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Engadget: We’re not exactly sure how they finagled it, but Universal Music announced it plans to collect a share of the thin margin Microsoft’s going to make with each Zune, receiving an unspecified amount for each player sold. In typical RIAA boot camp style, Doug Morris, CEO of Universal said, “We felt that any business that’s built on the bedrock of music we should share in.” So, if we have this straight, according to Universal, any music-playing device sold should provide some profit to them — even if that device will never play a song recorded by Universal. And likewise, Microsoft has no problem setting a new precedent to butter up a big label partner like Universal to possibly be seen as a favorable alternative to the Jobsian iPod-stranglehold on legal music distribution when Apple’s Universal contract is up. (Remember, this isn’t the first time the music industry said it wants a cut of hardware sales.) Is it us, or did something start to seriously reek in here?

Bungie and Microsoft announce multiplayer testing plans

To coincide with the fifth anniversary of Xbox and Halo, Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie have announced that beta testing for the third instalment in the series will begin next year.

The Halo 3 beta test, which is scheduled to start in the spring, will allow gamers to try out the game’s multiplayer mode via Xbox Live – a first for the franchise. Bungie will use the feedback from players to refine the full game, which is due out later in the year.

Microsoft also announced that new maps for Halo 2 will be available via Xbox Live Marketplace around the same time, and that a new 60 second teaser trailer for Halo 3 is on the way.

It will be broadcast on North America’s ESPN channel on December 4, and will simultaneously be shown on Xbox.com – allowing European gamers to watch too.

“Since its original release, Halo 2 has redefined online play, delivering superior multiplayer capabilities in addition to an incredible social experience, and nurturing a constantly growing community through Xbox Live,” said Shane Kim, corporate VP of Microsoft Game Studios.

“After five years of rabid fan interest in the Halo franchise and with more than 4 million users and counting on Xbox Live worldwide, this is the perfect time to invite fans to join the global Halo phenomenon.”

The Beatles are coming to an online music store near you “soon.” So says EMI’s head suit David Munns. Why should you care? Well, besides the fact that, you know, the Beatles pretty much invented the modern concept of a rock band, we could see an interesting battle between Apple and Microsoft. Will iTunes or the Zune Marketplace claim such hits as “Yesterday” and “Twist and Shout”? Will you be jamming out to “Day Tripper” on your iPod or Zune?

As we all know, the Beatles are pretty much the only band not available on any of the legitimate online music stores. (I’m sorry, but allofmp3 doesn’t count.) I can’t wait to (possibly) 3 plays/3 days share such obscure hits as “Penny Lane” with random young ladies on the street. “Hey there, hot mama, have you heard of the Beatles? They’re this totally cool band…” (Cue mace to the face.)

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In case your dual-core desktop was starting to show its age, Dell is now letting you cram a quad-core processor inside its top of the line XPS desktop. The new XPS 710 packs Intel’s Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core CPU, letting you throw any multi-threaded app you can find its way. For expansion, the desktop has four memory slots and seven expansion slots comfortably fitting as many video cards as you can afford. Dell’s 30-inch LCD also got a few upgrades. Click through for the update and pricing.

The new UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC now has a 92 percent color gamut, which Dell claims will deliver brighter, crisper colors. It also has a faster 8ms grey-to-grey response time (vs 11ms on the old panel). All this goodness is gonna cost you though. The XPS (available today) will start at $3,699 while the monitor (which will be out the 21st) will go for $1,699. We’re particulary excited about the LCD, as there’s few multi-threaded apps in our library to justify splurging close to $4 grand on a desktop.

Dell’s Press Release

Here is a tidbit for you sports and technology junkies out there (like me). The Oakland Athletics (see: baseball) are having a new ballpark built in Fremont, California. Cisco Systems will be the primary funder of said ballpark, so you can expect some high tech features in this ballpark.

Some of the crazy high-techness include electronic tickets stored on cellphones, immediate instant replays from the bleachers via laptops, Wi-Fi access and digital advertising displays that change based upon buying habits of people walking by. Better watch out, your wife may not know that you enjoy buying fetish porn, but these ad displays will.

Deadspin

If you’re cool you’ve already picked up the Xbox 360’s HD-DVD drive to watch all those high quality Hollywood movies in stunning high definition. What’s even better is that, with some potentially illegal software, you can plug the Xbox 360’s HD-DVD drive right into your Windows-based PC and enjoy high def movies on your computer! Literally, all one needs to do is install the (illegal?) drivers then plug the drive in the drive and you’re all set for a night of movie watching.

File this under, why would anyone want to do that? Because they can.

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While Ultimate Ears may be known for creating some pretty decent headphones, their high price often scares away many potential buyers. Enter the metro.fi 2, a pair of headphones with the distinctly Ultimate Ears looks, but for—get this!—a fraction of the price. Approximately $80 will nab you the headphones, which incorporate much of the same technology that make Ultimate Ears headphones sound so good. Apparently, Ultimate Ears is trying to go after the cheap-o in-ear headphones that the likes of Sony try to pass off as revolutionary.

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FIC’s taking more than just a page from the Linux community with its FIC-GTA001 smartphone—its taking their entire playbook. Hoping to capitalize on what is essentially free programmers for the project, FIC is releasing a Linux-based smartphone complete with an SDK (Software Development Kit). This allows end-users to develop their own programs and functionality for the phone (picture an army of geeks making sure you can play back DivX on your phone).

The phone itself has a 2.8-inch VGA display, USB mesh file sharing, multi-touch sensor recognition, GSM, GPS, 128MB RAM, a Samsung ARM9-based processor and MP3 playback capabilities. The concept of their multi-touch gestures is that you can use two fingers to control a variety of tasks, such as two finger scrolling like the PowerBooks and MacBooks. Some demo pics of the gesture abilities after the jump. Even though the phone will probably only sell to DIY-ers and Linux enthusiasts, there may be some interesting applications that come out of this.

Check out more here Slashgear

I found this while searching for Dell coupons. Please read this carefully. There are not typos. Yes, they will be “GIVING” away 100 PS3’s @ the Union Square Store in NYC. Try to plan your schedules accordingly, if you work in that area of Manhattan it will be crazy!!! Like Eddy, except without the death part… maybe!

Microsoft Corp. will unlock the digital-distribution capabilities of its next-generation console, Xbox 360, to Hollywood studios beginning Nov. 22.

Xbox 360 gamers in the U.S., totaling at least 3 million, will be able to purchase TV shows and download them to their gaming hard drive as well as rent and watch movies on their consoles.

The first wave of content will include dozens of high-definition and standard-definition offerings from such partners as Warner Bros. (“Batman Forever,” “V for Vendetta,” “The Nine”), Paramount Pictures (“Nacho Libre,” “Jackass: The Movie”), MTV Networks (“South Park,” “SpongeBob SquarePants”), CBS (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Survivor”) and Turner Broadcasting (“Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “Robot Chicken”).

Xbox 360 represents the first video game console to secure programming from major content providers as well the opening of a new front in digital-media distribution alongside the likes of Apple’s iTunes and Verizon’s VCast.

Microsoft director of platform strategy Scott Henson said there will be thousands of hours of television and movie content available on the console’s virtual storefront, Xbox Live Marketplace, by year’s end.

“The reason the Hollywood studios are excited to partner with us is because we have this 18- to 34-year-old demographic that’s extremely valuable and attractive to the networks and content providers,” Henson said. “This is a great opportunity to reach them in a different way. I think you’re going to see because of that a lot of other studios jumping on board over time with additional TV shows and movies.”

Microsoft isn’t divulging pricing yet on TV shows or movies, but Henson said it will be competitive with other digital offerings, with HD content slightly more expensive than standard definition.

TV episodes will be updated on a regular basis and available for purchase as early as the day after they air.

Read the Rest here