IT'S TUESDAY, MARCH 15th.
I'M NATALI MORRIS, AND IT'S TIME TO GET LOADED.[*]MICROSOFT MAY BE SCRAPPING THE ZUNE PERSONAL MEDIA PLAYER, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE ZUNE BRAND.
BLOOMBERG REPORTS THAT MICROSOFT IS READY TO STOP MAKING THE ZUNE BECAUSE OF "TEPID DEMAND." WHICH IS NOT A SURPRISE.
THE ZUNE BRAND WILL STILL BE USED AS THE MAIN MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT PLAYER ON WINDOWS PHONE 7 AND ON XBOX.
[*]YESTERDAY WE REPORTED THAT AT&T IS OFFERING FREE CALLS AND TEXTS TO JAPAN.
WELL VERIZON AND SPRINT ARE DOING THE SAME.
ALL CALLS AND TEXTS FROM THE U.S.
TO JAPAN ARE FREE.
T-MOBILE IS JUST WAIVING FEES ASSOCIATED WITH SHORT CODES LIKE WHEN YOU TEXT REDCROSS TO 90999 TO DONATE MONEY.
NOT NEARLY AS MAGNANIMOUS BUT ITS SOMETHING.
[*]AT&T IS ABOUT TO SET LIMITS ON ITS BROADBAND FOR U-VERSE CUSTOMERS.
THE CAP WILL BE SET AT 150 GIGABYTES AFTER WHICH YOU WILL BE CHARGED $10 FOR EVERY ADDITIONAL 50 GIGS.
UNLESS YOU ARE A TOP-TIER CUSTOMER, IN WHICH CASE YOU GET 250 GIGS AS YOUR LIMIT.
THE PLAN GOES INTO EFFECT ON MAY 2.
[*]YAHOO HAS INTEGRATED FACEBOOK CHAT INTO ITS MAIL CLIENT, YAHOO MAIL.
FACEBOOK CHAT WAS ALREADY AVAILABLE THROUGH YAHOO'S INSTANT MESSAGE CLIENT BUT NOW YOU CAN SIGN INTO FACEBOOK TO CHAT UP YOUR FRIENDS INSIDE THE MAIL CLIENT TOO.
[*]AOL AND T-MOBILE ARE LAUNCHING AN ANDROID APP THAT WILL STREAM MUSIC.
IT IS CALLED PLAY BY AOL MUSIC.
YOU CAN LISTEN TO FULL-LENGTH ALBUM PREVIEWS AS WELL AS STREAM MUSIC AND SHARE SONGS WITH OTHER PLAY FRIENDS.
THE APP LAUNCHED AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST THIS WEEK.
[*]T-MOBILE ANNOUNCED A MOBILE PLAN THAT WILL GIVE YOU 10 GIGABYTES PER MONTH.
OF CELLULAR DATA!
NOT BROADBAND.
IT IS NOT CHEAP THOUGH.
THE PLAN IS $84.99 PER MONTH.
THIS IS TWICE AS MUCH AS TYPICAL WIRELESS CARRIERS OFFER WITH THEIR 5 GIG PER MONTH PLANS.
IT IS AVAILABLE NOW.
[*]TIME WARNER IS LAUNCHING THE FIRST APP FROM A CABLE COMPANY THAT PLAYS LIVE TV.
IT SOUNDS COOL BUT THERE ARE DRAWBACKS.
YOU HAVE TO BE A SUBSCRIBER TO THE COMPANY'S TV AND INTERNET SERVICES.
AND YOU HAVE TO BE CONNECTED TO YOUR OWN TIME WARNER WI-FI ROUTER SO YOU CAN'T WATCH LIVE TV WHEN YOU'RE OUT AND ABOUT.
BUT YOU COULD WATCH LIVE TV IN A ROOM WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE A TV, THUS SAVING YOU THE TROUBLE OF GETTING A NEW TV.
IT'S A START.
[*]THE FUTURE OF THE NFL MAY BE UNCERTAIN BUT THE FUTURE OF THE VIDEO GAME MADDEN NFL IS NOT.
IT IS STILL A GO.
ELECTRONIC ARTS, MAKERS OF THE POPULAR FOOTBALL GAME, SAID THAT THE GAME WILL DEBUT AS PLANNED IN AUGUST WHETHER OR NOT THE NFL CAN WORK OUT A DEAL WITH ITS PLAYERS IN THE MOST RECENT UNION DISPUTE.
THE GAME WILL BE CALLED MADDEN NFL 12.
[*]THAT IS YOUR NEWS FOR THE DAY.
REMEMBER CNET-DOT-COM-SLASH-LOADED FOR LINKS TO THE STORIES WE DISCUSSED TODAY.
I'M NATALI MORRIS FOR CNET AND YOU'VE JUST BEEN LOADED.
