Microsoft is expected to field a public beta of its new Windows Live Marketplace site. Code-named Agora–the Greek term for "marketplace," the new one-stop shop may supersede the current "Windows Marketplace" site, according to information from Liveside.Net. Microsoft officials have blogged that the company is preparing a new version of Windows Marketplace to launch on Aug. 28. But it’s not clear whether Windows Live Marketplace will be an adjunct to the revised Windows Marketplace site or an outright replacement for it.

AOL has received bids of "well over" 600 million euros ($766 million) for the Internet access business in Germany, an AOL source close to the negotiations said on Tuesday. The source’s comments contradict a report from German newswire dpa-AFX, which reported–citing unnamed sources–that bids had come in at 400 million euros to 450 million euros, well below an earlier target of 600 million euros. AOL, the online division of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc., retooled its strategy recently and now has decided to give most of its Web services away for free to boost online advertising sales.

Microsoft is preparing a fix for a program that strips the digital-rights-management protections attached to its Windows Media file format, representatives said Monday night. Armed with the program, users could theoretically download an unlimited amount of music via MTV’s Urge music service, as well as other sites that offer music for download. The "FairUse4WM" program was released earlier this month, and advertised as a tool to remove the rights restrictions from files encoded with Windows Media Player 10 or 11. The program’s creator, "viodentia," published the original file to a message board on August 19, and the file has been quickly mirrored around the Web.

Software giant Microsoft said on Tuesday it was investigating how two in-house training videos made by British comedian Ricky Gervais, creator of "The Office" television series, appeared on two Web sites. The videos, which popped up on YouTube and Google Video this month, were commissioned by Microsoft in 2004 as "a light-hearted way of getting our staff to think about the values they attach to working at Microsoft," a company spokeswoman said. By Tuesday, the videos had been pulled off the online video-sharing site YouTube. They remained on Google Video and Microsoft declined to say if it had try to have them pulled from that site.

Verizon users will soon have more choices when setting up their broadband service. Microsoft and Verizon announced Tuesday that Microsoft Windows Live services will be available to Verizon DSL and Verizon Fios customers early next year. In the meantime, MSN Premium services will continue to be offered to current subscribers, according to a joint statement from the companies.

By releasing its operating system more often and at a slightly higher cost, Apple Computer is better able to maximize its profitability in the OS field compared with its rival, Microsoft. That conclusion is according to a new analysis released Aug. 28 by Gene Munster, a senior researcher at Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray & Co. Since 2001, Apple, of Cupertino, CA, has released a new version of its operating system about once a year. These new versions cost users either $129 for the full version or $107 for an upgrade. Microsoft, on the other hand, averages a little more than two years between releases of its Windows operating system. The average cost to users for a full upgrade is $114 or $48 for an upgrade.

Microsoft plans to offer a longer lifeline to customers that use the company’s older products. The software maker on Monday announced changes to its paid custom support program that will allow users to get that type of support longer. Customers will pay only for each machine that is using the older software, rather than paying a hefty flat fee.

It looks like Microsoft has accidentally leaked some details of the price of its next-generation operating system. The Retail Pricing page at Microsoft Canada lets you choose a product name from a dropdown list and see the current pricing. Although MS has pulled the Canadian price list since ZDNet’s Ed Bott posted this item, he included those prices and a comparison to Windows XP. All prices are in Canadian dollars.

With Microsoft Office clearly in its long-range sites, Google has launched a package of Web-based productivity apps. The offering, called Google Apps for Your Domain comprises Google services that all have seen the light of day: Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar and Google Page Creator. Notably absent from the menu are Writely, and Google Spreadsheets, which respectively provide basic word-processing and spreadsheet functions that would be essential for a productivity suite, a la the more feature-rich Microsoft Word and Excel. Also, Google has yet to unveil an application that could rival Microsoft PowerPoint.

Internet giant Google took the software battle deeper into Microsoft’s territory with a new package of online services for small-business users. Google said it would offer businesses tailor-made versions of its free email service Gmail, instant messaging, voice calling, shared calendars and basic design, publishing and hosting of Web sites. The company is marketing its Google Apps for Your Domain service to smaller companies, non-profit groups and universities that want the full range of Web-based corporate services without the cost.