Strange New World: Picks of the Week

Microsoft and "Rock the Vote" have teamed up to register 2 million young voters.

ByABC News
August 28, 2008, 5:31 PM

Aug. 29, 2008— -- This week, things are heating up politically, so we thought we'd get into the fray with a couple pseudo political tech nuggets: Microsoft is going to try and get gamers to vote with their Xboxes, and Joe Biden might not be a friend of peer-to-peer networks. And if you've had your fill of politics, how about a little Internet radio?

Here are our picks of the week.

Microsoft has teamed up with "Rock the Vote" and will try to register 2 million under-30 voters in time for this fall's election. Beginning with this week's Democratic National Convention and continuing through the Republican National Convention next week, there will be exclusive forums and polls on Microsoft's Xbox Live network, accessible via the Xbox 360. You will also be able to register to vote through the service.

"Rock the Vote" will also have several public service announcements available for download on Xbox Live. Microsoft also will be active at both conventions, talking to both parties about violence in video games and touting the Xbox 360 family settings as a way to stop kids from playing games that aren't appropriate for them.

Sen. Joe Biden is a good friend of Hollywood, and in 2002 sponsored a bill that would have made it a federal felony to modify PCs or media players so they could play copy-protected music or unauthorized programs. The bill eventually died.

A few months later, he signed a letter to the Justice Department that recommended prosecuting "individuals who intentionally allow mass copying from their computer over peer-to-peer networks."

Last year, he sponsored another bill called the Perform Act, which would limit the ability of satellite radio listeners to record and play back content.

Sen. Barack Obama has pledged to update current copyright laws if he gets elected, but his vice president may have other ideas.

We might just be looking at this with the nostalgia of something that is about to fade away, but it sure seems like the state of audio on the Web has never been better: Take a test drive around the Web's audio assets and you should find a simply fabulous array of offerings.