Let's look back at the week that was in Microsoft news. Here were the top stories:

Coding error leads to uneven EU browser ballot distribution: The distribution of browser choices on the EU browser ballot released this month to Windows users is uneven. Internet Explorer shows up in the right-most position 50 percent of the time for current IE users, an outcome that's due to Microsoft attempting to shuffle the browsers using JavaScript's sort function.

Microsoft rivals push to send browser ballot on world tour: The lobbying group European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS), which is composed of many Microsoft rivals including Opera, is urging the rest of the world to push Microsoft into offering the browser ballot screen.

Google has acquired a company that allows Microsoft Office users to edit their documents collaboratively on the Web. The acquisition of DocVerse will undoubtedly allow users who are married to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to edit their documents through Google's services, thanks to a "small, nimble team of talented developers who share [Google's] vision."

Both Google and DocVerse made their announcements Friday afternoon, with each noting that transitioning to cloud document storage and collaboration has been somewhat of a challenge for Office users. "Unfortunately, today, individuals are still forced to make a choice between those two worlds," reads the DocVerse blog post. "Google’s acquisition of DocVerse represents a first step to solve these problems."

Google says that current DocVerse users will be able to continue using the service as usual, but that new signups have been closed until the company is "ready to share what's next." This is no doubt a foreshadowing of Google's plan to integrate DocVerse's capabilities into Google Docs, which allows users to collaborate simultaneously on Google-hosted word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation documents.

The move is just another step in Google's strategy to chip away at Microsoft's dominance in the productivity space. Of course, there are other ways for Office users to share documents online—SharePoint is a popular solution among businesses, for example—but the functionality is still quite different from what's offered through Google Docs. The DocVerse acquisition, combined with Google's recently announced file-storage capabilities, will help beef up Google Docs to the point where it will be even harder for small businesses to resist signing up for Google Apps.

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Microsoft hasn't been the most progressive company when it comes to dealing with gay and lesbian issues on Xbox Live, but the company has just announced a small but important change to its Code of Conduct for the service. You can now describe your relationships with a number of preapproved words.

"Under our previous policy, some of these expressions of self-identification were not allowed in Gamertags or profiles to prevent the use of these terms as insults or slurs," Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten wrote. "However we have since heard feedback from our customers that while the spirit of this approach was genuine, it inadvertently excluded a part of our Xbox LIVE community. This update also comes hand-in-hand with increased stringency and enforcement to prevent the misuse of these terms."

You can now describe your orientation as Gay, Bi, Straight, Transgender, or Lesbian. The new code also notes that other words are verboten, and these accepted words are contextual. "Other terms regarding relationship orientation are not allowed. In addition you may not use these terms or any other terms regarding relationship orientation to insult, harass, or any other pejorative use against other users," the document explains.

"I truly believe that our diversity is what makes us strong: diversity in gaming and entertainment options, and diversity in the people that make up this amazing community. I look forward to seeing you on LIVE soon," Whitten said. 

It may seem like a small thing to some, but now gamers don't have to hide their sexual orientation to play on Xbox Live. 

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God of War III is coming, and it's huge—even in comparison to the previous games in the series, which were pretty epic in size and scope themselves. So how do you top them? Ars sat down with John Palamarchuk, the lead cinematic artist on the game, to find out.

Apple has announced that it is scrapping its old developer programs, which included multiple tiers that cost thousands at the top end, for one modeled on its wildly successful iPhone Developer Program. Simply called the , it will cost just $99 per year.

Included in the new and improved Mac Developer Program is access to prerelease builds of Mac OS X, member-only developer forums, a series of instructional videos from Apple engineers, and two direct technical support incidents per year. The TSIs give developers direct access to an Apple engineer for assistance with code problems or other troubleshooting, and developers have the option of buying additional TSIs as needed.

The new program replaces the ADC Premier, Select, and Student developer programs. The biggest difference between the new and old programs, aside from the much lower price, is the loss of the ADC Hardware Purchase Program benefit that offered steep discounts on Macs for the Select and Premier account holders. Some developers have already said that they'll happily take the lower cost of entry over the hardware discount.

Premier accounts, which cost over $3,000, also used to include one free ticket to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which normally cost $1,200. Ostensibly, any Mac Developer Program member will have a chance to buy a ticket next year (at least until it sells out, like it has the past two years).

The lower barrier to entry is expected to spur an influx of Mac developers, much as the iPhone Developer Program did. Developers familiar with developing for the iPhone should have a relatively easy time of transitioning to developing for the Mac, since both use the same Xcode IDE, Objective-C language, and many similar APIs (though obviously UI considerations are quite different).

Current ADC memberships remain in effect until they expire. Developers that bought an ADC membership after Feburary 1 can to get a refund if they wish to join the Mac Developer Program instead. The Mac Developer Program will be the only program Apple offers going forward. Basic access to Xcode developer tools and released versions of Mac OS X SDKs remains free.

Valve has been teasing something Portal-related all week, starting with some mysterious updates followed by a brand new ending for the game. And if all of this led you to believe that the puzzle-based shooter would be getting a sequel, well, you'd be right.

The news was revealed via Game Informer, which will be featuring the game on its next cover. No real details have been revealed, although the game will be a "full-fledged, standalone sequel," as opposed to the original, which came packaged with The Orange Box. We should have plenty of good information when the magazine hits newsstands though, as it features a full 12-page spread on the game.

For now, we can do little but speculate, and revel in the glorious cover image.