Darren Straight's Blog

ICT Enthusiast and photographer.

By - Darren Straight

Britons make more time for friendship than ever before

BRITONS MAKE MORE TIME FOR FRIENDSHIP THAN EVER BEFORE Modern friendship study reveals the average Brit has 21 more friends than in 2003  The average number of friends a person in Britain has today is 54, a rise of 64% compared to 2003, according to the ‘Windows Live: Anatomy of Friendship Report’, a comprehensive study of the friendship patterns of

By - Darren Straight

Email your 2006 wishlists to Santa’s MSN Hotmail address

Santa and his helpers have been busy this year trying to keep up with today’s high tech kids. Building on the success of last year’s new Hotmail account that allowed kids to email Santa instead of mailing a letter, the big guy has created his own website and blog so he can keep in touch with all the good little

By - Darren Straight

Taiwan telco offers MSN/Windows Live Messenger

Far Eastone Telecommunications in Taiwan has begun offering MSN/Windows Live Messenger to users of i-mode mobile phones, one of just a handful of companies offering the service globally. The launch of the service also makes Far Eastone the first company in Taiwan to offer MSN/Windows Live Messenger, the Taiwanese company said Wednesday. Users will be able to send instant messages over

By - Darren Straight

Samir Saraiya head of business development for MSN India

MSN India, the leading online destination for Indians across the globe, today announced the appointment of Samir Saraiya as head of business development. Saraiya will be reporting to MSN India & Windows Live country head Jaspreet Bindra. According to Bindra in an official statement, “The Indian Internet market is flourishing and the growth that MSN India is experiencing reflects that.

By - Darren Straight

Acclaimed Arrested Development Series Begins on MSN Video

MSN has announced this week that episodes of the Emmy award-winning comedy Arrested Development are already available to be streamed on demand on MSN® Video and at no cost to viewers. The first five episodes are available today at http://arresteddevelopment.msn.com and, starting Dec. 15, three new episodes will be added every three weeks. All 53 episodes from the three seasons

By - Darren Straight

Pandora powers revamped MSN radio

MSN has quietly re-launched its online radio service, backed by popular internet radio service, Pandora.com a music recommendation engine, which allows users to create custom radio stations and discover more artistes and songs, according to the users’ taste in music. Moreover, users who have already signed up with Pandora’s free internet radio, are now automatically on MSN Radio, along with the

By - Darren Straight

Microsoft Meets EU Deadline Over Antitrust Case

In accordance with the March 2004 decision by the European Commission, Microsoft submitted 8,500 pages of detailed technical documentation in July 2006. The Commission has now completed its initial review of this extensive documentation. The documentation is now available for review by any potential licensees. Microsoft is committed to full compliance with the March 2004 decision.In the wake of the

By - Darren Straight

comScore Reveals U.K. Top Sites for October 2006

comScore Networks, a leader in measuring the digital age, has revealed the top U.K. Internet properties for October, based on data collected through its comScore World Metrix audience ratings service.  Google Sites (not including YouTube) edged out Microsoft Sites in October to become the most-visited Web property in the U.K. for the first time, followed by Microsoft Sites and eBay.

By - Darren Straight

Windows Vista Custom PC Design for Vista Launch!

There are all kinds of ways that you can celebrate the launch of a new product: a gathering, cake, or even banners. But Microsoft and Dell recently partnered up to create a super-cool custom PC in celebration of Microsoft releasing Windows Vista to manufacturing earlier this month. Take a Look at the specs and tell me you don’t want one!

By - Darren Straight

Alcatel sues Microsoft over patent infringements

Alcatel, the French manufacturer of telecommunications gear, has filed two separate complaints against Microsoft in a Texas court, claiming that Microsoft has infringed on seven Alcatel patents. The court documents do not give examples of Microsoft’s alleged bad behavior, but we can get some idea of what’s at stake by looking at the cited patents. The patents are 6,339,830; 6,874,090;