News about what is happening in technology today!

Want to help Square Enix work out all the bugs in Final Fantasy XI for Xbox 360? Civic-minded MMO players can go help out right now (hat tip to “Darko” over at GAF).

If you’re American, you can sign up (or just read through all the warnings, which talk about the hilarious problems they seem to be experiencing right now) here; Euros click here.

Interestingly enough, the beta test FAQ reveals that since the game is run through Square Enix’s homebrewed online service PlayOnline, you don’t have to have an Xbox Live Gold (read: paid-for) membership to play FFXI.

You do, however, need to buy the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, which contains the beta test disc.

Oh man. More big CES news — Microsoft has announced that an “external” HD-DVD drive will be available for the system this year.

I would like to suggest to Microsoft that they never, EVER use this device for video games. Just movies. Because otherwise, instead of having the market split in two (hard drive vs. no hard drive) as it is now, it’ll be split into four distinct groups. Sort of like the Sega Genesis/32X/Sega CD situation, and we all know how well THAT turned out for Sega (hint: they don’t make video game hardware anymore).

Speaking of Sega, something else happened last generation: caught with their pants down when Sony announced that the PS2 would have a DVD drive (and the Dreamcast didn’t), they rushed to create a patchwork solution similar to this. It didn’t work (and was indeed never released).

I don’t really want to imagine what an Xbox 360 is going to look like with an external drive strapped on, either. However, I *do* like having movies in very high definition. Who will win?

Rival Google may be nipping at its heels, but Microsoft wasn’t flashing any defeatist signs Wednesday as it showcased its latest plans to help make living in the digital world safer, easier and more fun.

In his 10th keynote to kick off the International Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates highlighted the Windows Vista program, a major operating system upgrade set for release later this year. He also discussed how Microsoft’s Xbox game console and media-oriented software for PCs and electronics gadgets are aiming to help consumers connect more easily with each other, get more entertainment, and deliver more high-definition video.

“Consumers are getting more and more connected, and software is at the center of that,” Gates said.

Gates’ speech was just two days before Google hosts its first CES keynote, in a sign of the internet giant’s rising influence. Rumors are swirling among analysts that Google may unveil a Google-based PC, or some kind of Google-based software that would compete directly with or at least indicate the increasing irrelevance of Windows desktop software, Microsoft’s bread and butter.

In a memo to his top executives in November, Gates acknowledged that Microsoft should act quickly in offering web-based services to best formidable competitors.

But in a phone interview preceding his address, Gates downplayed a Google threat.

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An Midwest internet service provider was awarded an $11.2 billion judgment against a Florida man for sending millions of unsolicited e-mails advertising mortgage and debt consolidation services.

The lawsuit, filed in 2003 by Iowa’s CIS Internet Services, also prompted earlier judgments against companies in Florida and Arizona worth more than $1 billion.

“This ruling sets a new standard,” said CIS owner Robert Kramer III. “Gross abusers of e-mail risk exposure to public ridicule as well as the economic death penalty.”

The most recent judgment was issued Dec. 23 against James McCalla of Florida, who is also barred from accessing the internet for three years.

The lawsuit claimed that McCalla sent more than 280 million illegal spam e-mails into CIS’s network, which provides internet connections in Eastern Iowa and parts of Illinois.

Kramer’s lawsuit initially named numerous defendants, many of whom were dropped from the lawsuit in the last couple of years. In 2004, judgments totaling more than $1 billion were issued against Cash Link Systems and the TEI Marketing Group, both of Florida, and AMP Dollar Savings of Arizona.

The lawsuit said the defendants used the cis.net domain in the e-mails as part of a false return address to disguise their source and deflect complaints to CIS.

Kramer claimed that under state law he was entitled to $10 per illegal e-mail but didn’t expect to receive any of the judgment money.

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CNNMoney has an article entitled, ‘Gates unveils his Urge.’ From the piece: ‘Bill Gates aims to take over your living room and late Wednesday he unveiled a new music service and new software to do it. Using an appearance with Justin Timberlake, the Microsoft chairman debuted a new music service, Urge, to directly compete with the iTunes music store and interface. Urge launches with over 2 million tracks for purchase or as part of an all-you-can eat subscription, an option the iTunes music store doesn’t have. The offering will include exclusive material from MTV.’ Begin the living room wars we must.”