News reports that circulated earlier this week claimed Microsoft had developed "a cheap, disposable pre-recorded DVD disc that consumers can play only once." The idea was that the single-play DVD would be an alternative to renting movies. The same report claimed Bill Gates had appeared in a video "dressed in a sailor suit pretending to audition for the blockbuster Titanic... [to pitch] Hollywood with the proposition that only Microsoft could solve its piracy problem by making its DRM software a standard across every home entertainment playback and recording device." None of this (the single-play DVD nor the Bill Gates pirate video) was true. However, it's not clear where the false story originated from. Microsoft itself has suggested it appeared to be inspired by "an existing feature within Windows Media DRM that allows for single-play of promotional digital material." So single-play DVDs may be a hoax (though I'm pretty sure they're technically possible), but what I wish Microsoft would develop is a DVD that doesn't scratch. Whenever I'm watching a DVD only to have it either freeze or skip back to the beginning of the disc, it really makes me long for the good old days of VHS.