Originally posted by: gibster
Regarding the explorer access - is that "read-only" access, or can you drop mp3 files into it and be done (with the registry patch)? If you do, do you have to still use the software?
I really don't get that anal need to write "software" for stuff like this, since everybody wants to use it as a drive - this is the best and most generic interface option IMHO.
I haven't used the patch; from what I've read, videos can be transferred, and will show up on the Zune; audio files cannot.
If I had to guess why some players require 'manager' software: When you've got upwards of 5000 individual tracks, it probably makes more sense to keep all the metadata (path, filename, ID3 tags) in a static database (that gets updated by iTunes, Zune software, etc)...
It's a popular bitching point, but realistically, the software can be configured so as to just function as a target to drag-n-drop files on - it doesn't require significantly more effort than drag-n-drop via explorer.
Anyway, at this price point, I can live with a few compromises.