According to a pretty long thread over at Zune.net, it appears that Zune Pass subscription holders have seen their music disappear in the last week, for no reason whatsoever.

Says the first post of the thread:

"Anyone else finding more content either not available, album only or music that was offered (Spoon/Arcade Fire) now just gone? This seems to be happening more and more over the past few months. Just wondering if anyone else has been having the same issues when looking for music?

Seems to defeat the purpose of paying $15 a month for a subscription and purchase service."

If you are a Zune Pass owner, check the full thread here and any responses from Microsoft.

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According to figures from Forecasting and Analysing Digital Entertainment (FADE), the Xbox Live Arcade has hit $103 million in revenue for the year 2009, a giant 34 percent increase year-on-year.

The best-sellers were mainly at the $15 USD mark, and overall average price for downloadable games rose from $8.33 to $9.12 in the same time period.

Battlefield 1943 was the highest grossing game, accounting for $12.5 million in sales with an estimated 800,000 units sold.

The average XBL user spent $2.79 on Arcade for 2009, a drop from 2008.

There are currently over 20 million with XBL accounts.

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Microsoft has noted that it will be dropping the price of the 120GB Xbox 360 HDD in Europe, as well as releasing an external 250GB HDD for the console in Japan.

The 120GB drive will drop from £99.99 to £79.99, "while supplies last," with many expecting that a 250GB HDD release will come after all supplies are exhausted.

"Microsoft is now offering a standalone 250GB hard drive in Japan to provide consumers in Japan more storage options for their games and entertainment," says Microsoft. "We work closely with retailers to determine the best approach for our products on a region-by-region basis. In Europe, the 120GB hard drive is available for an ERP of €129.99 / £79.99 while supplies last. We also offer other storage options for consumers to choose from such as the Xbox Live 60GB Starter Pack that includes a 60GB hard drive, three-month subscription to Xbox LIVE, ethernet cable and wired headset for an ERP of €79.99 / £59.99."

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In June 2008, Sling Media introduced an iPhone-version of the SlingPlayer software, however, it only worked over Wi-Fi, and not AT&T's 3G data service.

As of this week, it appears a 3G-compatible version is coming.

Say the companies:

"Just as we've worked with Sling Media in this instance, we look forward to collaborating with other developers so that mobile customers can access a wider, more bandwidth-sensitive, and powerful range of applications in the future," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "Collaboration with developers like Sling Media ensures that all apps are optimized for our 3G network to conserve wireless spectrum and reduce the risk that an app will cause such extreme levels of congestion that they disrupt the experience of other wireless customers. Our focus continues to be on delivering the nation's most advanced mobile broadband experience and giving our customers the widest possible array of mobile applications."

The upgrade is free to existing customers.

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Deutsche Telekom AG is actively considering an IPO for its T-Mobile USA branch, as a way to help pay for the carrier's large upcoming infrastructure buildout.

Telekom is Europe's largest mobile phone carrier, but T-Mobile remains in fourth place in the US. It is currently in talks with banks for an underwriter of the public offering.

The company has already spent $3 billion on 3G infrastructure in the U.S., and Telekom's share price has fallen despite one of the largest stock market rallies in history.

DT and T-Mobile declined comment on the report.

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A newly launched site called TVGorge is promoting what millions of international citizens have wanted for years from streaming site Hulu; free access to tons of TV shows, legally.

The site uses "indexing techniques" to gather content from tons of legal TV streaming sites around the world. It claims TV.com, Hulu, TVGuide and TVDuck as "partners." The site does not store video files on its own servers and simply uses links or embeds from other sites.

There are currently 120 TV shows available, with full seasons available for shows such as Californication, 24 and 30 Rock, among many others.

Although the site claims legality, it will be interesting to see how long until some content holder puts an end to the site, or at least the international part.

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Twentieth Century Fox has filed six new lawsuits this week, all against alleged sellers of a workprint version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was leaked online one month before the film's theatrical release.

The DVDs containing the pirated film were being sold on iOffer.com, Craigslist.org and Sell.com before the movie's release date.

A few of the lawsuits are for different movies, including "Marley & Me," "Avatar" and "Bride Wars." Fox employees purchased the discs from these sellers over the course of the last year.

Fox says it is seeking up to $150,000 per infringement.

"This kind of conduct not only violates the law, it's just plain wrong," Fox added. "We filed these lawsuits today to protect our creative professionals and the intellectual property they spend years developing."

Almost a year later, the FBI and Fox have still been unable to track down the earliest leak of the workprint copy.

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Microsoft has announced today that they will be discontinuing Xbox Live service for the original Xbox console starting in April. The move will effectively kill all online play for the orphaned console, as well as for Xbox games that can be played on the Xbox 360.

"This isn't a decision we made lightly, but after careful consideration, it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox Live community," says XBL general manager Marc Whitten.

Whitten does admit that some games still have significant amounts of players, such as Halo 2, but all things must come to an end. Says the GM: "There's no greater example of the power of the Xbox Live community than the Halo franchise. Halo 2 has had an amazing run on Live, with a dedicated community more than five years after launch and well into the next generation of consoles. It has fundamentally changed the way we play videogames. And while it's difficult to see that run come to an end, the Halo franchise continues to act as the benchmark for multiplayer gaming in this generation, with Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and soon Halo: Reach on Xbox 360."

With the death of original Xbox Live, will come new services and features for the 360 version.

"As we look down the road, we'll continue to evolve the service with features and experiences that harness the full power of Xbox 360. To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox games. We will contact the Xbox Live members directly impacted by this change and if this includes you, I encourage you to check your Live messages and associated email account over the coming weeks for more details and opportunities. We view you as a partner in this process," Whitten concludes.

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Voddler, an internet-based on demand video service, has just received 2.6 million euros in venture capital. Based out of Sweden, Voddler offers video streams for a variety of TV and movie titles.

Voddler has been in business since 2005. Currently their service is in beta and boasts 400,000 users in Sweden who had watched 1 million titles as of January.

They plan to expand into Norway in the first quarter of this year, followed by launches in Denmark and Finland.

Voddler is similar to Spotify, a streaming music service also based out of Sweden. Titles can be viewed for free, paid for by advertising.

In the future Voddler will also begin offering a premium service where users can pay directly to avoid the ads.

Sometimes seems like Netflix and Hulu are the only serious streaming video services because they get so much press. But competition from companies like Voddler will be essential for the market to grow, particularly outside the US.

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