DigitMemo.com

Microsoft is giving away copies of Vista Ultimate and Office if you will let the Vole closely monitor how you use the software.

While the more cynical amongst us might think that Vole can’t sell its software and so is giving it away, the deal is part of Microsoft’s Feedback programme.

According to its website, the Feedback Program allows you to connect directly with the Windows product team using your computer.

Click for more on Microsoft Giving Away Vista Ultimate, With a Catch »

The chain’s 103 retail stores will remain open and staffed during the holiday season, offering discounts on computer and electronics.

CompUSA, the computer and gadget retailer controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, has been sold to a restructuring and investment firm that will close stores and sell some company assets.

The new owner is Boston-based Gordon Brothers Group, which recently helped CompUSA sell under-performing stores. The terms of the deal were not not disclosed.

Click for more on CompUSA Sold, Stores To Close »

Microsoft is to withdraw an anti-piracy tool from Windows Vista, which disables the operating system when invoked, following customer complaints.

The so-called “kill switch” is designed to prevent users with illegal copies of Vista from using certain features.

But the tool has suffered from glitches since it was introduced with many Windows users claiming that legal copies of Vista had been disabled.

Click for more on ‘Kill switch’ dropped from Vista in SP1 »

Piracy rates are lower because it’s harder

Microsoft said Monday that it’s seeing piracy rates for Windows Vista that are half those of Windows XP.

Now cynical me wanted to write this up as “even pirates prefer XP two to one over Vista,” but that wouldn’t be fair. In reality, the decline in piracy rates is largely due to the fact that Vista is much tougher to fake than XP.

“Piracy rates are lower because it’s harder,” Microsoft Vice President Mike Sievert said in an interview Monday.

Click for more on Microsoft: Vista piracy rate is half that of XP »

Tens of thousands of Britons’ financial details are sold on the internet

Security breaches that are allowing the financial details of tens of thousands of Britons to be sold on the internet are to be investigated by the country’s information watchdog.

Without paying a single penny, The Times downloaded banking information belonging to 32 people, including a High Court deputy judge and a managing director. The private account numbers, PINs and security codes were offered as tasters by illegal hacking sites in the hope that purchases would follow.

Click for more on Websites sell secret bank data and PINs »

Any device, any application sounds impressive, but skeptics see a play for new spectrum.

Executing a neat reverse-field, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) declared last week that it will throw open its cellular network to third-party devices, applications, and services. Once considered to be one of the strictest gatekeepers of its network, the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier is now setting an example for other carriers to open their systems to outside hardware and software.

Industry observers remain skeptical, to put it mildly. Verizon will never let itself become just a dumb-pipes provider for other companies’ devices and services, they maintain, and anyone who says otherwise is either a fool or a liar. Tactically, Verizon’s move could be another maneuver on the chess board that is the FCC auction of valuable 700-MHz spectrum for wireless broadband networks, now scheduled for January. On Dec. 3, companies planning to bid must file a “short form” license application for that auction, which is seen as the last, best chance for fully open and accessible wireless broadband networks in the United States.

Click for more on Verizon Opens Its Network »

IBM is suing a company for selling fake IBM batteries that catch fire, asking $1M for each fake battery.

IBM is suing Shentech for selling laptop batteries that catch fire and sport allegedly fake IBM logos.

The suit, filed Nov. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, accuses Shentech of trademark infringement, false advertising, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.

IBM says that a consumer in Ohio bought a battery from Shentech for a ThinkPad laptop. The battery overheated and caught fire, causing damage to the laptop, IBM said. The user reported the problem to Lenovo, which licenses the IBM trademark. After examining the faulty battery, IBM discovered that it was not a genuine IBM battery, the company said in the suit.

Click for more on IBM sues company for selling fake, flammable batteries »

“I cannot think of any other cause of his death other than his mobile phone exploding”

A 33-year-old South Korean quarry worker was found dead with a burning mobile phone stuck to his chest, police and the doctor who examined the man said on Thursday.

The man, who was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital, had burns on his chest, fractured ribs and internal bleeding, the doctor said.

Click for more on Mobile phone may have killed Korean quarry worker »

Flash memory evolution is having a positive effect on hard drive prices.

The average price of notebook hard drives tumbled to $53 in the third quarter of 2007, from $86 in the same period during the previous year, according to a survey by a market research firm. Desktop hard drive prices fell to $51 in the third quarter of 2007, compared to $52.75 the previous year.

Overall, about 134 million hard drives shipped in the third quarter of 2007, compared to 114 million the same period a year earlier, a 21% year-on-year increase, iSuppli found.

Click for more on Hard drive prices drop as PC demand rises »

Make games less expensive

EA’s John Riccitiello has been shaking things up at EA lately, with everything from layoffs to the purchase of BioWare. Now he’s suggesting the company take some really drastic measures: make their games less expensive.

The $31 billion gaming industry will suffer if it doesn’t start to reevaluate its business model. Game executives at Sony, Microsoft and Activision must answer some tough questions in the coming years, like how long they can expect consumers to pay $59 for a video game. The model will be obsolete in the next decade. ‘In the next five years, we’re all going to have to deal with this. In China, they’re giving games away for free,’ he says. ‘People who benefit from the current model will need to embrace a new revenue model, or wait for others to disrupt.’ As more publishers transition to making games for online distribution, EA will experiment with different pricing models