Microsoft disables OEM Windows product keys

Microsoft is changing its activation policy for new copies of Windows XP. From the 28th of February Microsoft plans to disable internet activation for XP product keys printed on the Certificates of Authority (CoA) labels from the world's top 20 OEMS. The move should not affect most customers who have Windows XP preinstalled on their machines and have the copy of the operating system already activated or those who buy a boxed copy of Windows through retail. ...more

MP3.com artists hit

For quite a few years, amateur musicians have been able to sign up to MP3.com and take part in their Payback for Playback scheme and actually get paid for people listening to their music. This service is free, but that is all going to change. ...more

Play an online book

Everyone likes a good old fashioned role-playing game (RPG) but Digital Tome has gone one step further by releasing its RPG series, The Siege of Avalon, as a series of interlocked chapters. You can download the first chapter for free from its site, and the company plans to publish a further five chapters. The second chapter is already out and can be purchased from the site for a mere $9. ...more

Microsoft puts $250,000 on the head of MyDoom.B author

Microsoft has added $250,000 to the MyDoom bounty pot, this time for the B version. The lastest version of MyDoom is primed to launch a DDOS attack on www.microsoft. ...more

Microsoft releases installation software under an open source licence

Microsoft has followed up its surprise settlement with Sun, with another rather unexpected development - it is releasing some of its software under an open source licence. Specifically, the Common Public Licence. The code in question is its Windows Installer XML (WiX) software - pronounced 'wicks' - which is a command line toolset for simplifying build processes using MSI, the Windows Installer service. ...more