Zune Apocalypse Now

[cityboy-stl]

You know, I had to work that evening and babysit the datacenter to make sure nothing went kabooom.

Yeah me too. I was home but logged on all night and checking in with hourly conference calls to verify none of the apps I was responsible for abended. I'd fixed everything two years before so I was pissed that they made me do that.

 

[Corny]

btw there is a "fix" now.
you need to let run it completely out of battery, and reboot (after jan 1st).

 

[Corny]

this is the responsible code for the bug.

who finds the error ?

year = ORIGINYEAR; /* = 1980 */

while (days > 365)
{
  if (IsLeapYear(year))
  {
     if (days > 366)
    {
        days -= 366;
        year += 1;
    }
 }
else
{
 days -= 365;
 year += 1;
}
}

 

[_AJ_]

And Microsoft lets Apple write code for iTunes for Windows. Your point being?

MS Word is a MS product, just like iTunes is a Apple product. You are really making no sense.

not very good code where i tunes is concerned


also this problem seems to affect a few toshiba gigabeat models as well

 

[Corny]

^ yes, they use the same clock driver and hardware clock
(problem is the driver though .. see above code )

 

[cityboy-stl]

this is the responsible code for the bug.

who finds the error ?

year = ORIGINYEAR; /* = 1980 */

while (days > 365)
{
  if (IsLeapYear(year))
  {
     if (days > 366)
    {
        days -= 366;
        year += 1;
    }
 }
else
{
 days -= 365;
 year += 1;
}
}

I'm assuming here by the ORIGINYEAR constant, that the internal clock must store the date as some current total number of days from 1980. So it keeps subtracting 366 or 365 from this big total until it gets down to less than 365 which would be the new year. Problem is, on the last day of the leap year, days equal 366 so the "subtract 366 from days" operation never occurs which never breaks it out of the while loop and the thing runs forever and locks up. It should say if (days >= 366). Then it would have worked.

 

[Corny]

^ ding ding - right

they obviously never tested the leap year case

 

[Apollo]

I personally wouldn't go for that. I have some pretty good sources for downloading music, so long as my mp3 player is drag-n-drop im happy

Zune is a lot like iPod in that it doesnt work with Linux and isn't drag and drop.

If you get a Zune, you will prob have to download Wine or figure out a way to unlock the Zune. It has been done, not for Linux that I am aware though.

 

[Apollo]

Nope! They now have software for Linux that makes iPods talk to your Linux box.

and Zunes?

 

[Apollo]

I don't know about Zunes, but I know there's a piece of software that allows Linux and iPods to communicate. Can't for the life of me remember what it is (I think it's a library, actually, and not a piece of software).

By the way, I highly doubt Microsoft will allow Linux hackers to code a driver for Zunes, seeing as how it seems Linux could, very possibly, start taking some of their market share.

Errrrrm, I don't think they would care if it sold more Zunes.

And ummmmm, don't mean to be rude, but I think Microsoft is a lot more concerned about Apple.

 

[Apollo]

Not really, I mean if you got it working for the iPod, you can get it working for the Zune and they probably wouldn't care.

Apple is a lot more stringent about their products, especially the iPod which is the reason they get so much media attention, and they aren't sueing anyone for figureing out how to unlock the iPod for Linux.

But you could be right. you never know

 

[HeyyJude]

thankies for that