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Talk Of The Day: Intergalactic record in sight for Halo 3 sales

By Times Wires
Published August 10, 2007

Microsoft Corp. said advance orders of the next installment of its best-selling Xbox game, Halo 3, exceeded 1-million units, the highest number of early purchases of any video game. The highest-priced edition of the game, a $129 version packaged in a replica of the helmet worn by the main character, the Master Chief, shown above, will probably be sold out by the time Halo 3 is released on Sept. 25, Microsoft said. Microsoft's goal of making the Xbox unit profitable this fiscal year hinges on the success of Halo 3, a shooting game that pits a biologically engineered soldier against an alien race.

You're in the news; care to comment?

Internet search engine leader Google Inc. is testing a system to allow people featured in stories on its Google News service to comment on articles. Google started soliciting comments this week. The service will start in the United States and may expand to other countries. The comments are designed to give stories "a whole new dimension," Google said. The remarks will be published in full, without editing, and will be marked as "comments" so readers know they aren't part of the story itself. Google's news service, introduced in 2002, uses computers to collect articles from newspapers and electronic publications, grouping stories on the screen by subject. Google News attracted 9.28-million U.S. visitors in June, trailing Yahoo Inc.'s news site, which had 35.2-million, according to ComScore Inc., a market researcher in Reston, Va.

Texan's plans up in smoke, cigars next

Kinky Friedman, who wanted to bring fresh air into Texas politics, is now contenting himself with filling a few back rooms with smoke. The author, musician and failed independent gubernatorial candidate, who was never without his trusty - albeit smelly - stogie, unfurled his new line of handmade cigars Wednesday. "These are the first non-Cuban cigars that I've smoked in over 25 years," Friedman said. And indeed, despite pestering from the press, he never let on during his political campaign where he obtained his supply. "To get me weaned off of Havanas, they have to be pretty special," Friedman said of his own brand. Friedman will be rolling out his new cigars at shops across Texas over the next month and promises to sign cigar boxes while discussing "fine cigars, politics and virtually anything else."

Chicago papers partner up

The Chicago Sun- Times has entered into a historic distribution agreement with the Chicago Tribune, contracting to have copies of the Sun- Times and 10 of its sister suburban dailies delivered to subscribers by its larger rival. The agreement, finalized after months of discussions, does not include delivery of copies for single-copy sales to newsstands and news boxes within the city of Chicago, which would violate existing labor agreements.

[Last modified August 9, 2007, 23:47:18]