Eek! Seagate Drives Ship with Virus

Did you purchase a Maxtor Personal Storage 3200 series drive since last August? If so, you may be harboring a virus. A batch of the aforementioned drives shipped out of China infected with Virus.Win32.AugoRun.ah, which looks for passwords to several online games. It can also disable anti-virus software, leaving you vulnerable to other malware. Infected customers are asked to update their AV software, or download a free 60-day trial of Kaspersky offered to Seagate customers.

XBox Live Celebrates

After five years, Microsoft can boast a membership of eight million for their XBox Live service. To celebrate, all XBox Live users are eligible to download Carcassone for free up until 11:50PM PDT on November 16 (that's tomorrow!). Active members who signed up in 2002 will also receive 500 Microsoft Points.

Blu-ray On the Cheap?

Gearlog reports that Philips and Lite-On Digital Solutions have announced a new Blu-ray drive priced at $199. That's great news for HTPC enthusiasts, but not Aunt Tilly, who only uses her PC for light browsing and email. The PLDS DH_4O1S will be an internal PC drive, and not a set top box for your living room. The new drive will ship with Cyberlink's PowerDVD software.

Comcast Sued

What should come as a surprise to no one, a California man filed suit against Comcast Tuesday over their BitTorrent blocking tactics. Comcast drew considerable ire when it was revealed they were sending reset packets to throttle BT traffic, spurring outcries from the community, and a satirical spoof by our very own Will Smith. Legal beagles armed with a PDF reader can view the suit online.

Instant Messaging Stunts Social Growth

Oops - that title should have read, Instant Messaging Used to Avoid Awkward Moments. In a new AOL poll (science just went out the window), it was reported that 43 percent of teens use instant messaging for things they wouldn't say in person, like asking someone out on a date, or breaking up with a significant other. On a completely unrelated note, Dave Murphy IMed me the other day claiming his cat could beat up my cat, to which I replied (via IM) I will no longer send him lolcat pics. It was like, totally crazy.

Id Goes Mobile

Id Software, the creators behind Doom, today announced a new division called id Mobile. The new venture plans to create mobile versions of Quake, Wolfenstein, and a sequel to Doom RPG. Co-founder John Carmack sees big potential on today's cell phones. The first Doom RPG released two years ago sold more than 1 million copies, giving him reason to believe the time might be ripe.