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Confirmed: Microsoft Gives Up On MSN Groups, Hands It Off To Multiply
,----[ Quote ]
| The rumor was originally reported earlier today after a series of emails were
| posted to a MSN Discussion newsgroup, and has since been confirmed by both
| Multiply and Microsoft through a blog post.
`----
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/15/AR2008101503025.html
Another one for the Microsoft graveyard.
Recent:
Microsoft to ditch MSN Groups?
,----[ Quot ]
| An e-mail snafu has led to the leak of Microsoft's decision to shutter its
| MSN Groups service, according to LiveSide.net.
`----
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10067137-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Microsoft Slaps PC Gamers, Decides to Close Ensemble Studios
,----[ Quote ]
| Despite its legacy of producing some of the very finest strategy games with
| its Age of Empire and Age of Mythology series, Microsoft decided that it
| would be financially disadvantageous to continue to operate the wholly-owned
| Ensemble Studios.
`----
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-ensemble-halo-age-empires,6343.html
Microsoft shuts down Ensemble Studios
http://www.techspot.com/news/31575-microsoft-shuts-down-ensemble-studios.html
Microsoft Burns Down Book Search
,----[ Quote ]
| Citing poor demand, Microsoft will back away from scanning and indexing books
| and academic works for Live Search
`----
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/05/23/microsoft-burns-down-book-search
EFF: Microsoft betrayed MSN Music customers
,----[ Quote ]
| The Electronic Frontier Foundation says that Microsoft has "betrayed" MSN
| Music customers and wants the company to make things right by issuing an
| apology, refunds, and eliminate digital rights management technology from the
| Zune music player.
`----
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9931304-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
MSN Music Debacle Highlights EULA Dangers
,----[ Quote ]
| MSN Music’s EULA is a case in point. When active, MSN Music's webpage touted
| that customers could “choose their device and know its going to work”.
|
| But when customers went to purchase songs, they were shown legalese that
| stated the download service and the content provided were sold without
| warrantee. In other words, Microsoft doesn't promise you that the service or
| the music will work, or that you will always have access to music you bought.
| The flashy advertising promised your music, your way, but the fine print
| said, our way or the highway.
`----
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/msn-music-debacle-highlights-eula-dangers
When DRM detonates your music collection
,----[ Quote ]
| It is all down to the digital rights management (DRM) software that Microsoft
| has embedded in all its music downloads to combat illegal file-sharing. For
| DRM to work it needs a central computer to keep a live record of who has
| registered which songs to which computers. The problem is that the main
| server is now being turned off as the company wants to sell downloads with a
| new type of DRM. How odd that the old system was marketed as PlaysForSure.
`----
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article3898784.ece
Will the Xbox 360 survive past Christmas?
,----[ Quote ]
| The red rings of death issue simply refuses to go away for Microsoft, and no
| matter how much it reduces the cost and extends the warranty one simple
| question remains: will the Xbox 360 ever be fit for purpose?
`----
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/21017/1063/
The Xbox 360 is dead
,----[ Quote ]
| According to a report, if some Australian retailers had their way, the Xbox
| 360 would be dumped from their shelves.
`----
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/17494/1093/
In-depth exposé reveals Microsoft’s Xbox 360 failure rate was 68%
,----[ Quote ]
| The dreaded high failure rate issue with the Xbox 360, otherwise known as the
| Red Ring of Death, has received some in-depth coverage. We are talking about
| some serious coverage here with insider interviews with the original
| engineers that worked on the Xbox 360 all the way up to the high ranks of
| Microsoft.
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft’s attitude of “release now and patch later” with the Xbox 360 has
| ended up costing billions of dollars as well as leaving many gamers angry. It
| is also speculated the reason for Microsoft’s decline in worldwide sales is
| directly attributed to the Red Ring of Death issue.
`----
http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/09/06/in-depth-expos-reveals-microsofts-xbox-360-failure-rate-was-68/
Report: Xbox 360 Failure Rate Was as High as 68%
,----[ Quote ]
| Dean Takahashi has published an incredible report that finally goes into
| great detail on Microsoft's RROD hardware saga.
`----
http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/report-xbox-360-failure-rate-was-as-high-as-68/?biz=1
Microsoft fires quality assurance whistle-blower
,----[ Quote ]
| A VOLISH QA who exposed shonky production practices during the Red Ring of
| Death fiasco has been fired.
|
| Robert Delaware talked to Venturebeat on the Xbox 360 defects and might face
| litigation, presumably for violating a non-disclosure agreement.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/15/microsoft-fires-whistle-blowing
Microsoft Fires Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death Whistleblower
http://www.dailytech.com/Microsoft+Fires+Xbox+360+Red+Ring+of+Death+Whistleblower/article12946.htm
Microsoft fires Xbox 360 whistleblower
http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/207107/microsoft-fires-xbox-360-whistleblower/
Microsoft sacks Xbox 360 whistleblower
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?blogid=4&entryid=104412
Microsoft sacks 360 whistleblower
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/31761/Microsoft-sacks-360-whistleblower
Microsoft Has Robert Delaware Dismissed for Comments on 360 Defects
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3169909
Microsoft tester fired after talking about Xbox 360 defects
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080915-microsoft-tester-fired-after-talking-about-xbox-360-defects.html
Microsoft fires whistleblowing employee
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=238485
Microsoft Fires Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death Whistleblower, May File Lawsuit
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/54723
Mayhem for Microsoft over £500m bill for Xbox 360 red ring of death
,----[ Quote ]
| Computer giants Microsoft are facing a £500million repair bill after their
| Xbox Elite consoles were hit by the notorious "red ring of death".
`----
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology/2008/07/07/mayhem-for-microsoft-over-500m-bill-for-xbox-360-red-ring-of-death-89520-20634695/
PS3 tops Xbox 360 in May game console sales
,----[ Quote ]
| Nintendo's Wii remains atop the monthly sales race in the U.S. video-game
| console market, but Sony's Playstation 3 beat Microsoft's Xbox 360 in May
| unit sales released by the NPD Group research firm today. Here's how the
| three consoles stacked up:
|
| Nintendo Wii: 675,100
| PlayStation 3: 208,700
| Xbox 360: 186,600
|
| [comment:]
|
| Guess the "inventory" excuse is now out. So maybe this explains why MSFT
| reshuffled management this week.
`----
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/141060.asp
Microsoft Xbox Executive out Amid Reshuffling
,----[ Quote ]
| Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for Microsoft's
| Interactive Entertainment Business, is leaving the company at the end of the
| summer to pursue other interests after only two years at the company,
| Microsoft said Thursday. Summer in the U.S. typically means the months of
| June, July and August.
`----
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147044/microsoft_xbox_executive_out_amid_reshuffling.html
X-Box flops, Microsoft winds up ops in several cities
,----[ Quote ]
| It seems to be troubled days for Microsoft's X-Box as it seems the company is
| now winding up operations in several cities.
|
| [...]
|
| According to sources, the company has withdrawn from several Tier-I cities
| due to lackluster sales. Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division has also
| withdrawn the marketing budget for the current fiscal.
`----
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/x-box-flops-microsoft-windsopsseveral-cities/21/01/338381
Xbox 360 On The Skids Retailers Consider Dumping It
http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Industry/X7T4A4P6
MS showcases Red Ring of Death Xbox 360 at expo
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft executives will be a little red-faced today after an Xbox 360 on
| display at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco
| contracted the infamous ‘Red Ring of Death’ disease.
`----
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/19/red_ring_of_death_xbox_game_developers_conference/
Microsoft's own chip design blamed for Xbox 360 RRoD
,----[ Quote ]
| The Xbox 360's infamous Red Ring of Death problem was the price Microsoft
| paid for attempting to save money by designing its own graphics chip for the
| console rather than buy one off a specialist supplier, it has been claimed.
`----
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/11/ms_xbox_gp/
PS3 tops Xbox 360 for third straight month
,----[ Quote ]
| Sony sold 224,900 PlayStation 3 consoles in the United States in July,
| according to data released this afternoon by the NPD Group research firm.
| That put the PS3 ahead of the Xbox 360 in U.S. unit sales for the third
| straight month. Microsoft sold 204,800 of its consoles in the country in
| July, according to the NPD data.
`----
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/146182.asp?source=rss
Microsoft Needs Its Mojo Back
,----[ Quote ]
| Somewhere in the Silicon Valley, there's a Doctor Evil holding a test tube
| full of Microsoft Mojo. Unlike the golden age of the 1990s, Microsoft isn't
| generating excitement anymore. Sure, people still care what Microsoft does,
| but lately it's more like the industry knows the company is headed for a fall
| and is just rubbernecking to see the inevitable result.
|
| Problems are arriving on all fronts. Vista uptake in the enterprise just
| isn't happening; it's likely that many Vista licenses sold there are being
| downgraded to XP. Microsoft's plan to combine search forces with Yahoo hardly
| matters; at this point the both of them are plummeting against Google, which
| has nearly 70% share. The Zune music player is a minor nuisance to Apple's
| iPod. Sony just announced price cuts that are likely to push Microsoft into
| another round of XBox cuts, just as they were starting to eke out a profit.
| (Microsoft has lost about $7 billion on XBox since 2002.)
`----
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/07/microsofts_need.html
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