Hacking Whac-A-Mole

IT'S MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28. I'M NATALI MORRIS, AND IT'S TIME TO GET LOADED. [*] YOU...IT'S USERS. THE CHANGES ARE MEANT TO MAKE THE SITE'S PRIVACY POLICIES EASIER TO UNDERSTAND. IT IS BASICALLY A RE-WRITE OF THE DOCUMENT AND ATTEMPT TO GET RID OF THE LEGALESE. I FIND IT JUST GOES AHEAD WITH CHANGES AS IT SEES FIT. THEY'VE LEARNED THEIR LESSON. WHAT DO YOU KNOW? [*] SKYPE MADE SOME UPDATES TO SKYPE TO GO, WHICH LETS YOU CALL ANY PHONE THROUGH YOUR SKYPE ACCOUNT. THE NEW FEATURES LET YOU ASSIGN SKYPE'S LOCAL NUMBERS FOR UP TO NINE OF YOUR FRIENDS - EVEN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS - AND CALL THEM DIRECTLY USING LOCAL NUMBERS. LOCAL RATES - NOT INTERNATIONAL RATES. YOU CAN DO THIS FROM YOUR MOBILE PHONE MEANING YOU DON'T EVEN NEED AN INTERNET CONNECTION. [*] THE PLAYSTATION PORTABLE IS NOW $40 CHEAPER. SONY DROPPED THE PRICE OF THE PSP TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE UPCOMING NEXT GENERATION PORTABLE, WHICH COMES OUT LATER THIS YEAR. INSTEAD OF COSTING $170, IT NOW COSTS $130. THE PRICE DROP WENT INTO EFFECT ON SUNDAY. [*] GROUPON LAUNCHED A VERSION OF ITS SITE IN CHINA. IT IS CALLED GAO-PENG- DOT-COM. IT IS A GROUP DISCOUNT SITE THAT IS POWERED BY GROUPON. THE SITE WILL START OFFERING LOCAL DEALS IN BEIJING AND SHANGHAI IN MARCH. [*] THERE IS A LOT OF SUING GOING ON AROUND MOTOROLA. FIRST OFF MOTOROLA IS SUING TIVO FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT IN TIVO'S DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDERS. MOTOROLA IS ALSO BEING SUED FOR THE XOOM. A COMPANY CALLED XOOM CORP IS SUING OVER THE NAME. THE MONEY TRANSFER FOR ITS CUSTOMERS. [*] MAJOR SITES LIKE AMAZON AND TWITTER. HE WANTS THESE SITES TO DEFAULT TO HTTPS, WHICH IS THE HIGHLY ENCRYPTED VERSIONS OF WEBSITES. SHOPS AND BOOK STORES MAKE THE PUBLIC TOO VULNERABLE TO HACKS. HE IS CALLING FOR WEB SITES TO DEFAULT TO HTTPS VOLUNTARILY. [*] WHAC-A-MOLE, THE ARCADE GAME WHERE YOU HIT STUFFED ANIMALS THAT POP UP AND DOWN. THE MAN INFECTED OVER 400 MACHINES SO THAT THEY WOULD STOP WORKING AND NEED HIS REPAIR SERVICES AGAIN. HE WAS JUST INSURING HIS OWN JOB SECURITY. [*] DATE THEM IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME SINGLE. IT IS CALLED THE WAITING ROOM. YOU LITERALLY SIGN UP FOR SOMEONE'S WAIT LIST IF THEY BREAK UP WITH THE POOR SLOB THEY ARE CURRENTLY WITH. WHEN YOU SIGN UP TO BE IN SOMEONE'S WAITING ROOM, IT WON'T GO IN YOUR FEED SO IT IS FAIRLY PRIVATE. AND DESPERATE. [*] THAT IS YOUR NEWS FOR THE DAY. SEE YOU TOMORROW. I'M NATALI MORRIS FOR CNET AND YOU'VE JUST BEEN LOADED.