Skype Blames Crash on Windows

Skype's mysterious failure last week was caused by a routine Windows update, the company says. Millions of users downloaded the new software, rebooted their computers, and tried to log into Skype at the same time, crashing the net phone service, PC World reports. It's still unclear why previous Windows updates didn't do the same thing, however.

Skype isn't blaming Microsoft and says the problem, which somehow defeated the network's self-healing feature, won't happen again. Analysts say the company needs to make sure service interruptions don't become routine. "They'll get away with this one or maybe even twice but if it becomes a succession of events, then people will say it's not for me," says one. (More Skype stories.)