live

LOS ANGELES--After a day of problems, Microsoft says its Windows Live log-in issues are now a thing of the past.

Although a large number of Windows Live servers are running on Microsoft's Windows Server 2008, which is due to be launched Wednesday, a representative said the problem is not a glitch with the new operating system.

"We can say with certainty that Windows Server did not contribute to this incident," Windows Live Product Manager Samantha McManus said in a statement to CNET News.com.

Microsoft was far less detailed when it comes to what the problem actually … Read more

Microsoft said Tuesday afternoon that it has reduced the number of people unable to access their Windows Live accounts, but said that some people are still not able to log in.

Since early in the day, a significant number of users of Hotmail and other Windows Live services have been unable to access their information.

"We have made significant progress in decreasing the number of customers currently affected since initial reports, but the issue has not yet been completely resolved," Windows Live product manager Samantha McManus said in a statement. "Microsoft is working quickly and aggressively to … Read more

YouTube returns to Pakistan: Everything's right on the Internet, for now http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/everythings-right-in-the-internet-for-now/

How Pakistan knocked YouTube offline (and how to make sure it never happens again) http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9878655-7.html

ICANN, Network Solutions sued for domain tasting http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080226-bad-flavor-icann-network-solutions-sued-for-domain-tasting.html

Apple updates MacBook, MacBook Pro lineups http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9879198-7.html

Apple’s iTunes grows to No. 2 U.S. music retailer http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080226/media_nm/apple_itunes_dc

Internet service providers filter http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23274585-15306,00.html… Read more

Microsoft's Windows Live services experienced a significant outage Tuesday, leaving many users unable to get to their Hotmail inboxes. A company representative said all Windows Live services are affected, though not all users are reporting problems.

Microsoft said it is still trying to determine the cause of the problems.

"We are aware that some customers may be experiencing difficulty accessing their Windows Live accounts," the software maker said in a statement to CNET News.com. "We're actively investigating the cause and are working to take the appropriate steps to remedy the situation as rapidly as … Read more

Microsoft's hard drive in the cloud is now a reality.

On Thursday, Microsoft removed the beta tag from the Windows Live SkyDrive service. More importantly, it upped the amount of free online storage to 5GB, giving users roughly the same amount of storage that comes on a new Eee PC. That's up from a recent cap of 1GB.

The service allows for personal folders as well as ones that are shared with a select group of friends, or the public at large. Microsoft is also expanding the service to 38 countries or regions including large swaths of Europe, … Read more

I'm back from Barcelona and the GSMA World Congress. For five days I was up to my ears in cell phones and tapas (not at the same time) but I came away with some fresh insights into our global mobile world. As the largest cell phone show on the planet, GSMA produced a lot of news this year. Samsung, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson all announced new models, and hundreds of other companies jockeyed for the spotlight, as well. Senior Editor Bonnie Cha and I were just two of 55,000 GSMA attendees, but we manged to track down the … Read more

The search for a universal portable speaker design has been like hunting for UFOs or the Loch Ness Monster: Tons of sightings, but the real thing remains as elusive as ever. If anything, we should expect to see increasingly unusual attempts until the electronics industry figures it out, whether they're made for media players, mobile phones, or any other form of portable audio.

The latest: elephant ears. That, at least, is what the "LiveSpeakR" stereo dock looks like to us. The system wraps around the iPhone or iPod Touch, connected by USB port and accommodating both vertical … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--After Wednesday morning's Microsoft keynote address at the Game Developers Conference here, I was struck by how the only really significant news from the talk was about the company's new Creators Club initiative, which will allow almost anyone to create Xbox, Windows, or games and have them distributed on Xbox Live.

So it was a good thing that I had an appointment shortly afterwards with Chris Satchell, the head of Microsoft's game development studio.

Primarily, I just wanted to get some follow-up details on the initiative, details that Satchell didn't share during the keynote address. … Read more

Employees of video-sharing site Revver said they breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after management informed them that the company had been acquired by LiveUniverse, a little-known online entertainment network.

Representatives from both companies declined to comment, but two Revver employees and an executive at a company that had inquired about bidding on Revver said managers there had informed them the sale was done. The blog NewTeeVee was first to report the acquisition.

In a report earlier this month, CNET News.com cited sources who said the beleaguered Revver was asking for between $300,000 and $500,000 and the … Read more