they do it will come directly from them and be locked down as tight as it can.

The benefit of this is that if the product is released as a high quality product, it will remain so as it is not being tinkered or interfered with. The only problem is that MS isn't perfect and so errors get introduced in the process, which is why the recent firmware bugs have been so infuriating: if the tricks and wipes don't work, there's nothing we can do. We can't improve or bypass the firmware at all. However, so long as MS can fix these bugs and keep the Zune a high quality release, it works out quite well in the end.

The only downside is that they may lock down more functionality and start charging for it, but they are a major company and I would expect nothing less. This is why companies do, and so it simply makes sense that MS would take this philosphy to its logical end. I've come to accept it, but that's really up to each person who buys a Zune. They will be the ones to decide whether or not this business model works.

[Charge]

They want to keep it there device. Just look what happened to the Iphone. It gets jailbreaked and Apple get cheated out of millions as people download free apps instead of buying them.

[account4me2]

Originally Posted by Bolt

Microsoft likely locked up the zune to stop the massive piracy and hacks that may occur. Ever heard of PSP Custom Firmware? Most people end up getting that to pirate games

Yeah but exactly what are people going to pirate? There are no games Microsoft is selling that people would pirate, and pirated music/videos can be put on the zune now anyway. Microsoft has no way to tell what's pirated and what's not, unless they limit the content playable on the zune to their marketplace exclusively, which would be totally ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Locke

It's not so much piracy as brand/quality control.

I suppose. I mean, obviously it's bad for microsoft's rep if the media is like, "OMG the zune, microsoft's ipod-killer, has been hacked! Blah blah blah." Of course, they never say stuff about ipod drm being hacked, or software existing to circumvent itunes.

Honestly though I see no truly logical explanation. Why doesn't Microsoft just make the whole thing open-source? Then hackers, nerds, ordinary people, and the media will be happy. People would be able to do whatever they wanted with the device they purchased, and life would be so much better. Really, what's the worst thing that could happen if they made it open-source?

Originally Posted by Charge

They want to keep it there device. Just look what happened to the Iphone. It gets jailbreaked and Apple get cheated out of millions as people download free apps instead of buying them.

Ah very good. However there's key difference here. Microsoft isn't selling us anything but music/videos, which they let us get from any other source we choose. What would they be cheated out of?

[Red Sky]

like locke's post. They want total control over the device. If the device has unprofessional people doing whatever they want with it, it damages the image of the quality of the device. Also, if people make custom firmwares and the like, there's no guarantee that microsoft will be able to provide any service to it. It completely kills the device IMHO if it was to be completely open source. And it's really quite impossible to successfully make something partially open sourced, as the parts that aren't open will get hacked.

[account4me2]

I somewhat see your point. Although to me it seems that there's not much of a "Zune image" anyway. As well, I would think that more PSP's have been sold due to the fact that it is hackable. I don't see how the ability to run whatever applications and games you want on your zune could damage the image of the quality of the device. It would still be a good device, and even better if people could do what they want with it. It could even be a benefit to the image if Microsoft advertised the switch to open-source well. It might even become more popular just because of the media. But of course that'll never happen, because it's Microsoft we're talking about. Oh well.

The point about the service Microsoft could provide is definitely a valid one though. I could see how many zune's might become irreversibly bricked.

[Red Sky]

also, as huge a company as microsoft, they would never release their code open source. What happens if their code falls into the hands of their rivals and then Microsoft loses some kind of secret that they use in their coding?

[Azu-nyan]

Microsoft is a closed source developer. They have a strong, vested interest in keeping their products that way. They are there to sell a product and make money, just like any other business. They try to please the consumer (since that's the only way they can make money, after all), and it is their prime objective, however, just because some people want a feature doesn't mean that they have to make it. They make what they want to make. If they're not comfortable letting others work intimately with their code, that's their decision. The only factor that will determine whether this is wise are not is how many people buy they Zune. If they make large amounts of economic profit from this, they obviously made a smart business decision, which is all that they are interested in making. If they fail and garner losses, well then, they made some mistakes, be they from not going open source or something completely different. But in the end, they are a business, and the purpose of a business is to come out with more than you went in, to earn economic profit. That's Microsoft's sole goal and purpose, and it would be foolish to imagine anything less from them.

[the_5treet]

Is there any links anywhere to where i can download an earlier version of the zune software so i can use the software here ?

[Charge]

Search the site using the Search option at the top of the page. Search 2.5 Software and there is a thread for it.