Kill me now. Microsoft, whose share of the search market is trending back towards single digits, has announced major changes to its Live Search, including quadrupling the number of sources that its search spiders query. "Search is the killer app," proclaimed a Microsoft VP for perhaps the 3,947th time. Sure is – and guess who's getting killed. Maybe they should just call it Dead Search. Scratch that. Here's the Kill me now. Microsoft, whose share of the search market is trending back towards single digits, has announced major changes to its Live Search, including quadrupling the number of sources that its search spiders query. “Search is the killer app,” proclaimed a Microsoft VP for perhaps the 3,947th time. Sure is – and guess who’s getting killed. Maybe they should just call it Dead Search. Scratch that. Here’s the real killer app: Halo 3 sold more than $170 million worth of copies within 24 hours of its release, making the xBox 360 bulletfest the hottest selling game of all time. But eager fans who dropped $70 on the Limited Edition got seriously bummed when they ripped open the package and found the discs had already been fragged – scratched by faulty ‘retention nub’ that caused them to become unmoored in transit, according to GamePro. They’ll have to cool their itchy trigger fingers until Redmond sends in reinforcements. As with all things Microsoft, the right hand giveth and the left foot endeth up in the mouth. What hath Google wrought? Security researchers report that Google is displaying more cracks than a plumbers convention. According to a blog post by the delightfully named Petko D. Petkov, Gmail users who visit specially crafted sites could end up inadvertently installing a backdoor that automatically forwards any email containing attachments to the hackers. That’s in addition to recently discovered cross-scripting vulnerabilities in Google Groups and Picasa, its photo app. Sounds like Google Inc. will soon be replacing its legendary gourmet lunches with a new menu item: crow. So help me Jobs. Apple Inc. honcho Steve Jobs has been subpoenaed to testify before the SEC in its investigation into Apple’s stock backdating schemes. St. Stephen will likely don human form and appear before investigators in November. The big question isn’t what Jobs will say, it’s whether they’ll be able to shut him up. (“Just one more thing, your honor…”)Got more hot news or scratched discs? Complain about them below or email me here. Top tipplers may receive some cool and frosty swag. Software DevelopmentSmall and Medium Business