Security hole allows anyone to hijack your Skype account using only your email address (updated)  —  A new security hole has been discovered in Microsoft's Skype that allows anyone to change your password and thus take over your account.  The issue was first posted on a Russian forum …

Nokia redefines digital map landscape by introducing HERE as new brand for its location and mapping service  —  Nokia extends its service across devices and operating systems  —  Nokia announces new partnership with Mozilla and planned acquisition of 3D capture company, earthmine

Surveillance and Security Lessons From the Petraeus Scandal  —  When the CIA director cannot hide his activities online, what hope is there for the rest of us?  In the unfolding sex scandal that has led to the resignation of David Petraeus, the FBI's electronic surveillance and tracking …

Samsung plans no settlement with Apple: executive  —  SEOUL — A top Samsung executive said that the South Korean electronics giant had no plans to follow Taiwanese firm HTC in seeking a settlement over its patent disputes with arch-rival Apple.  —  Samsung and Apple are currently embroiled …

Google TV update adds voice control, taps into Knowledge Graph  —  Google announced the next big update for Google TV Wednesday, bringing advanced voice control, a new programming guide app and all kinds of smarts derived from Google's Knowledge Graph to the platform.

Papa John's faces $250 million spam lawsuit  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Popular U.S. pizza chain Papa John's faces a $250 million class-action lawsuit for blasting customers with illegal text messages.  —  The plaintiffs allege that Papa John's ( PZZA) franchises sent customers a total of 500,000 unwanted messages in early 2010.

Google Fiber is live in Kansas City, real-world speeds at 700 Mbps  —  Mike Demarais posted this to Twitter during the first few minutes that Google Fiber went live in his Kansas City home.  —  Mike Demarais  —  After months of fanfare and anticipation, gigabit home Internet service Google …

New BlackBerry Messenger will offer free voice calls over Wi-Fi, open beta starts today  —  RIM may be focusing most of its energy on the upcoming launch of the BlackBerry 10 OS, but it's also getting ready to roll out a major new feature to BlackBerry Messenger users.

Gartner: Android Accounted For 72% Of Smartphone Sales In Q3, Overall Sales Of Mobile Handsets Down 3%  —  Gartner has this morning published its numbers on the performance of the mobile handset industry in Q3.  The topline figure is that the mobile industry overall continues to see pressure …

Microsoft's former Windows Phone chief shifted to head of corporate development and strategy  —  Microsoft's Andy Lees, who was moved out of the top Windows Phone job less than a year ago, has been shifted to the head of corporate development and strategy at the software giant, a company spokesperson has confirmed.

Yoga PC Flips and Bends, but as a Tablet, It's Clumsy  —  Windows 8 presents a dilemma for PC makers.  It contains two very different user interfaces: a touch-oriented, tablet-like one with clusters of tiles, full-screen apps and an on-screen keyboard; plus the traditional Windows desktop and apps …

Understanding Like-gate  —  Several prominent people are up in arms about Facebook charging for access to users who have already Liked their page.  —  I believe this debate is missing the big picture, and what we are in fact witnessing is the unfurling of the full-fledged Facebook business model.

Exclusive: AMD hires bank to explore options - sources  —  (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to explore options, which could include a potential sale, as the chipmaker struggles to find a role in an industry increasingly focused on mobile and away from traditional PCs …

Samsung Bets On Flexible Displays  —  SEOUL—As the battle for dominance in the smartphone and tablet market intensifies, South Korean conglomerate Samsung is pushing ahead with plans to start mass production of displays using plastic rather than glass, a move that will make mobile devices unbreakable, lighter and bendable.

Google Foretells Big Switch to Networks of the Future  —  In the summer of 1998, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin were drafting an official business plan for the company they hoped to build around their Google search engine, they asked Guido Appenzeller for a little help.

Microsoft issues Surface software updates, improves app performance  —  Microsoft has started to issue updates to its Surface RT device this week with the company's first monthly Patch Tuesday since Windows 8 and Windows RT's launch on October 26th.  The software maker has taken the opportunity …

Google Voice is broken in Android 4.2  —  We're hearing lots of rumblings about Google Voice issues with Android 4.2, starting with the early Nexus 4 review units that went out, but that could've been blamed on pre-release software.  Well it seems that the final 4.2 software has the same bits …

Vuzix Smart Glasses M100 takes on Google Glass in 2013  —  Vuzix has revealed its challenge to Google's Glass, the Vuzix Smart Glasses M100, a wearable Android computer set to hit the market in early 2013.  Resembling an oversized Bluetooth headset, the Ice Cream Sandwich-based M100 consists …

Google opens up on seven years of its data center history  —  Google's head of data center operations provided a seven-year look at how the search giant's data center strategy has evolved during the 7×24 Exchange conference on Tuesday in Phoenix, Ariz.,providing a new look at the secretive search giant's operations.

Verizon to offer free Windows Phone 8 smartphone before the end of the year  —  Verizon Wireless recently announced availability of its first Windows Phone 8 devices, the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 822, both of which are shipping before the Thanksgiving holiday this year.

The world according to Twitter as seen through a high-performance computer  —  I watched the 2012 elections on Twitter, and I wasn't alone.  Data from the social network proves that out, with more than 31 million election-related tweets recorded that night.  But what does that type of activity look like in real time?

Barnes & Noble releases Nook reading app for Windows 8  —  Barnes & Nobile has finally made a Nook app available in the Windows Store.  The reading app runs on both Windows 8 and Windows RT devices and supports books, newspapers, comics, and magazines.  It's a little later than we'd hoped for …

Cisco's Chambers Hopeful on Tax Policy; ‘US Has to Pull Us Out of This’  —  In a phone call following a conference call following better-than-expected fiscal Q1 results by Cisco Systems (CSCO), CEO John Chambers was kind enough to spend a little time chatting with me.