Maybe this isn't new, but I just signed out of my Hotmail account and was redirected to a Live Search homepage. I'm pretty sure when I did that on Friday it sent me to the MSN home page, as it has done for about as long as I can remember. Is anybody else noticing this change? It might not be a bad way to expose more people to Live Search, which just recorded its weakest market share in 12 months.

Update, 9:15 p.m.: Emil Protalinski, who covers Microsoft for Ars Technica, points out that LiveSide.net noted this change last week. Kip Kniskern wrote, "Sending people to visit the live.com page seems like a no brainer to get them to try out Live Search, although the advertisers on MSN.com might not be too happy."

It looks like this is being rolled out in stages. Two commenters tried it and were not successfully redirected to Live.com.

Update, Monday, 8:01 a.m.: Microsoft spokeswoman Whitney Burk tells me via e-mail, "Yes we're testing it on a small portion of our traffic. From time to time, we run these types of small scale experiments to test what the best experiences are for customers."

Microsoft partnered with entertainment big shots BermanBraun Interactive to create a new entertainment and celebrity news site for MSN, called Wonderwall. "As long as MSN.com has been around, we've had an entertainment channel," said Rob Bennett, MSN general manager. But people had a hard time finding celebrity news and gossip among the existing Music, TV and Movies channels. "Celebrity content is sort of sprinkled throughout."

A week ago, Microsoft announced its first companywide layoff, letting go 1,400 people as part of a plan to cut up to 5,000 jobs in the next 18 months. But the company made clear it would continue hiring, perhaps 2,000 to 3,000 people, in strategically important areas. And judging by its U.S. online jobs site, it intends to. A search of the site for positions in Washington state brought back 72 openings posted since Jan. 22, the day the layoffs were announced.

Microsoft and the NBA's "chosen one," LeBron James, are dropping a marketing relationship that had the Cleveland Cavaliers star forward hawking Windows Vista and promoting himself on an MSN site, Bloomberg reported.

AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

James throws chalk dust into the air before playing in an NBA basketball game against the New Jersey Nets Tuesday, Nov. 18.