And you thought it would be dead because Yahoo has a partnership with Google. Well, you were wrong as The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft has been looking for partners that would help make a new bid for Yahoo’s search business.

The paper is also reporting that Microsoft has met with Carl Icahn, the board member that’s leading the way to replace the current board, and urged him to continue the proxy fight in an attempt to motivate the board at Yahoo.

Who thinks that this is now completely stupid and wants this ended now? I know I do…

Telstra has become the first carrier in Australia to release the pricing for the next-generation of the iPhone - which will be out on Vodafone, Telstra and Optus on July 11.

The plans will start from $30 per month, with a upfront cost of $279 for the 8GB model and $399 for the 16GB model. Those who sign up for the $80 plan will receive the iPhone 8GB for no cost. Another plan, the $100 plan, will also see both capacity options of the iPhone being sold at no cost.

All plans will include free access on Telstra’s Wi-Fi hotspots.

Microsoft announced today that it has lowered the price of its Xbox 360 to AU$349. We spoke to Microsoft’s Xbox Group Product Marketing Manager, Jeremy Hinton, to get details on the price cut and how Xbox 360 is performing in the market.

First up, let’s look at the new pricing. The Xbox 360 Arcade console (256MB memory unit and five Xbox Live Arcade games but no harddrive) is now retailing for AU$349 (previously AU$399). The Xbox 360 Pro (20GB harddrive and headset) is now AU$499 (previously AU$579). The Xbox 360 Elite (120GB harddrive, headset and HDMI cable) is now AU$649 (previously Au$729).

These are some aggressive prices and now mean that the Xbox 360 Arcade is the cheapest next-gen console on the market (ahead of the AU$399 Wii) and all three versions of the 360 are cheaper than the AU$699 PS3.

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The battle of the DVRs has begun, with Seven bringing out the TiVo to compete with the Foxtel’s iQ - claiming it would help bypass pay-TV subscriptions - whatever that means.

But the new machine, which has a RRP of $699, will have limited content due to the fact that we don’t have enough content on the free-to-air channels. TiVo’s main success is where that channels from FTA, Cable and Satellite TV users can use TiVo and not the selection of the provider.

As well, users will now have to have a broadband connection to access certain features.

The device will come with two high-definition tuners - allowing users to record two programs while watching a pre-recorded show. The device will also store the last 30 minutes of TV programs, and would allow viewers to catch up to shows that they missed if they arrived home late.

Sadly, you won’t be able to skip advertising - which was one of the reasons that the TiVo became so popular.

Currently on FTA, you can get ABC1, ABC2, ABC3 (which is basically the same as ABC1), SBS, SBS World News, Seven, Seven HD, Ten, Ten HD, Nine and Nine HD. But expect more SD services coming soon after it was deregulated just this year.

CNET News.com and The Register are reporting that Apple could be making a slider phone version of their iPhone product, after Apple has shown off prototypes of an iPhone with a keyboard to wireless operators.

The idea of a slide-out keyboard would make it easier for you to type and would also bring business users who have now switched to the Blackberry.

Should the iPhone come with a slide-out keyboard? Discuss by commenting!

APC Magazine has confirmed that Apple will be rolling out movie sales on the Australian version of the iTunes store within the next month. However, it looks like that it would favour Perth-based internet service provider, iiNet.

iiNet is the only local ISP that offers unmetered downloads on iTunes downloads, which was introduced in April last year. iiNet’s Mark White has told APC that it would not change, even though the files are now much larger in capacity.

iiNet will also look for other sources to be unmetered, bringing it in competition with Telstra’s Bigpond Unmetered services - many of them are from the Bigpond site themselves.

Pricing has not been disclosed, and also what studios have signed up. It is expected that it would be a similar model in the US, where you can either buy or rent the movie.

eBay Australia has not ruled out taking court action to ensure its new payment policy is enforced, even though the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a draft proposal to revoke its immunity from anti-competitive sanctions if it enforces the policy last month.

The company said it would fight for the "safety benefits" for "consumers". However, some say the new plan was "very aggressive" - and yesterday, about 50 members of the auction site and interested parties gathered around a conference to discuss the notice, which currently has a July 3 deadline for all submissions - which means you got two days to get your anger out.

About 90 percent of comments opposed the new plan - though Simon Smith, eBay Australia’s chief, said that it would be addressed in its submission.

The new plan would see all auctions would be done with PayPal or Cash on Delivery, meaning that you could not use credit cards, direct debit, cheques and money transfer. Also, since PayPal is owned by eBay, it is seen as double dipping, as one commenter on the TECHGEEK site said.

We want to hear your response on the plans on eBay - go to the Reawaken Media/TECHGEEK forums at http://forums.reawaken.info or comment below.

CBS Corporation has finally finished their acquisition of CNET, bringing CNET.com, ZDNet, BNET, TechRepublic, GameSpot, GameFAQs, TV.com, Movietome, Chow, MP3.com, Search.com, Metacritic, UrbanBaby, MySimon and all of its international websites to the leadership of CBS Interactive.

CBS Interactive currently holds CBSNews.com, CBSSports.com, Last.fm, among other things - and has two video shows: WallStrip and Moblogic.

The acquisition, worth $1.8 billion, represented a 44.6% premium on May 16’s announcement. This is a huge coup for CBS, and given how many sites will be added to CBS Interactive - that’s a lot of websites, especially when you count all of the sites in Europe and Asia alone.

TechCrunch has some letters from Quincy Smith and Neil Ashe, who is now CBS Interactive President.

But, if you don’t like the acquisition - do come over here and read all of our news from now on.

Here is some site news. Our parent company, Reawaken Media, has launched today. It was previously known as reawakennetworks, but we decided to change that as we broke the partnership in March or something.

As well, we have a forum. You can now find it at http://forums.reawaken.info. Make sure you go to Categories and go to the TECHGEEK section.

-Terence