Microsoft Groove to Spotify Move

When Microsoft announced the discontinuation of the Groove Music Pass there was a lot of dissappointment around here.

Groove offered the ability to check out all sorts of music over the years without having to fork out a buck or two on a song that ended up not being listened to.

With the ability to download music to four different devices for offline listening it was a really good value for the money.

So, off we go into the migration from Groove to Spotify.

First off, this was one of the smoothest transitions ever experienced. Everything moved over without a hitch. It took a bit but nothing was lost in the process!

Score one for Microsoft and Spotify!

Score two for Spotify: The $15/Month Premium Family Plan for up to five folks under one roof was the clincher.

We were looking to obtain two more Groove Music Pass accounts. One for my wife and the other for our daughter. That would have been expensive!

A couple of settings in the Spotify app to take note of after upgrading to Premium:

• Settings - Music Quality: Enable High quality streaming (Premium only)
• Settings - Social: Disable Automatically make new playlists public
• Settings - Social: Enable Private session

The last two are personal preference but as a rule we will make sure our kid's apps are set up this way.

Philip Elder
Microsoft High Availability MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
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Twitter: @MPECSInc

Windows Phone 7 Update to 7.10.8107.79 Now Here

After plugging the HD7 in the following window came up:

The keyboard issue has been seen off and on over the last month. The voicemail issue was indicated as being fixed with the last update so we shall see if it happens this time around.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Synchronize Zune Music Between 2 PCs Successfully

Out of the box we left the Zune software to synchronize the downloaded music and playlists to the default locations.

This has proven to be a bear to manage as the device then locks a portion of its storage to the PC the downloaded content came from originally.

So, we needed to come up with a method where the path to the downloaded music was the same on both PCs (home and office) and have it synchronize between them.

Enter Windows Live Mesh:

In order for this process the following must be kept in mind:

• The path to the root Zune folders _must_ be the same!

So, since the profile names on both PCs on both PCs are identical we set up the following paths:

1. PC1:
   1. C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Zune\Music
   2. C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Zune\Photos
   3. C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Zune\Podcasts
   4. C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Zune\Videos
2. PC2:
   1. C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Zune\Music
   2. C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Zune\Photos
   3. C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Zune\Podcasts
   4. C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Zune\Videos

We then directed Live Mesh to sync the root Zune folder between the two PCs.

Once the synchronization process has completed between the two PCs we will wipe both of them and start fresh.

NOTE:

• If there are files already on both PCs named the same then Live Mesh will create a copy with (PCName) appended to the file name. Once the synchronization has completed it is safe to delete them.
• On PC per device must be the sync master for that device’s Zune software.
  • We will set the HTC HD7 to sync from the office PC and the Zune HD to sync from the home office PC.
  • Any new content will be synced to both devices eventually!

This methodology is certainly better than what we started to do. The reason why we looked into a different setup was because all of the music downloaded last night to the HD7 refused to be recognized by the Zune software on the office PC.

Windows Live Mesh can be downloaded from here:

• Windows Live Mesh 2011

UPDATE: Do _not_ seed one side. It Live Mesh will push those files _back_ to the second PC.

So, the best thing to do is to make sure all of the music needed is on one device and one PC and have that sync to the second PC and the second device.

Since Live Mesh has a remote desktop feature built-in we will be using it to connect to PC1 to download any additional music.

Thus, this method, while it will work, requires a bit of self control over music downloading on PC2. :S

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Zune Error: Can’t Play C00D11D6 (C00D278F)

We finally managed to get a Zune Pass yesterday by signing up for the one month subscription and then switching it over to the full year.

Once that was done it took a few runs at the Zune software on the PC to get the music and videos to show up as available for download.

Finally, we had music coming down!

Today, we plugged the phone into our shop PC that will be used to manage it for now. Our four (4) devices will be:

1. ZuneHD
2. HTC HD7 Windows Phone Mango
3. Shop PC (switched to office depending on work type)
4. Home Office PC

After plugging in the Mango into the shop PC we received the following:

CAN’T PLAY

The media rights system on your computer has encountered an error and needs to be manually reset.

To see if there’s more information about this error, click Web Help.

ERROR CODE: C00D11D6 (C00D278F)

The link did nothing to help.

A search on the error turned up the following Microsoft Answers page:

• Microsoft Answers: Media Rights system on your computer has encounted (sic) error - C00D11D6 (c00D278f)
• Points to: KB 929642: Error message when trying to sign in to or play content from the Zune Marketplace.

We need to click on: Security component upgrade found in the KB above.

But:

The button is indeed greyed out. So, after closing all IE instances we opened an elevated instance and ended up in the same place: No button.

So, off to the manual steps found in the KB:

1. Click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
2. On the General tab under Browsing History, click Delete.
3. Click all checkboxes in the window and click Delete.
4. Click the Security tab, click Trusted Sites, and then click the Sites button.
5. In the Search box, type *.microsoft.com, click Add, and then click Close.
6. Under the Security tab, click Custom Level.
7. Under Reset custom settings, select Low, and then click Reset.
8. Click OK.
9. Click the Privacy tab.
10. Click the Sites button.
11. In the Search box, type *.microsoft.com, and then click Allow.
12. Click OK.
13. Click Apply.
14. Close all browser windows.
15. Try signing in to Marketplace or playing your content again to see if the problem was fixed. If not, go on to Step 2: Reset the DRM.

Okay, so nothing worked as of yet so off to step 2:

1. Close all open programs.
2. Open a web browser, and then click the following link to run the DRM tool:
   http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=203950&clcid=0x409 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=203950&clcid=0x409)
3. In the file download dialog box, click Run.
1. Click Save and and then Run As Admin to get this software to work.
4. Accept the Microsoft Software License Terms.
   1.  
5. Click Yes when you receive the following warning message:

   Reset Windows Media DRM now? WARNING: Licenses for purchased Windows Media content and protected recorded television will be lost.

   1. 

6. After the tool finishes, Notepad will open to display a message indicating completion. Scroll to the bottom of the window, and then verify that the message states: “CleanDRM succeeded.” If the Notepad window states: “CleanDRM failed,” follow these steps:
   1. Restart the computer, and then press F8 to start in safe mode.
   2. In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type %programfiles%\ResetDRM\CleanDRM.exe –v, and then click OK.
      In Windows 7 or in Windows Vista, click Start , type run in the Start Search box, click Run under Programs , type %programfiles%\ResetDRM\CleanDRM.exe –v , and then click OK .
      Note A Notepad widow that contains the text ”CleanDRM succeeded" should display.
   3. Restart the computer.
7. Open the Zune software, sign in, and then try to play DRM-protected content.

It says it succeeded. So, off to reboot we go. Well, after the reboot we could now download and stream content to the shop PC.

Now to figure out how to get the Zune software on this PC to see the music already downloaded to the phone?!?

IMNSHO, DRM is like .NET for patching, the bane of our existence. :(

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Finally! Zune Pass is Available to Canucks?!?

Microsoft announced last week that we would be getting the new Zune Pass today. After checking earlier this morning the old page was still there.

October 3: 1030Hrs

Not any more!

Oops . . . click on the Get Zune Music Pass link and we get:

Just in case, we signed in using the LiveID that is hooked into both the ZuneHD and the HTC HD7 devices.

And we waited:

And waited . . . and waited. :(

Eventually we saw the first page above with the get it button. And then back to square one: Country not supported.

October 3: 1500Hrs

We now see the following after a long wait:

After selecting the 12-month option and clicking next we were presented with a credit card verification page. We verified that everything was correct and then after waiting yet again:

There must be more than a few Canucks attempting to get one their Zune Passes as the servers are seemingly overloaded! :(

We will try again later on tonight. Hopefully things will not be so overloaded.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Microsoft And A Zune HD

The reason for the low posting numbers this last week was due to my being in Redmond at the Microsoft campus with other MVPs for an MVP Deep Dive.

It was fun and amazing to meet all so many Microsoft folks that hail from so many different parts of the world.

As much as the folks on the outside, us, can give Microsoft a hard time for whatever, there is something to be said about a company of Microsoft’s size being able to attract such amazing talent from _everywhere_!

My glimpse into the Microsoft culture while on their main campus in Redmond was a real positive one. Kool-Aid? Maybe, but keep in mind that I have had my fair share of experience working for employers of various sizes and in various industries. And, based on that experience as limited as it is, Microsoft has something really neat going on there.

Okay, so on the way from the hotel in Bellevue to the airport I asked Dennis the Town Car driver if there was a Frys between us and the airport and he said there was one in Renten.

So, we stopped . . . and I picked up a Zune HD (Wikipedia – Official site does not seem to work) along with the in-car charger and broadcast component. Hopefully at some point we here in Canada will see the Zune HD product line released.

Neat! :) 

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Blu-ray Disk with Digital Copy Not Zune Friendly

Apparently the very public desire to have one's owned videos loaded on a portable media player is starting to pay off ... sorta.

I, personally, am an avid animated movie buff.

There are a number of animated movies that have come out of the leading studios over the last couple of decades that I can watch over and over again with the kids ... and yes, even twice in the same day of we are having a -30 degree Celsius "there is no way I am going outside" kinda day.

For those of us older birds who are/were into Trek, Heinlein, Floyd, Monty Python (Just a teensie wafer), Are You Being Served, Fawlty Towers, Heavy Metal, and others of their ilk, there is an inkling into the somewhat bent nature of our humour and imaginations.

What truly amazes me in a lot of the modern adult/child oriented animated movies are the implicit and explicit references to the various entertainment sources we were really into in our younger years.

A lot of the humour in movies like Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were-Rabbit, or Robots, or Cars taps into so much history in the way of music, print, television and movies, and so much more. It can be a bit embarrassing to "get" a moment in the movie and laugh out loud while the theatre remains relatively silent around me. Talk about "dating" myself! ;)

We picked up a Blu-ray disk based movie for the kids to watch with the family since it was the first movie I took my 4 year old daughter Anne-Marie to last Fall.

The cover says "Digital Copy Special Edition" on it. The back of the case indicates that there is an actual Digital portable copy contained in the case to.

There is a caveat though: The file is DRM enabled. Whether through iTunes, or Windows DRM, there are restrictions on the file including a serial number that is required to unlock the "download to PC".

Reading through the fine print there is another caveat: The digital copy is not compatible with both Sony PSP and the Microsoft Zune. The file is Windows Media Video, so why it is not compatible must be to do with the DRM.

We certainly hope that the struggle over fair use rights is resolved with a win-win solution for both consumer and producer. It would end the pain points of failed DRM tactics such as rootkit installations, failed DRM on systems designed to play that content, device playback restrictions as is the case here, and so much more.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Zune Finally Comes To Canada!

Not being one to buck the trend! ;)

All I can say is Finally! and Whoo Hooo!

We will be seeing the Zune here in the spring according to CBC: Zune to launch in Canada this Spring.

You can bet that we will be ordering a number of them for our office and household as soon as they are SKUd up at our suppliers.

Why have we waited for Zune as opposed to jumping on the iPod ship?

Primarily because we all have a vested interest in keeping the industry healthy by providing competition to Apple.

And, it would be nice to carry around a Microsoft hardware product while visiting our SBS clients ... as we are proud of the Microsoft products we sell and support.

Good move Microsoft!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.