Hey guys, I just talked to Melissa from IME Dock. Guess what! They’re almost (still a few weeks to wait…) ready to ship their first Zune dock for the car. And because they’re really happy about this (they’ve been working...

Microsoft auctions off ultimate collection of gear inspired by Bungie's sci-fi shooter; includes hardware signed by Bill Gates and J Allard.

SpiralFrog offers free music downloads with no catches, except for all the catches

Like so many parents, Christine Ingemi of Amherst, N.H., got tired of constantly telling her four children, ages 5 to 11, to turn down the volume on their iPods. "It would be so loud sometimes, I could hear the music through the headphones," she said. However, music is important to her and her family, she said, so she searched for a way to limit the noise without banning her children from their ...

In an era where the Web is king, Microsoft is no longer regarded as a growth stock. But if the company's bets on new businesses pan out, it could become one again.

In one corner, there is Apple -- big technology company utterly lacking in humor. In another, there is Woot.com -- nimble little Internet sales machine, serving up one product per day, populated by some of the funniest writing anywhere on the Web, especially in Friday's offering, a perfectly conceived parody of Apple's apology to its early iPhone buyers.

Another week and another Zune Marketplace freebie that you can download, play back, burn to a CD, and most importantly, sync to your Zune device. A Zune account is required in order to download the free content. Clicking on any of the links below will automatically launch the Zune software and take you to the artist's page, so please ensure that the software is installed on your PC.



"Don't Wait Up For Me" by The Donnas
Genre: Rock/Metal
Length: 3:27

To learn more about The Donnas, visit the Zune Marketplace.

• The ONLY Xbox 360™ Limited Edition Halo 3 console that has been personally signed by Bill Gates.
• he ONLY Limited Edition Halo 3 Zune 30 GB media player personally signed by J Allard.
• The entire Halo Trilogy: Two copies of Halo 3 (Legendary Edition and Standard Edition), plus the Halo Triple Pack for Xbox® (Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack)
• Xbox 360 HD DVD player.
• Rare special aluminum storage case with over $400 worth of accessories (two Limited Edition Halo 3 Wireless Controllers with an exclusive Todd McFarlane Collectable Figurine, Messenger Kit, HDMI AV cable, extra 120 GB hard drive, and a Halo 3 T-shirt).

Does the above sound as amazing to you as it does to me? What if they threw in the good feeling of helping young people at the same time? As a former BGC'er, I can tell you how much good this place does. I would throw my bid in, but I'm afraid I haven't been as successful as some of the other alums—Bill Clinton, Michael Jordan, and Shaq come to mind—and the bidding is currently at $8.6k with 55 bids (thanks ucfgrad93).

Microsoft seems to be enjoying the Halo 3 buzz as much as it can--and rightly so. The reviews and first-hand accounts from friends who skipped school yesterday have come back positive, with such words as "insane" and "ridiculous" peppering every other sentence. Me? I'm keeping my day job.

EDIT: The one thing I'm happy this package doesn't include (that all the millions of other "ULTIMATE HALO 3 PACKAGE HAX0RS WTFBBQ" packages contain) is Game Fuel. I've been told this stuff is like ambrosia, granting superhuman concentration to its imbiber while simultaneously tasting like or better than a regular carbonated beverage. In reality, it does neither. It tastes a bit like cherry mouthwash (you know, the stuff they put out for kids under 12), and to top it off, I feel like crap. Please, don't waste your money.

Hit the break for a close-up of Gates' sig on the 360, and J Allard's Zune love too.

Microsoft sees the youthful audience for the Zune wireless-sharing MP3 player (which allows music sharing for three days or three plays, then gives users a chance to buy it) and associated downloading service as more than just a target market, said industry analysts: It also sees it as an ally in its quest to topple the king-of-the-hill Apple iPod/iTunes.

Site offers cheaper music downloads Amazon.com wants to put a bruise in Apple Inc.'s digital music sales.