First Microsoft faces accusations of knowing about faulty Xbox 360 hardware before the consoles ever shipped, and now the company is facing another hardware-related crisis: Zune mass destruction.... or rather, the Zunepocalypse.

So maybe that's somewhat of an exaggeration, but when thousands upon thousands of Zune portable devices go haywire all at once, consumers should be wary of the manufacturer and its evil intent. Is this part of a Microsoft-Government conspiracy to take over the minds of millions of Americans? Is this a sign of the Apocalypse? Will the chicken ever cross the road safely? These questions can't be answered here, however enquiring minds want to know: what the hell is going on?

According to this article over on Gizmodo, 30GB Zunes are crashing all at once, its operating systems freezing up from midnight last night until now. A tip from a Gizmodo reader reports that the device begins to load, but freezes once the bar completes its journey across the screen. He checked his brother's 30GB Zune device and it too remained locked at the loading screen. Jumping online and trolling

through forums (Zune Support, Zune.net) coughed up nothing but bad news: the problem is widespread.

Others have reported that their Zunes automatically restarted once the clock changed to 12:00:01 am this morning, thus locking up at the boot screen. Whether the device was hooked to a PC, playing music, or turned off all night, the devices have ultimately become bricked with no viable solution from Microsoft. Even owners of multiple 30GB Zune models have reported identical problems.

Afflicted consumers flooding forums with their claims of doom call the meltdown "Zune 2K9," mostly because the device malfunction has transpired just one day away from a fresh new 2009; many believe that the bug is a problem with the calendar. The name also references back to the infamous Y2K bug that brought fear to the hearts of every living creature (aka stupid humans). A search on YouTube pulls up loads of ZK9 videos, from "How to Unfreeze Your 30GB Zune" to "The Day The 30GB Zune Stood Still."

Microsoft has acknowledged the problem but currently has not offered a fix. "Customers using the Zune 30 might experience problems starting their players," says the company on the Zune website. "We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it. The Zune Social might be slow or inaccessible. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!"

One Zune forum member made a good observation: the issue may very well have something to do with the leap year. "Being a software engineer I can easily see where this Zune problem comes from," he states. "Since this is the 366th day of the year, and the problem reared its head precisely at midnight, it's pretty obvious it's a date/time software issue caused by this being a leap year and this extra day is causing the Zune to choke on its own spit. This isn't the first time MS programmers have had difficulty with time." Of course, the additional second is added at the end of the year, not last night; the problem may not be a calendar issue after all.

This repair guide offers an unofficial method of disassembling the device, allowing users to unplug the battery and the 30GB hard drive in order to "hard reset" the device. Of course, this method not only may damage the device for novice techs, but could void any current warranty with Microsoft.

The problem undoubtedly puts Microsoft in a difficult position, especially as the company still comes under fire in regards to the Xbox 360. "The game is over," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, in regards to the company's position in the digital music player market currently ruled by Apple.

Over one million 30GB units were sold between 2006 and 2007.

UPDATE: Microsoft has issued the official fix method for all those with fallen 30GB Zunes. Basically, wait until next year.

As we all know, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), is the place for companies to show off their latest and greatest hardware, software, and any other wares worth the spotlight.

This years expo is no different from any other. Companies like LG, Sony, Samsung, and a myriad of other TV makers will be on hand to show why their LCDs, plasmas, and DLP sets are the ones to buy. However, LG has not one, but two aces up its sleeve over the competition.

For starters, the consumer electronics giant plans on claiming the "world's thinnest LCD TV" title when it officially unveils its LED-backlit LH95 LCD TV. The TV is supposedly only 24.8mm (.98 inches) thick, which would indeed give LG the coveted title. Of course, style over substance is something to be booed when it comes to expensive HDTVs, but the LH95 does not disappoint. With a 4ms response time, 240 Hz Trumotion panel and a staggering 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, the thinnest set on the block will be easy on the eyes in more ways than one. According to aving, the set is slated to receive a CES 2009 Innovation Award.

For those who care less about thickness in a TV, LG is also set to announce a new generation of display panels. Debuting at CES, and coming to market in mid-2009, LG has announced a new line of 480Hz Trumotion panels. In laymen terms, a TV with this new technology will display 480 images per second, making the panels some of the fastest on the market. The 480 Hz refresh rate, a 100 percent increase over LG's current 240 Hz mainstay, is made possible with a "scanning" backlight". This new backlight can rapidly turn on and off, drastically reducing motion blur (supposedly). When the scanning backlight is combined with the already available 240 Hz panels from LG, a 480 Hz picture is created. By using the 240 Hz panels, LG claims there is no affect on the picture quality.

“The world’s first Trumotion 480 Hz LCD TV panel is planned to hit the market in the second half of 2009," said Eddie Yeo, Executive VP and head of LG's Display TV Business Unit. "LG Display will provide its customers with unique, high-end products while delivering crisp picture quality for fast moving images.” Because the 240 Hz panel is already available and will be the backbone of the new displays, we know that the TVs will boast a 4ms response time as well as a contrast ratio in the millions.

More from CES 2009

The console wars are as alive as ever. While the days of Nintendo 64 vs PlayStation are long gone, the three current generation consoles are constantly vying for new demographics, domination in specific regions, and all around sales and revenue.

The Wii from Nintendo has asserted itself as the console to beat this generation, and while many in America may prefer a PS3 or Xbox 360, the Wii has dominated the market in overall units sold. While no one is content to be #2, the Xbox 360 has a very strong presence in the West, outselling the PS3 3-to-1 during the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday sales.

A year after many were calling the PS3 a shoe-in for #1 worldwide, the Wall Street Journal is calling it quits on Sony, claiming that the PS3 will be stuck in the bottom slot forever.

Like with many consumer categories, the WSJ points to to NPD numbers for November 2008, prime time for holiday shopping. While Nintendo and Microsoft saw their sales jump 100 percent and 8 percent respectively over November 2007, Sony saw PS3 sales drop 19 percent. Furthermore, several analysts believe that December PS3 sales compared to last year will remain relatively flat. Also, many are wondering if Sony will meet its 10 million unit goal for the fiscal year ending in March 2009. With dismal holiday sales figures, things are not looking up for the PS3.

"Sony's strategy of selling a pricey game machine with advanced features and cutting-edge components appears to be backfiring as a deepening recession has U.S. consumers more price sensitive than ever," said the Journal. While Microsoft has made new Xbox 360s available for $200, and the Wii has always been $250; Sony has not warmed up to the price-cut strategy that its rivals use now and everyone has used in the past. Sure, you get a Blu-ray player with your game console, but for those who just want to play video games, dishing out $400 is a tall order, especially in these economically trying times.

Combining an expensive console with a weaker games library than either of its competitors and a Blu-ray feature that some do not want or care about is putting the PS3 in a tough spot. Daisuke Wakabayashi of the Wall Street Journal put it best: "If Sony doesn't close the gap with its rivals, it could risk making the PS3 an afterthought to game publishers, who focus most of their resources on the machines with the most users." Hopefully, Michael Pachter of Webush Morgan is right in thinking a PS3 price cut in coming in a few months.

If Sony doesn't drop the price, we may not see a PlayStation 4.

A black and blue Christmas? The was the case for one N.H. couple.

For the second holiday season in a row, the Nintendo Wii was on of the hottest products on the market. Walking into a Best Buy or browsing Amazon, one would be hard pressed to find the little white box before Christmas. Demand, fueled by the consoles image as entertainment for all ages, would lead one to believe that those fortunate enough to receive a Wii would welcome it with open arms.

However, for 26 year old Heath Blom of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a brand new Nintendo Wii was not good enough. After arriving at his grandparents house with his girlfriend, 24 year old Randi Young, Blom was outraged that he was receiving a Wii for Christmas instead of the $1,000+ remote control airplane he asked his elders for. Upon expressing his discontent, Young called him out for acting like a child, and that's where the story gets hazy.

While both were taken in by police, it is unclear who started the physical skirmish. Ms. Young claims that after berating her boyfriend about his behavior, Blom grabbed her by the hair and dragged her down not one, but two flights of stairs. “He said he hated it. It hurt her feelings,” remarked Young, who said her boyfriend “told his grandparents that he changed his mind” about waiting until his birthday and wanted the plane for Christmas. “When he didn’t get the plane, he got really upset. He acted like a 10-year-old kid,”

According to Mr. Blom, a flooring contractor, he wanted the plane for hisbirthday, not for Christmas, saying “You can’t fly an RC plane in the snow." While he did make negative remarks about getting a Wii, Blom claims that his girlfriend threw the first punch, or rather three punches to his eye.

Either way, the fight was certainly not in the holiday spirit. Anyone lucky enough to get a Wii for Christmas, even if they don't want one, should have the brains to be thankful he or she got anything. Besides, selling an unwanted Wii on eBay isn't unheard of. Hopefully this holiday throwdown will teach both parties involved a thing or two about manners and being thankful for what you have.

Viacom is at war with Time Warner Cable, and will pull all 19 channels - including MTV, Spike TV, VH1, and Nickelodeon - after midnight.

What it all boils down to is this: Viacom is asking just 23 cents more a month from each Time Warner Cable subscriber, yet the multimedia giant refuses to comply with the increase. 23 cents may not sound like much, but those additional charges stack up to a whopping $35.9 million USD a month. Time Warner is hiding behind a facade defense shield, claiming that it doesn't want subscribers to pay the additional fees.

But let's be realistic here: 23 cents wont even buy a gumball at the local grocery store, and come 12:01 a.m. when kids go into "Children of the Corn" mode when SpongeBob SquarePants is replaced by a black screen, crazed (even bloodied) parents will be trashing local TWC offices because they didn't have a choice in the matter. Actually, Children of the Corn will seem like a Disney movie if Viacom and Time Warner don't come into an agreement.

"The issue is that they have asked for an exorbitant increase in their carriage fees and their network ratings are sagging," said spokesman Alex Dudley, a vice president at Time Warner Cable. "Basically we're trying to hold the line for our customer."

Viacom's "exorbitant" request will increase the fee of each channel between 22 and 36 percent, but Viacom stresses that the request was "in the very low double-digit percentage range." As it stands, the company's fees only take up 2.5 percent of the average Time Warner Cable bill, but according to Viacom, Americans spend more than 20 percent of their TV time watching Viacom shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Daily Show, and even Dora the Explorer.

"We make this request because TWC has so greatly undervalued our channels for so long," reports Viacom in a press release issued yesterday. "Throughout the country, we have negotiated equitable license agreement renewals, or are in the final stages of renewals, with virtually every cable and satellite carrier. Nevertheless, Time Warner Cable has dismissed our efforts."

"We find it a shame that Time Warner Cable remains unreasonable at this time. We hope its leadership will have a change of heart and will seek to negotiate a fair renewal agreement," the company adds.

If negotiations are not made, the following cable channels will go dark tonight at 12:01am: Comedy Central, CMT: Pure Country, Logo, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTV Tr3s, Nickelodeon, Nick 2, Nicktoons, Noggin, Palladia, Spike, The N, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic, and VH1 Soul.

Time Warner's Alex Dudley claims that both parties are in negotiations; Viacom says otherwise. However, Time Warner seems firm on its stance. Dudley said that Viacom collects advertising revenue from websites playing reruns of Viacom shows, a good chunk of change Time Warner never sees. "We don't think that's fair," he said. "They're trying to have their cake and eat it too online, where anybody can get it for free."

At the time of this writing, a ticker runs along the bottom of each channel, announcing Viacom's intention to pull the plug after midnight if Time Warner doesn't cooperate. It even asks that subscribers call in to the local office and voice their outrage (whatever).

Bright House Networks, the sixth largest cable television provider, will also drop Viacom channels after midnight as well. "MTV’s demands are outrageous and would force our customers to pay millions of dollars more per year," says BHN's website. "MTV’s networks are not worth so much more today than they were yesterday, especially given the fact that their ratings are mostly declining in recent years. Much of their popular programming is also available for free online. In this economy, we don’t believe it’s appropriate to ask our customers to pay so much more for programming with declining ratings or that's available for free."

Ouch.

While the global economy continues to plummet, Viacom's movement seems more like a means to build a mountain of cash, as Viacom shares recently rose 69 cents, its media network revenue grew 6 percent to $2.1 billion, and the company saw huge numbers generated from the success of its Rock Band franchise. In some ways, it seems fit to tell Viacom where they can shove the TV shows; its 19 less channels for viewers to worry about. Then again, 23 cents a month isn't going to break the bank, so perhaps Time Warner should get off its high horse and let the subscribers decide.

A Missouri State student tracked down his stolen Xbox 360 by using the console's wireless controller.

The detective work was actually ingenious on part of Ryan Ketsenburg, a sophomore construction management major. As most Xbox 360 owners know, each controller is registered (synced) with the console, giving the wireless devices exclusive rights to power up and control the hardware remotely. With a range of thirty feet, the controller can activate the Xbox 360 literally from anywhere in the house, whether it's from the bathroom while sitting on the toilet, or outside on the street corner soliciting for Microsoft Points.

According to a report filed with the Springfiled Police Department back on November 21, Ketsenburg discovered that his Xbox 360 console was missing from his dorm room the morning after returning from a trip the night before with his roommate. Tired and diving into bed immediately upon arrival, the students forgot to lock the door, thus allowing the thief to sneak in during the night and steal the gaming console... but without the controller.

After discovering the missing hardware the next morning, Ketsenburg claims that he powered up the controller and observed that the wireless device still connected to the host console remotely.

Evidently, the console still resided in the dorm.

Taking note, Ketsenburg tracked down the console by closely watching the four LEDs on the controller. The LEDs lit up on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors, but remained dark on the third and seventh floors. By process of elimination, he deducted that his Xbox 360 was tucked away in a room on the 5th floor; the LED grew steady as he came closer to the door of the alleged room. After alerting the 5th floor resident assistant, the console was confiscated but not returned to Ketsenburg.

With the hard drive formatted and all of his personal account data lost, the only way Ketsenburg could prove that the Xbox 360 was solely his property was to turn on the console via the registered wireless controller. Apparently, the activation was enough to convince the dorm supervisor of Ketenburg's claims, thus the campus returned the console to its owner. Had the alleged thief pressed the synch button next to the USB flap on the front, Ketenburg's controller may not have ever connected.

Ticked off by the whole incident, Ketenburg plans to take legal action against the alleged thief. "I'm going to try to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, because I had to follow all the rules, so let's make sure it gets done right," Ketsenburg told The Standard.

At the time of the report, the alleged thief had not returned to his dorm room to discover that his prize had been reclaimed. What was the lesson learned here? The Xbox 360 controller may not be able to track down hidden aliens or locate buried money on the beach, but it may come in handy when someone jacks your console.