Microsoft Content Ads To Challenge Google Adsense?

Microsoft is trialling a competitor to Google's context sensitive Adsense text-based advertising programme.
Called Content Ads, the service promises advertisers the ability to target text-based adverts at specific content.
The service will initially launch on Microsoft's websites, such as MSN Money or MSN Real Estate, but could include external sites, making it a competitor to Adsense.

Full Story: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2163170/microsoft-muscles-google-ads

Dell Battery Recall

In cooperation with the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory agencies worldwide, Dell has announced the voluntary recall of approximately 4.1 million Dell-branded lithium-ion batteries with cells manufactured by Sony.
Under rare conditions, it is possible for these batteries to overheat, which could cause a risk of fire.

Full Story: http://www.ameinfo.com/94008.html

New Xbox Game Development Platform

A new game development platform from Microsoft allows anyone to create games for its Xbox 360 console, the company said on Monday.
Typically, console games are designed by large studios that must pay high prices to buy development kits in order to write games for consoles. Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio Express is a new development kit, to be released in beta form in August, that will be available for free to anyone using a Windows XP PC. The kit is designed for game developer novices as well as studios, Microsoft said.
Users will have the option of joining a developers group for US$99 per year in which they can share and test their games with other designers and access information that could help them speed up the development process.

Full Story: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/08/14
/xbox/index.php

Vista Upgrade Coupon Rumors

Unusual patterns in demand for motherboards lend weight to reports that well-known PC vendors will ship computers with free upgrade coupons for the Windows Vista OS in the fourth quarter, say analysts. But the truth remains elusive.
History also supports the claims, since Microsoft and some PC vendors have offered such vouchers in the past ahead of major software or OS upgrades. For example, when Windows XP came out, eMachines offered consumers a coupon for a free upgrade to the OS if they bought a compatible desktop ahead of the launch. That was in 2001.
A few years earlier, Microsoft gave out a "technological guarantee" coupon for a free upgrade to Office 97 to purchasers of its Office for Windows 95 shipped during the third quarter of its fiscal 1997.
Behind the Vista coupon rumors is a fear in the PC industry that users might put off buying a new computer until Vista comes out next year. Ever since Microsoft announced there would be a delay in shipping the OS, the PC industry has sought ideas on how to keep demand for new computers from flagging in the last few months of this year, the important holiday buying season.

Full Story: http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=23813

Live Spaces Is Live At Last!

THE NEW version of MSN Spaces from Microsoft – Windows Live Spaces – is now active. And it's designed to seamlessly interwork with other Live services such as Live Mail (the old Hotmail) and Live Messenger.
One of the greatest benefits for Hotmail fans will be that you can share the same addressbook – Live Contacts – between your IM service (Messenger); your web mail (Live Mail); and your personal blog (Live Spaces).
That makes it much easier to add security to an online blog since Live Spaces can let its users specify who can contact them, who can see their profile and who can view the contents of their blog site.

Try Live Spaces: http://spaces.live.com/
Full Story: http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33416

Vista Upgrade Path Info

With Windows Vista nearing its first release candidate in preparation for a final launch early next year, Microsoft is providing more details about possible upgrade paths. Of note: Windows 2000 cannot be upgraded to Vista.

While Windows 2000 Professional customers may purchase a cheaper "upgrade" copy of Microsoft next-generation operating system, Windows Vista must be "clean installed," which means users will need to back up their files and data manually and then copy everything into place. Applications will also need to be re-installed.

Windows XP Professional, meanwhile, can be upgraded only to the Business and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. This is due to features built into XP Pro not being added to the Home Basic and Home Premium SKUs of Vista.
"If the edition of Windows Vista that you choose to install will result in a loss of functionality over your current edition of Windows, a clean install must be done or the installation must be completed to a new partition on your PC," Microsoft says.

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icle/Microsoft_Details_Vista_Upgrade_Paths/1154373523