Libe Goad

Just as Microsoft is allegedly starting to dabble in voice over IP, a third-party plug-in for Skype allows the VOIP company to dabble in Microsoft, so to speak, by integrating the service with Internet Explorer and Outlook e-mail. Beta versions of the two plug-ins appeared Tuesday on Share Skype, a site that attracts developers and […]

Following the recent revelation that a security breach potentially exposed 40 million credit cards to data theft, a class-action suit was filed Monday against CardSystems Solutions, MasterCard and Visa on the behalf of California credit card holders and businesses accepting credit card payments. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that CardSystems Solutions, […]

Google on Monday introduced two new elements to its Video Search beta: a plug-in application that lets users watch videos in the browser and access to user-uploaded videos, which the company has been collecting since April. For the average Web user, the Google Video Viewer is designed to make video accessible in a way never […]

The Supreme Court Monday handed the entertainment industry a major win in its ongoing battle to curb Internet piracy. In the MGM vs. Grokster case, judges voted unanimously that software companies will be held liable when consumers use the service to illegally download music and movies, overturning an earlier ruling that sheltered peer-to-peer services from […]

BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen on Monday called Microsoft Researchs attempt to create its own version of the person-to-person application “vaporware” and “complete garbage.” In Cohens blog, he said Microsoft Corp.s boast that the new P2P protocol, codenamed Avalanche, would fix transfer rate problems and disconnections was unfounded. Cohen added that since the Microsoft experiments were […]

Yahoo on Tuesday bought Dialpad Communications, potentially turning the longstanding Internet portal into a communications vehicle that some say will rival Skype. A Yahoo representative said the company will expand the recently announced voice options in its instant messaging service, allowing users to make both PC-to-PC calls and outbound and inbound calls to the PSTN […]

Nokia announced Monday that it will be working with Apple to create a new browser for its Series 60 smart phones. The open-source browser will use the same components used in the Safari Web browser. “Apple is pleased to assist Nokia in creating their new Series 60 browser based on the same KHTML open source […]

Vonage and router-manufacturer Linksys have partnered to create what they hope will be an offer customers cant refuse. Starting on June 12, and for six weeks after, consumers will be able to trade in any router for one of Linksys Wireless-G routers with two phone ports for VOIP for free after-rebates, when signing up for […]

Microsoft late Wednesday rolled out an updated version of its MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search, complete with tabbed browsing, designed to add another level of simplification while browsing the Web via Internet Explorer. Tab browsing has already been proved popular in Mozillas Firefox browser. MSN Product Manager Justin Osmer said the rollout is […]

One week after hackers exploited a weakness in the MSN Korea Web site, Microsoft admitted to taking down part of its MSN site over the weekend after learning about a flaw that would allow hackers to access Hotmail accounts. Reports say the MSN Web site, ilovemessenger.msn.com, contained a cross-site scripting flaw. That means someone could […]

Macromedias Flash is all grown up. Webmasters will now have access to a host of tools, part of the new multifunctional Flash Platform announced Friday, that include content creation and Web development tools that can interact with a companys server and be sent to mobile devices. The company also unveiled its next-generation Flash player, codenamed […]

Its official—the Web soon will have its own red-light district. This week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers approved a plan that will allow pornographic Web sites to use URLs that end with “.xxx.” ICANN first considered this adults-only, top-level domain in 2000, but decided to reject it. That move drew criticism from […]