Ed Oswald

Microsoft launched its highly anticipated Zune portable device on Tuesday, saying the goal was not to create another digital music player but a whole new experience altogether. The company has focused on making Zune a social experience.

Thus the reasoning for the products slogan "Welcome to the Social," and why the Xbox team was responsible for creating it. Microsoft wanted to carry the video experience into a digital media device, where entertainment is both connected and shared.

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TiVo will announce Tuesday that it is expanding the capabilities of its set-top DVR boxes to allow users to download video from the Internet and then watch it on their television sets. New functionality to be added to the TiVo Desktop software would both convert and organize the videos.

Although a free upgrade for existing users of the software, new users would be charged $24.95 USD. It was not immediately clear whether the service would be also provided for the Macintosh version of the TiVo Desktop application.

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Nintendo announced its marketing plans for the next-generation Wii console Monday, saying it would focus on the console's wide cross-generational appeal in its advertising. Nintendo aims to position the Wii as the only new game system that all members of a household can enjoy.

"Wii introduces new ways to play to expand both the appeal of games and the audience of gamers, and our marketing campaign is central to that," remarked Nintendo America marking vice president George Harrison.

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Having been left behind in the search and portal race, Internet stalwart Lycos now plans to reinvigorate the brand by turning itself into a broadband Internet video network with a social networking twist. The new service, called Lycos Cinema, is said to be the first to combine the two popular Web 2.0 services.

Online video sites like YouTube and social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have become media darlings in the middle of this decade, with two of them fetching significant sums of money. YouTube sold to Google for $1.65 billion, while MySpace was bought by News Corp. for $580 million.

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Hoping to increase usage of the programming language, Sun said Monday that it would be using the GNU General Public License (GPL) to open source the Java platform. Beginning today, source code would be available for both the Standard (Java SE) and Micro (Java ME) editions.

Additionally, the GPL would be added to the Enterprise edition (Java EE), which had already been made available by Sun through the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) for over a year. The moves will make Java easier to bundle with Linux, say Sun executives.

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Supplies of the PlayStation 3 are all but gone after retailers blew through their inventory in under a week, Japanese gaming magazine Enterbrain reported. 88,400 units were sold over the weekend, nearly all of the 100,000 units initially available.

It could be awhile before new consoles make it into the region as Sony prepares for a wider North American launch. There, the company hopes to have as many as 400,000 units available, which will likely sell almost as fast when the PS3 debuts November 17.

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Microsoft on Friday launched what it bills as a social networking site for IT professionals, called Aggreg8. The company aims for the site to become a MySpace-like forum for developers to share scripts, tools, or best practices, or even to just connect with others within the profession.

"Aggreg8 is a site for IT Pros to mix-n-mingle," Kevin Remde, an IT Pro evangelist for Microsoft, wrote in a blog post announcing the service. "You can setup a profile, join groups, enter posts, add favorites, share content, mix, mingle, and learn."

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NEWS ROUNDUP When the Zune arrives next Tuesday, Microsoft was hoping to make a big splash. However, it won't be getting any help from the technology media, which have for the most part passed over the so-called "iPod killer" in lackluster reviews.

The bad news begins with the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, who called the Zune's hardware "rushed and incomplete." He pointed to both the fairly significantly larger size and poor battery life. He also notes that the larger screen doesn't mean better resolution than the iPod - just a bigger picture.

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In a case that could have serious implications for future music piracy lawsuits, a New York District Judge ruled Thursday that a defendant's motion to argue the current statutory damage structure used in the case is unconstitutional may go forward.

Universal Music Group and several other labels are suing Brooklyn, New York resident Marie Lindor, and are attempting to collect a $750 per-song penalty. However, Lindor's attorneys argue that the demand is excessive.

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Although Google is not disclosing the origin of the suit, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week indicates that its Google Video service is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit. It also admitted the YouTube acquisition may lead to additional liabilities.

"Certain entities have also filed copyright claims against us, alleging that features of certain of our products, including Google Web Search, Google News, Google Video, Google Image Search, and Google Book Search, infringe their rights," it said in the filing.

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Microsoft is betting on Brazil as being key to boosting its Latin American sales of the Xbox 360 entertainment device, saying Thursday it plans to begin selling the consoles in the country next week. While Brazil ranks 15th in console sales, no manufacturer sells directly in the country.

Brazil is the fourth Latin American country to see the Xbox 360, behind Mexico, Chile and Colombia where the console has been on sale since earlier this year. Analysts believe there is a market for as many as 11 million consoles in the country.

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Yahoo said Thursday that it plans to integrate a Web-based version of its instant messaging program into the next beta of its Yahoo Mail Web application. The new client, which uses AJAX technology, is expected to debut early next year.

Google has already integrated Google Talk into Gmail, however they use separate interfaces. Yahoo's implementation would combine the two into a single interface, executives say. The move is aimed at improving the user experience.

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Helio on Thursday unveiled its first GPS-enabled phone, which would allow users to track their location, or the location of their friends via a Samsung-produced handset and Google maps. The phone, called the "Drift," is available immediately from the company and its partners.

GPS services have become quite popular in recent months. Both Verizon and Sprint offer their own applications, and other carriers are said to be working on similar solutions. However, Helio seems to be taking a much more personal approach with its offering.

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VoIP provider Skype released a new beta to its users on Wednesday, adding click-to-call functionality aimed at increasing its use in e-commerce applications. The company also plans to add additional features aimed at generating revenue from the free service.

Skype 3.0 would bring to fruition the online business functionality that eBay alluded to when it purchased the company last year. Many questioned the move, saying the price the auction site paid was well above its worth.

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"It's time!" And with that simple blog post, Windows head Jim Allchin has heralded the arrival of Windows Vista. Microsoft said Wednesday that it has released the next-generation operating system to manufacturing, capping a more than five-year development effort.

Volume license customers will get their hands on the final release -- build number 6000 -- this month, while the public launch of Vista is scheduled for January 30, 2007. The release to manufacturing of Vista will allow PC and device makers as well as developers finalize work on hardware and software in preparation for its formal debut.

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