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Cisco Systems may be making a play for Internet phone service Skype, according to a TechCrunch report.

The blog cited an unnamed source who claims that Cisco has made an offer to acquire Skype before the company completes its initial public offering. Skype filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month.

TechCrunch admited that it wasn't able to confirm the rumor, which might indicate that its source is not directly related to the talks. It also mentioned that Google had been interested in buying Skype but is not planning to make an … Read more

In the second quarter of 2010 paid TV subscriptions fell for the first time ever, with cable taking the biggest hit, according to the research firm SNL Kagan.

A weak U.S. economy is the main reason the firm cited for the dip in subscriptions, as more consumers look for ways to cut down on monthly expenses. Last year's digital TV conversion may have also played a role in lower growth rates with some people canceling service after promotions on new digital TV packages ran out, the firm said.

The entire paid TV industry, which includes cable, satellite, and … Read more

Thinking of pulling the plug on home phone service? One popular alternative is Skype, which offers free PC-to-PC calling and dirt-cheap calls to cell phones and landlines.

In honor of the World Cup, Skype is offering one month of unlimited free calls to the U.S., Mexico, and loads of other countries. (OK, unlimited to a point--there is a fair-usage policy.)

Basically, you pick a country where you have friends or relatives, then sign up for a Skype subscription. Depending on the country, you'll either get the first month free, or get a fixed number of free minutes. (Brazil, … Read more

Apple has seeded the latest developer build of Mac OS X 10.6.4 to developers. The build, version 10F54, is reported to have no known issues.… Read more

The battle for the 21st century TV viewer is heating up as Verizon Communications adds more Internet content to its Fios TV service. But cable may not be the only competitor Verizon faces as more consumer electronics devices such as Blu-ray players and game consoles add similar Net-based services without an expensive TV service subscription.

Starting Tuesday morning, Verizon Fios TV subscribers will be able to watch YouTube videos and listen to Internet radio from iHeartRadio on their big screen TVs via their Fios TV service. The upgrade, which adds to a growing catalog of Web content available through Fios … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Verizon Wireless could soon be adding Skype software to some of its phones, according to reports.

Verizon, the largest wireless company in the U.S., announced Friday that it is scheduling a press conference with Skype on Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress trade show and conference here.

Verizon isn't commenting publicly on the announcement, but Bloomberg is citing unnamed sources who say the company is planning to include Skype's Internet calling software directly in some of its phones.

The service would let customers make Skype calls over Verizon's 3G data network.

For years, telecom giants … Read more

Broadcom's persistent attempts to drag Emulex to the acquisition altar took another turn recently when Broadcom sweetened its offer from $9.25 per share to $11 per share of Emulex stock. Now would be a good time to stand back and do a quick reality check: Broadcom, tell us again why Emulex is now worth approximately $912 million--$148 million more than it was, say, a week ago.

In a May 5 press release announcing its first unsolicited offer, Broadcom's executives said, "Emulex has made it clear that it shares our view that the convergence of data … Read more

It's a clips episode without the clips! Dong and I go deeply behind the scenes and completely demystify the veritable art of making an Inside CNET Labs podcast.

In this episode you'll also find out about my brief history as a young ward to a very rich man, whether or not we use a script, and why this blog post is so short.

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the podcast link on the right. Don't forget to leave us voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.… Read more

Back in March, I did a post titled, "What's the average age of Kindle owners?" I cited a thread in Amazon.com's forums discussing Kindle owners' ages.

Well, I have a little follow-up on the whole issue. Apparently, someone went ahead and tabulated 700 of the responses in that Amazon thread (that represents about 75 percent of all the posts) and broke out the numbers. Here they are: