Okay, the headline isn't true. But it's certainly possible if you believe this BusinessWeek article titled "Microsoft: Let's Make More Deals." The article demonstrates how Microsoft is moving into the content creation area, which seems to bring them dangerously out of its core competency. I'd propose a better strategy would be to enable consumer-created content and wrap ads around them. The risk they run is buying a big content aggregator and probably starving them to death because Microsoft is about proprietary technology not content. That said, we'll all be using Microsoft Live soon, and even Google is becoming a newspaper.

I've highlighted some areas of interest in the below "more" section. My favorite quote:

People are rapidly evolving beyond the couch potatoes of old, who passively absorbed corporate sales pitches in between segments of TV shows. Instead, they're taking more control over what they watch, though technologies like TiVo (TIVO ) and YouTube, and skipping commercials they don't want to see. "Consumers are less willing to view ads that have a negative impact on the viewing experience," says Bainbridge's Marchese. Continue reading Microsoft Buys YouTube →

I can't link to the WSJ because it's subscription only. But today saw a fascinating article (details below in the "more" section) in which Warner Brothers announced that it would use Peer-to-Peer technology to distribute its movies at the same time as DVDs. This gives them a cheaper distribution channel, but they're still going to charge a to-be-determined amount (it will be very interesting to see what price point they hit to ensure they don't cannibalize DVD sales but see if they can win over some people that are otherwise prone to privacy). My guess- 30% less than DVDs as long as the portability restrictions aren't much higher than DVDs. Otherwise the masses will go to NetFlix, Blockbusters or peer-to-peer black markets.

To read a highlight of the article, click "more" below.

Continue reading We’re Happy to Use Peer-to-Peer to Distribute Films. But We’re Still Charging, Thank You. →