You asked for it, and we listened. Beginning next week when we roll out our new software, services and devices, your listening badges will be permanent. Plus, we've redesigned the icons, and I have to say, they're really cool! When we first launched the badge concept, we decided they'd be earned based on a rolling 28-day cycle - which meant that if your listening habits changed, you'd lose some badges and earn others. The idea was that the badges could serve as a snapshot of your...

One of the most passionately debated issues amongst people on the Social team in Zune is whether users should be allowed to hide plays. Right now, it’s not possible. We know that you played that Britney Spears song in between your plays of Tokyo Police Club * cough* Cesar *cough* and if you’ve got your plays set to share with the community (or even just your friends), other people know, too. Every so often, someone brings it back up. Should we let users edit their play data? On the “yes” side are...

I have to confess, I didn’t get the whole “badge” thing at first. I’m not a gamer. When I look at my Xbox profile, I see that I’ve played nine games. I think what that actually means is my son has played nine games on my Xbox Live account. And then we got Rock Band, and everything changed. Suddenly, I started telling my kid to play on his own account, not mine. I didn’t want him (he’s WAY better than me; plays on expert on guitar, drums, and bass) to get achievements on my behalf. I kind of lost...

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve got a special background on my Zune profile page…and that when you add me as a friend, I accept right away. Well, I wish I were that quick to respond! But actually, what you’re seeing is our one-way friends feature. As many of you as want to can add me – but I don’t have access to any of your personal information or play data. (You can add Cesar too, but we’re in a race for the most one-way friends…and I’m winning, so please help me keep it that way.) This was...