So this seemingly has little to do with gaming, but bear with him for a second.

This morning I was checking out Penny Arcade when I came upon Tycho's Zune confessional. Not only did he buy a Zune instead of an iPod, he actually likes it. The thing is, I'm in the same boat. I had the choice of my family gifting me with a video iPod or a Zune and I went with the Zune. And I did this knowing full well what I was getting myself into because I wrote up a review of the player for the Rocky a month or so ago.

So far I've been mostly happy with my brown and greenish player, it's got a wicked sweet screen for playing all of that video content that falls into my computer from the tubes and its got the whole $15 all you can eat service, which is great for checking out new music. I think you college kids call that experimentation.

But I know that deep down that the real reason I picked the Zune, and I suspect this is true for Tycho too, is because I hold out hopes that one day Microsoft is going to announce some crazy, amazing connectivity between it and the Xbox 360. Like maybe it will let me use Live Anywhere and I can use it to track my Rainbow Six Vegas stats or stream video from the Live Store.

I actually pestered Microsoft about this prior to making my decision, haranguing them mercilessly until they finally capitulated with a "I'm sure that's possible one day."

I'm curious if a bulk of Zune owners also happen to have an Xbox 360. I can't imagine I'm the only one investing my loved-ones money on the potential of consumer electronics. Brian Crecente

Penny Arcade

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