The CNET News team brings you this snappy podcast every weekday, covering everything from privacy to processors, iPods to Intel. Charlie Cooper, Leslie Katz, Erica Ogg, and Jennifer Guevin cover the top technology news of the day, and encourage listeners to be a part of the discussion in the forums. Visit the blog at http://newsdaily.cnet.com.
eBay will move forward with selling its stake in Skype, the company said Friday, now that a licensing dispute over the software that underlies Skype's service has been settled. eBay will get $1.9 billion in cash in the deal, which will close by the end of the year.
Also on the podcast: Smartphone sales rise, the Motorola Droid has its coming out party, more charges in the Galleon insider trading case, and Google aims to be less "creepy."
Known for using brilliant engineers, complex algorithms, and speedy servers to organize online information in a simple and accessible way, Google is learning how to add the human touch to its repertoire as customers look for answers that can't be found on an FAQ. CNET News reporter Tom Krazit talks about what the search giant is doing to improve the customer experience and why that task is getting more difficult.
That, plus other headlines of the day, on Thursday's CNET News Daily Podcast.
Today's tech update includes a new antitrust lawsuit filed again Intel, a legal challenge to Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader, AT&T sues Verizon over commercials, and more.
Black Friday will be here in mere weeks, but the extended warranty business runs year round. What are some things to watch out for, and do you really need to buy a warranty for some of the smaller ticket items? We get CNET News reporter (and fellow CNET News Daily Podcast host) Erica Ogg in the studio to give us a breakdown on tech warranties, along with what gadgets you should and shouldn't buy one of these warranties for.
We also talk about Best Buy's upcoming video service, batteries made out of zinc, and a new wireless device that's been made just for Twitter.
Forrester Research says that while retail sales will probably be flat this holiday season, online sales are expected to reach $44.7 billion, an 8 percent jump over last year.
Seventy-two percent of retailers questioned said they expect holiday sales to increase over last year. And the customer experience may be improved as well. Online retailers may also show a new focus on customer engagement and service.
Also on the podcast: The Wii is losing ground, Amazon has finished its acquisition of Zappos, phishing attacks are up, file sharers spend more, and the military is testing new force-feedback packbots.
Motorola has been desperate for a hit phone since the Razr. The Droid, powered by Android 2.0, and available beginning next week, could be the beginning of a comeback for the handset maker, says CNET's Maggie Reardon. She talks about the importance of the Droid's exclusive contract with Verizon, and why it could be the key to its success.
Also on today's podcast: Sony suffers another bad quarter, ICANN makes one of the biggest changes to the Internet in 40 years, Facebook gets a huge judgment against the infamous spam king, and some scary Halloween tech tales.
Automakers don't want people to feel like driving electric means radical changes. CNET News reporter Martin LaMonica talks about what they're doing to make the transition easier for consumers. That, plus Sprint continues to bleed customers, Nintendo unveils a supersized version of the DSi, and much more.
Verizon and Motorola are aiming squarely at the iPhone with today's unveiling of the Droid, currently the only smartphone running the Android 2.0 operating system. At the same time, Google announced its new turn-by-turn navigation software for mobile phones. Does this mean the days of standalone navigation systems are numbered? Reporter Tom Krazit thinks so. He joins today's podcast to talk about today's mobile developments.
Also in this podcast: security threats are up at midsize companies, while their IT budgets remain frozen; Mozilla fixes critical security holes with Firefox 3.5.4; and on its ninth birthday, the PlayStation 2 is still going strong. Get those stories and more in today's daily news podcast.
Cisco Systems has pledged to spend more than $6 billion on acquisitions this month, the latest of which comes in at a cool $183 million for Web-based security software company ScanSafe.
We also talk about the Apple tablet everyone keeps spreading rumors about, a computer Trojan that's masquerading as an e-mail from Facebook, and a new printing technology from Xerox that prints electronic circuitry on all sorts of things including fabric. Just think about what that's going to do to the T-shirt industry...
Of the many ways to buy Windows 7, the best deal Microsoft makes available goes to students, who can buy a downloadable upgrade version of Windows 7 for $29. However, a number of students have reported problems when trying to download and install the new version of Windows.
Microsoft says it is aware of several issues that people have encountered. Most common is the fact that folks can't easily go from the 32-bit version of Vista to the 64-bit version of Windows 7. "This appears to be a series of isolated issues that are often related to the user's Internet provider or installed third-party software," Microsoft said.
The company recommends students with products either get a refund or contact Digital River, the company managing the digital downloads, to try to get a physical disc with the operating system. In support forums, Microsoft technicians are also pointing users to a five-step workaround that is said to fix the problems.
Also on the podcast: The White House moves its Web site to Drupal; Microsoft opens up Outlook; Mozilla building a new social in-box; Facebook memorializes its deceased users; Amazon exits the wine business; and more.
CNET Podcast: Daily Audio Reports 
