“The glitch was caused after Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft
failed to pay a $35 fee to registration company Network Solutions
for rights to the Internet domain name passport.com, which verifies
user names and passwords…”
“In an ironic twist, the missed billing was discovered and
paid by Michael Chaney, an Antioch, Tenn.-based programmer who
works with the Linux operating system, an upstart competitor
to Microsoft’s Windows platform.”
“… Chaney said he paid the fee with his personal Mastercard on
Christmas morning and had received a call on Tuesday from a
Microsoft executive thanking him for fixing the problem.”