A software engineer at Tata Consultancy Services was found dead in his apartment in Velachery, India late last Friday.

The engineer, Vijayakumar, was living in the apartment with two other roommates, Vignesh and Ram Prasad. The latter of the two was home during the accident, but was in another room at the time.

Vijayakumar’s body was found charred in a suspected computer blast, according to Police. “We are yet to ascertain the cause of the blast. The computer was completely damaged and the deceased was charred,” stated an official. “Ram Prasad had gone to take bath. He told us that suddenly he heard a blast and when he rushed out he saw the charred body of his friend and fainted. It sounds quite unbelievable. We have not heard of such a case before. But the scene of the accident seems to suggest that the youth was killed in an accident as his body was in the sitting position in front of the burnt computer.”

Microsoft plans a downgrade program for Windows 7, allowing users to go back not only to Vista, should they choose, but also to Windows XP.

Microsoft hasn’t detailed exactly how downgrade rights will work with Windows 7–beyond confirming that users will be able to go back to XP–but presumably the rights will be attached to the Ultimate and Professional versions of Windows 7.

Businesses with volume-licensing deals covering Windows have long had the right to use any earlier version of Windows with their PCs.

The Associated Press unveiled rate cuts on Monday to help member newspapers reeling from declining advertising revenue and said it would sue websites that use its members’ articles without permission.

Changes announced by the AP at its annual meeting in San Diego include $35 million in rate assessment reductions for 2010 on top of $30 million it already instituted for 2009.

The 163-year-old newswire service also will allow member newspapers to cancel their membership with one year’s notice instead of two, while offering a discount to papers that stay on a two-year cancellation notice.