Microsoft is blowing off the class action lawsuit, saying it was within its legal rights to ban the modders.

Last week we reported that the Abington IP law firm was conducting a class action investigation into Microsoft in relation to the recent massive Xbox Live banning. The law firm cried foul play because of the repercussions stemming from the banning including hardware failure and feature denial.

Although the firm agrees that the original modifications were against the terms of use for Xbox Live, the firm believed that Microsoft went too far, thus provoking a class action lawsuit. The law firm also alleged that the banning was "strategically placed," thanks to the popularity of Halo 3: ODST, Modern Warfare 2, and the holiday season.

Now Microsoft is lashing back at the law firm, saying that it was well within its legal rights to ban the consoles from the Xbox Live network. A representative told Financial Post "piracy is illegal and modifying an Xbox 360 is a violation of the Xbox Live Terms of Use." Reports on the recent total of bans for Xbox Live vary, but suggest a number between 600,000 and 1 million users.

VentureBeat actually spoke with Xbox Live's Marc Whitten in an interview here, talking about the recently added features provided by the latest firmware update. But when he was asked about the recent banning, he called it a cat and mouse game. "These were people that were pirating software," he said. “We try to keep sanctity of life from a safety and anti-cheating perspective and we protect our partners."

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Hey Xbox 360, it's your birthday!

Yesterday, November 22, marked a big milestone for several big things in our lives. It was the 20^th anniversary of the release of Back to the Future II (check out the DeLorean in Crysis here), which made us long for the year 2015 to roll by.

Also on November 22, but this time 2005, Microsoft launched it second home console game system. That's right, the Xbox 360 has been on the market for four full years now in North America, and approaching that milestone soon in other markets.

The odd thing is that previous generations of consoles have felt old and long in the tooth by their fourth birthday, but the Xbox 360 still feel relevant. That could be a testament to the brilliant technology chosen by Microsoft in the PowerPC CPU and ATI-powered graphics – but of course the design wasn't flawless.

The Xbox 360 could go down in history as being one of the most unreliable consoles, solely on its Red Ring of Death hardware failure flaw. Thankfully, empirical evidence shows that Microsoft has done a good job of clamping down on that specific problem in the more recent hardware revisions of the Xbox 360.

With the strength remaining in the current HD platforms, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, it's nice that this generation of consoles will live on a little longer than the previous ones.

It's good for the industry and good for gamers.

Cryptic will open Star Trek Online to fans in a first come first serve basis.

Cryptic Studios announced earlier today that the upcoming MMORPG Star Trek Online will go open beta in January. The preview will stretch over a two-week period kicking off on January 12, 2010, and ending January 26, 2010. The company also said that it will be a first come first serve basis, although there was no indication of how many applicants will be accepted overall.

"We are excited to announce the dates for the open beta phase as this is one of the final steps in launching Star Trek Online to the public," said Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer on Star Trek Online. "We are looking forward to the launch of our first-of-a-kind MMORPG with anticipation and excitement and we expect Star Trek Online to explode onto the scene, giving fans and gamers a Star Trek experience like no other."

To obtain a beta key, players simply head over to the official website and register. Unfortunately, Cryptic wasn't clear on exactly how fans are supposed to acquire a key. However, by clicking on the closed beta application button, the preview application page appears for submitting. This may be where the open beta key comes into play, however without Cryptic's verification, that's just a guess.

Star Trek Online takes place thirty years after the last New Generation movies, Star Trek Nemesis--it also takes place after the five next-generation comic books that lead into the recent Star Trek (2009) movie using an alternate timeline. Based on the graphical timeline proposed on the website, Romulus is destroyed, and life went on without Nero and Spock in 2409.

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Could this lead to Aolcats?

AOL is a key part of internet both past and present. Those old enough to remember newsgroup postings from those with @aol.com email addresses will have some good stories to tell. But that was the AOL of old, and there's a new Aol that's ready to bust out with a new image.

AOL has released a preview of its new brand identity for its future as an independent company. AOL describes its brand identity as "simple, confident logotype, revealed by ever-changing images.  It’s one consistent logo with countless ways to reveal."

Basically, it's just strong typeface superimposed on top of an image.

The new brand identity will be fully unveiled on December 10, when AOL common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

AOL partnered with Wolff Olins, a global brand and innovation consultancy, to develop a brand identity that speaks to the company’s future. “Historically brand identity has been monolithic and controlling, little more than stamping a company name on a product.  AOL is a 21st century media company, with an ambitious vision for the future and new focus on creativity and expression, this required the new brand identity to be open and generous, to invite conversation and collaboration, and to feel credible, but also aspirational. We’re delighted to have worked so closely with the AOL leadership team to create something bold and exciting that sets AOL apart,” said Karl Heiselman, CEO of Wolff Olins.

Because one commercial starring Luke Wilson wasn't enough, AT&T has given us three more.

AT&T is still feeling the sting from Verizon's, 'There's A Map for That' ad campaign. Last week the company was refused a restraining order that would prevent Verizon from showing its commercials until the matter was resolved in court. Shortly afterward, the company released a new commercial highlighting why AT&T's '3G experience' was superior to what Verizon had to offer.

This week, we've got three new commercials from AT&T, one of which tries to "set the record straight" about the maps Verizon has been talking about. As you can imagine, this involves AT&T highlighting all of its coverage, rather than just the 3G. However, it seems AT&T is done pimping its 2G and GPRS coverage, as the company makes no mention of specific types of network. Instead, Luke Wilson just refers to AT&T "covering" 97 percent of the country.

Check out the ads and let us know what you think. Also, Luke Wilson is a bit of an odd choice. Who would you like to see on these commercials?

Fox Filmed Entertainment's CEO wants the U.S. government to copy France and disconnect repeat file-sharers.

Jim Gianopulos, the CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment, said earlier today in Athens that he wants the U.S. government to adopt the same file-sharing policy currently used by France. This would mean that repeat offenders--those who insist on downloading copyright-protected films despite warnings and/or throttling--would see a permanent disconnection from the Internet.

According to Gianopulos (via the Press Association), Internet piracy is the biggest threat to the film industry worldwide, and the independent filmmakers receive the biggest hit in the wallet. Unfortunately, the Internet is not only huge, but it's "anonymous," making it difficult to derail piracy entirely. But at least there's some hope: ISPs can track down offending IPs and send subscribers warnings.

Still, it's the repeat offenders that pose the biggest threat. Punishing these file-sharers with a swift, heavy hand could help create a "level playing field" for filmmakers, he said. "If we can do that, it would be a big victory against piracy," he added. Information is also a big factor in the fight against piracy, showing that it drains the pockets of those who created the material, thus affecting jobs and families.

While that may be the case, the reasoning behind why consumers share files rarely is discussed. Perhaps if the movie industry actually lowered the prices of films, theaters could reduce the cost of admission. If consumers could actually afford to see a movie, perhaps then they would be least likely to hunt it down on torrents. Piracy is bad, but gouging the consumer is even worse.

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A gamer is officially marrying his virtual girlfriend from the Nintendo DS game, Love Plus.

Recently we wrote about game developers becoming addicted to a Nintendo DS game called Love Plus, a dating simulator that apparently offers a few addicting qualities. The report highlighted a few scenarios where game developers would sneak off into the bathroom and socialize with their virtual girlfriends. Another man would even take the DS to the movies and place it into the next chair as if the virtual girl had an interest in what was on the big screen.

Now the obsession has reached a new level of "wow-ness," as IT Media News (via Boingboing) reports that a man will officially marry his virtual Love Plus girlfriend this coming Sunday (before Cyber Monday). Known only as SAL9000, the obsessed gamer fell in love with Nene Anegaski, unofficially married the virtual chick, and even took her to Guam for the honeymoon.

Of course, because she isn't...well... real, this meant he took the Nintendo DS to Guam. During the trip, he used the video-sharing site Nico Nico Douga to livecast the honeymoon, and also documented the trip by using the augmented reality iPhone app Sekai Camera. There was no word on how the couple managed to get through the first night of the honeymoon.

As for Sunday, this will be an official ceremony even though the two are already married. Because we don't have this game on hand, we're not exactly sure why anyone would want to marry a Nintendo DS character. There's a small hint of viral marketing going on--just as in the last report. However, if Love Plus is indeed as addicting as many claim, maybe there's some type of subliminal messaging going on that speaks to the lonely.

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A judge stayed up all night purchasing and playing Modern Warfare 2, and called in "sick" the following morning.

The UK's Times Online has an interesting feature talking about how consumers spent £4 billion on PC games in 2008--more than the box office and music sales combined. According to a recent study conducted here in the States, the average age of a gamer is 35 and rising: it's this age group which supposedly drives game sales. Statistics say that 40-percent of the British are gamers, whereas 60-percent of those gamers are over 20.

The article points out a few "older" gamers, including one 48-year-old district judge that waited in line at midnight to pick up his copy of Modern Warfare 2. "[It was] like Charlie waiting outside the chocolate factory," he told Times Online. After he purchased his copy, he immediately went home and installed MW2, thus staying up all night and into the morning playing the game. Unable to function, he called in sick, thus the trial scheduled that day had to be postponed.

The article also highlights 37-year-old Jean-Paul Edwards, an executive director of an advertising agency. His passion is racing games, and he's not afraid to admit that he can get addicted quick. “Every month or so I become addicted to a new racing game and play it like crazy for three or four hours a day until I’m defeated by a particularly tough level,” he said. Edwards also added that the process could take up to three weeks of "dedicated gaming."

Naturally, the article moves into the addictive quality of games, especially with the likes of EverQuest and World of Warcraft. A psychologist said that he's only met ten people who were genuinely addicted, however he also knows that families and jobs can be lost by game addiction as well. Still, the "grown-up" gamers what boosts the economy, especially moneybags like the older judge and the ad executive dumping loads of cash into the industry.

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A record label executive has been arrested for allegedly refusing to use twitter at the behest of the police.

Justin Bieber, a Canadian-born teen star who was apparently discovered on YouTube, was scheduled to appear in Roosevelt Field mall in Long Island, New York this past weekend. Unfortunately, Justin's people weren't quite prepared for the massive crowd of screaming teenage girls that descended on the mall.

Things got a little on the crazy side (teenage girls cannot handle Justin Bieber and Twilight in the same weekend) and police asked James Roppo, a Senior VP at Justin's label, Island Def Jam records, to hop onto twitter and tell the hundreds of waiting fans to clear off because the show had been canceled.

The police claim that Roppo failed to do so:

"We asked for his help in getting the crowd to go away by sending out a Twitter message," said Nassau County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Smith, according to the AP. "By not cooperating with us, we feel he put lives in danger and the public at risk."

However, tweets from Justin's profile show the 15-year-old R&B singer tried to send people home on two occasions.

they are not allowing me to come into the mall. if you dont leave I and my fans will be arrested as the police just told us.

the event at roosevelt mall is cancelled. please go home. the police have already arrested one person from my camp. I dont want anyone hurt

A report on NY Daily News complicates thing even further. The site says Roppo tweeted that Bieber was actually signing autographs while police tried to disperse the crowd. Police say he could face charges including reckless endangerment, criminal nuisance, obstruction of governmental administration and endangering the welfare of children