What's hot in the PC side of things (well, the Windows side of the PC side, that is)? It's what you've been waiting for, Windows gamer. At this year's D: All Things Digital, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft have demoed one of the new facets of Windows 7 in front of an audience that once witnessed the one-on-one between Gates and Jobs. And guess what? Windows 7's new features starts off with touch.

We may have read reasons why Microsoft should support Blu-ray in the near future, but how about reasons NOT to? Here's a good one: according to Microsoft, digital downloads will eventually become the main venue of media distribution, hinting that Blu-ray's existence may become eventually irrelevant.  Read more in the full article.

Yeah, so Microsoft won't be introducing a Blu-ray player to the Xbox 360, but at the Mix08 Internet conference, they did confirm that they will be supporting Blu-ray "in some way." How? Find out by following the "read more" link below.

Those of you who are lusting after Microsoft's touch-sensitive tabletop computer, Surface, may still have a bit of a wait on your hands. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that it will still take some time before the commercial version of Surface will hit retail stores for the home consumers. However, the company is working hard in shortening the time for a commercial release of the product, as explained further in the full article.

As part of their Fun4iPhone website, MyNuMo has launched one of the first browser-based games for the iPhone.

The game itself is called iWhack and, being a simple browser-based game, it's not indicative of what the iPhone can do in terms of graphics and such, but hardcore Apple fans should get a kick out of it.

iWhack is basically a Whack-a-Mole game that replaces the mole with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's head. Ballmer has been one of the most vocal critics of the Apple iPhone.

We expect more developers to begin rolling out their own browser-based games for the iPhone soon. You can check out and play MyNuMo's iWhack game by clicking on the read link below.

After launching in the U.S. in September last year, the Zune will still not be making a European appearance this year. This is according to German mag Wirtscahfts Woche.

In a recent interview with the magazine, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has confirmed that Microsoft's Zune player will not be launched in Europe this autumn. A new date has yet to be announced, but last year, a Microsoft spokesman had hinted that Europeans may have to wait until 2008 for the Zune.

Ballmer said that the delay is due to Microsoft still losing money on the Zune, and therefore launching in other markets would be dangerous business-wise. Microsoft is expected to strengthen its Zune business with new player models coming out in the U.S. by Christmas.

Microsoft is reaching out its hand of global domination once more - the worldwide software company claims that free software like Linux violates their patents.

It's pretty clear that Linux users enjoying their free operating systems at home would be affected, but corporate users like Wal-mart, AIG, and Goldman Sachs will be in quite a pinch. Microsoft responds through CEO Steve Ballmer that it is a matter of principle, that everyone should play by the same rules and what fair is fair.

Furthermore, Microsoft Counsel Brad Smith reveals that these free software infringes at least 235 patents. If they can push this through, the software developers will diminish and Microsoft will continue to spread its influence to those that use open-source programs.

In defense, master legal strategist Eben Moglen of the Free Software Foundation explains that software is a mathematical algorithm and thus, not patentable. Free software have always been running in this premise, they're not afraid of whatever Microsoft comes up with. 

For more info about this news, check out the link below.

Tellme Networks was first founded in 1999 as a toll-free phone number that should assist callers by recognizing voice commands. Okay, now that I've mentioned that factoid, here's the news: Microsoft has recently made a move to acquire Tellme Networks, and reports say that the company responsible for the Xbox 360 console wants to boost the scope of Tellme and integrate the technology to it's Live Search platform.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer notes: "Tellme brings to Microsoft the talent, technology and proven experience in speech that will enable us to deliver a new wave of products and revolutionize human-computer interaction"

Reports also say that in the future, the technology provided by Tellme could help add interoperability to Microsoft Office and Windows Vista.

This news of course arrives in the same week when Microsoft, at the Computer/Human Interaction Conference, talked about looking into technologies that make human/computer interactions more seamless.

Which of course begs the question: How will this tie in with the average gamer trash-talking someone else on Live? Considering that back in 1999 when someone said the words "stock quotes" on on a Tellme service, you automatically market updates, there's a lot of potential.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was recently interviewed and among the topics discussed was the business in comparison with smaller rival Apple. Ballmer held nothing back when he talked about Apple's prospects.

"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance," says Ballmer as he talked about the much-anticipated mobile phone entry of Apple.

"It's a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I'd prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get," adds Ballmer.

Mac Daily News pointed out that the outspoken CEO seemed to veer away from the subject of the iPod and the devotion that fans have shown it. "Would I trade 96% of the market for 4% of the market? (Laughter.) I want to have products that appeal to everybody," comments Ballmer.

The Apple iPhone is due out in the second half of this year.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted that Vista sales are lower than expected, according to GamesIndustry.biz. Apparently, sales forecasts for Vista were "overly optimistic".

What is Microsoft's master plan to boost Vista sales? They plan to make Vista's anti-piracy measures even tougher. If they can make Vista piracy-proof, then they will sell more copies in countries where piracy is rampant (Ballmer gave China, India, Brazil, and Russia as examples).

But stricter anti-piracy measures may harm innocent customers.

Vista's security measures have already caused bugs that crashed games or made some games unplayable.

GamesIndustry.biz said, "Some critics have claimed the anti-piracy features of Vista are excessive and can cause serious problems for users, but Ballmer said they could be extended even further if necessary."

Fighting piracy is good, and making more money to be reinvested into better operating systems (and gaming technology) is laudable, but we sincerely hope that the Microsoft powers-that-be will not sacrifice customer satisfaction and our gameplay experience in their zeal to improve Vista sales.