Every coder knows that the only way to code is with some tunes.  Many coders and non coders alike had those tunes cut short early in the morning on December 31, 2008 when their 30 Gig Zune suddenly reboot and bricked itself.

Various media including: Ars Technica, The Consumerist, Gizmodo and even Microsoft’s media venture, MSNBC are reporting that owners of the Software giant Microsoft’s 30 Gig Zune MP3 player all over the world experienced the unexplained reboot and freeze.

Reportedly what you were doing with your Zune mattered less than when you were doing it.  Owners report that some were listening to music when the music stopped, the Zune rebooted and then froze at the start up logo.  Others have said that the Zune was connected to their PC when the device bricked itself.

While Microsft has not yet released details of the unexplained bricking, a spokesperson released a statement that read in part: “Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware. We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!” and urged Zune owners to monitor the Zune support site for further details and updates.

Based on reports scatter around the internet, the bug appears to only affect the 30 Gig version of the device with the latest firmware.  Some have reported that a battery pull will unbrick  affected Zunes.  However, it is unclear if the bug will repeat itself.

When first introduced on November 14, 2006 the Zune was touted as the “iPod killer”, however, the Zune has fallen short of that claim.  In addition, the Zune has been the target of criticism for Microsoft’s content management strategy that included Digital Rights Management (DRM) including privacy watchdog the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

This latest embarrassment has some wondering if this “Y2K in 2008″ glitch will be a “Zune killer.”  Only time shall tell.

Update:  Microsoft has posted more information and a potential fix at the Zune support site.  Apparently the bug was related to leap year.

As for the battery pull, Microsoft says: “This is a bad idea and we do not recommend opening your Zune by yourself (for one thing, doing so will void your warranty). However, if you’ve already opened it, do one of the following:

• Wait 24 hours from the time that you reset the Zune and then sync with your computer to refresh the usage rights; or
• Delete the player’s content using the Zune software (go to Settings, Device, Sync Options, Erase All Content), then re-sync it from your collection.”