Most Popular YouTube Videos

Topping the list of the most popular videoclips of 2007 were Obama Girl, Britney Spears tearful defender (NSFW link), and a herd of buffaloes confronting a pride of lions. The rankings take into account not just total hits, but looks at the most shared, most discussed, and top rated clips, which makes the list even more depressing (save for the buffaloes vs lions). Surely Maximum PC readers can come up with a better top 3? Post your candidates in the comments section below.

Red Hat's Head Steps Down

Capping a nine year run, Red Hat CEO Matthew Szulik announced plans to leave his current position with the company and become Chairman of Red Hat's board of directors effective January 1, 2008. Replacing him will be Jim Whitehurst, who served as CEO for Delta Air Lines. It's been a good year for Red Hat, who saw a 28% jump in revenue over the previous year, while subscriptions revenue leaped 30%.

Wal-Mart Abandons Movie Download Service

After less than a year since going live, Wal-Mart has shut the doors on their movie download service. The decision came after Hewlett Packard Co. discontinued the technology that powered the service, and a Wal-Mart spokeswoman noted they will not seek out another technology partner. For those unfamiliar with the service (which is just about everyone), videos purchased could be played on WMP or the Wal-Mart Video Download Manager, but could not be transferred to another PC. No refunds are being offered for the downloaded flicks.

Rent Fox Movies via iTunes

While one movie download door closes at Wal-Mart, another one opens at the iTunes Store. According to reports by the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, Apple and Fox are gearing up to announce a deal that will allow consumers to rent Fox movies through iTunes. Both Apple and Fox declined to comment, but the news sparked a flurry of sales as stockholders looked to unload shares of Netflix and Blockbuster, who saw stock prices fall 4.4 percent and 6.7 percent respectively.

Writers' Strike Spurs Gaming Industry

The strike by the Writers Guild of America has resulted in stale reruns on TV, but that just means more time to play videogames. Game publishers rely almost exclusively on nonunion talent, and the ones that are represented by the WGA fall outside of jurisdiction of the current strike. Sales of consoles, games, and accessories reached a whopping $2.63 billion last month, up 52 percent a year prior, with games accounting for $1.3 billion.

Santa Delivers Naughty MP3 Player

Daryl Hill of Cookeville, Tennessee is contemplating suing Wal-Mart over an MP3 player he purchased for his 10- year-old daughter. According to Daryl, the MP3 player came pre-loaded with explicit tunes and porn videos, likely the result of a previous owner that returned the unit. Wal-Mart's policy is not to resell opened items. Hill's been offered a replacement, but has opted to keep the original until consulting a lawyer.