Microsoft's Zune Is a Pain in the Ear
Tue Feb 5, 2008 11:35PM EST
See Comments (7)
Recently, I alerted you to the problems users were experiencing after updating their iPod Classic firmware. It seems users are experiencing unusual hissing, buzzing, and static noise that could potentially damage their headphones, or worse, their eardrums. Many of our readers left plenty of comments confirming that a "hissing" sound was in fact one of the issues they were experiencing, and reader Sweetiepye324 even mentioned that her boyfriend was complaining of being shocked by his headphones!
But the iPod is not the only music player causing problems out there. Wired's Gadget Lab and Gizmodo say one Zune user is suing Microsoft after his player emitted a loud noise through his earbuds along with an electric shock that is now causing incessant ringing, discomfort, and blood/fluid leakage in his ear canal. Joel Geddis has set up a website called Microsoft Zune Injuries hoping to find other victims who have been injured by Zune players and perhaps put together a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft.
So please, if you hear hissing, buzzing, or static coming through your earbuds, stop using your music player. Find out what the problem could be and revert to an older version of the firmware if necessary. Your ears are too important, so don't take any unnecessary risks.
Related:
iPod Classic Firmware Causing iHeadaches
Prevent Tech-Related Hearing Loss
Study Says Cell Phones Cause Hearing Loss
Top 5 Posts
More About MP3 Players
Comments on Microsoft's Zune Is a Pain in the Ear
Post a Comment
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
-
2 Posted by joek872000 on Fri Feb 8, 2008 3:56PM EST Report Abuse
My Zune has worked perfectly from day one along with the software, whereas the iPod my dad got for his birthday is constantly having problems and iTunes likes to try and ruin his computer.
-
3 Posted by mia_92nz on Sat Feb 9, 2008 9:17PM EST Report Abuse
Don't buy a Zune in the first place period.
-
4 Posted by morgs_98 on Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:01AM EST Report Abuse
Oh please! your such an apple fan boy, its almost sickening. Theres nothing wrong with the Zune. In fact if you look at both the Ipod and Zune, You get a better screen, FM Tuner, and wireless sync. The only thing you have is a wish that apple owned more than just 12% of the computer market. And before you call me a microsoft baby, I own a zune, ipod touch, Iphone, and a nano. So get a life and get off your hate wagon
-
5 Posted by mercerik on Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:23PM EST Report Abuse
The only problem that I encountered with Zune is the defective software - CD or download. The CD did not install properly so I downloaded the software through zune.net. The download successfully installed but my music tracks were associated with incorrect albums. I followed their Knowled Base (945319) information accordingly and still didn't fix it. I called the tech support, spent 2 hours on the phone but did not fix the problem either. The tech support person promised to escalate the issue to a higher tech support and was told that someone will call me back in a week. It has been over a month and nobody called me back. I noticed that the only solution is to convert all my .wma files to .mp3 files and it worked perfectly. Why couldn't zune tech support figure that out? They need to be retrained with their software.
Post a Comment
Sponsored Links
Videos
Tech Close-Ups
The Magellan Explorist 210 GPS device is meant for folks who will use it hunting, hiking or geocachi ...
Gadgets You Might Like
Also on Yahoo! Tech
| Computers | Home Office | Wi-Fi & Networking | Phones & PDAs | Cameras & Camcorders | TV & Home Theater | Portable Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Posted by jesus_walks_with_me93 on Thu Feb 7, 2008 9:28PM EST Report Abuse
oh my gosh. i had my ipod hooked up to old computer speakers on blasting and when i leave it alone it makes a hissing and buzzing and it freaked me out and had never done that before. what do i do??