For $249.99, consumers will get an incredible entertainment experience right out of the box:

• 30GB digital media player will come equipped with wireless functionality for Zune-to-Zune sharing of music, pictures and home recordings; a bright, three-inch LCD video screen that works in portrait or landscape mode to view pictures and videos; and a built-in FM tuner. The device will be available in three colors: black, brown and white.

• A selection of preloaded content including songs, music videos and film shorts are installed on the device’s hard drive to help consumers discover new artists and entertainment.

Zune makes it easy to find music you love — whether it’s songs in your existing library or new music from the Zune Marketplace:

• Its dynamic music service will be continually updated with new content and experiences so there is always something to discover. The Zune Marketplace lets users browse and purchase songs individually.

• A Zune Pass subscription gives consumers access to millions of songs for $14.99 per month.

• Users can purchase songs individually using Microsoft® Points for 79 points per track. Similar to a pre-paid phone card, Microsoft Points is a stored value system that can be redeemed at a growing number of online stores, including the Xbox Live® Marketplace.


In addition, consumers can choose from a full line of accessories to enhance the Zune experience and help Zune users enjoy their entertainment where they want to, at home or on the road. Accessories range in price from $19.99 to $99.99.

Control Room (formerly Network LIVE), the No. 1 provider of live digital entertainment and the producers of Live 8, and MSN, a leader in delivering compelling entertainment to consumers around the world, today announced a multiyear, global live content distribution agreement. Under this new arrangement, MSN will be the exclusive online worldwide destination via live and on-demand streaming for Control Room’s slate of live music programming, and visitors to MSN® Video will have ongoing access to live concerts from the most popular, top-selling musical artists as well as today’s most talked-about breakthrough acts.

With this agreement in place, MSN and Control Room will embark upon a deep, exclusive content collaboration, combining Control Room’s expertise in creating and delivering live music events for cross-media distribution with the feature-rich video programming of MSN and its global reach and branded entertainment appeal to advertisers. Further, through this agreement, Microsoft Corp. may stream Control Room shows to other platforms, including Xbox Live®, MSN Messenger, Microsoft® Windows Media® Player and Windows® XP Media Center Edition.

When the relationship officially begins on Oct. 2, the nearly 465 million worldwide monthly visitors to MSN will get to see an exclusive performance from multiple-award-winning singer, songwriter and pianist John Legend, live from the Royal Albert Hall in London live at 4 p.m. EDT/9 p.m. BST (http://music.msn.com/JohnLegend). In addition, another artist already scheduled to appear on MSN through the relationship with Control Room is John Mayer from Webster Hall in New York City.

On the shores of one of the world’s most artistic and progressive cities, Microsoft Corp. today thrilled attendees at its annual X06 event with announcements and gameplay experiences by inviting everyone to play the next generation now on the Xbox 360™ system. The announcements highlight how the world’s greatest game creators are stretching the bounds of what’s possible in high definition and online storytelling and included the following:

• A landmark partnership announced between Academy Award-winning writer, director and producer Peter Jackson, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Fran Walsh, and Microsoft Game Studios will create two new interactive entertainment series exclusively for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live®. The first series will be a collaborative effort with Bungie Studios to co-create the next great chapter in the “Halo®” universe. The second series will be an entirely original property targeted at bringing new audiences into the captivating world of interactive entertainment. In addition, Microsoft Game Studios will partner with Jackson and Walsh to establish Wingnut Interactive, a studio dedicated to the creation of world-class interactive entertainment.

Yahoo and Microsoft announced that they would tear down the wall between their formerly exclusive instant messaging services and allow members to mingle beginning Wednesday.

On behalf of Robert S. Mueller III, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director James E. Finch today presented certificates for “Exceptional Service in the Public Interest” to nine Microsoft employees, including Brad Smith, Microsoft Senior Vice President and General Counsel, for their assistance in the swift resolution of the 2005 Mytob/Zotob computer worm investigation.

Microsoft’s investigation into the author and distributors of the Zotob/Mytob was referred to the FBI only five days after the release of the Zotob worm in 2005. FBI agents, using the results of Microsoft's investigation, then flew to and Morocco, and assisted in the arrests of two individuals 12 days after the worm starting causing damage. This month, one of the individuals was sentenced to two years in prison in Morocco for his role in writing and distributing the Zotob and Mytob worms.

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it may offer a free, advertising-supported version of its basic word processing and spreadsheet software, in an apparent bid to fend off a nascent challenge from Google Inc. in the business software market.

Microsoft, which dominates the market for desktop computer software through its Windows and Office franchises, has long resisted offering its software online.

Ozzie is the first ever winner from Microsoft - the closest Bill Gates came was a number 2 spot in 2003. This is the first year neither Bill Gates nor Steve Ballmer appear in the Agenda Setters top 50, signalling a changing of the guard at Redmond and in the tech industry as founders of tech stalwarts hand over the reigns of their companies.

In the billionaire-athon, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson pole-vaulted to No. 3 from 15 in last year's ranking, finishing behind the mainstays at Nos. 1 and 2: Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Read the list)

Adelson is now estimated to have $20.5 billion, Buffett $46 billion and Gates $53 billion. Gates has held the No. 1 spot for the last 13 years while Buffett has been No. 2 every year since 1994 except 2000, when Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp. held that spot.

Philadelphia on Thursday opened a public high school where students work on wireless laptops, teachers eschew traditional subjects for real-world topics and parents can track their child's work on the Internet.

Called "The School of the Future" and created with help from software giant Microsoft (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research), it is believed to be the first in the world to combine innovative teaching methods with the latest technology, all housed in an environmentally friendly building.

The school, which cost the school district $63 million to build, is free and has no entrance exams. The 170 students in the inaugural ninth-grade class were selected by lottery from 1,500 applicants.

Pressure is already being brought to bear on the EC by European Parliament members who are concerned about the impact of a delay in the shipping of Vista in Europe. And, according to Microsoft spokesman Guy Esnouf, the company has received numerous questions from its European partners who need to know what the regulatory status of Windows Vista is in Europe.

Esnouf has also already cautioned that a possible delay is "a serious issue for the thousands of IT companies in Europe who are building their business plans around Windows Vista, and millions of customers who are eager to use its security and privacy features." ...

"Microsoft wants to ship Vista. It can make changes, but the later it receives guidance, the more delayed the introduction will be. The company is not punishing the EU for not co-operating, but certain realities of the software business are inescapable. Changes take time, and there's precious little of it left," [analyst Roger Kay] says.

One of our moles on the inside told us Microsoft just had a meeting to determine the price of the 30GB Zune. The final tally: $229.99.

MSN today announced the U.S. beta release of Soapbox on MSN® Video, a user-uploaded video service that makes it easy for people to express themselves by uploading, discovering and sharing personal videos with the Soapbox community and others around the world. Soapbox will be available on MSN Video and will be deeply integrated throughout Microsoft Corp.’s portfolio of online services, including Windows Live™ Spaces and Windows Live Messenger. ...

Soapbox on MSN Video utilizes powerful Web 2.0 technologies to provide a dynamic, fun and entertaining experience and offers these benefits:

• Easy uploading and sharing of video creations. By providing single-step uploading, background server-side video processing and acceptance of all major digital video formats, Soapbox makes uploading videos a snap.

• Finding and discovering the most entertaining videos. Viewers can search, browse through 15 categories, find related videos, subscribe to RSS feeds, and share their favorites with their friends — all without interrupting whatever video they are watching.

• Participation in the Soapbox community. Soapbox users can rate, comment on and tag the videos they view, share links with their friends via e-mail, and include the embeddable Soapbox player directly on their Web site or blog.

IDC gave details of how the new Microsoft operating system will be a major driver of revenue and employment creation for more than 150,000 IT companies in the six countries, which collectively account for 65 per cent of IT spend in the European Economic Zone. According to IDC, the availability of Windows Vista will generate revenues of more than euro 32 billion for these companies in 2007. In addition, the new operating system will sustain and support over 1 million jobs - approximately 20 per cent of all IT employment in the six countries - and create an additional 50,000 new positions.

But Microsoft made it clear that there will be other Zunes.

"The entire Zune platform and brand is about a family of devices," said Chris Stephenson, Zune's general manager of global marketing. Asked about the mobile phone market, he added, "There is a possibility for a Zune phone."

Available this holiday season in the United States, Zune includes a 30GB digital media player, the Zune Marketplace music service and a foundation for an online community that will enable music fans to discover new music. The Zune device features wireless technology, a built-in FM tuner and a bright, 3-inch screen that allows users to not only show off music, pictures and video, but also to customize the experience with personal pictures or themes to truly make the device their own. Zune comes in three colors: black, brown and white.

Every Zune device creates an opportunity for connection. Wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing lets consumers spontaneously share full-length sample tracks of select songs, homemade recordings, playlists or pictures with friends between Zune devices. Listen to the full track of any song you receive up to three times over three days. If you like a song you hear and want to buy it, you can flag it right on your device and easily purchase it from the Zune Marketplace.

Zune makes it easy to find music you love — whether it’s songs in your existing library or new music from the Zune Marketplace. Easily import your existing music, pictures and videos in many popular formats and browse millions of songs on Zune Marketplace, where you can choose to purchase tracks individually or to buy a Zune Pass subscription to download as many songs as you want for a flat fee.

To get started with great music and videos out of the box, every Zune device is preloaded with content from record labels such as DTS, EMI Music’s Astralwerks Records and Virgin Records, Ninja Tune, Playlouderecordings, Quango Music Group, Sub Pop Records, and V2/Artemis Records.

Zune Accessories

To enhance the Zune experience, three accessory packs help Zune users enjoy their music where they want to, at home or on the road. The packs and the individual accessories, all designed exclusively for Zune, will be available at launch:

• The Zune Car Pack includes everything needed to hit the road with a Zune device, such as the built-in FM tuner with AutoSeek and the Zune Car Charger.

• The Zune Home A/V Pack enhances your experience in the home through five products that integrate Zune with the TV and music speakers: Zune AV Output Cable, Zune Dock, Zune Sync Cable, Zune AC Adapter and the Zune Wireless Remote for Zune Dock.

• Zune Travel Pack is a set of five products designed to keep friends and family entertained on the road: Zune Premium Earphones, Zune Dual Connect Remote, Zune Gear Bag, Zune Sync Cable and the Zune AC Adapter.

Providing consumers with additional options to customize and personalize their Zune experience, Microsoft is also working with leading accessory manufacturers Altec Lansing, Belkin Corp., Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO), Dual Electronics, Griffin Technology, Harman Kardon and JBL, Integrated Mobile Electronics, Jamo International, Klipsch Audio Technologies, Logitech, Monster Cable Products Inc., Speck, Targus Group International Inc. and VAF Research

The Future is Bright

In addition to the features available at launch, built-in wireless technology and powerful software provide a strong foundation to continue to build new shared experiences around music and video. As Zune evolves, the device can be easily updated. The Zune software on your PC will let you know when these updates are available for download.