Windows 7, which is set to be released on October 22, has already garnered several good reviews, but a whopping 6 in 10 companies who completed a recent survey plan to skip the purchase of Microsoft's newest operating system, citing cutbacks in spending and worries about compatibility with their existing applications. Many of the more than 1,000 companies who participated in the survey by ScriptLogic Corp said they are cutting back on expensive software updates like Windows 7. ScriptLogic, which helps companies manage their Microsoft Windows-based networks, sent out 20,000 surveys to IT administrators to learn the …

Morgan Stanley's European media analysts asked 15-year-old intern Matthew Robson to describe his friends' media habits in a research note. The report they got proved to be "one of the clearest and most thought-provoking insights we have seen," said Edward Hill-Wood, head of the Morgan Stanley team. As The Financial Times' Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson says, Robson "set out a sobering case that tomorrow's consumers are using more and more media but are unwilling to pay for it." In the report, Robson said his peers don't watch television regularly, and they would rather listen to advertising-free music on Web …

As MySpace continues its fall from grace, losing ever more ground to rival Facebook, it appears as though News Corp. is planning to reposition the social network as a Web site for accessing entertainment and related information, The Wall Street Journal reports. In a brief interview, News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said the site would be refocused "as an entertainment portal," describing it as a place where "people are looking for common interests." Murdoch didn't elaborate further, but his comments are consistent with what company insiders are saying. According to The Journal, MySpace will roll …

Microsoft is shopping digital ad agency Razorfish to five of the world's largest advertising holding companies, The Wall Street Journal reports. The software giant is also seeking to have the top bidder buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ad space across its Web properties, according to executives close to the talks. Under the proposed deal, one of either Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, WPP, Interpublic or Dentsu would buy Razorfish along with the right to use Microsoft's digital advertising services to buy space across its properties. However, The Journal notes that there is a lot at …

The number of teenagers illegally sharing music has fallen dramatically in the UK over the past year, according to a new survey. In January of this year, 26% of 14-18 year olds reported file-sharing at least once a month compared to 42% in December of 2007. The survey of 1,000 music fans also showed that 65% of teenagers are now streaming music regularly online through services like YouTube and Spotify. "Even though users of streaming services are not necessarily buying more music, the industry benefits by learning more about fans' tastes," writes the Guardian's Alexandra Topping. As …