Microsoft's Bungie Studios has put the call out for beta testers of the next installment of the Halo game series for the Xbox 360 console, set to offer for the first time a multiplayer aspect of the game through Xbox Live. Halo 3 is slated to come out in 2007, and Microsoft says it is offering the beta to allow gamers to become part of the development process. Feedback received would be used to refine the final product, it said.

Those interested can sign up through the Halo 3 Web site. It is open to North American gamers with an Xbox 360 and hard drive, and an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Additionally, gamers must be 17 years or older. Microsoft plans to eventually offer the beta in Europe, and it advised gamers there to watch their local Xbox sites for more details.

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Contrary to what Microsoft calls "alarmist news stories," the company is continuing to work towards providing Open XML format converters within the Mac version of Office, although their release is not expected until Spring 2007.

Microsoft first announced that it would be providing the converters at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference this year. It said that the delay mainly had to do with a need to wait for the finished Office 2007 product, as well as the completion of the file format itself.

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It has finally come, though the timing might be awkward: Yahoo announced late Tuesday night a sweeping corporate reorganization, one effect of which will be the unceremonious dumping of its once ambitious Media Group project, and the former head of ABC Television along with it.

UPDATED 10:00 am December 6, 2006: MediaWeek reported late yesterday, just prior to the news of Yahoo's reorganization, that it is cutting ties to one of its media partners, Current TV. The two companies had been working together since March on building a YouTube-like video sharing destination, though outgoing Media Group head Lloyd Braun was personally involved with that project. A Yahoo statement to MediaWeek indicates that Current TV is expected to continue pursuing its video portal on its own.

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AMD said it would be integrating strained silicon engineering processes -- stretching the atomic latticework of the semiconductor's silicon layer by attaching it to silicon germanium -- along with its silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology, with the goal of producing the lowest power 65 nm processors in just 18 months' time. At least that was the goal, when AMD made that announcement in June 2003.

Today, the company that last year held the triple-crown of price, performance, and power-saving leader, announced that the 65nm fabrication transition is now underway. AMD's goal is to fully convert its Dresden, Germany, fabrication facility to 100% 65 nm by the middle of next year, with the first 65nm Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors due in the first quarter.

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Adobe on Tuesday released version 8 of its free Reader product for PDF files, which most notably adds collaboration features through a new "Start Meeting" button. Adobe has also redesigned Reader's interface and added a loupe for zooming in on specific areas of a document.

Other features in Reader 8 include integration with Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server and the new Adobe Online Services Document Center, which enables users to digitally sign PDF files. Adobe has even built in a basic RSS reader into version 8, along with new review and markup tools. The full version of Adobe Acrobat 8 went on sale in November. Adobe Reader 8 is available for download for Windows XP and Vista, with a separate version for Windows 2000.

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Perhaps the name was getting a bit too long, but beginning with the next revision of the EV-DO data standard the technology will be referred to by the acronym "UMB," short for Ultra Mobile Broadband.

Otherwise known as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision C, UMB promises data rates of as much as 280Mbps downstream in mobile environments. The application of the technology is still quite a ways off; the UMB standard will not be completed until next year, with commercial availability by 2009.

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In an effort to curb use of the site by sex offenders, MySpace plans to introduce technology that would identify and block those attempting to use its social networking service.

While not common, criminals have used the site to solicit sex from underage members. Along with copyright issues, the protection of users from such activity is the highest priorities for the company as it looks to continue its rapid rate of growth.

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A Japanese entertainment group is not happy with YouTube's progress in weeding out copyrighted content, and is asking the social video site to implement stricter policies on video uploads.

The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (Jasrac) expressed its concerns in a letter addressed to YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. In it, the group said that problems with the posting of copyrighted content persist, and the current system "is not functioning well."

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In an obvious attempt to attract its rival's customers to its own online movie rental service, Blockbuster will let Netflix subscribers with a Blockbuster membership rent movies from its stores for free through December 21. The Netflix member would have to exchange the tear off address flaps from their envelopes to receive the movie, the company says.

While in the store, it's fairly likely Blockbuster will use the opportunity to promote the new Total Access feature of its own online rental service launched in November. Subscribers are now able to return their movies in-store in exchange for free rentals. Blockbuster Online needs all the help it can get to attract customers - its 1.5 million users trail Netflix's 5.7 million subscribers.

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Last Sunday, network equipment giant Qualcomm made an announcement with a one-two punch: It's acquiring leading WiFi engineering firm Airgo Networks, and it will be marketing Airgo's upcoming "802.11n Draft 2.0-compliant" chipset. Airgo was striking out on its own; now it has a huge backer behind it, in what promises to be a fierce battle with Intel for the mobile wireless broadband platform turf.

It's still a month before CES 2007, but a fresh set of battle lines is already being drawn in the critical high-speed wireless networking market. With Qualcomm's announcement on Sunday that it's acquiring Airgo Networks, perhaps the earliest producer of MIMO multiple-antenna 802.11g equipment in the business, it's positioning itself squarely against Intel, the lead architect and champion of WiMAX technology, in a showdown that could determine which will hold title to the mobile connectivity platform that succeeds today's Centrino.

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Toshiba said Tuesday that it would begin shipping a 100GB 1.8-inch hard drive in January of next year, leading to speculation that the timing may have something to do with a new iPod that may be launched at the MacWorld 2007 Expo in January. Toshiba's new drive is the same physical size as what is used in the current crop of iPods, although in 30GB and 80GB capacities.

Rumors have surfaced in the past month of a touch-screen iPod model to be announced at the show. The unit is expected to sport a 3.5-inch display, and would be the first major upgrade to the iPod platform in over a year.

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Sony debuted its title download service for the PlayStation Portable game system Tuesday, initially offering five classic PlayStation titles.

Each title will sell for $5.99 USD, and can be accessed through the PlayStation 3 console. From there, the user will need to connect his or her PSP to transfer the emulated game. Plans call for games to be added on a regular basis.

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For nine days, Kati Kim -- the wife of CNET senior editor James Kim -- kept her four-year-old and seven-month-old daughters alive and safe, burning their station wagon's tires for warmth, while their husband set out on foot for help. They were all apparently far from general cell phone range in the woods of western Oregon, where they encountered car trouble, taking the long way home to California.

At mid-afternoon today, the three were evacuated to a nearby hospital, where they are listed in good condition. Now, police are on the trail of their husband, according to a statement from the family Web site, with the aid of night-vision and infrared cameras that found his footprints leading from the vehicle.

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There will be a new motherboard provider emerging this Thursday, complete with the brand name of one of the most respected suppliers in the industry. Gigabyte United officially comes online on December 7, as the joint venture of two of the enthusiast segment's most revered brands, Gigabyte and AsusTek.

The new name made the enthusiast press treat the news initially as a merger agreement, with Gigabyte the 51% controlling entity. But in an interview published over the weekend by the Indian technology supplier news provider DQ Channels, one of the new company's key marketing managers made it quite clear the two companies are not merging.

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An issue with how QuickTime handles JavaScript in conjunction with a MySpace vulnerability is spreading through the popular social networking site, security firm Websense reports.

The video and the associated script will change links within the infected user's profile to links to phishing sites. In addition, it places itself on the profile in order to infect others. Viewing the video on another's MySpace profile would infect the viewers own, the firm said.

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