If the rumors are to be believed, software giant Microsoft is in advanced talks with UStream to acquire the Internet juggernaut that features some of the most popular life casting and life streaming sites, including Justin.tv (home of Internet life casting megastar Justin Pirillo), Blogtv, and Mogolus. The Tech Crunch web site featured a story that announced, "Ustream.tv is said to be in advanced talks with Microsoft to be acquired for $50 million, according to a report from Valleywag." What makes the life casting sites like Justin.tv so valuable is, as the same article states, "Ustream.tv has offered a complete package of streaming and post show videos, and has a strong reputation as a reliable provider of live shows and events." Sites like Ustream may represent a big chunk of the future of the entertainment industry, but what the control of a media giant like Microsoft could do to the free-wheeling universe of life casting, is anybody's guess at this point. I would think that the tightfisted control of most big coporations would be utterly antithetical to the free expression so necessary to the life casting phenomenon.