On Wednesday of last week, Microsoft rolled out its long anticipated dashboard update for the Xbox 360 console. Among other things, the update incorporated support for Netflix subscribers with an Xbox Live Gold account to be able and stream the online rental service's catalog of downloadable movies and TV shows through the Xbox 360, some of which is in high definition. With consumers slow to warm to Blu-ray, the Netflix capability could potentially nudge undecided console owners in Microsoft's direction rather than opting for Sony's Playstation 3 + Blu-ray combo. But does Sony feel threatened?

Officially, the answer is 'no.' Following the dashboard update, Sony films pulled a disappearing act from Xbox's Netflix streaming service prompting all kinds of speculation and conspiracy theories. And all of it wrong, according to Sony.

"This issue is not specific to Xbox or any other individual platform," Sony said in an email statement. "Sony Pictures is currently in discussions with the relevant parties to resolve certain licensing matters related to the distribution of its motion pictures. Given the ongoing nature of these discussions, we don't think it is appropriate to comment further at this time."

Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey didn't wish to comment on any specific studio licensing deals either, saying only that titles "come in and out of licensing all the time."  And that's where things currently reside in the standoff between Sony and Netflix. Some Sony films have reappeared on the streaming service, but neither Sony or Netflix are saying when the rest might return.

There are a few things you can count on happening every Thanksgiving holiday. Eating too much turkey and pumpkin pie? That's a given. Arguing with the in-laws? Only if they're invited. Watching the Detroit Lions lose to ____ (fill in the blank, as the opposing team is irrelevant to the outcome)? You can count on it. And finally, should you decide to venture out on Black Friday, encountering a horde of shoppers more frightening than anything you're likely to encounter in Left 4 Dead? That's an understatement.

But while the pushing and shoving and the sheer number of shoppers isn't likely to let up, the spending just might. According to a new survey by international management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, the outlook for technology and media sales looks pretty grim as six out of ten U.S. consumers plan to cut back spending (PDF).

Desktop PCs, notebooks, media players ,and digital cameras look to the take the biggest hit, with over half of the survey's respondents saying they plan to spend less on such devices in the next year, resulting in a 10 percent drop in sales. Oliver Wyman notes that promotional pricing would increase unit sales, but it wouldn't be enough to justify broad discounts.

"Price discounts should be used cautiously and targeted at on-the-fence purchaser segments when used,"  Wyman analyst Mark Teitell said. "There's a risk of cannibalizing revenue from consumers already intending to make the purchase, without drawing sufficient new buyers to increase revenues overall."

The survey warns that consumers are being selective in where they pull back, such as delaying the purchase of an electronic device rather than downgrading a subscription service, such as broadband internet or a mobile phone data plan. With that in mind, those tantalizing sale prices might not come as often next year. That almost makes you want to brave the crowds on Black Friday. Almost.

Earlier in the week, reports of a supposed newly discovered Gmail vulnerability started making the rounds on the web. The proof of concept was first posted on GeekCondition.com and showed how a hacker, with a bit of effort and persistence, could potentially infiltrate a user's Gmail account, create a malicious filter to forward emails to the hijacker, and top it off by stealing any domains the victim may have registered. But is the proof of concept truly indicative of a security flaw in Gmail?

While it's true that there have been users affected by the scheme, Google ascertains the root cause has more to do with phishing than it does with Gmail.

"With help from affected users, we determined that the cause was a phishing scheme, a common method used by malicious actors to trick people into sharing their sensitive information," Google wrote in a blog post. "Attackers sent customized emails encouraging web domain owners to visit fraudulent websites such as 'google-hosts.com' that they set up purely to harvest usernames and passwords. These fake sites had no affiliation with Google, and the ones we've seen are now offline."

As is often the case when it comes to security issues, a combination of common sense and safe computing habits remains your best defense.