Readers of this space may recall that about two weeks ago I wrote about an intriguing turn of events for Microsoft Corp. (MSFT). Pursuant to an agreement with the European Commission, Microsoft has made available to it's new European customers a web page which provides those customers download utilities for a choice of twelve different web browser applications. As I suggested then, It appears that the reign of Windows Internet Explorer may come to a screeching halt.

According to a report from BBC News, a web browsing application known as Opera is knocking Internet Explorer back on it's heels in Europe. Opera Software of Norway states that downloads of it's web browsing software have doubled in some countries since the Microsoft provided selection page came on line. Anywhere from 60% to 75% of the new download requests for Opera have come via the new Microsoft provided service.

Live Nation (NYSE: LYV), a promoter of concerts and merchandise, took the stage on Thursday and played the entire set of its latest earnings numbers for Wall Street's rock fans. Unfortunately, some of the musical metrics were completely off-key.

For the first quarter, Live Nation said that revenues dipped by over 6%. Currency translations affected the top line, so if you strip them out, you get an increase of nearly 3%. The loss from continuing operations expanded by an earsplitting 40% to $1.29 per share. According to this news article, analysts were looking for a loss of only $0.82 per share.

I highly doubt that I am alone in saying my first portable music device was a Walkman. Almost everyone in my generation that came of age in the '80s had a Walkman for listening to their favorite tunes, but lately the word has almost vanished from our vocabulary. Sony (NYSE:SNE) is hoping to bring the Walkman back to life by entering it into the world of video.

Over the past couple of years, things at Sony have definitely been improving and the company has made great strides in putting together a respectable line of products. The Walkman however, has not been able to keep up with the competition, mainly in the form of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPod.

While I commend Sony for ushering the Walkman into the video world, I wouldn't go betting the farm on its ability to capture too much market share from the video iPod. For one thing the video iPod has been around for a year and a half already, and for another, more important reason: The iPod has become a household word.

Much like the way that us kids of the '80s loved and adored our Walkmans, today's kids are in love with the iPod. This past Christmas, my 7-year-old niece had one big request... a video iPod. I found it pretty amazing that even at the age of 7 the video iPod would make the top of her Christmas list.

The Walkman does have a couple of things working in its favor. The long life of the batteries is a definite plus. Users will not have to worry about changing their batteries for an estimated 30 hours of music or eight hours of video. The second big bonus is the technology Sony brings in the form of its noise-canceling headphones.

But will this be enough?

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is claiming "no harm no foul" in a hackers dream scenario which has come to light. It seems Windows Vista may allow would-be evildoers to whisper sweet nothings in your computer's ear and subsequently shut it down and/or delete material. An article at Red Herring exposes an apparent voice recognition loophole in the new Windows Vista operating system. The claim is that it has been shown that a hacker can invade the system... for or with a song.

Microsoft has downplayed the glitch, claiming that it's a small problem and it has similarly been encountered before. If that attitude is intended to make consumers feel better about possible system breeches, I'm afraid that Microsoft has another thing coming. Perhaps MSFT hasn't heard that PC security tops the list of consumer concerns in the IT world. Perhaps I need to send them a scathing letter (place sinister chuckle here).

We need to also consider how this Vista voice recognition glitch may be exploited further down the road. In light of the heavy usage of P2P BitTorrent type technologies for music sharing and similar, what is the potential for nasty audio hacker attacks to become widespread and destructive? If Windows Vista can be manipulated by virtual attacks placed within or alongside a song then just how far can audio-borne hacking go?

In AOL's continued makeover from bloated-has-been to its new target of lean-mean and on the cutting edge, AOL today has announced the launch of a music download service to complement its recently purchased MusicNow service.

The download service will offer some 2.5 million audio tracks for download at the iTunes established market price of $0.99 per song and music videos for $1.99. This comes on the heels of yesterday's launch of AOL's video service covered here by Brian White.

Additionally AOL Music Now will offer two subscription services. For $9.95 the user will have unlimited streaming and downloading to the user's computer. At $14.95, the user will have the features of the $9.95 service as well as the ability to copy the files to a PlayForSure device.

AOL's music history in quick recap: first, the company started with MusicNet in 2003 (strictly for AOL users), which followed with 2005 purchase of online site MusicNow. Since November AOL has launched a preview version of the new AOL MusicNow service (available to all users).

While the service is constantly undergoing refinements, the latest reviews (April/May 2006) from CNet and PCMag score the service in the Good to Very Good range, respectively.