At the time of me writing this, there are 5,753 360s for sale on eBay alone and I’m sure the number is only going to grow since Microsoft’s announcement of 600k+ system bans for modding and violations of terms of service. Adjusted numbers according to Daily Tech and CNN/CNET, put the ban at about a million.

The reason for this influx of systems to Craig’s List and eBay is consoles are being banned from Xbox Live but not GamerTags – not yet anyway. So, if your current console gets banned from Xbox Live, you can buy a new console and get back to Xbox Live fun. What this means for you as the deal hunter-gatherer is that some of those consoles on eBay and Craig’s List are probably banned consoles.

Imagine the hilarity that would ensue if you unknowingly bought a banned console off of eBay with every intention of playing on Xbox Live and then you discovered that your console was banned. Fun times.

So, the moral of the story is two-fold: don’t buy a used Xbox 360 from someone you don’t trust if you want on Xbox Live for fear it might be banned and don’t download pirated games on your Xbox 360. Not only is that illegal, but you’ll end up banned and stuck with a console that can’t got on Xbox Live.

Image|Microsoft

Post from: EveryJoe

The social search technology in Me.dium is the latest partner in the IE8 search strategy. Joining with other partners like eBay, Facebook, and Yahoo! the IE8 software is coming closer and closer to the final product that we’ll be seeing hitting the market.

Me.dium’s Social Search has a unique ability to harness the activity of the crowds to let users find information that has relevance based on what people are actually looking at right now. This enhances Microsoft’s IE8 promises to deliver the best browser for what people do every day, making that experience faster, easier and safer than ever. Searching is the most commonly performed task on the web. By featuring Me.dium’s innovative search experience, IE8 now provides the user with an entirely new level of crowd-powered information on top of traditional search, and helps users to keep up with what’s hot, and see recommendations ranked by what people are actually looking at; reflecting the changing interests of the online community.

I like this type of integration into the browser, it’s just not quite the execution and functionality I’m really looking for yet. I understand that power of the “wisdom of crowds”, but for the most part it goes completely against what we were always told by our parents as kids right? "If everyone else was jumping off a cliff, would you join them?"

No.

That’s what I’m looking for things to change slightly. It’s not the wisdom of the "crowd" I’m really interested in, it’s the wisdom of "my crowd" of people. Who am I already trusting and who all is already a part of my extended social network.

I want to harness what the people in my address book are searching for and think is important. I want to hear from my twitter followers what they’ve found that’s interesting. To a degree I’m interested in what my friends on MySpace and Facebook say, but to a lesser degree. I trust the people I’m interacting with regularly. Not just the general Internet crowd.

Source: PR Newswire Me.dium Joins eBay, Facebook, and Yahoo! in Microsoft’s Windows(R) Internet Explorer(R) 8

Post from: EveryJoe

“If Microsoft purchases eBay, it would certainly invigorate MSN and create a stronger community due to the growing use of Skype and PayPal,” she said. “A dramatic gesture of this sort is needed to achieve the promise of MSN to be a leading content- and services-delivery model.”

“Microsoft has no expertise in actual commerce and transactions, and there is no natural synergy between the two companies other than that they both have a major Internet presence,” she said. “Surely, there are less painful ways to improve the stakes for MSN.”

“Less painful ways to improve the stakes for MSN” ? Yes, there may be less painful ways, but are their more efficient and promising ways? I’m not sure about the answer to that question, but I’m sure it’s more about the answer to that question than trying to be less “painful”. Sure there’s something to be said for things going smoothly in a business deal, but I don’t think that’s the point of purchasing other companies. The point is to strengthen an area where you’re weak, or expand your market or presence in your existing market. All of which this purchase of eBay would do for Microsoft.

My biggest question though is how the advertising deal would work out that Yahoo! and eBay just entered into with each other. Would seem pretty weird to me to see Yahoo! advertising on a Microsoft owned web entity.

Source: Microsoft Rumored to Be Planning eBay Buyout

Post from: EveryJoe