Joe Rubino : Enthusiast Evangelism

Update to my 80GB Zune...

jrubino — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:32:00 GMT

After using my 80GB Zune, I noticed that the battery life was reduced a bit. This was troubling because I really wanted a high capacity long lasting devices. That is when I found that http://www.rapidrepair.com/ had a Zune eXtended Life Battery (http://www.rapidrepair.com/shop/3003-microsoft-zune-extended-battery.html). I bought it, installed it and it did the trick. I would suggest this upgrade to anyone who needs more battery life or has upgraded their Zune and have now found that the battery doesn’t last as long as it used to.

If not done properly, modifying your Zune can ruin it. Opening your Zune device voids your warranty and is not recommended by Microsoft.

Here is what my Zune looks like now:

New firmware version 1.3 available for Zune...

jrubino — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:12:00 GMT

There is a new version of the Zune firmware (1.3) available for the Zune. You can get this by completing the following steps:

Connect the sync cable to Zune or the Zune Dock
Connect the other end of the sync cable to a USB port on your PC.
Start the Zune software.
On the Navigation pane (left) , right-click your device, then click Check for Zune Device Updates.
Follow the on-screen instructions to apply it to your device.

My 80GB Zune...

jrubino — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:53:00 GMT

I received a Zune as a gift over the holiday season. I was very skeptical about it, given I had a 60GB iPod, but after using it for a while, I was hooked. The only problem was the small amount of storage (30GB). I have a large CD collection and it does not fit on a 30GB device. So I was very eager to get a larger Zune device. Unfortunately, there isn’t one released yet. That is when I found out about undefinedundefinedhttp://www.zunemods.net/. Both sites have posted information about how to upgrade a Zune and the drives to use. http://www.ipodmods.com/ also sells the drives and will install them free of charge.

I decided that I would do my install and ordered the drive from www.ewiz.com because they had the best price. I received the drive yesterday and completed the upgrade last night using the instructions on www.ipodmods.com and www.zunemods.net/. It worked perfectly! I now have over 10,000 songs and 140 videos on my Zune and I am very happy.

I would suggest this upgrade to anyone who loves their Zune but has found that it doesn’t have enough storage and has the necessary skills to perform the upgrade.

One last item. If not done properly, modifying your Zune can ruin it. Opening your Zune device voids your warranty and is not recommended by Microsoft.

What to blog?...

jrubino — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:02:00 GMT

I guess the reason I haven't been blogging is that I never really know what to blog about. Well over the last few weeks I have decided what topics to blog about and the content I will be adding. This is what I have decided to blog about.

1. Financial Services Industry Evangelism. This is my job. What I do on a daily basis. So if you are a client, a friend, a colleague or someone interested in the Financial Services, I will post content about upcoming events, new technology or things of interest in this field. I have a few posts that will be going up shortly so stay tuned…

2. Consumer Evangelism. This is a big part of my life. Like most computer professionals, I am relied upon by my friends and family to provide them support in their use of technology. So I have decided to blog about what I have done to help them. My goal is to help someone solve a problem that I have run into and have had to fix for a friend or a family member. I have a bunch of posts I am working on for this topic. Stay tuned…

3. Enthusiast Evangelism. This is a very recent addition to my life. Recently I won an Xbox 360 and have gotten a Zune (and sold an iPod). As someone who is new to gaming, Xbox Live, the Zune and other “Fun” technology, there is a bunch of things I would like to share with the online community. So stay tuned for that as well!

I am happy that I have finally found things I can blog about and will be working on content very shortly. As a reader, please let me know if what I post is valuable or not. If it is, please encourage me to post more, because this is really new to me and I need the motivation. J If it isn’t valuable, let me know as well. I will do my best to improve it. That’s it for now.

-Joe