On the heels of the iPhone Nano launched late last week (we plan to post a video review of it tomorrow), Microsoft today began selling its new version of its media player, the Zune HD.

Having bought the Zune HD today, we expect to report on our first impressions later in the week. It’s most akin in appearance and functionality to Apple’s Touch player. It boasts a 3.3- inch touchscreen display, in a widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) shape, and the ability to output high-definition (720p) video to a TV set. Like the Nano, with its innovative pause function, the new Zune has a radio with a plus: the ability to receive HD Radio—the digital signals offered by many radio stations that typically add extra programming and display information on the song being played.

The Zune HD promises more interconnectivity with other Windows devices than past Zunes. Those predecessors could wirelessly share content with other Zunes (albeit with many restrictions), as well as wirelessly sync with PCs. The HD preerves the Wi-fi connection to PCs but drops the sharing between Zunes.

It also takes advantage of the integration of Zune Marketplace, Microsoft's less-bountiful counterpart to Apple's iTunes Store, with Xbox Live Marketplace, which serves the company’s gaming consoles. That supposedly allows you to download and begin viewing a movie on your console, and then transfer it to your Zune HD to continue viewing on the go.

On the heels of the iPhone Nano launched late last week (we plan to post a video review of it tomorrow), Microsoft today began selling its new version of its media player, the Zune HD.

Having bought the Zune HD today, we expect to report on our first impressions later in the week. It’s most akin in appearance and functionality to Apple’s Touch player. It boasts a 3.3- inch touchscreen display, in a widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) shape, and the ability to output high-definition (720p) video to a TV set. Like the Nano, with its innovative pause function, the new Zune has a radio with a plus: the ability to receive HD Radio—the digital signals offered by many radio stations that typically add extra programming and display information on the song being played.

The Zune HD promises more interconnectivity with other Windows devices than past Zunes. Those predecessors could wirelessly share content with other Zunes (albeit with many restrictions), as well as wirelessly sync with PCs. The HD preerves the Wi-fi connection to PCs but drops the sharing between Zunes.

It also takes advantage of the integration of Zune Marketplace, Microsoft's less-bountiful counterpart to Apple's iTunes Store, with Xbox Live Marketplace, which serves the company’s gaming consoles. That supposedly allows you to download and begin viewing a movie on your console, and then transfer it to your Zune HD to continue viewing on the go.

Dell has agreed to pay $4 million to the New York State Attorney General’s Office in a settlement of a 2007 lawsuit that charged the company with engaging in deceptive business practices, including discouraging consumers from obtaining on-site technical support and misleading them about no-interest financial promotions.

Also among the AG’s allegations were that Dell did not provide customers with the tech support they were entitled to under its warranties and service contracts, subjecting them to unreasonable waits on the phone and failing to return their calls.

Back in 2007, when the complaint was filed, we took a look at the specific charges relating to Dell’s tech support and found that our own survey results on the company’s support corroborated the allegations in the complaint.

Curious to see if Dell has improved its support practices since then, we checked our latest tech support survey results. We found some improvements, but some problems still remain. Here are the details:

Waiting on hold. Things are looking better here. In 2007, 32 percent of the respondents to our tech support survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, said they were on hold for an unreasonable amount of time. Our 2009 results say 25 percent of callers found themselves in telephone limbo for an unreasonably long period.

Numerous transfers to support staff. The status quo holds here, with about the same rate of complaints, roughly 30 percent, in 2007 and 2009.

Struggling through the automated phone system. No improvement here either, with approximately the same rate of complaints, roughly 20 percent, in 2007 and 2009.

E-mail assistance. E-mail help improved slightly. In 2007, 47 percent of respondents said Dell’s e-mail response to a tech-support question was not helpful. In 2009, that number was 43 percent.

Problem solving. Here, the picture was a bit more grim. In 2007, Dell was able to solve 64 percent of our respondents’ problems. By 2009, that number had dropped to 58 percent. But here’s the most sobering statistic of all: Our tech-support survey shows that Dell has been better than average at problem solving for laptop customers in our 2009 survey. Take a look at our complete tech-support survey results here (subscribers only).

Here is some of what Dell’s settlement requires:

The court directs Dell to inform consumers before they purchase an on-site service contract that remote telephone troubleshooting may be necessary before repairs are made. It also requires Dell to fulfill its warranty obligations within 30 days of the date it receives a claim from a consumer, and does not allow the company to tell its customers they are getting “next day service” unless service is actually provided, or a good-faith attempt is made, within that time.

The court decision also found that Dell misled consumers regarding promotional financing when it ran ads for no-interest deals that most did not qualify for, and instead offered financing at high interest rates. The settlement requires that Dell’s advertising let consumers know that most of those who apply for its financing promotions will not qualify for them.

If you believe you may be eligible for restitution in this case, you can file a claim at www.nyagdell.com, or call 800-771-7755 to obtain a claim form. —Donna Tapellini

Any computer clean-up plan should also include a backup strategy. In fact, backing up your computer is probably one of the most important things you can do, and it won’t cost you much at all.

We recommend three ways to back up your data. You can either buy an external hard drive, use a high-capacity flash drive, or set up a subscription with a low-cost online storage site. Here’s a quick look at each option. For more details, take a look at our Computer Backup System Buying Guide (available to subscribers).

External hard drive. Easy to install, an external hard drive usually requires a simple USB connection to your computer. With some, you may not even need software to get the backups running. They also don’t cost much, so you should be able to get a drive that meets your needs for $150 or less. Get a drive that’s at least the size of your current hard drive. If you get one smaller than that, make sure you weigh your future needs as well. Homes with more than one computer will need a networkable hard drive, which costs a bit more and is harder to set up, but a convenient way to share files across all your systems. The downside of an external drive: Most are not very portable.

USB flash drives. Tiny and convenient, USB flash drives have gotten large enough to serve as backup devices. Like external drives, they’re easy to set up, and may run backups without requiring extra software. A 32GB backup drive should cost between $150 and $200. Best of all, you can carry the drive around with you. But that portability can also be a danger, since flash drives are easy to lose or steal.

Online services. One worry with storing backups at home is the potential for theft, fire, or other catastrophic loss. Online storage provides an option outside your house, adding an extra layer of protection by storing your data in multiple locations. We looked at a few sites, and found that they’re easy to use but slow, especially during the initial backup. But you don’t have to worry about setting up any hardware, and you can access your data from any Internet connection. Costs vary, but two of those we reviewed were about $50 a year for unlimited backup.

Subscribers can check out our Guide to computer backup products for reviews on various data storage solutions. —Donna Tapellini

I have mentioned in past posts that we are in the pioneering days of digital television. Many of us have fiddled with antennas for the first time since the Sixties. Some have had fun, success, frustration and despair. That American ingenuity suppressed in most of us has come out after successfully conquering the antenna, and we’re ready to move on to more scientific endeavors.

Football. Yeah, that’s the ticket. The number one reason to buy a big ole HD screen. It’s nesting time. Grab a beverage and recline the chair and consume healthy snacks while yelling obsenities at the screen. My favorite Facebook status update quote this weekend was from Monty who said

“Jake, at this point why don’t you just try to set an NFL record for most interceptions thrown? If you are going to fail, fail magnificently.”

Well, maybe we can’t control everything on TV or anything our Government does, but we can make what’s there look magnificent! Now that most folks have the antenna peaked, and the leaves will soon begin falling by the bushel baskets full, it might be time to update that ole television.

I always hated the fact that the new Fall shows premiered the same time school started. I needed to be glued to the set to check out all the new stuff. But being a studious example of scholarly dedication it would be weeks before I saw anything much of the new stuff on TV. Or have I gotten that backwards and it was weeks before I buckled down to study? Memories get hazy after a few years.

Thing is, this is the season to look into a new display. Even if it’s just to watch a holiday classic, (While passing a pumpkin patch in Johnston County last evening, I commented on how sincere it looked and how cool it would be if the Great pumpkin stopped there. OMG! I said IF!)

What you can expect is to see things you never saw before. Even if it’s a classic 4:3 program, any new HDTV set will display details you may have never seen before. Even those passes that don’t quite make it to the right pair of hands. The stores seem to have lots of selections, so feel free to ask questions and they will be able to help pick the perfect set for your living room. And if not, there’s always the “Man that picture looks great” way to pick out a TV. I actually heard my Mom say she wanted one of those TV’s “you mount to the wall”! (No, “dedicated Son” does not make enough money to buy her a plasma like I would choose, but maybe big sis will).

So what kind of set do you choose? Affordable comes to my mind. I am not a fan of shiny reflective screens either. When the program goes to black, you will see your reflection and any lamps in your area may reveal your posture as a lump of flesh in a La-z-boy. So cheap, non-glossy, and good vibrant color. OK, maybe several HDMI inputs, S-video, fiber for audio, dual tunners, and the list of options goes on, but mostly it’s the picture you want to pay for. The sound and other inputs can be handled by your new surround sound receiver we talked about earlier.

Now, I have been typing in the “Man Cave” mode, except for the pumpkin comment, so what about the rest of the family? You have to share with them, you know! And like one person I know, who’s son really wanted a Playstation 3 and Dad really wanted a blue-ray player, cooperation does have merit. And perhaps you might find a little more control of that game with Madden instead of the NFL, but the Fall TV Season is upon us, so don’t fall into the game trap just yet. Have you heard Leno is coming to prime time at 10 PM right here on NBC 17? His show has always looked great in HD, and the audio has been top notch in 5.1 surround sound.

So get out to the stores and see what’s available. You may be surprised how inexpensive it is to get a really great looking picture!