Microsoft: The spam vigilante

-It's Friday, March 18th, I'm Natali Morris and it's time to get loaded. Microsoft is taking credit for taking down one of the biggest spam e-mail rackets. The software giant worked with the Feds to raid equipment from the operator of the Rustock botnet, a network of computers around the world that blasts out spam. Microsoft has stepped up its digital vigilante work in recent years because it feels as though these bots hurt their reputation especially considering that the bots mainly go after Windows machines. Microsoft is also suddenly a content company. This one's a bit odd. The software company released an app for bros--the man's man, the guy's guy, dudes. You get the point. It's a Windows Phone 7 app called Onit. It's being built as a guy's guide to girl's cars, gadgets, fitness, and life advice plus a touch of humor--not something you usually think of going to Microsoft for. It is free because who would pay for that. Samsung launched 3D video on-demand in Korea. It gives customers 3D music videos, TV shows, movie trailers and more using Samsung's Smart TV app on Samsung's 3D TV. This is expected to hit the U.S. and Europe next and Samsung says to expect it soon. The New York Times has unveiled its pricing structure. The newspaper said it would start charging for online content months ago but we are just now getting the price. It is not cheap. If you wanna access NYT.com on any device, it costs $35 every four weeks or $455 per year. If you want it on your tablet only, it is $20 every four weeks; and if you want it on your mobile device only, it's $15 every four weeks. If you don't wanna pay, you still will be able to see up to 20 stories per month free on the site and the home page and top stories section will also be free. The SCC may not allow cellphone boosters to remain on the market. These are the devices that boost cell reception in your area so you can make and receive calls in, otherwise, dead zones. The makers of these devices say that they feel a need but the U.S. Carrier say that they interfere with their signals. The SCC is expected to make a decision about whether or not to allow these soon. And finally, Twitter may be a good way to tell if you're happy. Research out of Cornell found that people who use Twitter accounts showed them to have a high amount of subjective well-being or more likely to exchange tweets with other people with the high amount of subjective well-being. The same was true of people with low amounts of subjective well-being so, in essence, depressed people gravitate towards other people who are negative and happy people gravitate towards other people who are positive. I guess that's not surprising that our behavior online would follow pretty obvious human behavior patterns offline. That's your news of the day and for the week. We will see you on Monday. Remember CNET.com/loaded for links to the stories we've discussed. I'm Natali Morris for CNET and you have just been loaded.