So here’s one to counterbalance some of the relentless gloom. You can’t call this a turnaround, yet. But if you squint at this in the right light, click your heels three times and think positive thoughts, it’s possible to imagine that it shows you that we’re reaching the end of big music’s big slide.

Here’s what record music sales looked like in the U.S. for the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2010 (courtesy of the RIAA, using Nielsen SoundScan data):

You’ll note that overall sales are still down. But this is the music industry! So a decline of 1.3 percent almost seems like growth spurt. Last year, for instance, sales were down 6.1 percent during the same period.

Again, this is way too early to call the bottom on a decade-long decline. It’s entirely possible that the sales almost-non-decrease is just a temporary burp.

But if sales have stabilized, then things get very interesting. Assets like Warner Music Group, for instance, might actually be undervalued. And digital outlets like Apple’s iTunes and Spotify might finally deliver on the promise that they’ll deliver more money for the industry than its legacy CD business.

In related news, here’s one way to sell music, which seems likely to work for many people in my Twitter/Facebooksphere: Get Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride and all your other celebrity/comedy buddies to create a 30-minute video you’ll release in conjunction with your new album.

Which is what the Beastie Boys have done.

Here’s a two-minute teaser trailer, which involves some f and m-f bombs.

So bear this in mind when reviewing the newest comScore (SCOR) search numbers, which show Microsoft (MSFT) continuing to make modest search share gains. Bing is now up nearly a full point since May, when Microsoft introduced the new “decision engine.”

If you’re in glass-half-empty mode, you can complain that the blitz of publicity (free and paid) for Bing should have moved the needle farther. But if you’re a half-full type, you can argue that there is a very large swath of people–even those with a passing interest in the Internet–who have no idea Microsoft has a new search engine. Which means there is a very large swath of potential converts.**

Here are the July data, courtesy of JP Morgan’s Imran Khan. Note that both Google (GOOG) and Yahoo (YHOO) saw share drop by 0.03 percent (click chart to enlarge):

And if you’ve already had your fill of the Bing ad blitz, brace yourself. Barclays analyst Doug Anmuth predicts another deluge in a few months “as we move closer to the holiday season, specifically highlighting the Cashback program and other differentiated features.”

Here’s the Bing spot that left my fellow moviegoer bemused (note that the ad has its own overlay ad at the 10-second mark for…Bing):

*Kafka At the Movies minireview: Way better than “Punchline.” And if you like your Adam Sandler angry (which I do) and your Seth Rogen slimmer (meh), you’ll be happy. But at two-hours-plus, way too long.

**Alternate take: You might worry that Microsoft’s decision to describe Bing as a “decision engine” may be confusing potential converts.

That’s because ABC, which broadcast last night’s show, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which produces the event, don’t want clips of last night’s show on the world’s biggest video site. Instead, they’d prefer that you watch highlights on ABC’s Oscar.com site.

I understand the thinking. After all, Disney’s (DIS) ABC supposedly commands crazily high ad rates for Oscar.com. I’m told that last year, ABC could charge advertisers more than $70 for every thousand eyeballs that visited the site–at least double what other big media sites can command on the Web.

Still, you’d think that ABC, the Academy and Google’s (GOOG) video site could figure out a way to get visitors at least a taste of what happened last night via YouTube, and then eventually direct those eyeballs to the official site.

But if you look for “Oscar” on YouTube this morning, you’ll get a series of official ABC/Oscar-endorsed highlights from last year’s show at the top of the search results. And if you look deeper than that, you’ll find grainy, shaky footage from YouTube uploaders who recorded clips of last night’s show on camcorders.

That’s a Fail, as the Web folks like to say. YouTube users don’t get what they want, and ABC and the Academy don’t give them a compelling reason to come to the official site.

Then again, maybe YouTube users don’t really care about the Oscars that much–unless it gives them a chance to see one of their favorites stars walking or talking.  Video tracking service TubeMogul says that unofficial Oscar clips have generated  470,000 views on YouTube since last night–and that unofficial clips of “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson’s appearance on the show generated another 300,000 views.

Don’t know who Robert Pattinson is? I’m in the same boat. But he’s what the kids are into these days.

And here’s my favorite highlight from last night’s show, which I can’t find on either YouTube or Oscar.com: Seth Rogen and James Franco reprising their roles from last summer’s “Pineapple Express”; thanks to FirstShowing.net for this one.

Microsoft officially rolled out the next version of its Windows Live Services tonight, with a heavy emphasis on socializing its online offerings and giving users better tools to share all sorts of information from across the Web within them.

Microsoft (MSFT) said the changes–similar to those made by Yahoo (YHOO) and Time Warner (TWX) online unit AOL recently–would “begin rolling out to customers in the U.S. over the coming weeks and will be made available globally in 54 countries and in 48 languages by early 2009.”

You might call its the “Facebooking” of Windows Live, which is the brand name for Microsoft’s communications and other related online services aimed at consumers, especially because the much anticipated changes also include a new profile and a “What’s New” feed.

So, if imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should feel beloved by Microsoft, since both are direct borrows of two of the social-networking site’s most prominent features.

(See many screenshots of the newly refreshed Window Live services below.)

But don’t call it a social network, said Brian Hall, who is the general manager of the Windows Live unit, in a lovely breakfast interview with BoomTown yesterday.

“No one wants to sign up for another social network,” said Hall. “But everyone does want to be able to share and bring together all they do on the Web, and we want to make sure all our users can do that in the easiest way possible.”

(Sadly, the video I did with Hall–who is Seth Rogen lookalike, and I mean that in a good way–got eaten up in my new Flip MinoHD software, which was entirely due to my boneheadedness.)

But, in it, Hall underscored that Microsoft is now fully committed to opening Windows Live Services up to whatever consumers want to do with their online lives and wherever they want to do it.

And, indeed, the “next generation” of Windows Live will inject social elements into its Photo Gallery photo sharing, Hotmail email, Spaces groups and Messenger instant messaging offerings, as well as Microsoft’s calendar and mobile products.

The move will also more significantly integrate many third-party partners into the mix. Microsoft’s outside partners announced tonight include Flickr, LinkedIn, Pandora, Photobucket, Twitter, WordPress and Yelp. (See the full list below.)

Microsoft also announced alliances with Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and China Telecom to deliver Windows Live services.

Microsoft says there are more than 460 million Windows Live customers (its instant messaging offering accounts for a bulk of this number and will see the most socializing impact), but is bowing to the obvious and inevitable trend of consumers creating and sharing all over the Internet.

But, said Hall, Microsoft is also sticking to its mantra of “software plus services” here, noting that consumers want the existing tools they use now regularly to become more social, rather than having to abandon them.

Microsoft is also launching its Windows Live Essentials, which are free widgets that can be used across a range of devices and places, such as personal computers, mobile phones and on Web sites.

Finally, to let users store all that content and information, Microsoft said it is also increasing its Windows Live SkyDrive online storage offering from 5GB to 25GB.

Here are the screenshots of the new Windows Live services (click on them to make them larger):

Windows Live Home Page

Windows Live Profile Page

Windows Live Messenger Page

Windows Live Web Activities Page

Windows Live Groups Page

Partner Integration for Windows Live

Blog
Blogkoll.se
Live Journal
Overblog
SixApart
Twitter*
Wordpress*

Reviews
11870.com
Amazon
Digg
Flixster*
Goodreads
Kaboodle
StumbleUpon*
Yelp*

Photo
Bilddagboken.se
Flickr*
Photobucket
Rock You
SmugMug

Music/Video
Last.fm
iLike
Break
Pandora
Seesmic
Veoh

Social Networking
Biip.no
Dada.net
Daum*
Dopplr
Faves
Friendster
Hevre
Hyves
Jeeran
Libero Community
Lokalisten
Mail.ru
Metroflog
Nettby
OleOle
Playahead
Qik
SlideShare
Studenti.it
TripIt, Inc.*
Yandex
YuKu
zoo.gr

OEM and Services Partners
HP
Lenovo

Telecommunications and Broadband Service Providers

China Telecom
Qwest

FrameIt Partners
Amlogic
iGala
Navteq
PanDigital
PhotoVu
RMI
Smartparts
ViewSonic

*Denotes First Set of Available Feed Partners