Audio and video

Skype fixes e-mail security flaw

Skype has resolved a nasty e-mail and password security bug and reinstated its password reset page.

Revealed by Skype earlier today, the vulnerability allowed someone to create a Skype account using the same e-mail address as that of the intended victim. That person was then able to reset the password for all accounts associated with that address, thereby locking out the account owner from Skype.

As a precaution, Skype earlier today took down its password reset page to prevent hackers from taking advantage of the flaw. But the company managed to resolve the security hole not long after announcing it, … Read more

Skype disables password resets due to e-mail security flaw

Update, 10:25 a.m. PT: Skype has since resolved the security issue and reinstated the password reset page.

Skype is investigating a security problem that allows someone to take over a user's account by resetting the account password.

The VoIP service provider best known for video calls confirmed in its blog today that it has taken down its password reset page as it probes the issue:

We have had reports of a new security vulnerability issue. As a precautionary step we have temporarily disabled password reset as we continue to investigate the issue further. We apologize for the … Read more

CBS library programming heads to Hulu Plus

CBS programming is coming to Hulu Plus.

The video-streaming site announced the news today, saying that the CBS library will be made available to Hulu Plus customers starting in January. More than 2,600 episodes from the CBS library will come to Hulu Plus, including those from series "Medium," "Numb3rs," and "CSI: Miami."

As part of the deal, Hulu will also get its hands on old shows, like "I Love Lucy" and "The Twilight Zone," the company said today in a blog post announcing the deal.

CBS, which owns CNET, … Read more

Iran unblocks Gmail but still wants to keep out YouTube

People in Iran can apparently once again access their Gmail accounts after the service was blocked last week.

Both Gmail and the secure HTTPS version of Google were persona non grata in the country on September 24 after an Iranian official named Abdolsamad Khoramabadi announced that "Google and Gmail will be filtered nationwide until further notice." Khoramabadi is the secretary of a committee in Iran that examines the Internet for content considered illegal or criminal, according to the Iranian Labor News Agency.

The action was reportedly taken in response to an amateur movie posted on YouTube considered critical of the Prophet Muhammad among Muslims, … Read more

YouTube to air presidential debates live on Elections page

YouTube has partnered with ABC News to cover the four presidential and vice presidential debates.

The company announced today that it will air the three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate live on its Elections Hub page. YouTube says it will get the feed live from the ABC News YouTube channel and will air the four debates in their entirety.

YouTube's airing marks the first time the company has streamed the presidential debates. After they air, the debates can also be viewed in full on youtube.com/politics.

To enhance its coverage, YouTube will have commentary and analysis … Read more

Netflix fine-tunes its Android app

Netflix users should now have an easier time finding their favorite movies and TV shows via their Android devices.

Unveiled over the weekend, the latest changes to Netflix's Android app conjure up the same interface that was already part of the iPhone and iPad versions.

Opening the Netflix app on your Android phone or tablet displays thumbnails for items that you started watching but never finished, so you can easily pick up where you left off. The app then blankets the screen with the familiar rows, showing you the top 10 picks based on your preferences, your Instant Queue, … Read more

Skype to adopt 'Metro' design, says report

Skype may be taking new look and feel cues from the Windows 8 interface formerly known as Metro.

New client versions of Skype are in the works with a few notable enhancements, The Verge reports. One such is a new UI that borrows from the Windows 8 interface. Skype is now testing this change, but could take it a few steps further in future releases, according to The Verge.

Also reportedly new to Skype: a video messaging feature that lets users send prerecorded videos, which their contacts can then view when they hop online.

In 2008, Microsoft beta tested a … Read more

IETF standardizes Opus for flexible online audio

The Internet Engineering Task Force has standardized the Opus audio compression technology as RFC 6716.

The move paves the way for much broader use of Opus for anything from playing music to online voice chats. Opus is what's called a codec because it defines how to encode and decode a stream of data for more efficient storage or transmission.

"Opus is the first state-of-the-art, free audio codec to be standardized. We think this will help us achieve wider adoption than prior royalty-free codecs," Jean-Marc Valin, a Mozilla employee and author of Opus, said in a blog post today. … Read more

Pandora shareholders hear Apple's footsteps; stock tumbles

Pandora has already run into trouble as investors digest reports that Apple may launch a rival music service.

As of 9:45 a.m. PT, Pandora shares had fallen more than $2, a 17 percent drop.

The freefall follows a story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that Apple is aiming to kick off its own online music service. Sources told the Journal that Apple is speaking with record labels to license music for a service that would let users create their own custom music stations based on their favorite songs and artists.

The service would reportedly be targeted for … Read more

Grooveshark retunes mobile site after trouble over dedicated apps

Hit by legal woes that squashed its dedicated apps, Grooveshark has amped up its mobile Web site to provide users with full access to their music.

The new mobile site has been given a fresh HTML5 paint job, so it now looks and feels smoother. It also gives Grooveshark users access to their entire collection of online tunes, including their playlists and favorites. As always, users can search for specific songs by title or artist and listen to different "stations" based on jazz, rock, classical, country, and other genres.

Overall, the experience is now virtually identical to using … Read more