While Heath Ledger’s last performance will mostly be known for The Dark Knight, the now dead actor/director had a few smaller projects which have yet been released. First, is a fantasy movie in which Ledger died halfway through production and is called ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’. His second project was his directorial debut and was for a music video for the band, Modest Mouse.

The song is called King Rat, and concerns the the modern whaling practices in Australia. Like his movie, Ledger died while in the middle of his directorial duties for the video. The production company stepped in and finished the video, with a new director.

MySpace is the first to release the music video, and in a good move hasn’t used Ledger’s name as a way to increase traffic. In fact if you don’t know going into watching the video, you’ll more than likely never know that Ledger was the director for the music video. As word catches on there’s no doubt that the page views for the video will continue to rise. And there’s no doubt that this is significant for MySpace, as they’re the sole distributors of the video at this point.

[via: TechCrunch]

Have you ever read the stories that have people or entities continuously fighting? God vs. Satan, Hatfield vs. McCoys, and of course Microsoft vs. the European Union’s Competition Commission. The Microsoft vs. EUCC is one battle that has seen some epic moments, most of which have caused Microsoft to pony up a lot of dough or give into demands I’m sure made them cringe.

The latest fight concerns Microsoft’s lack of browser options when their OS is installed. The EUCC has had this issue in the spotlight for quite sometime, and finally it looks as though an agreement has been made. It concerns only one word — ballots. You read that correctly.

To provide Windows users more options when deciding on a web browser, Microsoft will now implement a ballot system when the OS is being installed. So, if you happen to buy a computer in Europe and then install Windows you’ll be given a list of choices for browser installs.

As of yet there is no word as to what browsers will be included, which is the key problem with the proposal. What basis will the EUCC go on with deciding what browsers get included in the Window’s installs? Will they only make them include four, or will there be a massive list of browsers? Believe me there’s plenty of browsers up there to make a gigantic ballot.

It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out. I can only imagine what the meeting sounded like when this plan was read at Microsoft’s HQ.

In a curious sign of our times, worldwide PC sales are predicted to hit a major slump in 2009. The news, dished out by iSuppli hit the computer manufacturing industry, with its web of subindustries, like the actual news of a long-expected death.

The news was particularly hard for the PC industry, since this is the first time it has sunk for over eight years. Mammoth corporations HP and Dell are coping with the downturn my beefing up other sectors of their business, but the decline is still a big ouch.

iSupli’s senior analyst Matthew Wilkins reported that “an annual decline in unit shipments is highly unusual in the PC market. Even in weak years PC unit shipments typically rise by single-digit percentages.”

2009 got off to a rough start, specifically in the desktop sector. In the first quarter, computer manufacturers were distributing a quarter less computers than they were before.

But the sad news is only part of the story. There is good news, too.

First, laptop sales are better than ever. The notebook industry watched a soaring increase in shipments, a jump of nearly 12 percent. For the first time in the brief history of computers, laptops are selling more than desktops.

Another bit of good news that puts the bad news into perspective is the rabid spread of the netbook. With its unassuming genesis into the alternative laptop market, it slowly grew into a massive market force. Although it is a trimmed-down version of the notebook PC, it still gives users the ability to do what they always did on their PC anyway: surf the web. But the price drop from their notebook cousins was what lured most recession-fearing consumers into making the purchase. Now, netbooks pack enough punch to make them near-equals in terms of power. The dire expectation of a slowing PC market does not take into account the happy news of consumers thirsty for small (and cheap) machines, fueling the mushrooming market of the netbook.

And there is another reason. The world is going mobile. The ‘curious sign of our times’ is not that the economy is failing. The ‘curious sign of our times’ is that the world is going mobile. Lighter, faster, and more powerful smartphones have washed into the tech market like a tsunami. Even big PC makers are jumping onto the wave in order to capitalize on consumer’s who crave the pocket power of an iPhone or Blackberry. These tricked-out devices may never entirely replace a desktop, but they could slow down the purchase of one for a while.

So, with all due condolences to a sliding PC market, there is good news in the market, too.

Microsoft Silverlight has had an interesting and fluctuating history. Starting out, not very many people paid attention to Silverlight. There were many who believed it was going to be Microsoft’s feeble attempt to compete with Flash. A couple of years later, with Silverlight going into 3.0 things couldn’t be going better. They could, but still Silverlight’s performance is to be commended.

Partnering with different venues, and bringing events like the Olympics, NCAA March Madness online solidified Silverlight’s status as a true player. The question now is, with 3.0 can Microsoft continue the trend?

Microsoft Silverlight 3.0 has some improvements that you should be keeping an eye on. First, is that 3-D support can now be offloaded to a GPU and help provide smoother execution. Also, with Silverlight 3.0 apps can be used outside of a browser. This is probably its greatest addition as the possibilities of Silverlight can only grow with more options provided to developers.

Microsoft has also implemented a new technology called ‘Smooth Streaming’. Coupled with Silverlight, Smooth Streaming is an automated compression system that will play video streams as the maximum allowance by the device and bandwidth.

It’s safe to say that Silverlight is definitely moving in the right direction. It’s not quite up to Flash numbers yet in terms of penetration, but it’s getting there.

Insiders have released information on Dell’s newest enterprise—a handheld device with Internet access. Unlike the recent spate of smartphones hitting the market, Dell’s new device will not be a cell phone. Rather, it will be modeled after Apple’s iPod Touch—a mobile device like the iPhone, minus the phone. The platform for the handheld device will likely be the Android software, an open source operating system developed by Google.

Rumors about the gadget surfaced soon after Wall Street Journal’s Justin Scheck published information gained from a “person who was briefed on the company’s plans.” However, plans are apparently still in the mix, as the insider reported that Dell may or may not decide to go through with the plans, which are understandably still in the early planning stages. Although conversation about such a device was in nascent form last year, key decision-makers tabled the plans, possibly due to economic uncertainty. Those plans are now being revised, and speculators forecast that Dell may have the new device ready this year.

MID—acronym for Mobile Internet Device—is technology’s opening frontier, a frontier forged by netbooks and smartphones. The Dell device would fit that category, and like Apple’s iPod Touch, be loaded with plenty of features, just not the cell phone. Unlike the iPod Touch, the Dell device will be more Internet-capable. While the Touch is confined to Internet access in WiFi hotspots, this device may have mobile freedom, through 3G connectivity. The constant Internet access will be a key difference from other mobile devices if Dell’s device comes to fruition.

In addition to online connectivity, the device will revive what had failed in the media-focused products attempted by Dell in the past. As an MP3 player, video player, and a sure variety of applications, the Dell device bears a glimmer of hope on the rough path that has been Dell’s effort to keep up with other companies which are always dishing out devices with great consumer appeal.

But better success against the giant, Apple, is notoriously difficult, especially for Dell. Portable music players didn’t work, and cell phones have had some trouble getting off the ground. However, with an MID and possible subsidy from not-yet-selected wireless carriers, Dell forges into this new venture with high hopes.

The MID is not Dell’s only experimental venture. In addition to shifting a market focus from the flagging laptop/desktop market, Dell has produced a smartphone, expected to be released in China sometime this year.

Boxee, the cross-platform media center, is now available to Windows users. Just this week, the Internet-media software platform announced the long-awaited rollout of the program for PCs, which was before restricted to Mac, Linux, and Ubuntu. Before Tuesday’s change, Windows devotees had to jump through some serious programming hoops, or just hope that some lesser media player could keep them entertained. Now the worry is over, and Boxee is available to nearly every user, regardless of which platform they are running.

The Windows alpha version of Boxee is compatible with most newer versions of Windows, including XP, Vista, and 7. Windows Media Center will also jibe with Boxee, good news for those who prefer their viewing on HDTV.

Windows compatibility isn’t the only update Boxee revealed. MLB lovers, rejoice. Now, in live on-demand color, Boxee supports the popular Major League Baseball site, which will undoubtedly boost Boxee’s popularity during this year’s baseball season, even though MLB is a paid subscription service.

As if CBS, ABC, CNet, CNN, CBS, Hulu, MTV, MySpaceTV, Netflix, Revision 3, and Comedy Central weren’t enough (to name a few), Boxee has added a new cadre of media options to its roster. New to the Boxee scene is Digg, a popular content-sharing site, where users “digg” up information, articles, songs, or videos, and share them with their network. With the Digg addition comes the ability to view popular Digg videos, and short clips. Full Digg access is still pending.

Tumblr is also available through Boxee, the ability to stream music and slideshows, at least. More Tumblr features may be available in the near future.

In order to improve its look, and feel, Boxee changed a few features on their navigation interface. “Applications” features a menu with the ever-growing list of content that Boxee can display. If it’s on-board media users want to play, they can access that by using the “Local Media” menu. The general look remains the same, but the updates should help new users navigate the overwhelming amount of available options.

Boxee is the clear leader in social networking media, and their popularity is sure to rise as they aggregate nearly every social network on the Web. Since platforms are irrelevant and Boxee users can access nearly everything their Hulu-loving friends can (plus dozens more) Boxee may soon crowd to the top of the pile.