Yay. Yet more fuel for the format wars fire. Sony, Apple, & Blu-Ray versus Toshiba, and now Microsoft, & HD-DVD. This doesn't bode well for a unified format anytime soon, that's for sure. In fact, I think it pretty much seals the deal that we won't be seeing one in this upcoming next generation.... *sigh*

"The deal, announced by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and Toshiba Corp. President Atsutoshi Nishida, is a big win for the HD-DVD format in its competition against another technology called Blu-ray Disc, which is backed by Sony Corp. and Apple Computers Inc., to become the world standard for next-generation of DVD players."