MS gives away licences - with a catch

Microsoft has announced it is giving away free software licences. But this move carries fine print: the free licences only apply to computers that remain switched off.

According to The Inquirer, the offer only applies to cold servers that stay switched off until they are needed, and are only available to companies signed up to Microsoft`s Software Assurance licensing programme.

Users have slated the programme because the company has pushed back the release of key upgrades such as Longhorn.

McDonald`s eateries in Europe and North America will soon start giving away music downloads along with any Big Mac order.

The deal between Sony and McDonald`s is the latest attempt at promoting fledgling online music stores, and to tempt teenage song-swappers away from free download services, reports Reuters.

"Partnering up with a big name consumer brand may be the best way to broaden the appeal of the download services," said Jupiter Research analyst Mark Mulligan. "Online digital music distribution is still an alien concept to people outside of the early adopters."

The two companies are expecting to provide "millions of downloads" during the promotion.

New surveillance technology makes it possible for anyone with a broadband Internet connection to keep a 24-hour watch on nearly anything from anywhere, reports Reuters.

By using a simple IP camera connected to an Ethernet or wireless computer network at home, parents would be able to watch their home via an Internet address assigned to that camera.

While simple models (costing around R1 300) would be ideal for curious parents, more ambitious shoppers can invest in cameras controlled via the Internet to scan a room, systems that trigger remote alarms when motion is detected, and ones whose views are accessible over cellphones and wireless PDAs.

IP cameras are expected to account for 20% of the surveillance market by 2008, up from its current 5% share.

Microsoft has cancelled "True Fantasy Live Online" - the game it hoped would revive the popularity of the Xbox in Japan - because it had failed to live up to expectations.

According to velozie, the multi-player online role-playing game, which involved three years development, was expected to be the Xbox`s answer to Square Enix`s popular online version of Final Fantasy, only available for consoles on Sony`s PlayStation 2.

Advertising the game at last year`s Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft said the game would allow it to win Japanese gamers over. But after pushing the game`s launch date back three times, the company has now decided to scrap the game altogether.