Y2K-Like Bug Strikes Microsoft Zune Players As 2008 Ends
Posted January 1, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s been nine years since the threat of the Y2K Bug had cellphone manufacturers and computer companies scrambling to find a cure for a purported threat that would shut down all electronic devices when the year changed from 1999 to 2000.
But it seems after battling that hurdle, Microsoft may have failed to account for a similar problem in their Zune media players.
Many of the 30-gigabyte models froze on Wednesday due to a glitch with their internal clock.
None of the files – from music to video to games – were playing on December 31.
Owners flooded online forums to complain about the problems and it seems someone at Microsoft was listening.
By Thursday, most of the bugs had been worked out and the devices were functioning normally.
It seemed that the Zune, a response to Apple’s iPod, had a problem calculating the dates for a leap year. Only the 30-gig model was affected by the glitch.
Microsoft’s new Zune music player is shown in brown, black and white at RCS Electronics in New York City 14 November 2006. Photo credit Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.
