Beyond Binary

Microsoft has been investing in interactive TV for more than a decade, but as of this month, the company can finally say it has a million customers.

Right now, there about 1 million set-top boxes running Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV software. In the coming weeks, Microsoft said it expects to also have more than 1 million homes using its software. (The difference between homes and set-top boxes stems from the fact that some customers have more than one set-top box).

There are a lot of reasons why unit CTO Peter Barrett expects the IPTV effort to start paying off even … Read more

The entire technology world is preparing to descend on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, but many of those in the San Francisco Bay Area are finding it slow going.

The entire Beyond Binary staff (yes, that is just me), is among those who have been hanging out at San Francisco International Airport amid weather-related flight delays. My flight is now running three hours late, but, like all good CES-goers. I have plenty of gadgets to keep me occupied.

My laptop and Sprint EV-DO card are letting me blog, while a video iPod has a season of Weeds and … Read more

Microsoft now faces a lawsuit over recent problems with its Xbox Live online gaming service.

Three Texas residents filed a lawsuit Friday on behalf of themselves and others who have had trouble connecting to Xbox Live in recent weeks.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Houston, claims Microsoft's outages represent a breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation for which the software maker is liable. The suit doesn't claim specific damages, but notes the amount is in excess of $5 million.

In the suit, the plaintiffs allege that Microsoft should have known strong holiday sales would … Read more

Microsoft has largely succeeded in getting a PC into the home, but its effort to put a server there will be an uphill battle.

Bill Gates announced the product to much fanfare at last year's Consumer Electronics Show. However, even folks who are bullish on the concept, such as Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder, say it's destined to be a niche product for years to come.

In a soon-to-be-published research report, Gownder figures that home servers (not just those running Microsoft's home server product) will reach 4.5 million households by 2012. That's up from … Read more

Microsoft has been trying to work its way into the living room for some time. Now the company is trying to target the most easily wooed addresses: those belonging to its employees.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an interesting write-up on how Microsoft is letting some of its workers try out elaborate digital living room set-ups to get a better sense of how its technology plays inside actual homes.

It's a start. But, of course, how Microsoft workers enjoy their own technology is often vastly different than how ordinary consumers do.

Microsoft also does plenty of field testing of its … Read more

Aiming to draw some attention to a redesign of its Web site, NBC plans to broadcast its evening newscast from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday.

While he will probably be able to avoid the long cab lines, anchor Brian Williams will brave the CES crowds to do NBC Nightly News live from the show floor. It will first air at 3:30 p.m. PST--evening for the East Coast audience.

In part, NBC is hoping to parlay the unusual locale into some attention for the NBC Nightly News Web site, which is getting a makeover. "… Read more

It's not the company's main focus these days, but Microsoft does still offer a paid service called MSN Premium, which offering services like a phishing filter and parental controls.

The thing is, most of the product's "premium" features are available for free in some form via Windows, Windows Live, or both.

Enthusiast site Windows Secrets thought it was time to point this fact out to the people who are paying Microsoft as much as $10 a month for MSN Premium. Of the 21 features Microsoft touts, Windows Secrets figures only one or two aren't … Read more

Carl Yankowski, who piloted Palm during the peak of the PDA boom, was tapped Wednesday to head Ambient Devices, a company that embeds wireless data into everyday products.

Yankowski, who was also president of Sony Electronics and CEO of Reebok in the 1990s, replaces David L. Rose, one of the company's co-founders, who is leaving "to pursue other interests."

Ambient's products include a $125 umbrella that lights up when rain is in the forecast, as well as displays that can show weather forecasts or sports scores.

The company was launched in 2001 to help commercialize technology … Read more

Vonage and AT&T said late Friday that they have finalized the settlement of a dispute between the companies.

In one of the shortest press releases in recent memory, the companies said "Vonage and AT&T have entered into a definitive agreement to settle their patent dispute, the companies announced today. The companies had agreed in principle to a settlement on November 7."

Well, there you have it.

AT&T had sued the Internet phone company, alleging patent infringement. In recent months, Vonage settled a patent dispute with Verizon, in a deal worth up to $120 million, … Read more