175

Again, I have been bitten by DRM. I have stopped buying DRM, and now I have more songs I have to go re-download to replace the DRMed files and not pay for it as I already did. Microsoft to end support for MSN Music DRM By Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews April 23, 2008, 3:09 PM As of August 31 of this year, Microsoft’s “Plays for Sure” technology — once codenamed Janus — will no longer play for sure — unless, that is, users play back the tunes on the same computers and OS forever. In a move that’s come under concerted … Continue reading BetaNews | Microsoft to end support for MSN Music DRM

  Best Buy Loses Laptop: Owner Sues… for $54 Million Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:33PM EST Don’t dismiss Raelyn Campbell as a crackpot. Not yet. Listen to her story, and then decide if she’s doing the right thing by asking Best Buy to compensate her to the tune of $54 million for a laptop that went missing when she took it in to Best Buy for repair under the store’s own extended warranty. Best Buy Loses Laptop: Owner Sues… for $54 Million : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech

  Microsoft Proposes Acquisition of Yahoo! for $31 per Share Transaction valued at approximately $44.6 billion in cash and stock; provides 62 percent premium to current trading price for Yahoo! shareholders; combined entity to create a more competitive company, providing superior value to shareholders, better choice and innovation for customers and partners Microsoft Proposes Acquisition of Yahoo! for $31 per Share

  Windows Vista successor scheduled for a H2 2009 release?Business and Law By Wolfgang Gruener Wednesday, January 16, 2008 12:28 Chicago (IL) – Several industry sources have confirmed to TG Daily that a very early version of Windows 7, previously code-named Blackcomb Vienna, already has been shipped to “key partners” as a “Milestone 1” (M1) code drop for validation purposes. A roadmap received by TG Daily indicates that the new operating system will be introduced in the second half of 2009. TG Daily – Windows Vista successor scheduled for a H2 2009 release?

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews December 28, 2007, 12:10 PM The retailer decided to silently walk away from its planned video download service after HP ended its participation. BetaNews | Loss of HP puts end to Wal-Mart’s video download store   Look, another video service going down and once your computer crash’s or you format, your videos are lost forever. Your stuck with multi-gig files (from backup) with no key to run it.

  A service originally designed to compel unpaid Vista users to obtain genuine licenses is apparently being scrapped in Service Pack 1, to be replaced with a more “in-your-face” approach. BetaNews | Vista SP1 to replace ‘Reduced Functionality’ with nagware

  The Hidden Costs of Cheap PCs – Columns by PC Magazine

  Microsoft Gets Patent for Automated Privacy Updates Courtesy of Information Week Microsoft has received a patent for a system that automatically notifies users of its software when there is a change to their application’s privacy policies Microsoft Gets Patent for Automated Privacy Updates – Host security – Dark Reading

  Microsoft: Patch Tuesday Didn’t Cause Thursday Skype Outage By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews August 21, 2007, 12:32 PM Yesterday afternoon, Microsoft’s security engineers formally ruled out the possibility of its regular monthly “Patch Tuesday” update sequence as having triggered a worldwide outage of Skype VoIP communication service on Thursday, which lasted for about two days. BetaNews | Microsoft: Patch Tuesday Didn’t Cause Thursday Skype Outage

  MTV Kills URGE, Joins Real on Rhapsody By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews August 20, 2007, 9:47 PM MTV Networks is set to announce a joint venture Tuesday morning, which will tie the company’s digital music offerings with RealNetworks’ Rhapsody service. In turn, MTV will abandon its URGE service that was launched with Microsoft, but largely ignored after the debut of the Zune player and Zune Marketplace. BetaNews | MTV Kills URGE, Joins Real on Rhapsody   I never cared for Rhapsody software or the company or Real Player (Buggy, bloated and tries to take over your PC). I will continue to … Continue reading BetaNews | MTV Kills URGE, Joins Real on Rhapsody