6 ms·

Why does the Zune HD have the message “For our Princess” inside of the case?

129 points by edroche 8y ago

orf 8y ago
This is really sweet. I wonder what the cost was to do this for every unit, and at what point in the production lifecycle her death occured?
- dlgeek 8y ago
  From the pictures a few links through, it was silkscreened on along with some other information that was going to be there anyway. I imagine if it was before that silkscreen was made, it didn't cost anything extra.
  - GauntletWizard 8y ago
    Further on this point: It's common for PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) to have Easter eggs in either the copper or silkscreen layers. They're also often in the photolithography masks used for making silicon chips: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/index.html http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/index.html
vedtopkar 8y ago
The Zune HD was really a great device. Hadn't heard about this dedication, but it's incredibly touching.
blondin 8y ago
zune was the most underestimated mp3 player ever. it just never got the fame it deserved.
- prolikewh0a 8y ago
  Agreed. I still use my original Zune every day. It's off the grid now, the Zune software still works but can't connect to any MS servers, has an FM radio. They can be picked up very cheap. I have a Zune 120 and Zune HD as well but I don't find them either as good, especially on FM radio.
  - xenihn 8y ago
    Which model do you have? I think I'm going to grab one.
    - prolikewh0a 8y ago
      I have each generation they made. I personally like the 1st gen Zune 30 since I listen to a lot of KEXP and it has the best performing radio, but I'd suggest looking at the models and figuring out what you need. None of them are bad in my opinion.
      - xenihn 8y ago
        Do you have a recommendation if I just want to play MP3s through my car aux? Don't really care about size as long as it's at least 2 GB. Every time I look for something, it seems like there's only $20 junk and $100+ players to choose from. I've gone through 3 Sansa Clips that just keep dying. I bought a Fiio x1 and had the wheel die on me in the first year, and using the warranty was way too much hassle.
        prolikewh0a 8y ago
        Zune 80/120 or Zune HD. You can usually find people practically giving them away on Craigslist, Offerup, etc. Zune 120 has a disk drive in it if you're concerned about that. Zune HD comes in 16GB, 32GB, and a rare 64GB and includes HD radio.
        jodrellblank 8y ago
        Not a Zune, but consider a Blackberry 9900 - there are some on eBay for around $40 [1], they take micro SD expandable storage, appear as USB drives so they don't need sync software, have a standard headphone socket, have wifi and bluetooth and touchscreen as well as physical keyboard, and the hardware and build quality is "high end business device from ~2011". Software is nothing special, but shuffle play artist/album/song/playlist it can do. [1] e.g. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-Used-BlackBerry-Bold-9900-Unlocked-T-Mobile-4G-Smartphone-8GB-GSM-Qwerty/292657895786?hash=item4423c5196a https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-Used-BlackBerry-Bold-9900-Unlo...
- FigBug 8y ago
  The Zune was too late. It was launched 6 months before the iPhone was announced. The MP3 player market peaked shortly after as iPhone and Android took off. It's hard to launch a new product into a shrinking market.
_zskd 8y ago
I went with the Zune / have avoided apple products for years because I find their advertising smarmy. So, I went with Zune and received ENDLESS RIDICULE. BUT! Zune was great. I had the zune app with spotify-style music subscription before spotify was a thing. The Zune software was really pretty and nice, and you could plug your zune into your computer and it would act as an external hard drive without fighting with it.
- giancarlostoro 8y ago
  A bunch of kids at my school had them I eventually got an iPod Nano cause it was an affordable option. After getting used to it I eventually convinced my parents to get me an iPod Classic. Years later I found out just how much cooler the Zune was.
- B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
  I suspect that WindowsPhone 8.1, the nicest phone software ever, was descended from that design effort. I'd very much like to see a story or an interview with the designer(s), who deserve recognition for that work. If such a piece exists, a link would be appreciated.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - com2kid 8y ago
    > I suspect that WindowsPhone 8.1, the nicest phone software ever, was descended from that design effort. Windows Phone 7 was a direct decedent. WP 8.1 was an iteration on that design language.
    - B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
      Right, I had a WindowsPhone 6.5 device from HTC, and it was rather meh on nice hardware. But it could boot an Android from XDA on SD card with little fuss, and that was an improvement ;-) Now I'm just hoping the incumbents copy enough of the good design to make the loss bearable.
dawnerd 8y ago
Was just talking about the Zune the other day. I really with Microsoft would release a new one or a phone or something. I’d love to just have a dedicated music player when traveling so I don’t use up my phones battery.
- URSpider94 8y ago
  Music playback from local storage uses a minuscule amount of battery - if you listen all day, you’re going to lose only an hour or so of standby on a modern phone. You’d be better off spending the same money to buy a battery pack to recharge your phone when it runs low.
  - larkeith 8y ago
    Uses, or should use? On an Android device (S5) I've found the battery usage from music playing not-insignificant - perhaps it prevents the phone from fully entering standby, or something? At a very rough estimate, I'd say it uses 20% as much power to play music as active usage requires, though this is very much anecdata. Either way, I'll second the recommendation to get an external battery pack - a high-quality one will give more audio playback time than a media player, with much more utility and convenience.
    - izacus 8y ago
      Most modern phones (not sure for S5 which is pretty old these days, but Nexus 5 was the first to introduce it) have a separate DSP for music playback. The app must use Androids playback API though.
  - dawnerd 8y ago
    True and I have two huge battery banks but I still don’t like using my phone. Keeping my huge music library eats into my video and photo storage. And it’s not like Apple lets me stick a micro sd card in. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and switch.
- thirdsun 8y ago
  You really have countless options these days. DAP / digital audio players experience a kind of renaissance, particularly among audiophile users. I'd recommend to look at options by Sony, Fiio, Astell & Kern, Onkyo, Cowon, iBasso or Pioneer. Find additional information at the Head-Fi forums: https://www.head-fi.org/forums/portable-source-gear.15/ https://www.head-fi.org/forums/portable-source-gear.15/
protomyth 8y ago
I wonder how many electronics ship with this type of thing. The Macintosh is fairly famous[1], and the Amiga had signatures and a dog print[2]. 1) http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Signing_Party.txt&topic=Apple%20Spirit&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story... 2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1000
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
accrual 8y ago
The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller also includes a small hidden message just above the right analog stick, "THX 2 ALL GAME FANS". [0] [0] http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/03/have_you_seen_the_hidden_message_inside_your_switch_pro_controller http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/03/have_you_seen_the_h...

129 points by edroche 8y ago

orf 8y ago

This is really sweet. I wonder what the cost was to do this for every unit, and at what point in the production lifecycle her death occured?

dlgeek 8y ago
From the pictures a few links through, it was silkscreened on along with some other information that was going to be there anyway. I imagine if it was before that silkscreen was made, it didn't cost anything extra.
- GauntletWizard 8y ago
  Further on this point: It's common for PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) to have Easter eggs in either the copper or silkscreen layers. They're also often in the photolithography masks used for making silicon chips: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/index.html http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/index.html

vedtopkar 8y ago

The Zune HD was really a great device. Hadn't heard about this dedication, but it's incredibly touching.

blondin 8y ago

zune was the most underestimated mp3 player ever. it just never got the fame it deserved.

prolikewh0a 8y ago
Agreed. I still use my original Zune every day. It's off the grid now, the Zune software still works but can't connect to any MS servers, has an FM radio. They can be picked up very cheap. I have a Zune 120 and Zune HD as well but I don't find them either as good, especially on FM radio.
- xenihn 8y ago
  Which model do you have? I think I'm going to grab one.
  - prolikewh0a 8y ago
    I have each generation they made. I personally like the 1st gen Zune 30 since I listen to a lot of KEXP and it has the best performing radio, but I'd suggest looking at the models and figuring out what you need. None of them are bad in my opinion.
    - xenihn 8y ago
      Do you have a recommendation if I just want to play MP3s through my car aux? Don't really care about size as long as it's at least 2 GB. Every time I look for something, it seems like there's only $20 junk and $100+ players to choose from. I've gone through 3 Sansa Clips that just keep dying. I bought a Fiio x1 and had the wheel die on me in the first year, and using the warranty was way too much hassle.
      - prolikewh0a 8y ago
        Zune 80/120 or Zune HD. You can usually find people practically giving them away on Craigslist, Offerup, etc. Zune 120 has a disk drive in it if you're concerned about that. Zune HD comes in 16GB, 32GB, and a rare 64GB and includes HD radio.
      - jodrellblank 8y ago
        Not a Zune, but consider a Blackberry 9900 - there are some on eBay for around $40 [1], they take micro SD expandable storage, appear as USB drives so they don't need sync software, have a standard headphone socket, have wifi and bluetooth and touchscreen as well as physical keyboard, and the hardware and build quality is "high end business device from ~2011". Software is nothing special, but shuffle play artist/album/song/playlist it can do. [1] e.g. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-Used-BlackBerry-Bold-9900-Unlocked-T-Mobile-4G-Smartphone-8GB-GSM-Qwerty/292657895786?hash=item4423c5196a https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-Used-BlackBerry-Bold-9900-Unlo...
FigBug 8y ago
The Zune was too late. It was launched 6 months before the iPhone was announced. The MP3 player market peaked shortly after as iPhone and Android took off. It's hard to launch a new product into a shrinking market.

_zskd 8y ago

I went with the Zune / have avoided apple products for years because I find their advertising smarmy. So, I went with Zune and received ENDLESS RIDICULE. BUT! Zune was great. I had the zune app with spotify-style music subscription before spotify was a thing. The Zune software was really pretty and nice, and you could plug your zune into your computer and it would act as an external hard drive without fighting with it.

giancarlostoro 8y ago
A bunch of kids at my school had them I eventually got an iPod Nano cause it was an affordable option. After getting used to it I eventually convinced my parents to get me an iPod Classic. Years later I found out just how much cooler the Zune was.
B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
I suspect that WindowsPhone 8.1, the nicest phone software ever, was descended from that design effort. I'd very much like to see a story or an interview with the designer(s), who deserve recognition for that work. If such a piece exists, a link would be appreciated.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- com2kid 8y ago
  > I suspect that WindowsPhone 8.1, the nicest phone software ever, was descended from that design effort. Windows Phone 7 was a direct decedent. WP 8.1 was an iteration on that design language.
  - B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
    Right, I had a WindowsPhone 6.5 device from HTC, and it was rather meh on nice hardware. But it could boot an Android from XDA on SD card with little fuss, and that was an improvement ;-) Now I'm just hoping the incumbents copy enough of the good design to make the loss bearable.

dawnerd 8y ago

Was just talking about the Zune the other day. I really with Microsoft would release a new one or a phone or something. I’d love to just have a dedicated music player when traveling so I don’t use up my phones battery.

URSpider94 8y ago
Music playback from local storage uses a minuscule amount of battery - if you listen all day, you’re going to lose only an hour or so of standby on a modern phone. You’d be better off spending the same money to buy a battery pack to recharge your phone when it runs low.
- larkeith 8y ago
  Uses, or should use? On an Android device (S5) I've found the battery usage from music playing not-insignificant - perhaps it prevents the phone from fully entering standby, or something? At a very rough estimate, I'd say it uses 20% as much power to play music as active usage requires, though this is very much anecdata. Either way, I'll second the recommendation to get an external battery pack - a high-quality one will give more audio playback time than a media player, with much more utility and convenience.
  - izacus 8y ago
    Most modern phones (not sure for S5 which is pretty old these days, but Nexus 5 was the first to introduce it) have a separate DSP for music playback. The app must use Androids playback API though.
- dawnerd 8y ago
  True and I have two huge battery banks but I still don’t like using my phone. Keeping my huge music library eats into my video and photo storage. And it’s not like Apple lets me stick a micro sd card in. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and switch.
thirdsun 8y ago
You really have countless options these days. DAP / digital audio players experience a kind of renaissance, particularly among audiophile users. I'd recommend to look at options by Sony, Fiio, Astell & Kern, Onkyo, Cowon, iBasso or Pioneer. Find additional information at the Head-Fi forums: https://www.head-fi.org/forums/portable-source-gear.15/ https://www.head-fi.org/forums/portable-source-gear.15/

protomyth 8y ago

I wonder how many electronics ship with this type of thing. The Macintosh is fairly famous[1], and the Amiga had signatures and a dog print[2]. 1) http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Signing_Party.txt&topic=Apple%20Spirit&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story... 2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1000

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

accrual 8y ago

The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller also includes a small hidden message just above the right analog stick, "THX 2 ALL GAME FANS". [0] [0] http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/03/have_you_seen_the_hidden_message_inside_your_switch_pro_controller http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/03/have_you_seen_the_h...