(Click here for a larger view of Microsoft's Zune)Microsoft's
Zune music player,
first introduced in September 2006, employs an ARM processor and uses a core operating system based on Windows CE. Over the past couple of years, this has led to rumors that the software giant would move further into the hardware business, releasing its own
"Zune phone".
Company CEO Steve Ballmer has consistently denied such rumors, and, last October, hinted that
Zune will become more of a software play. At that time, he reportedly told interviewer Martin Veitch of U.K. magazine CIO, "What youll see more and more over time is that the Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices."
Last Thursday, on the second day of the 2009
McGraw-Hill Media Summit in New York, Ballmer reiterated this, reportedly telling
BusinessWeek editor-in-chief Steven Adler that "the PC will actually be the primary target device." Stressing that "Zune" is both a device and a service, Ballmer is said to have added, "the payoff will come on phones, TVs, and PCs."
Ballmer apparently wouldn't be drawn on whether Microsoft will keep selling Zune PMP (portable music players) -- a distant also-ran when compared with devices such as Apple's iPod -- but is quoted as saying "I won't say full steam ahead. We won't accelerate our investment, but we will retain our investment."
The new book ... 
If there's any doubt about whether Microsoft will keep producing Zune hardware, it would behoove game developers to create software that can run on not only the Zune, but also PCs, the XBox 360 game console, and possibly Windows Mobile phones. Fortunately,
according to a new posting on the Windows Embedded blog by Software Architect Mike Hall, a new book (right) has come out that explains how.
"Zune Game Development Using XNA 3.0," published yesterday, shows programmers how to create games for the Zune using Microsoft's set of tools known as
XNA. Described by the software company as "industry-leading software, services, resources, and communities," XNA is a rather sprawling acronym -- "X" stands for "A cross section of software tools and technologies for Windows and Xbox 360, "N" stands for "Next-gen," and "A" stands for "Architecture."
In May 2008, Microsoft released
XNA 3.0, touted as allowing developers to create games that will work on the PC, the Xbox 360, and the Zune. An included component, XNA Game Studio 3.0, installs custom extensions to Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 tools, according to the company.
Author Dan Waters, an academic developer evangelist at Microsoft, says "Zune Game Development Using XNA 3.0" will help programmers discover ways in which they can design games for the Zune, understand what makes developing for Zune different from developing for PCs and consoles, and take advantage of the Zune hardware's wireless networking to create multiplayer games. The book is aimed at gaming enthusiasts with a good understanding of basic C#, the language underlying XNA, he adds.
BackgroundThe Zune's GUI (graphical user interface), called the "twist" interface by Microsoft, features typical music and playlist features, radio playback, and a "social" section that allows sharing songs and other information with other Zune owners. Like Windows Mobile's existing Windows Media Player, the Zune can play typical audio/video formats such as MP3, WMA, WMV, MPEG-4, and H.264. To this, it adds compatibility with Microsoft's Zune Marketplace file format.
Via the Zune Marketplace online store, users can purchase songs individually, either by WiFI or by syncing with a desktop computer. Additionally, a "Zune Pass" permits downloading unlimited songs to a device for a $15 monthly fee. Finally, an interesting feature added to the latest Zune software release lets users tag a song being broadcast by an FM station for automatic later purchase, according to Microsoft.
In February 2008, an
entry on the Windows Mobile team's blog first revealed that Microsoft is seeking ways to better integrate the Zune and Windows Mobile. Program manager Mel Sampat posted, "I'm wondering if there are any opportunities for us to improve the experience for people who use both devices. For example, viewing your Zune Social network in Internet Explorer Mobile, converting a Zune playlist into .WMA ringtones, [or] converting Zune's artwork to Windows Mobile themes."
Further information"Zune Game Development Using XNA 3.0" is available for approximately $50 in print, or $35 as a downloadable e-book. For further information, including a sample chapter, table of contents, and source code, see the author's web page on the Apress site,
here.
To read more about Steve Ballmer's appearance at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit, see the
BusinessWeek website,
here.
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