Four of the leading technology companies in the world have come together to announce an agreement along with human rights groups for a working set of principles addressing freedom of expression and human rights.

Google, Microsoft, Vodafone and Yahoo along with the Berkman Center, Business for Social Responsibility, the Electric Frontier Foundation, Human Rights Watch and Reporters without Borders among others were all involved in the creating the code of conduct, which is designed to hold the participants responsible in these areas. There would still be a number of questions involved with this agreement, the largest of which is the deterrent to keep companies in line with the agreement.

This agreement comes after multiple technology companies being scrutinized for providing hardware or software that allows the government to censor or monitor information running through them. A prime example is …

In this video, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discusses the impact of the Apple iPhone which was unveiled by Steve Jobs at the recent MacWorld keynote address.

Obviously stung when asked whether or not the iPhone took some of the spotlight from the Zune, Ballmer responds that the iPhone is “by far the most expensive phone in the marketplace,” and that “it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard”.

Ballmer discusses Microsoft’s mobile strategy and its emphasis on music and entertainment, stating that “right now we are selling millions of phones and Apple is selling zero”. Ballmer acknowledges Apple’s preeminent position in the entertainment domain, but asserts his confidence that Microsoft is very much “in the game” when it comes to mobile entertainment.

Microsoft revealed three new mechanisms for customers looking to buy, upgrade, or otherwise license Windows Vista. The new options are designed to offer greater flexibility in obtaining the new operating system and to ensure users have the edition of Windows Vista that matches their needs. The announcement is made in the shadow of the worldwide availability of Windows Vista on January 30th.

The new purchase options are:

Windows Anytime Upgrade - Windows Anytime Upgrade allows customers to upgrade their current version of Windows Vista to a more advanced or feature-rich edition through an Internet transaction. This option will be available in the Start menu in Windows and allows users to select the desired upgrade version and purchase it online.

Windows Marketplace - Windows Marketplace makes Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office release available for direct …

On January 8th, Tony Chor, Group Program Manager on IEblog wrote that IE 7 had reached 100 million installations, bringing the stats to over 26 percent of all web surfers using Internet Explorer 7 according to WebSideStory with IE 6 not far behind in second place.

The milestone comes only a few months after the release of the browser upgrade, and still seems to be quite a feat despite the fact that IE 7 became a critical update not long after it’s launch. Mozilla’s Firefox, which many believe to be the number 2 browser is continuing to gain popularity but took almost a year to reach the same milestone. Firefox is certainly not going to let IE gain too much ground as they have a new version of Firefox coming soon.

Internet Explorer 7 was launched …

An overlooked news item during the CES was Bill Gate’s announcement that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 would be getting a live IPTV service. Rumors are also circulating that the Xbox 360 might also get DVR capabilities and other upgrades to compete with Apple TV in a fight for the living rooms of America and the world.

The TV service will be provided by merging Microsoft’s existing Microsoft® TV IPTV Edition software platform with the Xbox. The service should be available by the holiday season of 2007.

Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division said, “Both Xbox 360 and Microsoft TV IPTV Edition by themselves deliver unique and exciting entertainment experiences today, but IPTV on Xbox 360 is truly a solution that is greater than the sum of its parts and will enable even more exciting experiences to delight consumers, …

The PlayStation 2 and the Xbox 360 had a pretty good year with game sales. This news comes on the heals of PlayStation 2’s surprising sales showing.

Of course Madden topped the charts as usual. Of some surprise is the number of Super Mario Bros. games sold for the Nintendo DS. The Super Mario franchise continues to shine and Mario apparently ages very well. Another interesting sales figure is for the Brain Age title. Not a game so much as a series of brain teasers and mental exercises developed by Japanese neuro-scientist Ryuta Kawashima, the title’s strong showing gives us evidence that video games do make you smarter!

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The gaming industry did well in 2006, however the real king of the consoles may surprise you. You know that the Wii beat the PlayStation 3. You also know that the Xbox 360 beat the Wii. But who beat the Xbox 360? The PlayStation 2.

Yes, the best selling console of 2006 appears to be the six year old PlayStation 2. Why did a ancient (in gaming terms) console outsell all the brand new rigs? It’s probably the availability of excellent games and the often overlooked economics aspect.

Sony has an incredible lead in game sales. Four of the top 10 games sold in December were for the PlayStation 2, including the number two game, Guitar Hero, which sold over 800,000 copies. The PlayStation 2 also had the number one …

Fenner Investments is suing Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft over the design of their game console controllers. Fenner, located in Texas, is claiming they hold the patent entitled “Low-Voltage Joystick Port Interface.” The suit claims that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are causing damage to Fenner by their infringement of the patent in their respective controllers.

It appears that Fenner is claiming to own the patent on joysticks or ports that connect joysticks to another device. If this is the case it may have a far reaching affect on game hardware manufacturers.

It should be noted that Fenner recently also tried to sue wireless makers such as Nokia and Cisco over another patent entitled “a method and apparatus for managing a communications network for mobile users.” That suit was dismissed.

Sony and Microsoft were also recently …

Today was the opening day of Consumer Electronics Show 2007 (CES). As you’ve no doubt noticed we’ve been bringing you coverage and news from the show.

The three day event hosts close to 3,000 companies and about 150,000 people. The show is centered at the Las Vegas Convention Center but it also spills over into surrounding casinos.

The event features speeches by notables such as Michael Dell and Bill Gates. Gates, Microsoft Chairman, gave a keynote that sounded to some like a late night infomercial for Vista, the Zune and its partnership with Ford. Microsoft has positioned Vista to be the center of a home entertainment web that includes Zune and the Xbox 360 which will get the ability to download and and record Television shows.

Microsoft is eying the juicy entertainment section just like its arch rival Apple Computer. …

Today Ford announced that they have teamed up with Microsoft to offer some in-car software to enhance the use of digital audio players, mobile phones and multimedia in their vehicles. Ford Sync will be powered by Microsoft Auto Software and provide voice activated communications and entertainment in select Ford vehicles.

Sync is planned to be available in 12 different Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles yet this year and will allow users to access their mobile phone, mobile music and will host almost any digital media player including the iPod and Zune, all from voice commands or from controls on the steering wheel. Integration will happen via either Bluetooth connectivity for mobile phones or a USB 2.0 port inside the vehicle to connect digital audio players and most media storage devices. The Microsoft Auto software will support …

Windows Vista, the latest and greatest OS from Microsoft, hasn’t even been released to general consumers yet and experts are finding vulnerability exploits and related code being sold and discussed on the internet through underground sites. This operating system has been touted by Microsoft as being the most secure operating system yet, but the security has been brought into question due to some flaws reported on a Russian and US sites recently.

One of the threats involves a hacker gaining additional privileges to a PC through direct access to the PC or through someone installing software with the hack. This is according to Mikko Hypponen, a chief research officer for F-Secure Corp. “The bottom line is you couldn’t use a vulnerability like this to write a worm or hack a Vista system remotely,” Hypponen said. “It only has historical significance in …

Today Microsoft announced that it is extending the warranty of their Xbox 360 game console from 90 days to 1 year. This applies to new purchases as well as to those who have previously purchased the game console.

Xbox owners that have already had repairs done on their game console that were within a year of the purchase will automatically get a refund if they paid for the repairs. There is no need to fill out forms or contact Microsoft, reimbursement checks will be automatically sent and should be arriving in about 10 weeks according to Microsoft.

Microsoft says that the extension of the warranty for US and Canadian customers is to make it consistent throughout the world. The 1 year warranty will also be consistent with rival game consoles Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation. Nintendo also offers a …

Microsoft and Sprint have announced an alliance in which the companies will develop and deliver a range of mobile search services for Sprint’s business and consumer customers.

The initial offering enables Sprint customers to use Windows Live Search for mobile on their wireless phones to search location-based content from the Internet. The new mobile search service based on Windows Live aims to provide a single access point to relevant online content based on a keyword or phrase. The search will include the Sprint catalog of offerings such ring tones, games, and screen savers as well as nearby stores and restaurants.

Windows Live Search for mobile offers features such as maps and directions but requires users to input their location by entering their ZIP code, address, or city and state. Future versions of the service are planned to enable consumers to give permission to automatically locate them …

While no one can accurately predict how the Zune will fare this holiday season, one can guarantee that it will take a piece of the considerable market share now enjoyed by the iPod.

Microsoft is currently in the midst of celebrating the U.S. launch of the Zune digital media player and Zune Marketplace music service. The celebration consists of six free concerts in public parks and plazas in urban centers across the country.

At the inaugural concert in Seattle, Gates outlined the Zune vision of creating new ways for people to connect, discover and share music. Gates demonstrated that through Zune-to-Zune managed wireless sharing, consumers are empowered to promote and sample tracks, thus increasing exposure for artists. The service logs the music that people have shared, making it easier to purchase the songs they like the next time they synch up their player. Consumers …

Microsoft has announced that Windows Vista will be available to the general consumer on January 30th, 2007. This release comes shortly after the release of Vista to business users at the end of November, 2006. After January 30th, the Windows Vista operating system will be availabe as both a stand alone purchase and pre-installed on new PC’s.

Windows Vista is coming in 4 different editions:

Home Basic: This looks like a real scaled down version that is stated for use in basic home needs such as emailing and surfing the internet.
Home Premium: This version looks to still be a truely a home version of the application, but has some added features including the Media Center and integration with Xbox 360, as well as enhanced desktop navigation and Tablet support.
Business: The business edition is designed for small and mid-sized organizations, and does not have the …