So my wife had a thought about the Zune lockup problem: this was a leap year. Was it malware with an author who didn't realize that it was a leap year?

Update: Not malware, but a leap year related bug. PCWorld has the Microsoft statement:

"Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year.

So the fix:

"That being the case, the issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on.

I see a potential problem though: like the iPod, the Zune battery is not user serviceable. In the "bricked" state, how long will the battery last? Will it actually run out in the course of a day, or will it sit there in a nearly sleep state, taking days to run down?

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