Quote:
Originally Posted by Taphil
Compared to Creative PlayCentre or MediaSource, which I use for the NJB3 (and maybe micro) because I refuse to pay for exta/better software, a big definite YES! However, I don't see anything that says the micro requires software to load music.
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Here’s what Harvey Fong, a technical marketing specialist for Creative Labs, wrote in three different posts on the Nomadness.net:
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There are a lot of things going around and I'm sure there's going to be confusion. I'm going to try and summarize this
Out of the box
You'll be able to use it with MediaSource. Additionally if you are out someplace where there aren't drivers installed on the system, you can allocate of to 2 GB of diskspace and make the Zen Micro a USB Mass Storage device to get your files to whereever you want to go. During this time, the device will be a USB Mass Storage device it will not be recognized by MediaSource. After you get your data home or whereever, you can remove the USB partition and the Zen Micro will once again be recognized by MediaSource.
MTP Firmware Update
This is a feature that will be offered as an update only, it installed on the player when it is shipped. As the installation of this firmware (not reversable or recoverable) will make the Zen Micro a Windows MTP device that will be recognized by any Windows XP system that has Windows Media Player 10 installed. You should not install this update if you will be using your Zen Micro with other operating systems, or earlier versions of Windows, or earlier versions of Windows Media Player.
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Yes, there should be firmware updates for both versions.
The USB function is more for temporary usage when you encounter a system that does not have drivers installed or where you cannot install drivers (e.g. a public computer). There is the presumption that you will probably have musical content on the player, so if you convert too much space, you'll lose your content. As it stands, it will only let you convert up to the amount of unused space available on your player; if you have less than 2GB available, it will only let you format up to the available space. Yes the conversion is literally done on the fly, on the player.
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The USB Mass Storage portion is only for data transfer. Audio content would have to be in the Music Library portion for playback. Yes, you can name the radio presets, and you can do so directly on the player.
The Zen Micro has already started shipping, pre-orders that we have received in the Americas region are currently in the process of being fulfilled (both Canada and US). The players are also on their way to or have arrived at some retail stores. J & R Music in New York City will be having a Launch Party on Thursday Nov. 11 at their Park Row store.
The Americas warranty is applicable world-wide in any Creative region, but Canada is in the Americas region. So it wouldn't really make any difference which side of the border you purchased the player. As long as you don't try and pay for it with loonies and toonies.