You probably knew Microsoft was officially launching Windows 7 today after months of beta testing. But that doesn't mean that CEO Steve Ballmer didn't have a few surprises up his sleeve at launch event.

Some of the coolest new features weren't actually from Microsoft. Partners including CBS, Netflix, and Amazon introduced new applications that work with Windows 7.

CBS content including full-length TV shows will now be available directly from Windows 7 Media Center. At a time when Fox, NBC, and ABC are making streaming content available through the Hulu web site, CBS has been holding out. And now maybe we know why. While Hulu Desktop presents a pretty decent 10-foot interface for watching Hulu content, the usage agreement says you're technically not supposed to plug in a TV to use the application. Windows 7 Media Center, on the other hand, is all about making the experience of watching PC content on a big screen TV easier.

Microsoft also announced that there will be an updated version of the Netflix streaming video app for Windows 7 Media Center as well as integration with the Zune video podcast library and content from MSN and MSNBC.

Meanwhile, Amazon is introducing a new Kindle application for Windows 7. It supports multi-touch gestures and allows you to read Kindle eBooks with color photos and supports pinching to zoom. So if you don't feel like dropping $260 on a physical Kindle, it looks like you can turn your Windows 7 notebook or tablet into an eBook reader capable of handling content from the Kindle store... albeit one with much shorter battery life than the Kindle eBook reader.

Today's announcement shows that Amazon is expanding its Kindle ecosystem well beyond dedicated devices. The company also offers an iPhone version of the Kindle reader. The Kindle for PC application will be available in November.

[via SlashGear]

CBS, the parent company of Last.fm, is launching HD radio stations in the four largest US markets, powered by Last.fm. We've seen traditional radio stations go online before, but it's rare to see an online service take to the airwaves like this. The stations will play music based on Last.fm's weekly charts, which sounds like a Web 2.0 twist on the old call-in countdown votes on the radio stations of my childhood.

To tune in to the actual stations you'll need to be in LA, New York, Chicago or San Francisco, and have an HD radio. That means this might be a bigger win for HD radio adoption in general than for Last.fm in particular. If people are going to start buying HD receivers, it'll be because there's enough quality content to make the investment worth it. Last.fm's stations might be a good start.

If you're not, though, you can still catch the online streaming version of the station through the Last.fm site or through Last.fm's mobile apps. Listeners can also expect in-studio performance and interviews from a studio Last.fm has set up in New York. With data from over 25 million users, Last.fm might be taking the mystery out of the formula for radio success. I wonder if they'll dig up some obscure gems, too, or whether it'll just be the popular stuff.

[via Wired]

Remember the panic a while back about social music site Last.FM supposedly leaking listener data to the RIAA? TechCrunch sure does, because they started the rumor, and then faced accusations of shoddy reporting from basically the whole Internet when it turned out to be false. Well, now TechCrunch have uncovered some new information that shows they were right after all ... sort of.

Last.fm's parent company, CBS, was the source of the leak to the RIAA. Last.fm didn't know about it at the time, having just turned over the data to CBS, which explains their vehement denials. TechCrunch isn't saying Last.fm lied, but they are saying that CBS duped them during the reporting for their original story, asking TC to attribute a CBS quote to Last.fm.

The reason for the link, according to Techcrunch's source at CBS, is that the requester (it could have been the RIAA, or an individual label) had the ability to hurt CBS/Last.fm on streaming rates. The source also claims that Last.fm premium accounts aren't making any profit, and the leak was made with the intent of protecting Last.fm from increased rates that could put it out of business.

No comment from Last.fm yet, but it's still early (and a three-day weekend) at their headquarters in the UK. We'll know more when they've had a chance to respond.

CBS, which owns the online TV portal TV.com recently redesigned the site, and today the company is announcing deals that will allow it to show online video from PBS, Sony, MGM, and other studios in addition to the Hulu and CBS content that's already available.

In other words, you can add TV.com to the long list of online video portals, most of which are showing pretty much identical content. What CBS hopes will set the site apart from the competition is the existing user base that uses the site to view TV listings, episode guides, and the site's social features. The site has active forums, reviews, and a ton of information about TV shows, actors, and other entertainment related items.

What it doesn't have is a user friendly interface for browsing online video. If you click on Videos or Shows, you may very well get to a page that has information about and video clips from a TV show. But it's not until you click on the full episodes button that you'll find out whether or not full episodes are even available. And I wasn't able to find a single page with a list of TV shows available for viewing like the ones you can find at Hulu and other popular video sites. Sure, most people will probably find it easier to search for content than to browse, and the search engine works reasonably well. But again, it just takes too many clicks to find out whether full episodes are available for streaming.

TV.com certainly has the potential to be a major player in the online video space. The site has a great URL and a good selection of content and features. But if CBS is serious about making it a portal for watching videos and not just reading about them, the site still needs a little work.

You know how online video site Hulu is working to differentiate itself from YouTube by focusing on professionally produced video from TV networks? Yeah, YouTube's starting to branch out into that territory too now. CBS and YouTube recently began rolling out full length episodes of selected TV shows from the CBS archives.

Right now there's not a ton of content to choose from. Just a few episodes each of Beverly Hills 90210, MacGuyver, Star Trek, and The Young And the Restless.

Unlike typical YouTube videos, these episodes will include pre-roll and interstitional ads, much like the video ads you find at Hulu.

To be honest, it's much harder to find full length TV episodes on YouTube right now than it is on Hulu. A search for "Star Trek" brings up a ton of short clips that you have to sift through to find the 5 full length episodes. But if CBS rolls out more content and if YouTube signs additional partners, perhaps the company will develop a better system for finding TV programs on the site.

[via Advertising Age and Gizmodo]

CBS has launched a new online video service that lets you watch live video streams while chatting with other users at the same time. The service is part of CBS Labs, the experimental arm of the CBS web site.

While watching a program you can type into a comment box to interact with other users, answer quizzes, or be obnoxious and throw virtual items including darts, hearts, and lips at the screen. Messages disappear from the screen pretty quickly, which helps keep the display from getting to cluttered. But you can click a history box to review older comments if you have a hard time keeping up.

If the whole idea sounds familiar, that's because Lycos rolled out a similar service a few months back. The Lycos Cinema player actually offers a better interface with a more traditional chat window that stays on the screen while you're typing or hovering your mouse, but disappears when you're not using it. And you can start playing Lycos movies whenever you like instead of sitting in on live streams. But Lycos Cinema's content library is populated by obscure titles and lacks mainstream fare like How I Met Your Mother.

[via TechCrunch]

AOL has relaunched AOL Radio, with live streams from 140 CBS-owned radio stations from around the country in addition to hundreds of web-only channels. That includes a handful of talk radio stations and dozens of music stations. But more importantly, the CBS deal could help AOL bring in local advertising deals, which could be a vital component in making AOL Radio profitable.

The New York Times reports that Arbitron rating show that AOL Radio has a larger weekly audience than any other web radio service. But the cost of providing the bandwidth for radio streams and paying royalties for the rights to stream the music is high, and the company has yet to turn a profit from its online radio efforts.

The deal with CBS replaces a similar partnership AOL had with XM Satellite Radio.

The new AOL Radio Player also features support for Safari, preset buttons and support for pausing radio streams and skipping some songs.

Condé Nast Publications (which owns Wired, Wired.com, and a whole bunch of major magazines) has agreed to purchase Ars Technica for an undisclosed sum.

According to TechCrunch, Ars will be placed under the Wired Digital umbrella under CondéNet, which was made whole with the 2006 acquisition of Wired.com, and may be combined with Wired and Wired.com. The sale will be announced some time in the next week, Mashable has confirmed.

Ars looks to be a good fit for Wired and Wired.com, especially given the similar styles of tech reporting available on on both networks. Both include traditional professional feature style reporting on technology and trends. Wired will benefit from the addition of the new writing staff and Ars will gain a new outlet from its reporting. We wouldn't be surprised to see their work appearing in other publications across the Condé Nast house. The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and even GQ (all Condé Nast publications) could stand to benefit from Gear and Gadgets and some of the other ongoing reporting from Ars Technica.

CBS is buying CNET. For $1.8 billion in cash. While that might seem like a drop in the bucket compared to some buyout offers we've seen recently, that's still a lot of cash flowing from an old media company to a new one.

CBS is no stranger to new media. The company purchased the internet radio service Last.fm last year. But according to a press release put out by CBS this morning, this acquisition will make CBS "one of the 10 most popular Internet companies in the United States."

CNET Networks owns a whole slew of internet sites, including ZDNet, GameSpot, TV.com, MP3.com, Download.com, and of course, CNET and News.com.

[via Brian Alvey]

Online streaming service Last.fm is making a few major announcements today. The good news is that you can listen to practically any song you like, even full albums for free. The bad news, is you can only listen to a track three times before a notice pops up suggesting that you sign up for Last.fm's upcoming subscription based service.

The CBS-owned music discovery/online radio service has signed deals with all the major record labels, and also has a system in place to pay independent musicians as well. Last.fm will pay artists each time a song is streamed, with revenue coming from advertising and the upcoming subscription service. No word on how much subscriptions will cost.

Users in the US, UK, and Germany can access the full music library today, and the company is working on expanding coverage. The site claims that it has the largest library of free streaming music on the web, and we're inclined to take their word for it.

[via Mashable]

Drew Carey isn't the only thing new about the Price is Right, CBS's long-running daily game show. While Bob Barker may have skipped into retirement, it seems CBS is using its beloved game show as an experiment in streaming network content online--in this case, all sixty minutes of Price every day, just four hours after the original air time. That's 3 p.m. eastern time at CBS.com.

Now, this makes total sense. We don't expect this show to end up on iTunes. ($39.95 for the Price is Right Entire Thirty-Fifth Season? Um, no...) But giving the show away free on the web is the perfect way to demonstrate how to monetize commercial content without charging the consumer a dime. In this case, the (very) commercial content is all those prize placements seen on the show. How else can the Ridgeway Company expect people to get excited about owning their grandfather clock if not by surrounding their product with beautiful Price model-girls and two-hundred onlookers ooh-ing and aah-ing when prompted?

Indeed, it's the commercial content that's embedded in Price that makes it so much fun. Price is the original TV 2.0 concept--making an hour-long advertisement seem fun. And now that fun is available online. Come on down...

While television networks continue looking for the best way to distribute full-length episodes online, CBS is taking a new approach that might seem a little old fashioned. The network is launching EyeLab, a production studio tasked with creating short video clips based on CBS content.

The funny thing is that when internet video first became viable a few years back, networks were pretty much just posting short videos to drive traffic to their prime time TV offerings. But with the growth of internet video sites like YouTube, the networks have been racing to get as much content online as possible.

But CBS reports that less than a third of its web visitors want to watch full-length episodes online. Instead, the network is betting they want to watch short, entertaining YouTube-style videos. The project was inspired by a user-generated clip called "Endless Caruso One Liners" uploaded to YouTube a year ago. So far, it's been viewed over a million times.

[via Mashable]

While early rumors had Viacom preparing to purchase UK-based internet radio site Last.fm for $450 million, it looks like the CBS corporation has snatched up last.fm for the bargain price of $280 million. (If you're scratching your head, yes, CBS used to be part of Viacom, but the two split up last year).

Last.fm had set itself the (possibly unrealistic) goal of adding every music track every recorded to its library. Having a major media corporation for a parent makes that lofty goal seem a bit more feasible. But perhaps just a bit.

CBS has strong roots in terrestrial radio, with 179 stations in 50 markets across the U.S. While the fate of online radio remains to be seen, there's no doubt online music services are gaining in popularity, so it makes sense that CBS would want to pick up one of the market leaders. Last.fm boasts that it has 15 million listeners each month.

[Thanks Gil Creque!]

CBS has announced a major new online video strategy called CBS Interactive Audience Network.

For now, that means distribution deals with AOL, Microsoft, CNET, Comcast, Joost, Bebo, Brightcove, Netvibes, Sling Media, and Veoh. Curiously absent from the list is YouTube. All of the content, which will include full-length television episodes and video clips will be advertiser-supported.

While most of the partners are online video websites and portals, Sling Media is in the business of letting users stream their own media over the internet. Sling's upcoming SlingCatcher box will be a device for playing web video on a television set. But the company is also branching into the online video market with its upcoming Clip+Sling service that will let viewers share video clips with one another, with the permission of content owners like CBS.

Sling Media plans to launch a Clip+Sling online video site this summer, which will feature CBS content. But users will also be watch the videos using SlingPlayer software, or using the upcoming SlingCatcher box, which lets users watch web video on their television sets.

Some of the content to be made available will include clips and episodes from CSI, The Late Show with David Letterman, Survivor, Showtime Championship Boxing, and CSTV Game of the Week.

Viacom has been trying to get through to YouTube, spending months of negotiating trying to take clips down from MTV, BET and Paramount. Now apparently Viacom has sent a letter to Google demanding that they take down over 100,000 videos immediately. Viacom is extremely upset that the apparent filtering tools that Google had promised are not doing that great of a job, and unauthorized videos are still getting through and posted live. Viacom is hoping that Google will support a fair and authorized distribution model that will allow consumers to enjoy popular content in the future. They are looking towards a deal like CBS and many music labels have recently reached with Google and YouTube to host content and profit share ad revenue among other initiatives. The situation between the two companies seemed to escalate when Google video began linking to YouTube content recently. Viacom saw this as another avenue where they were losing potential revenues. Maybe one day all of this YouTube drama will be settled with media companies. Until then, enjoy all the content YouTube currently provides, and cross your fingers that you'll soon be able to see all of your favorite clips through the service.