Craigslist ad purported to be from two female gamers who would do anything to get the next-gen console.

How far would you go to get an Xbox 360? Well, if one Craigslist.org ad were to be believed, two Boston-area women would do just about anything to get their hands on the next-gen console. Under the headline “trade sex for an xbox 360,” a person claiming to be a 22-year-old woman said “Me and my roommate are totally hard core gamers, but our desperate (sic) attempts to get an Xbox 360 have gotten us nothing so far.” The poster told responders to “send me a photo of you holding the system, and tell me what I have to do to get it.”

Source: gamespot

Another ball was lobbed in the virtual tennis match over America Online’s future with a report on Friday that Time Warner had entered exclusive talks about strengthening its advertising relationship with Google instead of dropping Google to partner with Microsoft.

Under the deal, which likely wouldn’t be finalized until next week after Time Warner’s board meeting Wednesday, Google would allow AOL to sell ads among the search results provided by Google on its properties and Google could promote AOL Web sites among sponsored links in search results, according to an unidentified source in the The Wall Street Journal online article.

Update:
Google Inc. is in exclusive talks to pay $1 billion for a 5 percent stake in Time Warner Inc.’s online unit AOL, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

“Those talks include, among other things, a $1 billion investment for a 5 percent stake in AOL,” said the source.

Source: News.com

Advanced Micro Devices said on Friday that a Tokyo court asked Japan’s antitrust regulator to hand over evidence on Intel’s business practices in Japan, providing potential ammunition for AMD’s court cases against Intel.

AMD Japan in June filed two suits against Intel’s Japan unit, seeking $55 million in damages from the world’s largest chipmaker for alleged violations of the country’s antitrust laws.

The lawsuits followed a March ruling by the Fair Trade Commission that Intel had violated antitrust laws by offering rebates to five PC makers that agreed either not to buy or to limit their purchases of chips made by AMD or other rivals.

AMD said in a statement it plans to use the evidence, obtained through the commission’s investigation of Intel’s business conduct in Japan, as part of its suits against Intel in Japan.

Source: News.com

Googlers can now pick up their smart phone and dial into their Google email account, regardless of which cellular carrier is connecting to their phone. So, whether sitting through a boring board meeting or stuck in traffic, Gmail can be accessed.

The Gmail service is designed to allow users to access their mail and keep it synced up, whether its checked via a cell phone or a PC.

Source: News.com

Dell is voluntarily recalling and offering free replacements for certain notebook batteries that were sold for use with some models of Dell Latitude TM, Dell Precision TM and Dell Inspiron TM notebook computers. It is possible for these batteries to overheat, which could pose a risk of fire.

Potentially affected batteries were sold with the following models of Dell notebook computers or separately as secondary batteries:

* Latitude D410, D505, D510, D600, D610, D800, D810
* Inspiron 510M, 600M, 6000, 8600, 9200, 9300, XPS Gen 2
* Precision M20, M70

In addition, these batteries may have also been provided in response to service calls. The batteries were shipped to customers between October 5, 2004 and October 13th 2005. The words “DELL” and “Made in Japan” or “Made in China” are printed on the back of the batteries. The following battery models, only, are subject to recall: 3K590, C5340, X5308, F5132, U5882, U5867, 6P922, C5446, C2603.

These part numbers are printed on the back of the battery packs as illustrated below.

To determine whether your battery is affected by this issue, you should Click Here. The website will direct you to find and enter an identification number from the back of your battery pack so as to determine whether the battery is affected by this issue. If the battery is subject to this recall you will be automatically connected to a replacement order form. Dell will also provide a means for you to return the affected battery packs for proper disposal.

For more detailed instructions.

You can also write to Dell Inc., Attn: Battery Program, 9701 Metric Blvd., Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758.

Batteries subject to recall should not be used while awaiting a replacement battery pack from Dell. You may continue to use your notebook computer using the AC adapter power cord originally provided with your notebook.

You’ve got mail–and possibly gonorrhea, HIV or another sexually transmitted disease.

E-mail sent through Web sites launched in Los Angeles and San Francisco is providing people with a free, sometimes anonymous, way to tell their casual sex partners that they might have picked up more than they bargained for.

Los Angeles County health officials launched InSpotLA this week in a bid to reduce the rapidly rising spread of STDs by encouraging sexually active men and women to get tested.

“This is another opportunity for people to disclose STD exposure to partners because sometimes people don’t always have that face-to-face opportunity, or that level of relationship,” Karen Mall, director of prevention and testing at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said Thursday.

“Partner disclosure is where we really have the opportunity to break the chain of HIV infection,” Mall said.

Source: News.com

Norwegian internet browser maker Opera has not been approached by Google or any other firms as a possible takeover target, Christian Jebsen, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, said on Thursday.

Shares in the Oslo-based company, whose main focus is on manufacturing internet browsers for mobile phones, have leapt to their highest level since the beginning of October amid recent takeover speculation.

But Jebsen said that Opera did not know of any takeover bid and was not in talks with any company, after rumours of a possible bid from Google.

“We have heard the rumours but know nothing more about this,” he told Reuters.

Source: Reuters

It’s a cell phone. It’s a computer. It’s the two invaluable companions of the modern executive in one.

DualCor Technologies next month will unveil the cPC, a full-fledged handheld Windows XP computer that also comes with a built-in smart phone that runs Windows Mobile 5.0.

The cPC is 6.5 inches long, 3.3 inches wide, 1.2 inches thick and has a 5-inch diagonal screen. It will be aimed at sales representatives and executives who travel extensively, said CEO Steven Hanley, who joined the company seven months ago.

Source: News.com

Google Inc., the leading online search engine company, will open a new engineering and research office in Pittsburgh next year to be headed by a Carnegie Mellon University professor, the company said Thursday.

The facility will be charged with creating software search tools for Google. It is expected to create as many as 100 new high-tech jobs in the Pittsburgh area over the next few years, said Craig Nevill-Manning, director of Google’s New York engineering office.

Source: AP

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it had filed its first-ever breach-of-contract lawsuits against several members of a software subscription service.

The Redmond-based company alleges that nine people in California, Maryland, New York, Texas and Virginia obtained Microsoft Action Pack Subscriptions, then tried to sell the software on Internet auction sites.

Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, said the alleged abuses involved falsifying information to receive program benefits and software titles multiple times.

The MAPS program provides partners with discounted Microsoft software for product evaluation and internal use, not for resale.

Source: AP