Six American film studios have filed a lawsuit against the Chinese file-sharing firm Xunlei Networking Technology for copyright infringement. They were offering hundreds of movie downloads illegally. The firm is part owned by Google. The studios are seeking more than $1 million in damages and costs, according to the Motion Picture Association, though that seems a low number.

The MPA trade group said in a statement on Friday that in addition, the plaintiffs are seeking a public acknowledgement of the infringements and a pledge from Xunlei to stop them. The MPA said that Xunlei facilitated the unauthorised transmission of hundreds of Hollywood movies produced by its members, like “Spiderman 3,” “War of the Worlds” and “Miami Vice.”(Who the hell watches Miami Vice? Now that they have, I assume they have learned their lesson. Some movies aren’t worth the trouble.)

Stores and malls in England have been using an ultrasonic device known as the Mosquito Alarm to keep kids from loitering. Because everyone knows that kids are just large insects with ipods and skateboards. It emits a high-frequency noise which is audible and unfriendly to young ears, but people over 20 usually can’t hear it. (I know there’s a Logan’s Run joke there somewhere.)

This is the same frequency that kids have been using for their cellphone rings, so older people don’t know when they have incoming calls. Anyway, there is now an uproar from the children’s commission for England and groups like civil liberties group Liberty. Their campaign is called “Buzz Off”. The device effects everyone under 25, and guess what? That includes babies. Then they site that it discriminates against all kids, whether they’re bad seeds or not. Obviously, they have some valid points. I propose that anyone who turns 30 needs to be introduced to carousel and euthanized. Should they run, a sandman needs to be dispatched who can shout, “We’ve got a runner.” and go for their blaster. Ah…There’s the joke.

Has there been a week recently when China-made products have not been in the news? Normally it’s tainted food and toxic lead. Now it’s a malicious virus-infected digital photo frame. Computer Associates identified it as Mocmex , “a nasty worm that has a great deal of intelligence” and “a nuclear bomb of malware”.

It’s a malicious self-propagated worm that has been steadily spreading worldwide with variants of over 67,500 kinds. That’s cause for some concern. It was first identified as a Trojan horse that collected passwords from online games, but after further study, it’s able to get around more than a hundred antivirus vendors as well as Windows security layers. Now it could potentially collect personal and private data.

According to a company source at Toshiba, the company is in the “final stages” of giving up the battle in the next generation DVD format war against Sony’s Blu-ray. After years of fighting it out and causing confusion among consumers over which format to purchase it looks like Blu-ray is actually going to come out on top, and HD DVD will go the way of the Betamax.

The most significant move that seemed to cause this battle to take a turn in Sony’s favor happened when Warner Bros. Entertainment announced they would only release movies in the Blu-ray format. The companies plan was to end consumer confusion allowing them to make a decision and subsequent purchases of one format or the other, in this case Blu-ray.

Microsoft announced Monday that it is going to acquire Danger, software maker for the popular consumer-targeted Sidekick mobile device. Reportedly the purchase came after months of negotiations, with Danger receiving a number of different offers and Microsoft doubling their original offer to keep Danger out of others hands. That offer has been rumored to be as much as $500 million, but no official terms of the deal have been revealed.

While Microsoft has done well making software for smartphones the company mostly targets business users and fewer general consumers. The Sidekick from Danger is almost the opposite and is aimed at the younger consumer-based market in which Microsoft seems to be keen on getting into. Microsoft also recently made a $44.6 billion offer to Yahoo to help build a larger online, consumer-facing presence and could have Danger in mind to be part of that overall strategy, working against dominate competitive figures like Google and RIM.

And the show down continues…Yahoo rejects Microsoft’s take over bid, Microsoft looks like it will go forward with it anyhow:

“It is unfortunate that Yahoo! has not embraced our full and fair proposal to combine our companies. Based on conversations with stakeholders of both companies, we are confident that moving forward promptly to consummate a transaction is in the best interests of all parties.

We are offering shareholders superior value and the opportunity to participate in the upside of the combined company. The combination also offers an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market.

Here’s another huge blow that the struggling HD-DVD format did not need. Netflix, the online and mail video rental giant will follow its rival Blockbuster’s footsteps and carry Blu-Ray exclusively. With endorsement to The future is Blu campaign, the company will now only buy Blu-Ray discs going forward and will phase out their stock of HD-DVD by the end of the year.

“We’re now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def.”, said a company spokesman. Netflix stated that they expect all studios to begin to publish movies on the Blu-ray format. With Netflix’s over seven million subscribers, I think it’s fair to say that this is a killing blow in the format war, whether the effects are immediate or forthcoming.

You can be pretty certain we haven’t heard the last from Microsoft regarding their offer to buy Yahoo!, but for now Yahoo! is saying a “no thanks” to the $44.6 billion buyout offer. Jerry Yang and other directors say Yahoo! are seeking at least $40 a share, or nearly $60 billion. Microsoft may not be willing to pay.

The bean counters of Yahoo! feel the number is on the low end. Others would like to get cozy with Google in order to improve search revenues, despite the fact that there may be some antitrust implications with that. Stayed tuned on this one. Things are getting very interesting.

The company most known for their instant film cameras and the instant film that went with them is closing it’s last film plants in Mass., a victim of the digital age. The fun instant Polaroids will soon be a thing of the past. To the horror of those who love all things retro, no more instant film will be produced.

Within the past two years, Polaroid had already stopped production on the instant cameras. The film will be available until around next year, so those who want or need more can still get it. It was only a matter of time before the 21st century caught up with Polaroid’s format. In the not too distant future, the only people interested in buying the film will be Hollywood production designers wanting to use it for authenticity in movies etc. Well, they had a good run, and captured many an embarrassing moment, the occasional ghost and various assorted naughty things. It’s been fun.

A 12 year old Michigan Middle School student had his PSP in his pocket during band practice, when the battery overheated, burning a hole in his pants and sending him to the hospital with leg burns. It seems that in this particular school, students are allowed to have the systems with them as long as they don’t play them during school hours. A policy which I am sure will change after such a close brush with what could have been a case of char broiled genitals.

Sony has been quiet so far regarding the incident. No word on whether the kid was using a third party battery inside the system or not. Much to the kid’s dismay, after being treated he was back in school later in the afternoon.

With the buzz of the possible Microsoft takeover of Yahoo still fresh in the air, Google wasted no time in jumping in to say the deal could possibly create a monopoly which threatens “the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation.” This, from Google’s chief legal counsel, prompted a quick response back from Microsoft’s chief legal counsel saying the merger will “create a more competitive marketplace by establishing a compelling number two competitor for Internet search and online advertising.”

Google’s David Drummond, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer, had this to say on Sunday - “The openness of the Internet is what made Google — and Yahoo! — possible. A good idea that users find useful spreads quickly. Businesses can be created around the idea. Users benefit from constant innovation. It’s what makes the Internet such an exciting place.

Microsoft announced this morning that it has official made an acquisition offer to Yahoo for the sum of $44.6 billion. Steve Ballmer on behalf of the Microsoft board of directors sent out a letter to Yahoo yesterday with the offer at $31 per share for all of Yahoo’s outstanding common stock.

According to the letter Microsoft has been in talks with Yahoo for some time, citing a letter in February of 2007 from Yahoo stating that “now is not the right time…”. Microsoft points out that things have not improved for Yahoo since earlier last year and without naming any other companies they refer to an increasingly dominate player in the market (we’re just guessing Google) who is increasing its own dominance by more acquisitions. Microsoft feels that combining forces with Yahoo increases the fighting chances in the online advertising space for both of them.

Dell is getting out of the “we own a brand name location” business, the computer company announced today. It said it plans to close its 140 kiosks in the United States.

Dell began its “Direct Store” model in 2002, but has since expanded to a retail model which puts its laptop and desktop computers in more than 10,000 retail outlets worldwide. The company feels its retail shifts fit “with how our broad global retail strategy is evolving.”

We’ve been checking daily for that next firmware update we told you about earlier this month that is to include Skype VoIP calling, and looks like it hit today. Version 3.90 is available for download from the Network Update menu on the PSP and will bring support for more PlayStation Network titles to the PSP along with the ability to make and receive free Skype calls on your Playstation Portable. The announcement comes today from Sony Europe but the update appears to be available for download here in the U.S. as well.

Unfortunately this feature is available only on the newer, slim PSP 2000 models and will require you to get a PSP headset and PSP remote control or Go! Cam to operate the Skype features. The 3.90 firmware with Skype lets you make free internet calls through the PSP Wi-Fi connection much like you would from a computer and will even let you setup a new Skype account on the PSP. If you have some Skype credit you can also make SkypeOut calls to landlines for a fee.

According to some leaked information from a Best Buy employee, the retailer sent out an internal memo that the 80GB Playstation 3 is scheduled to be “going closeout”, which basically means they will sell what’s on shelves and not stock anymore. The internal communication states that this is expected to take place as soon as January 28.

It’s been apparent that the 80GB model of the PS3 hasn’t had the selling power of the smaller and cheaper models, but since the removal of the 60GB models this leaves the shelves with nothing that is backwards compatible with PS2 games. It also limits consumers to the scaled down PS3 without the memory card reader and fewer USB ports.