Ah, Project Pink, I haven’t heard anything from or about you in quite a long time. But it looks like Redmond made some key changes to its agency roster and McCann picked up the “Pink” account. McCann also handles Windows Mobile.

According to ZDnetter Mary Jo Foley, Pink will be built on top of Windows Mobile 7, which MS plans to release the code for this fall when WinMo 6.5 devices start to flood the market. Foley goes on to say that she’s heard that Motorola will manufacture Pink alongside the Sidekick. Except she fails to realize that Sharp manufactures the Sidekick; Motorola built the Slide that has since been axed from the lineup. So does that mean Danger is in the mix? Maybe. On a side note, it’s pretty funny that the UI for Pink is codenamed “Purple” because Bing’s earliest codename was also Purple or so I’ve heard.

Allow me to admit something shocking right off the bat: I have not watched these ads. I am blogging in ignorance , because it seems pretty clear what’s going on here. As was the case with the Seinfeld ads, it seems that once again, Microsoft is barking too hard, and up the wrong tree at that.

Your browser is bad, it’s been bad for years. Sure, IE8 is way better than its predecessors, but that’s as close to polishing poop and calling it gold as anyone has ever come. But this isn’t the way to make people try it.

An engineer at Microsoft has ballparked the cost of the 16GB ZuneHD at somewhere between $250 and $280 (for reference, a 16GB iPod Touch is $300). That’s a little bit higher than I’d have guessed, but considering OLED screens are still expensive, to say nothing of flash memory, it’s a solid estimate. Trouble is, where are they going to get people to take it for a spin? Apple’s got a great spot for iPod discovery — maybe it’s time for Microsoft to do the same.

Microsoft has announced the pricing for Windows 7, due to be released on October 22. The Home Premium upgrade version will cost $119.99 — ten bucks cheaper than the comparable version of Vista! Other news outlets are trying to spin this as “8% less”, but we know you, dear readers, aren’t fooled by such sleight of hand. Windows 7 Professional upgrade will run $199.99. The full Home Premium version is $199.99; and the full versions of Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate editions will be $299.99 and $319.99 respectively. Does the Ultimate edition really offer $20 more in terms of functionality? I don’t know!

The rumor that Microsoft would be shipping a bumped-up Xbox 360 console with Natal integrated in 2010 has turned out to be false according to director of product management, Aaron Greenberg.

Start up the rumor engine, ladies and gentlemen. 1UP.com is reporting that Microsoft’s Project Natal may actually be shipping integrated into a new console next fall. From the sounds of it, though, the console won’t be new as in different but new as in improved slightly. That is, new games would apparently work on both the current Xbox 360 console and “Xbox Natal” as it’s being unofficially called.

“Oh, FFS!” That’s what the likes of Norton and Symantec can be heard saying today with the news that Microsoft plans to release free anti-virus software, code-named Morro. (That’s the name of a beach in São Paulo, and is pronounced “MO hoo. Tell your friends.) A beta is expected “soon,” but Microsoft hasn’t said when the final version will be available

While we’ve known for some time that Microsoft was no longer shipping out boxes for those with bricked Xbox 360s, Joystiq now confirms that Microsoft has officially axed the “coffin” policy. In lieu of that, Microsoft will provide gamers with an e-label to put on whatever box they use to send their RRod Xbox 360 in for repairs.

Oh man, not two minutes after a positive Microsoft story (which was, in fairness, preceded by a negative one) there’s this. Word on the street is that Microsoft is seeking to prevent the sale of the MSI Wind U115. Why’s that? Apparently Microsoft has no time for a netbook—“a race to the bottom,” claims CrunchGear’s John Biggs—running Windows XP Home that has a so-called hybrid storage system. That is, one with both a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) as well as a solid state drive (SDD).

Gather ’round the campfire, children, as we look at the Windows 7 boxes. There’s Home Premium… there’s Professional… and is that… yes! Yes, it’s Windows 7 Ultimate! Three cheers for life!

So there’s this leaked Best Buy memo that shows the store that I’ll never visit again selling Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrades for $49.99 and Windows 7 Professional Upgrades for $99.99. Does that mean that Microsoft will sell said Windows 7 upgrades for said prices across the boards? Eh, not really. I seem to recall Best Buy selling Vista upgrades for one price, then, when Vista actually comes out, it was going for a different price.

Good for Microsoft, kicking the American worker when he’s down. President Obama means to close a loophole in the taxcode that allows corporations to “deduct… cost at a high tax rate and report… profits at a low tax rate.” In other words, win-win for the corporation at the expense of the United State Treasury. You know how Microsoft’s Steve Balmer said he’s deal with the closing of this loophole? “We’re better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S.” Neat.

Microsoft officially outed the Zune HD a week ago, but the Amazon product listing under the Technical Details section is talking about Xbox Live integration that wasn’t mentioned in the Microsof presser.

Integration with the Xbox LIVE network gives you access to millions of videos, TV shows, and games from Xbox LIVE720p HD video output to your HDTV with optional docking station

There is more too.

Digitimes is reporting that “Microsoft plans to redefine mini-notebooks that Intel has categorized as netbooks with a new term — low cost small notebook PC.” Oh that’s much simpler, thank you.

Microsoft has just announced that some new features are coming the Xbox 360 at E3. Facebook and Last.fm integration into the Xbox Live dashboard are two of them. The game Metal Gear Solid is another. But the one they seem to be touting the most right now? Twitter!

Yes, it seems the software giant, who has made some nice moves in the gaming space has just as big of an obsession with Twitter as everyone else. You will apparently be able to see tweets and post new tweets from the console starting soon.