Court Rejects Microsoft, Best Buy Appeal
(Associated Press)

I guess Microsoft gets caught with their hand in the cookie jar yet again.

The joint venture is not the real problem here although it does serve to qualify Best Buy and Microsoft for the Rico violation. The real problem was in Best Buy actually signing the customer up for future charges using the customers plastic numbers. That is the shady practice. We all know how hard it is to get such a service canceled once they have your numbers and somebody authorized the charges. (And, of course doing that involved the electronic communication.)

But, of course, the customer did not provide the authorization.

Microsoft does not care. It is just another way to get your money.