Online services

Microsoft's IPTV crosses 1 million set-top mark

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

'NBC Nightly News' to broadcast from CES

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

Is MSN Premium a rip-off?

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

Microsoft, Viacom ink $500 million ad deal

As part of a wide-ranging deal announced Wednesday, Microsoft has licensed TV and movie content from Viacom, which in turn will let Redmond serve up ads on its U.S. Web sites.

The arrangement means that Viacom will use Microsoft's Atlas technology to deliver ads to those sites. Microsoft acquired Atlas as part of its $6 billion Aquantive purchase. Additionally, Microsoft will have the exclusive right to market Viacom's unsold display advertising space.

Microsoft, meanwhile, will be able to put shows from MTV and Comedy Central and movies from Paramount Pictures onto various products, such as MSN and … Read more

Bits from Beyond Binary--Dec. 12, 2007

Here's a collection of links from the "Stuff I'm reading" section. To see these as they post, come back to the Beyond Binary blog and check out the right-hand column. I recommend doing it ten times a day, but, the digest below is here for those that have other things to do:

Are Microsoft-served ads slowing down Web sites?--Blogger Long Zheng noticed that his recent visits to Digg had been slowed by ad requests to MSN. He did some more, well digging, and found that some other sites with MSN-served ads are also sluggish. (istartedsomething) … Read more

Microsoft acquires British mapping service

Microsoft said Wednesday that has scooped up Multimap, a United Kingdom-based mapping service.

The software maker didn't say how much it was paying for the online mapping company, but said the unit should help in the company's broader Virtual Earth and search efforts.

"Partnering with Microsoft gives us a world of new opportunities to build our mapping services into new technologies and applications," Multimap CEO Jeff Kelisky said in a statement. "As one of the world's foremost technology brands, Microsoft is in a position to bring even more value to the Multimap service and … Read more

Warning sounded over 'flirting robots'

Those entering online dating forums risk having more than their hearts stolen.

A program that can mimic online flirtation and then extract personal information from its unsuspecting conversation partners is making the rounds in Russian chat forums, according to security software firm PC Tools.

The artificial intelligence of CyberLover's automated chats is good enough that victims have a tough time distinguishing the "bot" from a real potential suitor, PC Tools said. The software can work quickly too, establishing up to 10 relationships in 30 minutes, PC Tools said. It compiles a report on every person it meets … Read more

Microsoft plans Russian data center

As if the Microsoft vs. Google battle didn't already resemble a game of Risk, the software giant announced plans to move into Irkutsk.

The software maker confirmed Monday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the regional Siberian government, but said that it is too soon to say whether Irkutsk will be the site of a planned data center in Russia.

"Though Microsoft Russia is working on potential data center construction in Russia, we are still far from final site selection," the software maker said in a statement.

Microsoft has been on a building spree … Read more

Town bans Net harassment following MySpace hoax

Amid continued outcry over the MySpace.com hoax that preceded a teenager's suicide, the town of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., has passed a law banning online harassment.

Although it's only a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail or a $500 fine, the law is specifically targeted at the kind of online attack that Meier faced in the days prior to her death last year.

"It is our hope that by supporting one of our own in Dardenne Prairie, we can do our part to ensure this type of harassing behavior never happens again, anywhere,&… Read more