Inside the Circle

Vox Circle: What the World Needs Now Is NOT an Xbox 720

socialcircle@live.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:26:20 PST

Yes, I know this will most likely be an unpopular opinion. Even I can't believe I'm writing this article. (Me! The gadget and gaming geek!) But it needs to be said, in light of rumors swirling around about these next-gen devices.

We don't need an Xbox 720.

At least, not yet.

Look, I love my Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Even the PS3, which I spent most of 2011 with after straying from (then reconciling) with an Xbox 360 S, is an extremely capable gaming system. There is still plenty of life left in these systems, if games like Rage are any kind of proof. The current generation of gaming consoles are priced right (in the $199 to $249 range), offer online connectivity and gaming capabilities, and have large fanbases. Judging by the reactions to Skyrim and Modern Warfare 3, games can receive blockbuster movie-type attention and critical success, even this "late" into their lifecycles. Over this past holiday season, millions of gaming systems were sold- this, despite a weak economy.

Speaking of which, the economy being what it is (not great for most people), I don't see how it would make sense for Microsoft or Sony to release new consoles now. This is particularly true for the PS3. A new console debuting from Microsoft or Sony could be priced in the $399 or higher range (unless they are willing to take serious losses), and that does not include games or peripherals. To fully invest in a new system, consumers may need to invest at least $500 or more. A lot of gamers may not be willing to make that kind of investment right now. Take a look at Nintendo's 3DS and Sony's new PS Vita. The 3DS debuted (as will the Vita) at $249. For Nintendo, they were forced to drop the price $70 several months later due to weak demand. The Vita, already released in Japan, has been outsold by the older PSP model. Sony is particularly egregious in this area; not only are they releasing the new (and admittedly powerful) Vita at $249, they are also releasing a new proprietary memory card format for it, which will cost more than the MicroSD equivalents. On top of that, this card will be required for certain games. This speaks of a certain hubris that can frustrate loyal gamers.

Will Microsoft succumb to this type of hubris? There are talks of the next Xbox featuring digital downloads only. Some reports put broadband availability in the US to 68%, making a digital-only Xbox could be a dealbreaker for a decent-to-large number of gamers. The skeptic in me says that this is to cut-out used game sales and force the consumer to pay full price for a new game every time (weren't we just talking about the economy?). This would also prevent people from sharing games with others. And the reality is it comes down to increasing their profits at the expense of flexibility for the consumer.

In the end, we'll have to wait and see what Microsoft has in store for the next Xbox. I'm sure it'll sell millions. I'm sure that it will be a huge success (barring some sort of huge misstep in design and / or marketing).

But I'm not in any rush.

When not filling up Inside the Circle with his own brand of crazy talk, Julio maintains a blog over at http://www.julioinprogress.com. You can also Like him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jaowriter.

Journalism Is Dead, Long Live The Internet

socialcircle@live.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:05:09 PST

So I logged onto the Twitter website to check trending topics to see what was happening. Much to my surprise, "RIP Adele" was trending. I checked my news outlet sources on my Tweetdeck to see if there was any report on this. Nothing. Twitter had decided to kill someone and this time it was Adele.

If anybody would be surprised at the RIP Adele news, it would be Adele who probably logged onto the internet to find out that she died.

The internet is moving at an extremely fast past. If your name gets to Twitter trending topics, you're automatically news. That goes for the same for "false news".

News outlets use Twitter to send out news which is great for someone like me who "lives" on the internet. I follow a lot of news people/outlets on Twitter and I find it great to get news instantly. The problem is some news outlets sometimes rush to break news and get the facts wrong.

Joe Paterno, the infamous Penn St coach, was on his death bed and would eventually pass away. Unfortunately, some people couldn't wait to break the story and hit the "Post" button too early. Joe Paterno was declared dead on Twitter before he died. CBS news got the story from a small news outlet and tweeted it out to the world. The reps from Joe Paterno's family rushed and denied the report.

It wasn't good for that small news outlet and CBS as CBS fired a member of their staff and the editor of the small news outlet stepped down.

Even on television, the quality of journalism is deteriorating. The phrase "Breaking News" has become nothing more than an attention grabber rather actual Breaking News. Real journalism has been pushed out of the way for ratings. Instead of great story pieces, we instead get talking heads in boxes giving their thoughts on what they liked about a politician's speech or a celebrities' dress. It's all largely devoid of "news" and it's rather all for entertainment.

Its hard to get real news and facts. Television News is obsolete to me. The internet does a better job for me. It's not always accurate and sometimes it's damn wrong. But at the least the information is available to the user and they can instantly check the facts and find it if they are real or not.

Believe me, the internet doesn't get a pass for giving out useless information sometimes (Katy Perry unfollowing Russel Brand on Twitter is not news) but the best thing about it is that I have options and can choose to ignore it.

Journalism is dead. Newspaper are gone and buried. The internet is the place to be. Long live the internet.

Last Quarter Apple Sold 4.2 Million Verizon iPhones, No Windows Phones

socialcircle@live.com — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:07:00 PST

For a moment, believe I am the Old Spice Guy. Look at that number then look at Windows Phone, back to that number--back to Windows Phone! Happily Windows Phone is not the iPhone. Perhaps in some twisted way, the fact there was no new holiday Windows Phone on Verizon was a good thing.

Overall, Verizon sold 7.7 million phones last quarter. Of that, 4.2 million were the iPhone 4s. In the first quarter that Verizon was able to sell the iPhone, it represented 55% of the total phones Verizon sold. Consider the Droid Bionic, Droid Razr, HTC Rezound, and Galaxy Nexus all launched around the same time as the iPhone 4s. With the exception of the iPhone, these are 4G phones, which Verizon happened to sell 2.4 million of last quarter. If you assume that the Droid gets top billing as Verizon has licensed the name from LucasFilm (personal investment) and the iPhone sells itself (which it pretty much does), that did not leave Windows Phone much room in its then form as an smartphone without LTE support.

Totaling 4.2 with 2.4 million gives us 6.6 million, or 85% of all phones Verizon sold last quarter were either and iPhone or a 4G phone – how many of that 15% remainder were HTC Trophys? Thinking about LTE being critical to Verizon moving forward it makes sense, to me at least, that there was not a new Windows Phone on Verizon this past holiday. It probably would not have sold well. With LTE support in phones like the 16mp shooter HTC Titan II and Polycarbonate-clad Nokia Lumia 900 perhaps Windows Phone can make a splash this summer winning the Verizon smartphone race with quality and not quantity.

Now Accepting Submissions: 2nd Annual MVP Summit Music Playlist

socialcircle@live.com — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:47:31 PST

Last year, Neville had an idea which I thought was fun, engaging and excellent. That idea had MVPs (and friends of MVPs) submit songs for a playlist. The playlist was basically a soundtrack for MVP Summit 2011. The playlist includes songs like "Hello, Seattle" by Owl City and "Bright Lights, Bigger City" by Cee Lo Green.

This year I wanted to resurrect that project and ask for songs to be included in the 2012 MVP Summit Playlist. However, there will be one twist: Instead of making your submissions public, you're going to send them privately to me. The final playlist will be released the 2nd week of February and it should be surprising what songs get included.

So if you want to have a song included on the playlist here's how to get your submissions to me:

If you follow me on Twitter, send me a DM (if I need to follow you, I will) with your song selection
If you wish to email it, send it to my email address
If you wish to send it through the Zune software (Zune Social):

Right-click on the song, in the software and choose 'send'
Insert my Zune Social tag "tromboneforhire" (without the quotes)

The comments section of this post will be closed so no one accidentally submits on it. :)

There are a couple of things I'd like to request:

The song should be available in the Zune Marketplace. If it's available through Zune Pass that's all the better. If it's not, then it should be a song that's at least available for preview/purchase.
We're all adults here, if you want to submit a 'parental advisory' track go ahead. If you plan to have little ones listen to this play list, just delete those songs from the list before pressing play :)
I want to ask that there be one person, one song for now. If I feel more songs can be added, then I'll let you know when additional submissions can be made.
Songs only, not complete albums, please.

Thanks, folks. Let's make an awesome playlist for us to listen to on the travels to Bellevue, WA next month.

Batman: Arkham City

socialcircle@live.com — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:28:45 PST

I was able to avoid the temptation to purchase Batman: Arkham City new, even on Black Friday, and instead borrowed it from my brother. For which I am now grateful.

Because Arkham City isn't cutting it for me.

I loved the original game, Arkham Asylum, and its successor features a lot of the same game mechanics, great graphics, and characters, only broader in scope. You have an entire city region to navigate, with the same abilities you ended Arkham Asylum with, and as such there a number of side missions and content to go through.

And yet, Arkham City leaves me cold.

I should love the fact that there are a large number of things to do in the game, but it all sort of feels like work. The Riddler trophies, for example. My understanding is that you're not going to be able to get them all right off the bat; that for some, you'll need to return later, perhaps after you've upgraded certain certain abilities. But I feel the same way here as I do in the first game. Namely, there's just so many, it'd be like having a second job. And they seem much more challenging to obtain now, whereas previously the majority could be grabbed right when you found them. Meh.

The story is the biggest fault here. It feels artificially decompressed in spots. An example: Batman needed to break into a museum to find Penguin, but discovers that his nemesis is using frequency scramblers that are preventing Batman from continuing. So now he needs to trudge about the city, look for these 3 scramblers, destroy them. More funny is that the scramblers have 3 screens that you must destroy. Which left me scratching my head; what's the point of them having 3 screens? It just wastes your time. Seemed like a poor game design decision.

I found myself wanting to just get through these events so that I could progress the story, and had little desire to partake in the side missions.

And seriously, what's up with the Augmented Reality training missions? I started laughing when I had to repeatedly glide through rings (reminiscent of Superman 64, which is never, ever a good thing), because I imagined what city residents would think if they saw Batman doing this. "Hey, dude, no need to save the city or anything, just keep trying to glide through the air, okay?"

Giving back Arkham City to my brother next chance I get. Maybe down the road I'll give it another try, but right now, I'm just not feeling it.

Time To Tell A Dirty Joke…

socialcircle@live.com — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:30:40 PST

A boy fell into a mud puddle…

Now for the clean version, he took a bath.

That was the joke shared by commenter Ultraman1970. This joke won him a copy of Gears of War 3. You get it, right? It is the boy who was dirty and he (Ultraman1970) won because it (the joke) was submitted to the GLW3SNMPHD Giveaway post (that contest). Share your joke for a chance to win 3 months of Xbox Live and Zune Pass. The winner will be announced sometime tomorrow evening!

If you jogged backward…

socialcircle@live.com — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:45:00 PST

Would you gain weight?

That was the joke that won @AnXboxDude a copy of the Trials HD / Limbo / ‘Splosion Man bundle pack. There’s still an opportunity to win great prizes, just post your own joke in the comments of the original GLW3SNMPHD Giveaway post! Oh, and if the above were true, then I may have been using the elliptical improperly for a while.

The Gunstringer Live Wars 3 ‘Splosion Ninja Music Pass HD Giveaway

socialcircle@live.com — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:45:00 PST

Happy Holidays from Inside the Circle! What says holidays like free gifts from awesome websites? This December take part in the The Gunstringer Live Wars 3 ‘Splosion Ninja Music Pass HD Giveaway… or the GLW3SNMPHD Giveaway for short. We are giving away a lot of games, online memberships, and family fun for those of you with Xbox, Zune, Kinect, or Windows Phone. Over the next two weeks we will have four giveaway prizes. What we have are as follows:

Trials HD, Limbo, and ‘Splosion Man (Rated Everyone 10+ - Teen) Xbox Arcade Bundle Game
Gears of War 3 (Rated Mature) Xbox Game
3 Months of Xbox Live & 3 Months of Zune Music Pass Membership Cards
Gunstringer / Fruit Ninja Kinect (Rated Everyone - Teen) Xbox Live Download Card

Each winner will be announced on Tuesday (12/6 or 12/13) or Friday (12/9 or 12/16). For a chance to win, all you have to do is reply to this post with a joke in the comments section below. The joke can be long or short, just nothing overly crude, graphic, racy, or of questionable content. That means dead baby jokes are out of place (so are “that’s what she said” quips). Winners will be chosen at random from the comments below. Just note, once you win one giveaway prize you cannot win another during this contest. Feel free to tell as many jokes as you want. The contest is open to those in the United States and Canada. Good luck and be funny (looking)!

In Case You Were Wondering About The HTC Bunyip @WindowsPhone

socialcircle@live.com — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:45:00 PST

I can confirm the Bunyip is in fact the HTC Titan (a.k.a. Eternity) that is coming to AT&T on November 20th, 2011 in the United States. Above is a photo of the first screen in the initial setup of the HTC Titian. I know some were wondering about the Bunyip earlier this year. Looking at the model number in the picture, PI39100, and then matching it with one featured on the leaked AT&T roadmap lead me to believe the Titan to be the device originally listed. Oddly, this model number is not listed on the box of the phone nor its Wikipedia page.

I won the device at the Windows Phone Inner Circle event last night at Microsoft’s New England Research and Development Center. Affectionately known as N.E.R.D., it is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. More on the device and the happenings of the wonderful evening later.

Rant: The Music Industry As I See It

socialcircle@live.com — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:04:50 PDT

Is this thing on? Mic check 1, 2...

I've been on hiatus for a while, thinking about the world and what not. In terms of music, I've been thinking: What the hell are people listening to these days?! I haven't been able to listen to the radio anymore. Radio, as a matter of fact is dead to me.

Ok, let's step back and examine this: The music industry is bloated, filled with non talent and mediocracy and has become more about image than actual music.

What happened? How did things deterioate so fast? Am I too old? Did I miss the memo? People actually "like" a band called LMFAO. How did this happen??!! I listened to their songs. That's the most terrible thing I've ever heard. Is that what people are really wanting?

I blame the kids. These kids are destroying the music industry. They are the consumers and they seem to be "demanding" this stuff and the music industry is delivering this junk. They did the same thing with Reality television and now I can't go anywhere without those darn Kardashians in my face. Don't let me get started on Snooki....

But I digress. Where's all the good music? I thank God for musicians like Adele who actually have talent and can sing without much music studio engineering. Have you heard some of these musicians on a live set? They are horrible at best. Can't hold a note to save their lives and yet people "love" it.

Female music artists have an image problem. If you can't sing well but you're hot, believe me, your chance of getting a music deal is high. Rihanna is a perfect example. A very hot looking female who can dance on stage but give her a mic and a live performance and you might as well listen to Lil Wayne singing in autotune (too harsh?).

Everything is automated and robotic now. Anyone can go into the studio, lay down horrible vocals and the sound engineers have to do a LOT of tweaking to make it ok and they can say they "made" music. Anybody heard Kim Kardashian's song? Don't! Your ears might bleed.

Justin Bieber can't sing. Face it Bieber fans, he can't sing. He has talent on a drumset and can dance but he can't sing. He reminds me of the Jonas Brothers. A fad which will go away quickly when the next best thing comes along.

Even the quality of rap music is awful these days. There are a lot of rappers who are featured a lot on blogs and twitter but I've listened to their music. Garbage! Awful! They make absolutely no sense. If you thought Waka Flaka was good, your ear drums are busted.

The music industry is moving slowing from quality sound to visual overload. I like Katy Perry. I like her songs. But she needs to tone it down on the looks. Seriously, Kate Perry, you keep flashing us your boobs like we're children in need of milk. Sing your songs and keep your decency. I'm looking at you too Lady Gaga. Love the music but these outfits are becoming you and your music is not being taken seriously.

At least, there is still some music talent left in the industry. Not all is lost. But I'm slowing fearing we might be drowning in mediocrity with all this useless talent coming up in the music industry. So please, do me a favor and support "good" musicians. Good quality music is hard to find these days.

Now, if you excuse me, I have to go listen to this new Coldplay album someone sent me to preview. It sounds so good......

The Listening Post–Week of 10/16/2011

socialcircle@live.com — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 09:45:01 PDT

There was this great post, done on Zune Insider, called “What We’re Listening To” where members of Zune Nation (Zune staff, MVPs, etc) would share what has caught their ear during that given week. I always thought this was an excellent thing to do, so I’m bringing it to Inside the Circle (who only knows if it will continue on Zune Insider or not).

Therefore, periodically, you can check here to see what various members of Zune Nation are listening to. Use it as a starting point to expand your ears or to learn a bit more about what makes your fellow Zune Nation brethren tick.

Ready for this issue’s submissions?

Contributor: David Collins, GameFocus.ca

This week I went in the pop/club/let’s-shake-our-booties direction, which is a bit odd considering the issues I’ve been dealing with here at home. Nevertheless, both Brit-Brit (Britney Spears to you laymen) and Joe Jonas (of the Jonas Bros) ended up with my attention....and on my playlists.

Yes, I was fairly surprised myself.

Britney’s B In The Mix, The Remixes Vol 2 is, as the title implies, a remix album of some of her previous hits. While there won’t be any radio singles to come off it, it should please the club-goers with no problem, especially the mixes of 3, Womanizer, and If You Seek Amy.

With Joe Jonas’ Fastlife, I had no expectations at all, except maybe more of the bubble gum popping tracks he and his brothers are known for. Again, to my surprise there was some decisively decent singles there, all with a heavy emphasis on love and relationships. He does try to grab some of the club scene himself toward the end of the album, but it falls pretty flat. Sorry Joe, Brit has you beat there.

My playlists gained a few notables including All This Time, Just In Love, and See No More. Love Slayer and Make You Mine also stand out fairly well and will certainly see some more rotation from me.

Contributor: William Deveraux, AnythingbutiPod / Zune MVP

Soundtracks (specifically scores) are my favorite genre, so I’m still enjoying the third and final volume of the free Portal 2 soundtrack. Star Wars is also always near the top of my recently played list. Over on the podcast side, I’m continuing to enjoy Windows Phone Radio, especially with the long-awaited release of the Mango update a few weeks ago. I also started listening to two new podcasts: enConnected Live and CrowdGadgets. Both of these podcasts started up recently, and I had the honor of joining them in the role of guest and host, respectively. Finally, I had a chance to sit down and check out the new streaming music video feature for Zune Music Pass subscribers, which is pretty cool. It’s not perfect, but it’s a neat feature to have.

Contributor: Marques Lyons, InsidetheCircle / Zune MVP

I feel fortunate because I can actually share some of the Kpop/Jpop that I’ve been listening to these past few months. I just recently noticed that some of the stuff I’m hearing *is* available in the Zune Marketplace (go figure). So if you want to expand your ears past the US shores, here’s some suggestions:

One of my favorite international boy bands is 2pm. They have great harmony and do some pretty catchy stuff. Namely, I’m enjoying their EP that includes the song “Don’t Stop Can’t Stop”. I’ve seen these guys perform quite a few times on the MNET channel and have always enjoyed their performances.

On the girl side of life, you should check out the group “4 Minute”. Apparently, their claim to fame is that they can hit you with the awesome in 4 minutes or less. If you look at the amount of time each song is on the available albums, you’ll understand. Specifically, check out their album “4Minutes Left”.

One more cool female Kpop group is Miss A. Check out their album “Step Up”.

That’s it for this week’s edition. Thanks to our contributors, William and David. Catch you next time when we share what’s hitting our ears.

[Press Release] 2011 American Music Award nominees announced

socialcircle@live.com — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:25:16 PDT

[Ed: Let me just state, for the record, we have too many award shows. Yet since this involves music...]

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Recording artists Nicki Minaj and Pitbull revealed the "2011 American Music Awards®" (AMAs) nominees this morning from the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. Katy Perry and Pitbull were announced as performers for the 39th annual AMAs. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

The show will be broadcast live from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20th (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on ABC.

Adele leads this year with four (4) nominations. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and The Band Perry follow with three (3) nominations each, and Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Jason Aldean, Kanye West, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj and Pitbull collected two (2) nominations respectively. This year's 2011 Artist of the Year nominees are: Adele, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne and Taylor Swift.

For the fifth year, winners will be determined by online voting. Fans can vote at the Coca-Cola AMA voting website, amavote.com, as well as AMA.abc.com. Artists will be honored in the categories of Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Latin, and Contemporary Inspirational. Fans can go to the official homepage of the "2011 American Music Awards," ama.abc.com, to find performer and presenter announcements, artist information, and more.

In addition, music fans will be able to vote for the Sprint New Artist of the Year Award. For the first round of voting beginning Tuesday, October 11 through Friday, October 21 at 9:00 p.m., ET, fans will be able to determine who will make up the final award nominees by voting via text message from the list of artists available online at ama.abc.com or using their mobile phones at amanewartistoftheyear.com Music fans will be able to vote an unlimited number of times on all available platforms for the Sprint New Artist of the Year Award. All fans can send a text message by using 22288 and the number corresponding to their favorite artist. In addition, votes can also be cast via the internet at ama.abc.com. Standard messaging and data rates will apply. The top four artists with the highest votes from the first round of voting will be the final award nominees of the Sprint New Artist of the Year Award. Voting for the award winner will begin October 24 and conclude during the American Music Awards on November 20 at 9:00 p.m., ET.

(As Dire Straits) I want my Zune HD!

socialcircle@live.com — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:19:21 PDT

So to put the exclamation point on Neville's recent article, the Zune HD is no longer in production. This was finally confirmed by both Windows Phone Radio hosts Matt Akers and Brian Seitz, plus the support page that was originally taken down is now back up on zune.net. Now we all can put to rest that question of "Are they or aren't they?" and say that going forward Zune will be available on Xbox 360, Windows PCs and Windows Phones...well also Bing Entertainment and Zune.net.

I, for one, am still not subscribing to this idea that my Windows Phone (as great as it is) could handle my musical needs. What's great about the Zune HD (and what most failed to understand) was that it handled media needs brilliantly. I could sync all kinds of playlists, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc and know that when I go to listen or watch something, I don't have to worry about tile/toast notifications, incoming text messages or being disturbed by a call from Mom. The Zune HD was my media escape from the world.

Now, as Neville so awesomely points out, if you want any kind of Zune portable experience, you have to invest in a Windows Phone. Um, no. I don't think people should have to make a long term (2 years or so) investment just to get Zune's experiences. Also, Windows Phone can't handle the awesome now playing screen animations that are on the Zune HD. I guess the compensation for that is having the artist appear on the lock screen, but even that loses luster after about 5 artists or so.

So now, your introduction to Zune is either through the free PC software, the expensive Xbox 360 or the (in-time) expensive Windows Phone 7. There's really not an introductory (read: inexpensive way) to introduce someone to this Zune ecosystem. The software is fine, but what if they want to take that music they got off Zune Music Pass with them?

What's the introductory portable solution?

Even Apple, with their iPod Touch, I'm sure understands that it (plus the Nano/Shuffle, to an extent) allow people less costly ways to get into their ecosystem. Microsoft needs an equivalent to this. Zune HD would've filled that void nicely and why not a $99 Zune HD 16GB?

If you're a parent, who doesn't want to give your kid a Windows Phone, but they want to take music with them what are they going to do?

KIN, as skewed as people made it out to be, could've been this device that would've made a great starter media player. Remove that nonsense with Verizon and the data plan, make it a Wi-Fi only device (hell, even remove the phone from it) and this -- right along side the Zune HD -- would've made a nice portable device line up for Microsoft.

But now we don't have that. We have a great Zune experience at home, but on-the-go still leaves a hole missing. And don't even think tablets are going to fill that area? We need a media player, some sort of portable device.

Either that or people will use Windows Media Player (since it can read MP3s) and connect some player to that, but now you've reached the territory of unnecessary technology connections and non-elegance.

In any event, if you want a Zune HD for yourself, better seek one out...and fast!

Week in Revue: Zune Is Just Resting

socialcircle@live.com — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:55:42 PDT

This past week Microsoft introduced a tweaked version of Zune Pass at a lower price. In addition, they announced that they would not make any more Zune HDs – or maybe they did not, I am not 100% sure. Let us take a look at news that happened and had some affect on Zune Nation over the past week, shall we?

10/3 Monday: Windows Phone announced the progress in updating all users to Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” was running ahead of schedule. Rhapsody announced its intent to buy Napster, in a bid to fight Spotify.

Microsoft ushered in changes to its Zune Pass music subscription service. The price lowered to $9.99. Zune Pass was renamed Zune Music Pass. Lastly, the service is available now, in Canada. In essence the new Zune Music Pass is very similar to options from new service upstarts like MOG, Spotify, Rdio, and veterans like Rhapsody+Napster (Rhapster?). Missing from the new Zune Music Pass service are Zune’s former marquee feature of Keep 10 and any addition of a cost effective music subscription option for families.

As a result of the introduction of Zune music Pass, changes to the Zune website were made to reflect Microsoft’s current Zune offering. One thing was missing. The Zune HD. A Zune support page revealed the Zune HD was d-e-a-d, dead.

“We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us.”

10/4 Tuesday: Or was Zune dead? Late Monday afternoon Michael Yaeger, in charge of Zune PR, tweeted the Zune HD product page was removed in error when the Zune Team updated Zune.net. On Twitter, Zune Support also said something similar. The Zune Support page, stating in in essence that Zunes would no longer be produced and containing the quote above, disappeared. The Zune HD is not dead? Still, how does one ‘CTRL’ + 'Z’ that mistake?

These shenanigans were overshadowed by Apple’s. Tuesday saw introduction of the new iPhone 4s, along with new iPod Nanos and iPod touches. When talking about music, in particular, a few quotes from Tim Cook and Phil Schiller struck me as interesting, my thoughts accompany the attributed quotes,

“Music for us is iTunes and iPod.” TC – What is music for Microsoft? Zune Software and ____ ? Xbox is gaming and more recently entertainment. Windows Phone puts people first. Even if Music is Zune software and Windows Phone what about those who cannot afford smartphones? Tough cookies? Most smartphones are roughly $2,000 investments when service and a two year contract are figured in. Without a Zune HD, all is left for sale are $2,000 Zunes. Even when purchased secondhand, there are not many around.

“[iPod] not only revolutionized the way we all listened to music but it revolutionized the whole music industry… it reminded all of us how much we loved music, and made it so simple to enjoy again.” TC – Now Marques has a different take on this, but again I think Schiller was referring to the mp3 player landscape at the time in 2001. Remember Rio? Remember Creative? Remember Dell? Remember Plays for Sure?

“Almost half of [the 45 million iPods sold from June 2010-11] are going to people who are buying their first iPod. And many are going to people who are just being introduced to Apple through the iPod.” TC – Though the mp3 player marketplace may be mature, it sounds like there is still room to make some sales. The auto industry is a mature market and upstart electric car maker Tesla seems to be doing well.

“We started the iPod simply because we love music and that hasn’t stopped we still love music and we’re still making great iPods.” PS – Out of context, I thought this sounded like a jab at Monday’s Zune news. Now I am not so sure.

What do I take from these quotes? At Apple, I see Music is important as it managed to find around 20 million new customers last year to buy its iPods. When compared to the actions at Microsoft this week, I see Music must not be too important as the company cannot make up its mind whether it wants to keep making mp3 players or bet all the money on Windows Phone.

10/5 Wednesday: Video did kill the radio star. Perhaps Music is not as big as TV and Cable. Xbox announced a wide ranging partnership with a number of cable and content providers to bring live TV or on-demand content to Xbox. These providers include Comcast, Verizon FiOS, SyFy, Bravo, and a number of others depending on your region. The update that provides the content from these cable and content providers should happen sometime this holiday season. As Marques noted, Zune is a content provider in this new entertainment wonderland.

One more thing happened on Wednesday. Early in the evening came news that Steve Jobs lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Arguably the iPod is the single reason for Zune’s existence. I wonder what Steve would have to say about cancelling an mp3 player one day, saying “oops” the next, and then announcing a worldwide content partnership with cable providers in the same day. It certainly is not the most direct or simple way to do business.

10/6 Thursday: ComScore released its findings on smartphone market share for the past three months. In the report ComScore noted that Microsoft dropped from 5.8% to 5.7% in terms of overall smartphone users. In addition, it was reported that listening to music was the activity that saw the third largest percentage gain as an activity among all smartphone users. In August of this year 20.7% of all smartphone users played music on their devices, up from 18.6% in May of this year. Even though more people are listening to music on their smartphone, fewer people are doing it with Windows Phone.

Also, Rdio, a streaming service that does offer a discount for families who stream music through their service, announced a new free tier to their music offerings. This offering allows the user to stream 12 million tracks on demand via the Rdio website or using desktop application for Windows or OS X. Some saw this as an effort to compete with MOG and Spotify.

10/7 Friday: I received an email telling me that Zune and Xbox would be combining their email marketing efforts with Xbox taking the lead, the relevant text is below. I suppose this is the end of Zune emails. I should have seen it coming, considering a 10/3 email I received announcing Zune Music Pass which featured Xbox regalia.

“We are writing to inform you of a change to your Zune and Xbox accounts. We have combined account preferences for Zune and Xbox, including your preference for receiving marketing communications. Since you are both a Zune and Xbox customer with a Zune opt-in setting of YES, as of October 3rd, 2011 you will continue to receive communications from us. These communications will be from Xbox instead of Zune, but will contain relevant information for you based on your engagement with Zune and other services and games on Xbox LIVE.”

Now: And now for something completely different. The Zune HD is not dead. It’s pining (beautiful plumage). So, even if Zune is not dead, it looks like email communications from Zune exclusively are no more. Even if the Zune HD is a zombie it appears that Windows Phone is now the music + video focus… well it did as of Monday afternoon. Now? Not so sure.

Good bye value, hello $2,000 Zunes. How do $2,000 Zunes help families? Not everyone can afford smartphone and its required data plan on most US carriers. Of the 22 million new iPod owners I would wager a good number are iPod Nano and Shuffle owners. What I cannot understand is why discontinue an mp3 player, (effectively) its brand, and hope people will purchase a more expensive smartphone with declining market share? For Zune Nation this has been a crazy week, we will weather it. On the bright side, the week is over. On the not-so-bright there are probably fewer of us coming out on the other side. Happy weekend, get on with it.

Is Zune HD the Michael Myers of devices?

socialcircle@live.com — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:21:42 PDT

I told myself I wouldn't talk about this much but this is making my head spin more times than Linda Blair in the Exorcist (and causing similar stuff to appear inside of my mouth). For all of the hoopla about iPhone4S-WTF? and now Xbox TV, many questions are still swirling around about the 'left foot in, left foot out' approach to the status of the Zune HD.

For every tech article that went up and said that the Zune HD is officially done, another article had to go up that said "Hold up, wait a minute". Some blogs are looking like they're having point/counterpoint discussions with themselves. And frankly, this just puts Zune in a very binding spot.

Let's assume that the Zune HD *is* in fact not going to be produced any longer. The consensus will say that the support message and the non-inclusion of the Zune HD under products on Zune.net should've just stayed. If the Zune HD *is* going to be continued in some fashion, then everything that's gone on looks like a curious case of incompetence.

Then you get the whole interaction between Zune Support and a Twitter user. Yeesh, people!

Microsoft right now is riding a wave of excitement: Windows 8, Xbox TV (and the companion Windows Phone app), Windows Phone Mango, Zune Music Pass *finally* reaching Canada, the updates to Hotmail, as well as a whole host of stuff that I'm sure will be coming down the pike. It would behoove them to address this Zune HD thing once and for all. That way they can put it behind them and continue on down this path to awesomeness that they're on.

For as long as this lingers, whether intentional or not, it just shines a light on the Zune brand that's more like the light Alan Wake shines on the shadows. A light that just makes you want to shrivel up and disappear.

We can do better than this.

Zune Music Pass + Music Video Streaming = Hmm?

socialcircle@live.com — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:08:35 PDT

Ok, right off the bat, I kept the $14.99 plan. There was no way you're taking 10 free songs each month from me. I'm probably one of those people who uses that feature religiously. That's $10 worth of music that isn't necessarily coming out of my pocket, especially since I get $15 worth of streaming from my PC, Windows Phone 7 (on new release days) and Xbox 360 (makes for great Sunday afternoon listening).

So I wanted to discuss a bit about the music video streaming feature that's been added as part of the plan. Whether you have the new or the classic plan, you now have this ability to stream most (not all) of the music videos available in the Zune Marketplace. Much like the music, some videos aren't available for streaming (thank the labels, most likely).

All you have to do is go find a video and hit the play button. When that video is done, go find another one and wash, rinse, repeat.

Wait, what?

Yeah, there really isn't an easy way to take advantage of music video streaming at the moment. It was what I was afraid of. After 20 minutes of sitting there and cherry picking videos, I grew tired of it. I would've much rather downloaded the song and listen to that on repeat. For me, right now, music video streaming isn't intuitive enough to be valuable to me, especially on the PC.

I'm hoping that with the new Xbox update in the Fall that the Zune app gets a makeover and makes the music video streaming more intuitive. I would love to have a way to just line up a bunch of music videos in a row and just let them play. Currently, in the Xbox 360 Zune App, if you go to the section about "ME" and you go to the music videos that you personally purchased, there is a way to just "Play All" and let them run. When you host a party for friends, having these music videos just run on a screen or even a projector outside on a large wall, would be ideal and awesome.

Right now, though, I can't really see myself getting value out of streaming music videos. It's nice for a quick hit of something (puff, puff, give) but when you wanna sit and have that long tote, it's not kosher. (Don't do drugs, kids!)

What do you you guys think of music video streaming? What could be done to make that more of a value-add for Zune Pass subscribers?

Zune Music Pass + We Are A Family?

socialcircle@live.com — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:20:00 PDT

Marques is looking for someone to sound off about the newly announced Zune Pass Zune Music Pass. Here I am with one question, what about the families?

For a point of reference I am calling the 3 PC’s, 3 devices plan, Zune Pass Classic and the newer 1 PC, 3 devices option Zune Music Pass.

In short, I am surprised and left with more questions than answers. Zune Music Pass does nothing to help families adopt the service. In the time that I have been an MVP and Zune Pass Classic has existed, one of the largest amount of criticism I have heard about the service is the specific lack of a family plan. Perhaps other hear different requests concerning Zune Pass. In recent months I would suggest that more chatter has focused on moving the service to other smartphone platforms, via targeted apps for different mobile operating systems; but Zune Pass for families has always been a topic of interest. I think it remains popular in part because when using Zune Pass Classic the functionality many would expect of a family plan is almost there, but not quite.

Using Zune Pass Classic there is no way to stream music from any account other than the account paying for Zune Pass. Ideally, a hypothetical family plan,

Would have been one that allowed people to have individual, child, Live ID accounts under a paying, parent, Live ID account at the old cost of $14.99 a month.
Would allow child accounts to have the same ability as the parent account with regards to streaming music from a PC, Zune device or Windows Phone, Xbox 360, and web. All plays using various streaming methods would count as plays towards the Zune card of the child account and not that of the paying parent account.
Would have Zune Pass tracks sync to devices of a child Live ID without having to sign into the parent Live ID to complete the syncing process.
The ability to add a fourth PC/device combo to the $14.99 base price would be available for a nominal fee similar to adding another line of service to a family wireless cellphone plan.

Considering this ideal and then considering the current reality, the new Zune Music Pass does not address the issues families face such as managing multiple users, streaming from a Live ID not paying for the Zune Pass, and multi-user discounts for more than one Live ID within a household. If anything, it exacerbates the problem in households that have more than one PC or Live ID.

Looking at the remaining functionality of Zune Pass Classic when used within a family, you can sync music to a Zune device that is associated, but not linked by Live ID, to the parent account. In addition, you can downloaded Zune Pass music to one of the three authorized PCs and then play it using a separate Zune account. However, that is all you can do with Zune Pass Classic when used within a family-- barely sync music to a Zune device and barely play music from a PC. As a result, the process for discovering music, as a child account, using Zune Pass Classic is slow and cumbersome.

How do I know music discovery is slow and cumbersome? With a few exceptions, this is how I have been using Zune Pass since I first reviewed the service in 2008. It has not been fun. My play count has suffered because of lost streaming opportunities. I am sure others in Zune-centric families have missed out on streaming opportunities due to the difficult nature of using Zune Pass within families. In the three years I have used the service nothing has happened to make using a Zune Pass easier for families with multiple Live IDs. In addition, it has not become less expensive to use the service as being part of a family of four. From my initial review,

“For some users, the usage scenario I just described creates a problem. If an individual wants to maintain their musical identity (as represented by the plays on their Zune Card) as well as partake in Zune Pass by listening to all the music they can, then that individual cannot allow others sharing the same Zune Pass to stream music through the Zune software. The LiveID paying for the service is the only account that is able to stream music. This prevents two other potential Zune Pass users from browsing the music store and allowing streamed plays to be a part of their musical identities.”

To extend what I said about this usage scenario being a problem: The experience of using Zune within families has gone from being a problem in Zune Pass Classic to just terrible with Zune Music Pass.

Now come the questions.

Is Zune Music Pass the best compromise for families? Not really. For $5 less you are loosing two PCs and 10 free songs each month. Syncing music in multi-PC scenarios just became impossible when using the new Zune Music Pass. For a prospective family with three PCs trying to emulate Zune Pass Classic under the Zune Music pass model, a 30% price cut from $14.99 to $9.99 just became a 50% price increase, going from $14.99 to $29.97. Now, Mom cannot play Zune Pass tracks downloaded to her PC while Dad does the same in the study. Want two PC’s from which you can sync different music and videos to different Zunes? That’s another Live ID and another $9.99 a month. Using a Zune at college (if you do not have a Zune HD or your college uses a WPA 2 Enterprise wireless network) just became a lot more difficult, if the only authorized PC is miles away at home. Do not forget to add a third $9.99 charge when heading off to school and using the new Zune Music Pass.

In addition, Zune Music Pass still does not allow multiple Live IDs within one account. How does a parent manage the bill of a separate Live ID with another password to remember? How is adding another $9.99 a month for the ability to play music from a second PC supposed to better compete with the likes of Spotify, Mog, Rhapsody, or Rdio? If anything it is more of the same. Zune has never been more of the same, it has always been something different. If this price is supposed to be competitive with those services and you do not own an Xbox or Zune device what is the allure of a family choosing Zune over the competition? Where is the value?

Take Rdio for example. A single comparable subscription is $9.99 per month. At that price you can play music on the web, PC, smartphone, Roku, and Sonos. This is the same price as Zune Music Pass. Rdio even has an app that works with Windows Phone 7. Recently Rdio introduced a family plan that reduces the price when multiple subscriptions are stacked together on one paying account. Rdio called this a family plan. How did Rdio introduce a family plan before Zune? Using Rdio in a family of three would cost $22.99 versus a price of $29.97 under the new Zune Music Pass (oddly bits of this functionality fit quite well within Zune Pass Classic, at the price of $14.99 per month). Is the ability to stream music videos, and stream from an Xbox or Zune worth an extra $6.98 per month? Speaking of Xbox, how did offering a family plan escape Zune when Xbox offered a family plan in the past?

Thinking about Zune Music Pass in Canada leaves me wondering where the Zune devices are for non-smartphone owners and people already locked into three year cellphone contracts. Further, how are all the non-Zune users in Canada going to hear about this change? Currently, the amount of press coverage Zune Pass receives is paltry compared to other music streaming services. Considering these points, there is too much missing to be excited for this news about changes to Zune’s music subscription service. This is my take. What is yours?

Zune Music Pass + The New Great Debate

socialcircle@live.com — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:11:24 PDT

Well, Herman Cain...looks like someone is putting a 9.9.9 plan into effect, eh? :)

So, we had a bit of Zune excitement yesterday when the Zune team announced that not only were they going to Canada with the Zune Music Marketplace and Zune Pass, but they were making some modifications to the current subscription model here in the U.S.

For $9.99, you'll have unlimited streaming access to songs in the music marketplace *and* the music videos that are available as well. If you're in the current $14.99 plan and wish to stay there (the $9.99 plan will be missing the 10 free songs), then you can grandfather your way in. The new $9.99 plan takes effect on October 3rd, so if you want nothing to change about your current situation, continue to do what you've always been doing.

Note that if you grandfather into October 3, you'll also get the unlimited streaming of music videos. That feature will be essentially for ALL Zune Pass subscribers.

So once the aura of "Oh my FKN Gawd, Zune said something!" died down, people (myself included) began to inquire a bit more about this new plan and what it means for new customers. Many have made the valid point that the 10 free credits was one of the great differentiators for Zune as opposed to what Spotify or Rdio has to offer. So if you were to sell someone on Zune Pass, starting Monday, what would you tell them is a key point to going with Zune versus going with say Last.Fm, when Last.Fm is a PC, Phone and Xbox service like Zune is.

Of course, Zune lowered their price so that they could better compete with these other services that are hitting the scene, but after thinking about it I agree with the value-add question. Of course 10 free songs on a $9.99 plan makes the plan itself free, but you have to wonder how much were the agreements with the labels to allow users to simply stream videos all they want and not purchase them. $14.99 subscribers minus 10 songs is $5 so maybe that $5 helps cover agreements. Just a thought...

Many (myself included) also wonder what's the value of being able to have unlimited streaming of music videos. Remember, you can only stream them (at this point) via the PC software or the Xbox 360. Who'd want to sit in front of their PC and look at vids all day and who'd want to do that on the Xbox, when Youtube will become an app on the service. I could only think that having a music video playlist (for parties) would make things fun or having music videos play behind the song when you're going through a playlist. I would hope that I'm not expected to just pick each video as the previous one ends.

As I noted yesterday, one of the parts of the post that caught my eye was the "More to come" line. As few words as that has, that has a great impact. Microsoft has still yet to announce what they're doing on the TV (or total entertainment front) with announcements about grand partnerships still to be revealed. I'm sure more music services will appear (iHeartRadio announced during their music festival that they were coming to Xbox Live) and in my conversation with Slacker Radio long long ago, they expressed interest in being an app on the service. Why wouldn't they? Xbox Live reaches millions of users every day.

So where does this leave Zune. Zune *is* Microsoft's first-party solution for music, TV and movies but the question still remains how this service will fit into the grand scheme of Microsoft's entertainment package going forward.

Until we get clarifications about that let's deal with present matters. What do you all think of the current Zune Pass subscription that goes into effect on Monday?

Sound off, Zune Nation!

Your.Music.Weekly 9/23/2011

socialcircle@live.com — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:17:06 PDT

Another Friday, another free music blitz.

With R.E.M.'s breakup, check out this track.
Dig down into some Fossil Collective.
Check out Dead Rock Machine.
Check out this massive set of new releases featuring the Kooks, Neon Indian, and much more.
Here's a free track from Pallers.

Have a great weekend.

Tromboneforhire's New Release Picks (Week of September 20, 2011)

socialcircle@live.com — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:52:11 PDT

Been a while since I've been back in the saddle offering up my choices for good songs from the new releases. Partially, that's because some weeks have just been very mediocre and then last week was spent participating in certain aspects of the BUILD conference (not to mention my MSMVP event in Costa Mesa). So here we are with some tracks that have caught my ear this week.

And yes, Demi Lovato is on this list...deal with it! :P)

"All Night Long" by Demi Lovato from the album "Unbroken" [Pop]

"Maximal Crazy" by Tiesto from the album "Maximal Crazy" [Elec]

"The Lady is a Tramp" by Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga from the album "Duets II" [Jazz]

"Run Every Time" by Gavin DeGraw from the album "Sweeter" [Pop]

"Outside Looking In" by Celtic Thunder from the album "Storm" [Pop]

"If You Want To" by Lalah Hathaway from the album "If You Want To" [R&B]

"Breakdown (feat/ Lisa Shaw)" by Miguel Migs from the album "Outside the Skyline" [Elec]

For a Contest, LMFAO and Kia Choose the Zune HD

socialcircle@live.com — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:02:04 PDT

In a video for a contest held by artist LMFAO and car maker Kia, the Zune HD makes a special appearance. Featured two seconds into the video, it looks like the Zune is the party rock player of choice for both Kia and LMFAO. While not the subject of the video or contest, it is great to see the Zune HD still kicking it. The video is below.

As for the contest, known as “The Soul Shuffle Slam,” it looks like it is based off a Kia Soul commercial, which initially aired during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, and LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem’ music video that provided the soundtrack for the Kia commercial. Personally, it looks a little like a more upbeat homage to the Deliver Hope advertisement that accompanied the release of Halo: Reach. Then again, I do not remember any shuffling hamsters helping Kat blow up a Covenant ship.

Putting the Kia commercial and LMFAO music video together, if you make a video of yourself doing LMFAO’s shuffle, you could win $10,000 for doing so. While the possibility of winning $10k is alluring, seeing the Zune HD one more time is almost as sweet. Check out Kia’s YouTube page for more info on the contest, which ends October 7th. Who would I be without saying you can listen to the song (and get lyrics) for free on Bing and download ‘Party Rock Anthem’ via Zune?

Your.Music.Weekly 9/16/2011

socialcircle@live.com — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 06:20:28 PDT

It's ~~Yoda~~ free music time...

One of the best band names I've heard in a while: Neutron Wireless Crystal.
Enter Slow Club.
Check this EP from Jens Lekman.
Spinner.com has this free track from Mathieu Santos.
Indie Rock Cafe has a ton of free tracks, including ones from Class Actress, Megafun, Social Climbers, Rokysopp, and more.

And that's it for now, have a great weekend!

Taftsville Bridge (Taftsvillle, Vermont) Then and Now …Well More Recently

socialcircle@live.com — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:39:02 PDT

If you follow me on Twitter you may remember I tweeted a link to a Photosynth I made of a bridge in Vermont as part of a day trip to the state. That bridge is the Taftsville Covered Bridge, which is featured in the Photosynth above. After a conversation with some friends about the recent weather New England and parts of upstate New York have received, as the result of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Depression Lee, I decided to check YouTube to see if I could find videos of water rushing past the one bridge I happened to capture with my camera. I found such a video.

This video was taken just after Hurricane Irene swept through Vermont leaving many without power or road access. When compared to the Photosynth above the video was recorded on the opposite shore of the Ottaquechee River, just beyond the power station. As I understand it, the bridge survived and the state is still cleaning up from all the rain. None the less, these are some powerful comparison media views showing the volume of water that went through one part of Vermont.

Incubus - Camden, NJ 9/10/2011

socialcircle@live.com — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:05:19 PDT

A few weeks ago a guy at work was selling a pair of tickets to the Incubus concert in Camden, NJ. The tickets were only $50, and since I dig Incubus' music and hadn't been to a concert in over 3 years, I thought it'd be a good time.

My wife and I got the date night (thanks to my youngest brother, who watched our children) and headed down. Parking was $25 by the Susquehanna Bank Center, and not much cheaper further away. Maybe I'm just getting old and miserly, but wow- $25 is ridiculous. Whatever, we paid it and parked. There were tons of people pre-gaming the concert- beer cans everywhere, and as we walked down to the gates we caught a whiff of some extracurricular smoking activities. Getting into the park was painless, and we were concerned about getting a decent spot on the lawn. But once we made our way up the steps, we found a spot to our immediate left, and laid out our blanket and chilled.

The camera phone shot doesn't give you too decent a perspective, but we had a good view. We had a clear sight to the stage and would have an easy time of leaving the concert once it was over.

By the time we sat down, Young the Giant was on their final couple of songs. From what I heard I really enjoyed them. "Catchy rock with a pop appeal" would be my initial impression- again, didn't hear too much but enough to want to seek out more of their music down the road.

After a brief wait, Incubus came on. They put on a great performance, kicking things off with "Megalomaniac" and then seguing into "Wish You Were Here". Their performance went on to be a mix material off of their new album, If Not Now, When?, and older material. They did an acoustic set comprised of "Defiance" and "Stellar". Fittingly, they concluded with "Nice to Know You", only to return for a 3-song encore.

Vocalist Brandon Boyd sounds great live, skillfully bringing to life the band's tracks. Musically Incubus was amazing; Mike Einziger is the real deal live with his guitar work. Chris Kilmore's turntable work was great live and added an aural element that I love about Incubus' sound. This is a band playing in their prime and it showed.

Something else that I enjoyed was the video that played during the band's performance. It showed footage of the band's performance intermixed with surreal or symbolic imagery, and it made for a nice companion piece to their performance.

It was a killer performance and I would recommend checking out Incubus if given the opportunity.

Set List:

Megalomaniac
Wish You Were Here
Adolescents
Anna Molly
Promises, Promises
The Original
Privilege
Consequence
A Certain Shade of Green
In the Company of Wolves
Defiance (Acoustic)
Stellar (Acoustic)
Punch Drunk
A Kiss to Send Us Off
Dig
Drive
Switchblade
Nice to Know You

Encore:

Pardon Me
Are You In? (Riders on the Storm snippet)
Tomorrow's Food

When not filling up Inside the Circle with his own brand of crazy talk, Julio maintains a blog over at http://www.julioinprogress.com.

16GB Zune HD on Clearance in Best Buy, Gone from Best Buy Website

socialcircle@live.com — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 20:47:40 PDT

Is this it? As I walked through Best Buy this afternoon I noticed that the Zune HD was on clearance for a price of $152.99. This is not the first time you have been able to score a Zune HD for a prices like this. According to Zune Boards forums, Target sold the Zune HD at a similar price when the chain stopped selling the device. Newegg deactivated the 16GB Zune HD device saying it is out of stock and may or may not be restocked. Amazon lists the 16GB Zune HD as only available through 3rd party resellers. Walmart sells the Zune HD, without any clearance label, albeit for $159.54 – a price similar to other clearance prices.

A check of the Best Buy website shows the Best Buy website now sells only Zune Pass in the location you would expect to find Zune devices. The lack of a product page is odd as HP’s recently discontinued TouchPads still have product listings while the presumably still in-production Zune HD has none, as evidenced by the picture above. A sales representative at the customer service number of Best Buy’s website told me there were no Zunes in stock on the website or in Best Buy stores. When I asked about future availability I was told there was no set replenishment date and to call in periodically. Take it for what it is, but get your Zune HD from your local Best Buy or Walmart while you can.

Considering these facts and the age of the Zune HD itself, I have to wonder, is Best Buy going to stop selling the Zune HD? If so, to my knowledge, that leaves Walmart as the only national retailer still selling the Zune HD in stores. More importantly, with Zune out of stock at so many first-party retailers, what comes next in the Zune media player lineage?