Leap year causes problems for early Zune players
As many people were saying goodbye to 2008, Microsoft was dealing with a bug that affected many of the older versions of the Zune music player. Many owners of 30GB Zune players found that their machine froze up at midnight Pacific Standard Time on 31st December, as the devices automatically rebooted then froze during the process.
Microsoft reported that the problem has been dealt with and that the players should function properly once they have been fully charged and switched on again. However, some Zune owners assert that they are still having problems with their machines, suggesting some lingering glitches.
The problem is thought to have been caused by the fact that 2008 was a leap year. Microsoft has stated that there was a problem with the internal clock driver and the way that the device handled a leap year. Microsoft spokesman Brian Eskridge explained that fully charging the Zune player then turning it on should restore the device. “It worked for me and it seems like it’s working for customers. From the limited time I’ve looked on the forums, it seems customers have had good success with it.”
“This goes to show how easily IT systems can be disrupted by something as simple as a leap year,” comments Eximium’s MD Derrick Cameron. “This is something that the industry needs to ensure that it has ironed out. In this case, it caused frustration for customers which may have some financial implications for Microsoft in the long term. In business, such deceptively simple glitches can cost a company thousands of pounds if the software isn’t designed to take care of issues like this.”
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 10:51 am and is filed under Business Advice, IT Advice, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
