Microsoft is advertising open positions on a team that will create "a new game in the Halo universe" -- beyond the upcoming Halo: Reach -- according to a report today by CNet News.com's Ina Fried. See the open positions here. Although the company spun off Bungie Studios, the developers of the blockbuster video-game series, Microsoft's internal 343 Industries studio retained rights to further develop the franchise.

Yesterday's Bloomberg News report that the iPhone is coming to Verizon Wireless in January continues to be the talk of the tech industry, even though neither Apple nor Verizon is offering confirmation. One financial analyst is predicting that Verizon could sell as many as 12 million iPhones next year. To put that in perspective, Apple has reported sales of about 30 million iPhones, through all of its worldwide distribution channels, over the past four quarters.

Whether this speaks to the popularity of the iPhone, or the widespread use of Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft reports today that more than 1 million people downloaded its instant messaging app for the Apple phone in the first five days of availability. The company is promising an update soon to address "a few issues," which is tech-speak for bugs. More details on the Windows Live Messenger app in this previous post.

Tomorrow is the start of a long-awaited new era at Starbucks as the company rolls out its previously promised free, unlimited WiFi at its company-owned stores in the United States.

And back on the subject of video games, Nintendo yesterday announced plans for a series of summer events around the country, dubbed Wii Games: Summer 2010, where people will be able to compete in a series of games on the console, leading up to a national championship event in Los Angeles in September. Seattle's event will take place Aug. 13-15. Details and schedule here.