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MCVUK.com is reporting that Bill Gates has admitted to looking into integrating motion-sensing controls into the Xbox hardware.

“CVG reports that at last week’s All Things D conference, Gates stated: ‘Imagine a game machine where you’re just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it.’”

This isn’t that big of a surprise seeing the success that Nintendo and Sony are having with their Motion Control.

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Microsoft has always seemed to be of two minds when it comes to its business in China. At times, the company has admitted that it actually benefits from piracy, since it helps it fend off rivals and grow its installed base, while at other times, it’s urged a hardline stance against the practice. Whichever way the company feels at this point, it looks like it’s at least recognizing that under the current economic climate, it’s not realistic to sell much full price software in China. Speaking in Beijing, Bill Gates announced that the company would begin selling a range of software in the country for just $3. At these prices, Microsoft isn’t going to make much money, but it’s better than having people buy pirated versions, because this will allow the company to establish some sort of connection to its users. Then, in the future, it may be able to sell its customers on more expensive software or services. Meanwhile, a report out of China indicates that Microsoft has only sold 244 legitimate copies of Vista so far across the country. This seems a little hard to believe, but it’s possible that it’s been a total flop. This new discount pricing initiative probably isn’t directly related to the poor sales, though it is an acknowledgment that the current business model isn’t working.

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Microsoft convened a small group of bloggers today at their Redmond headquarters to discuss the upcoming Mix Conference in Las Vegas. Highlights of the day included:

• The receipt of a Zune as a gift (the third I’ve received from Microsoft – I now have all three colors)
• Seeing the look on Gates’ face when he walked into the room and every single one of us had a Mac open on the desk in front of us – Niall Kennedy had also set up a makeshift wifi network using an Airport
• An hour-long anything goes Q&A session with Gates

One of the questions that I asked was his opinion on the long term viability of DRM. I don’t hide the fact that I think DRM isn’t workable, and actively support DRM-free music alternatives such as eMusic and Amie Street. The rise of illegal or quasi-legal options like AllofMP3 and BitTorrent ensure that users have plenty of options when it comes to DRM-free digital music. continue reading…