Software giant Microsoft Corp has matched a reward being offered in the search for a missing Canadian teenager who ran away from home after his parents took away his Xbox 360 video game console.

Microsoft, which makes the Xbox 360, said it would match the existing reward of C$25,000 ($19,400) for information leading to Brandon Crisp’s return.

“Like everyone, we are deeply worried about the disappearance of Brandon Crisp,” the company said in an email. “Law enforcement has contacted Microsoft about this matter and we are co-operating fully with them. We are unable to comment further on the nature of our co-operation because of the ongoing investigation.” However it is not that difficult to guess that MS put a trace on his XBox 360 online account .

The 15-year-old has been missing since October 13. He ran away from his home in Barrie, Ontario, north of Toronto, after his parents took away his gaming privileges because of his excessive playing of “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare”.

An unlocked iPhone 3G is a little closer to becoming reality, according to the iPhone Dev Team.

Gizmodo picked up on a video produced by the iPhone Dev Team demonstrating that it has gained access to the baseband processor used by Apple in the iPhone 3G. The baseband chip is what controls the connection between the phone and the mobile phone network, meaning that a software download that could let you use your iPhone 3G on a carrier network other than the ones officially designated by Apple could be released soon.

I’m sure you remember the fuss about the original iPhone and those who sought to unlock it from the four carriers that were Apple’s launch partners for the first iPhone. The iPhone 3G has proven a tougher nut to crack, because Apple apparently changed the baseband to make it more difficult to exploit than the baseband used on the original iPhone. You can unlock your iPhone 3G to use it on another carrier by modifying the SIM card, but what the iPhone Dev Team is trying to accomplish is a software-based unlock that you would just download and install.

Canonical has announced that it will release its latest Ubuntu updates for desktop and server editions on Oct. 30.

According to the Linux-based operating system’s commercial distribution sponsor, the free download of Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition has been specifically tailored to fulfill the connectivity needs of today’s digital lifestyle. For example, users of the new desktop OS will be able to move seamlessly from wired and Wi-Fi networks onto 3G cell-phone networks while on the go, noted Canonical Chief Operating Officer Jane Silber.

“Ubuntu 8.10 lays the groundwork for a radically different, more mobile, desktop computing environment,” Silber said.

Microsoft Corp. is taking another step into the world of Web-based computing with a new system it’s calling Windows Azure.

Microsoft says it’s joining Amazon.com Inc. and other rivals in selling information storage space and computing power “in the cloud,” distributed across massive data centers worldwide. That will let companies build Web-based programs without having to manage their own data centers.

Microsoft’s chief software architect, Ray Ozzie, described Azure to software developers at a conference Monday in Los Angeles.