Joining the TV Everywhere bandwagon, Cox Communications just debuted a site where subscribers can view tens of thousands of videos online. "With the launch of the new video portal, Cox is joining a number of operators and programmers that are offering authenticated access to on-demand and even live content online under the auspices of TV Everywhere," GigaOm writes. Cox subscribers can now sign into www.cox.com/tv and gain access to more than 15,000 pieces of content from cable and broadcast networks. The portal is expected to boast a mix of broadcast content from ABC, Fox and NBC (sourced from …

Apparently, due to a lack of interest from advertisers, Apple has reportedly decided to no longer display ads from its iAd network targeting children. As MacStories reports, Mike Zornek, creator of the Pokemon-game-themed "Dex" application for iPhone, recently received an email from the iAd Network Support team, which explains how iAds may not be displayed anymore in apps targeting "young children." According to an unnamed Apple employee: "We periodically review the apps in the iAd Network to ensure that all apps receiving ads are aligned with the needs of our advertisers ... Currently, our advertisers prefer that their …

According to the security experts at Symantec, Facebook was accidentally exposing certain user information to third parties, including advertisers, for the past four years. "Another day, another Facebook privacy fiasco," writes PCWorld. "Symantec claims Facebook has not only leaked private data, such as your sex and your age, but for the past four years, third-parties have had access to such goldmines as your profile, photos, and chats." According to Symantec, certain Facebook apps have been inadvertently leaking "access tokens" to third parties, such as advertisers and analytic platforms. Symantec estimates that close to 100,000 Facebook apps were enabling …

Overshadowed by the larger implications of Microsoft's agreement to buy Skype on Tuesday, the deal includes Qik -- the streaming mobile video company acquired by Skype for $121 million this year. Without delving into details, Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed that Qik is part of the larger acquisition, according to GeekWire. "Hey, for $8.5 billion, you'd expect a little extra as part of a deal, and it turns out that Microsoft's Skype acquisition will include a bonus," GeekWire writes in reference to Qik. Skype will operate as its own division inside Microsoft. In response to press inquiries about Qik, …

Hoping to outmaneuver Microsoft, Google on Wednesday is expected to announce a new Chrome laptop in a $20 a month "student package," which combines both hardware and online services. "The product is almost certainly a precursor to an enterprise offering," writes Forbes. "Google Apps, an online product with features similar to Microsoft Office ... is sold to business for $50 a year ... An inexpensive Chrome laptop could be added to that for a small premium." "Lower the price point, pack it with products, target starving students and Google may well be about to implement a genius extension …

Since its debut late last month, HBO's mobile app has been downloaded more than 1 million times, HBO co-president Eric Kessler told Streaming Media East 2011 attendees this week. Reporting the news, paidContent's Staci Kramer wasn't the least bit surprised. "I had a few doubts at times with the browser version, but HBO Go as an app is everything Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes promised with TV Everywhere and then some," Kramer gushes. Indeed, "HBO's best production this year may not be a program." Great news for HBO, "Premium programming that might start to look like it costs …

Beginning this week, Microsoft is expected to debut a new ad campaign that updates its "I'm a PC" spot from a few years back. The Register says the effort is the result of a "desperate need for something -- anything -- to stop the advance of the iPad and Android." Yep, "Microsoft is trying to convince consumers that the PC is as modern a computing device as any tablet." The original campaign was developed by Crispin Porter + Bogusky "to pluck the Windows brand from the Vista quagmire." The latest ads feature "real-life" couples who thought their "old" …

In other Google news, its YouTube unit just entered the streaming video fray "in mass," in eWeek's words, offering up 3,000 movie titles. While YouTube has rented movies for some time, this more robust offering is designed to compete more directly with Netflix and Amazon.com in the burgeoning market for on-demand video. YouTube said it will sell a mix of flicks through its new YouTube Movies web site. Coming courtesy of Universal, Time Warner's Warner Bros. and Sony, offerings include: "Caddyshack," "Goodfellas," "Scarface," as well as fresher fare like "Inception," "The King's Speech," and the "Little Fockers." …

Out of a reported 20 million "minors" who actively use Facebook, 7.5 million are younger than 13, and more than 5 million are younger than 10. That's according to a survey conducted by Consumer Reports, which according to CNet, tracks with other studies including one conducted in 2010 by McAfee, which found 37% of 10-to-12 year olds are on Facebook. As CNet notes, however, "Facebook's terms of service require that users be at least 13." Jeff Fox, technology editor for Consumer Reports, said it was troubling that the survey found "a majority of parents of kids 10 and …

Sure to be overshadowed by Microsoft's agreement to buy Skype, Google on Tuesday is expected to unveil its so-called cloud-based music player -- but without the full support of the music industry, as it had hoped. "Proving unable to come to an agreement with all the major labels for the music service it originally wanted, Google is going to pull an Amazon," The Hollywood Reporter quips, referring to Amazon's recent decision to debut its own digital music service without top labels' support. Called Music Beta by Google, the service will allow users to upload their …