With Google in the crosshairs of some Internet content providers, such as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., it’s unsurprising that Google would feel compelled to add its two-cents worth to the debate. It turns out, from Google’s perspective, its efforts are largely misunderstood. It is not, as commonly portrayed, a monster in the ether, devouring all it encounters, but rather a benign and useful acolyte ready to serve users and content providers alike.

Danny Sullivan, of Search Engine Land, relates an extensive interview with Josh Cohen, Google’s business product manager. In it Cohen says that Google isn’t hellbent on forcing content providers to index their content, and provide it to users free of charge, but rather is willing to work with content providers in any way they way, including not linking to their content at all. Cohen says that Google offers four levels of service content providers can use, ranging from free access to content to indexing of previews or summaries, with full-content only possible through registration or payment. Google would like to see as much open content as possible, Cohen explains, but is willing to cooperate "one hundred percent" with providers to implement the level of access they want.

However, Cohen interjects, the idea of pay-to-view content isn’t necessarily the best option, even for content providers intent on maximizing revenue. Google users tend to shy away from content with strings attached. So much so that Google’s search algorithm, which mimics users desires in search results, deemphasizes sites with paywalls. Cohen argues that, at a minimum, visibility is key, even behind a paywall: “I would argue even more important if you’re putting content behind a paywall, because all of a sudden, depending on your model, again, you’re potentially shrinking your potential base of users. So you want to increase the size of that funnel, you don’t want to restrict it even further.”

Image Credit: Google

Microsoft is always trying to work its way into new businesses. With that sort of approach, there are times that even Microsoft must admit defeat. One of those times is now. Microsoft has announced that the MSN Direct GPS service will be discontinued as of January 1st 2012.

MSN Direct is a service integrated into some GPS devices that uses FM signals to deliver traffic data, weather, stocks, movie times, and various other bits of info. The service was initially offered in 2004 when there may actually have been a need. Now, with the proliferation of cellular data connections and other digital networks, the MSN Direct service makes less sense.

The ample warning will give users just over 2 years of service to work out a substitute. Users with MSN Direct devices can still enroll in the service right up to the end date. Any subscribers wanting to cancel their accounts will be issued a prorated refund. Be honest, had you even heard of this service before now?

Here's some potentially bad news for Xbox 360 console gamers - according to market analyst Michael Pachter, the price of an Xbox Live Gold subscription will shoot up to $100 per year, perhaps as early as 2011. What the hell?

"You can't hook into Xbox LIve Gold if he's playing on a PC," Pachter said on how Microsoft seemingly abandoned the PC as a gaming platform. "That's the other problem - you really want to hook every gamer who has a 360, you want them to buy all their games on 360, play everything multiplayer, pay you 50 bucks a year so that, in a couple of years, it's a 100 bucks a year."

While the numbers might be up for debate, Pachter seems convinced that Gold subscription prices are definitely on the rise. But is he off his rocker?

Current Gold level subs run $50 per year, or half of where Pacther predicts pricing is headed towards. In return, gamers get access to online multiplayer gaming, the ability to stream Netflix movies to your console (provided you're also a Netflix subscriber), and a few other odds and ends. Minus a few proprietary features, it's all stuff you can do on the PC for free, so it would be a tough sell to up and double the price of a sub in a 24-month time span.

Would you pay $100 for an Xbox Live Gold subscription? Sound off in the comments section below!

Following HP's lead, who announced last week it was offering buyers of new laptops across Asia the opportunity to get 1,000 free music tracks, Dell has partnered with Napster with a deal it believes is even better. Selected laptop and desktop customers will be given a year of free Napster service.

By going the subscription route, customers who purchase a qualified PC will have access to 8 million music tracks, 60 DRM-free tracks to download and keep, the ability to stream online from any PC, and unlimited downloads on up to 3 PCs.

Systems eligible for the free 12-month subscription will come from Dell's Studio and Inspiron lines, including some systems sold through Best Buy in the U.S.

Advertising and availability for the new promotion is expected to take place sometime by the end of October.

The headline “Hulu is going subscription” has been making headlines around the net recently, but as usual, some of these claims are somewhat exaggerated. New Corps. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker indicated that Hulu may indeed one day have a subscription based service, but “no decisions have been made yet”.  Inside sources have indicated that Hulu is already beta testing subscription based video services internally, but that this is merely an attempt to hammer out the technical details.

The challenge for Hulu at this point is to successfully find a strategy for transitioning to a paid business model, especially when its popularity was largely fueled by the simple fact that it was the best legal way to get free access to TV shows. Experimenting with new business models isn’t surprising, it’s even healthy, but where it leads is anyone guess. Hulu is also in a great position to watch and learn as Google attempts to implement its paid content. Adding paid offerings to a free online video service may or may not take off, but at least they appear to be letting someone else take the lead.

Either way it doesn’t sound like Hulu will be going subscription anytime soon, but at least it shows they are still dedicated to the future of the service.

Following in the footsteps of Napster, KaZaA has shed its shady past as an illicit download P2P vehicle and is making a legit comeback. The relaunched site is now a full fledged music service offering unlimited streams and downloads for $19.98 per month.

Under the new business model, subscribers can consume as many tracks as they want from both major and independent artists, so long as you're a U.S. resident with a Windows-based PC. Also similar to Napster, a subscription is good for up to three authorized PCs, however a major downside is the lack of portable media player support.

A review of the service is already up over at Arstechnia, who seemed generally underwhelmed with KaZaA's new identity

"The service tries to differentiate itself by allowing users to pay for the subscription either with a credit card or attached to their monthly cell phone bills, but this level of choice is comparable to being able to use either cash or credit card at the gas pump in terms of excitement," notes Arstechnica.

KaZaA offers a free 7 day trial if you want to see for yourself how the service compares. You can check it out here.