MicroTechXP

Microsoft is considering launching a hostile bid for search provider Yahoo as early next week if Yahoo does not begin talks soon, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said today. Liddell repeated a threat by Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday to withdraw Microsoft’s $31 a share cash and stock offer if Yahoo does not start negotiating. According to the CFO, Yahoo management has “unrealistic expectations” of its value. “We have been clear that speed is of the essence to make sense,” he told investors on a conference call to discuss quarterly results.
View: Full Story at Reuters

Please, stop. We cannae take any more. Speaking to 1up, Rockstar boss Sam Houser has admitted that the two versions of GTA IV do have visual differences.

“There’s a slight difference in the way they look,” he said. “I think that’s to do with really low-level technical stuff that I’m not the guy to explain. The 360 games have a certain look to them; PS3 games have a certain look to them. I like the way [the PS3] renders.” He concluded, “There’s a certain kind of softness without being blurry - some warmth to it - and then there’s a certain more clinical element to how the 360 looks.” [Videogaming247]

Sony has agreed to acquire Gracenote for about $260M.
Gracenote provides a range of music-related solutions including MusicID, which detects which song is currently being played by an application and loads track information for the user (such as artist and album names). MusicID leverages a database of over 6M CDs and 80M tracks. Its technology has been in development since 1995 (previously under the name CDDB).
Consumer music app services such as Apple iTunes, Yahoo! Music Jukebox, and Winamp use Gracenote for their music detection capabilities.
Gracenote will continue to operate separately from Sony after the deal is closed, which will probably happen in late May. Senior management will stay on. [TechCrunch]

You’re going to have to wait a little bit longer for Home. Sony’s much-discussed online service debuted at GDC over a year ago, but it’s still been restricted to a number of closed beta participants. According to a new press release by both SCEA and SCEE, the closed beta testing will continue through Summer, with an open beta finally available in the Fall.
“We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today,” said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Our overarching objective is to provide users with new gaming experiences that are available only on PLAYSTATION Home. Spending more time on the development and on the Closed Beta testing reaffirms our commitment to bringing a quality service, maintaining the PlayStation tradition.”
It appears that more people will be invited into the closed beta. However, this recent delay of Home is continuing a disturbing trend of promises that are delivered late or not at all, such as in-game XMB and game invites — these features are far more valuable than an online world to walk through. We’re sure everyone will echo the same sentiment: it’s been taking Sony much too long to deliver on these promises. Stay tuned for any new developments regarding the Home beta. [Ps3Fanboy]

Asustek plans to launch a new version of the Eee PC armed with Intel’s Atom microprocessor at the Computex trade show in Taipei this June, Asustek’s CEO said Monday. Atom is the name of the processor formerly called Diamondville. It was designed for low-cost laptop PCs, ultramobile PCs, Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), and other small devices aimed at connecting to the Internet. The processor is tiny, less than 25 square millimeters, will be priced low, and run at a battery-efficient 0.6 watts to 2.5 watts thermal design power, according to Intel.
Intel developed the chip for a class of low cost laptop PCs aimed at the developing world that started with the XO laptop from the One Laptop Per Child Foundation (OLPC). The foundation’s dream of a $100 laptop for kids in poor nations has turned into a global obsession, and technology companies are climbing aboard
View: The full story @ InfoWorld

As expected and reported by Neowin last week, Microsoft, via Chris Keroack the Windows XP SP3 Release Manager for the Windows Serviceability team, has announced the release of Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 to manufacturing.
Here’s the official word via a post to the TechNet XP Forum.
“Today we are happy to announce that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) has released to manufacturing (RTM). Windows XP SP3 bits are now working their way through our manufacturing channels to be available to OEM and Enterprise customers.
We are also in the final stages of preparing for release to the web (i.e. you!) on April 29th, via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center. Online documentation for Windows XP SP3, such as Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and the Microsoft TechNet Windows XP TechCenter, will be updated then. For customers who use Windows XP at home, Windows XP SP3 Automatic Update distribution for users at home will begin in early summer.
Thanks to everyone here who installed the public betas – you not only gave us detailed feedback but also helped each other out with timely troubleshooting. Through the beta program we found several important issues and were able to confirm some essential fixes. We couldn’t have done this without you.
We will still be monitoring this forum during the next few weeks in case you have more feedback about the release of Windows XP SP3.” [Neowin]
View: Microsoft TechNet XP Forum

Haven’t heard of the the elvish action-epic Elveon? It would be surprising, with the latest news coming straight from 2006. Additionally, this Unreal Engine 3 powered title was originally scheduled to release only on Xbox 360 and PC, leaving Sony’s console in the dust.
Contrary to popular belief, Elveon hasn’t been canned. You see, 10TACLE’s stock value dropped from nearly 15€ to 2€, causing them to cut 25% of their work force. This staff slimming included 10TACLE Bratislava, the original Elveon development team. As a result, the project’s reins have been handed to Climax, developer of such titles Silent Hill Origins and Viva Piñata for Windows.
On their official site’s homepage, there is an image of Elveon with the header “New 360/PS3 Project.” Additionally, there’s a similar image for an unknown game dubbed Exiles, apparently also slated for PS3 and 360. We’ve contacted Climax for an official statement on both of the above, and we’ll let you know what they have to say when they respond. In the mean time, know that you’ll probably be seeing some elvish action on a PS3 near you later this year. [PSU]

Although the so-called console war rages on, the format war has been over for several months. Blu-ray shoved HD DVD out of the marketplace and into the closet at the perfect time apparently, as DVD sales continue have continued to decrease since their plateau approximately three years ago.
“Blu-ray had its second-best week ever in the seven days ending March 23,” commented Steve Beeks, president and co-COO of Lionsgate. “We anticipate Blu-ray sales of $800 million to $1billion-plus for all of 2008, up dramatically from approximately $300 million last year.”
This dramatic 351% increase in Blu-ray sales will help alleviate the somewhat sluggish DVD sales that movie studios are now faced with. Blu-ray will only continue to climb as more people opt for high definition content over the standard DVD fare. This begs the question, how long will Blu-ray last in the face of the ever-growing digital market? We’re not sure, but we do know it’s a great time to own one of the best Blu-ray players available, the PlayStation 3. [PSU]

If your interest in processor speeds doesn’t extend much beyond “is it fast?” then these juicy tidbits likely aren’t for you. That said, AMD is certainly getting excited about its upcoming Barcelona successor: the 45nm Shanghai. The main points of interest out of the gate are HyperTransport 3.0, which was nixed late in the game on Barcelona, and six cores, which are meant to pit the chip up against Intel’s upcoming six-core Dunnington chip. Where things get really exciting is a few months after Shanghai’s late 2008 debut, when AMD plans do release a twin-die version, with 12 cores of happiness connected by HyperTransport 3.0. What does all that mean? Beats us, but we hope it’s fast. [Engadget]

While we’ve been waiting patiently for any word on a Unreal Tournament 3 release date for the 360 we couldn’t help but let our mind wonder about what extra content Epic would be packing in our edition. Seeing that Epic is known to add additional goods to game releases months down the road (here’s looking at you Gears of War PC). And our bonus content dreams have been confirmed.
Epic Games just revealed that the Xbox 360 edition of UT3 will feature all the previously released PS3 and PC content as well as five additional maps not available on any other edition, two new characters (Master Chief?) and the addition of local split screen. High fives all around! No release date has been announced though, but there is a new trailer which we’ve embedded above. Enjoy and look forward to the exclusive UT3 content headed our way, because we all know custom content isn’t going to happen. [X360F]