You know what sucks is how Microsoft won't let you use a third-party program to manage the Zune. What is the deal with that?
Apple has been doing the the same thing with the iPod since the thing came out. The media players that support the iPod now certainly didn't get that type of support through any help of Apple.
In a way it's a method of keeping the devices locked up. On one hand, it prevents possible damage from being caused by third-party software and provides a device-centric interface. On the other hand, if the program sucks (and, in my exceedingly humble opinion, iTunes is a pile of garbage and the Zune software is a bastard child of that and WMP11, taking WMP's interface and mixing it with iTunes' sheer sluggishness and bloatiness) you're basically boned.
What I can't believe is that the Zune software is as bad as it is. It was supposedly based off of Windows Media Player 11, but the odd part is that WMP11 is actually
good, unlike the Zune software. The question that you really should be asking is why you can't manage the Zune with WMP11 (which, oddly enough, handles many other brands of portable media players without a hitch).