E-Commerce Times ectnews.com
Amazon Closes Book on Rumors of New Kindle
Rumors of a second-generation Kindle from Amazon.com before 2009 have been greatly exaggerated, Amazon said Friday. Although many fans of the e-book reader have been abuzz this week with rumors that Amazon.com planned to release an updated version of its Kindle, the retail giant will not, in fact, have a new device out before the new year, according to Heather Huntoon, an Amazon.com spokesperson.2008-08-30 00:00:00
Battle Lines Drawn Over White Space Access
The Federal Communications Commission has spent nearly a year testing devices designed to use empty television channels, known as white spaces, for high-speed Internet service. As those tests near conclusion, the agency is evaluating yet another proposal about the best use of the airwaves.2008-08-30 00:00:00
Apple, Loyalty and the Power of Forgiveness
First an iPhone price cut left early buyers feeling foolish, and then came reports that some iPods were spitting sparks. Now the new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the device and a veil of secrecy over software developers trying to broaden its appeal. Such a string of mishaps and missteps might throw another electronics company into crisis.2008-08-30 00:00:00
Microsoft Receives $21M Feedback Payback
Microsoft will receive nearly $21 million from Immersion, a company that develops "tactile-feedback" technology, after the two companies agreed to settle a lawsuit. San Jose, Calif.-based Immersion has developed tactile feedback technology, which makes video game controllers vibrate when there is an explosion or some other game action event.2008-08-28 00:00:00
Psystar Stares Down Apple With Antitrust Suit
Psystar has turned up the heat in its legal battle with Apple. The small computer vendor first burst on the scene several months ago by audaciously offering for sale a line of Mac computer clones called "OpenComputer." After a few weeks of silence, Apple unleashed its legal hounds on the startup, seeking to shut it down for good.2008-08-28 00:00:00
Scope of Best Western Customer Data Breach Open to Debate
Did a computer intrusion at a Best Western hotel in Germany open the door for a hacker to steal the records of 8 million customers and pull off "the greatest cyber-heist in world history," as a Scottish newspaper put it? Or was the incident a significantly more minor affair, affecting only 10 customers at the one facility, as claimed by Best Western International?2008-08-28 00:00:00
Ruling Sinks Piracy Suit Against Veoh as YouTube Grins
A federal judge in San Jose, Calif., has thrown out a copyright infringement lawsuit launched by Io Group against Veoh Networks. Io Group, which also does business under the name Titan Media, produces adult video content. Veoh is a site similar to YouTube where users can upload and watch user-generated videos as well as television show and movie clips.2008-08-28 00:00:00
Cable Network, Meet Social Network: Match Made in News - or Marketing - Heaven?
The moment may have passed way under your media radar, seeing as how it happened on a Sunday night in late August, when TV viewers were just coming down from a Beijing Olympics high. On CNN, anchor Rick Sanchez was previewing the Democratic National Convention, when he turned to his audience for a question.2008-08-28 00:00:00
Copyright Law and the Web, Part 2: Who Are the IP Police?
The Internet has made it much simpler for companies to reach potential customers. However, this wide open channel has come at a cost. Companies now expose more of their assets to outsiders who can misuse them. While the law helps -- at least to a degree -- companies increasingly find they need to take steps to monitor and protect their digital assets.2008-08-28 00:00:00
Demandbase Applies Web 2.0 Tricks to Lead Generation
Two-year-old Demandbase has planted its own stake in the rapidly emerging next-gen lead generation and lead conversion space with the introduction this week of Demandbase. A Software as a Service platform, Demandbase Central consists of sales and marketing applications, as well as a search, scoring and transaction engine that identifies qualified sales leads.2008-08-28 00:00:00
TiVo Squeaks Out a Profitable Quarter
TiVo managed consecutive quarters of profitability for the first time ever despite eroding subscriptions, demonstrating that the pioneer in digital video recorders is on track in reducing marketing expenses and subsidies. Yet Wall Street remained cautious on whether TiVo could keep having solid quarters.2008-08-28 00:00:00
Will Congress Squelch Behavioral Marketing?
Congress has become increasingly interested in the privacy implications of behavioral marketing. This summer, the Senate has held hearings, and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has followed the charge by seeking more information from Internet service providers and technology companies regarding their privacy policies and targeted advertising.2008-08-27 00:00:00
Application Maintenance: Controlling Complexity Creep
Application portfolios automate the operations of every organization. Business processes from core banking to claims processing have become indistinguishable from the applications that execute them. As a result, it is essential that these applications align with the business strategies and goals of the organization.2008-08-26 00:00:00
Bringing Web 2.0 Behind the Firewall
Some of your employees have a blog -- approved, of course -- as do some of your customers. In addition, your employees have been posting videos from the latest trade show on your Web site, as well as on some of your partner Web sites. Your latest project is the funneling of customer comments from your forums into your product development pipeline. Does this sound like your company?2008-08-26 00:00:00
Analyst: Amazon to Kindle Market for E-Textbooks
In a move that could free up backpack space on college campuses nationwide, Amazon is reportedly looking to enter the school textbook market with the release of a new, student-friendly version of its Kindle electronic book reader. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quotes a McAdams Wright Ragen analyst as saying that the company is already at work on new Kindles and sees an opportunity in the textbook market.2008-08-25 00:00:00
Fliqz CEO Benjamin Wayne on the Allure of Online Video
In 2005, as Web content was beginning to grow more dynamic and audiences more sophisticated, Benjamin Wayne hatched the idea of offering video delivery services to companies for their Web sites. The result was Fliqz, which counts among its clients Monster.com, PBWiki and Friendster. The E-Commerce Times spoke with Wayne about how video can help drive traffic to your site.2008-08-25 00:00:00
Intel Steers Aggressive Course While Apple Appears Rudderless
Last week was kind of amazing -- I knew a number of things that were going to be happening at IDF but was blindsided by an announcement Intel made that could change the world as we know it. Nikola Tesla turned over in his grave, and we are one step closer to his Tower of Power. Intel also fleshed out its Atom platform, which I think forms the basis of a new class of cloud computing-based client devices.2008-08-25 00:00:00
IBM, HP, Dell See Boost in Server Sales While Sun Lags
Worldwide shipments of servers grew 12.2 percent while revenue grew 5.7 percent in the second quarter, according to new data released by Gartner. Server vendors including Dell, IBM, Sun Microsystems and HP shipped 2.3 million units during the quarter, generating sales of $13.8 billion. IBM held onto its position as the industry leader with a 31.2 percent share of the market.2008-08-23 00:00:00
China Takes Its Hammer to iTunes
China has apparently blocked access to Apple iTunes, perhaps in response to the publicity surrounding a pro-Tibet album that was released about a month ago and just recently made its way onto the much-trafficked Web site. Produced by the Art of Peace Foundation, the album features songs from such artists as Moby, John Mayer and Alanis Morrisette, as well as a 15-minute talk by the Dalai Lama.2008-08-23 00:00:00
Google May Take Up Residence on All Verizon Cell Phones
Google and Verizon are nearing a deal that would make Google the default search engine on all Verizon mobile devices. The two companies would split advertising revenue from the new mobile search service. The tie-up is important for Verizon "because Google has 70 percent share of the search market on the PC," said Laura Martin, an analyst with Soleil Securities Group.2008-08-22 00:00:00
Print Media vs. E-Media: The Battle Is On
Most people are aware that print media is in trouble. Nationally, thousands of employees of print media companies, especially newspapers, have been laid off. How do print media stay vital? Alternatively, will print media even exist 20 years from now? Print media have some pretty obvious strengths, like brand recognition.2008-08-22 00:00:00
Mobile Devices for Enterprise Apps, Part 2
Device makers are hard at it trying to crack the market for mobile enterprise software applications. While BlackBerry devices put Research in Motion in a front-running position, enterprise users have an increasingly wide range of choices when it comes to high-end smartphones and mobile devices.2008-08-22 00:00:00
Coming Soon: New ID Security Rules
Six federal banking regulators, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, FDIC and Office of Thrift Supervision, last November issued final rules clarifying what U.S. banks and credit institutions would have to do to comply with Red Flag provisions of the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act.2008-08-22 00:00:00
eBay Sets Bargain Basement Fees for Larger Sellers
eBay has instituted a fee schedule that allows sellers of fixed-price items to list a product for 30 days -- in many cases, multiple quantities of that product -- for just 35 cents. In the past, sellers had to pay up to $4 per item per week. Smaller retailers who stick to the auction format will not be aided by these changes.2008-08-21 00:00:00
Virtualization Reality Spurs Microsoft to Change Licensing Rules
Microsoft announced Tuesday it is easing licensing restrictions for server applications. Companies will no longer be required to pay additional fees to move software within a server farm, the company said. The move is an attempt to remove barriers in order for its enterprise customers to develop more dynamic data centers and enterprise IT systems using virtualization software, according to the software maker.2008-08-21 00:00:00
Microsoft Pumps Another $100M Into Novell Deal
Microsoft is bumping up its monetary investment in its controversial partnership with Novell. Styling the deal as a so-called incremental investment increase, Microsoft will buy up to $100 million in Suse Linux Enterprise Server support certificates. The certificates are sold and exchanged for IT support from Novell for its Suse Linux Enterprise Server.2008-08-21 00:00:00
HP Rides Out Tough Times to Higher Profits
HP weathered economic turbulence remarkably well in the fiscal third quarter but the technology bellwether faces another big challenge -- stiffer personal-computer competition -- that threatens to slow its steady growth. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said Tuesday that its profit for the May-July quarter jumped 14 percent.2008-08-21 00:00:00
Intel Lays Out Plans for TV, Smartphone Push
Intel is sharing its vision for the future of computing at its Intel Developer Forum, which is taking place in San Francisco. Put simply, the products under development have three major focuses: superfast, superportable and superconnected. Revelations include details about its Nehalem processors, new uses for the Atom microprocessor, and plans for a smartphone-style chip -- plus a new multimedia concept.2008-08-21 00:00:00
Google to Dig Up $10M for Geothermal Energy
Representatives from Google and General Electric said Tuesday that widespread use of renewable energy in the United States would be possible -- if it were cheaper. Renewable energy options will remain "boutique" industries unless their costs are cut to make them competitive with coal and other widely used power sources, said Dan Reicher, director for climate change and energy initiatives at Google.org.2008-08-21 00:00:00
CRM, Energy, Disruptions and Opportunities
I am sitting on a train heading to New York from Boston for a CRM conference. Not driving, not flying -- I prefer the train for this trip for a bunch of reasons. Rail brought us traveling troubadours like Woody Guthrie, circuses and baseball, and it helped define a job type: the traveling salesperson.2008-08-21 00:00:00
Lawsuit Takes a Swing at Wii Motion Controller
Nintendo has been hit with a lawsuit alleging patent infringement. Hillcrest Labs has filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission and a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Maryland against the video game giant. The suit alleges that Nintendo infringed four patents owned by Hillcrest related to a handheld, motion-sensitive device similar to the Wii game controller.2008-08-21 00:00:00
Copyright Law and the Web, Part 1: A Hazy Intersection
Technology often evolves more rapidly than the laws needed to regulate it, especially in the realm of copyright law. The Associated Press, Viacom and YouTube are just some of the parties involved in a variety of lawsuits and accusations focused on Internet copyright issues.2008-08-21 00:00:00
Customer Experience Management: Rx for the Top and Bottom Lines
CEOs across companies and industries have become focused in 2008 on the critical role that customer experience plays in keeping their companies competitive and driving profitability. These same CEOs are challenging their CMOs to move beyond CRM to Customer Experience Management, which takes an outside-in approach to the customer experience.2008-08-21 00:00:00
Microsoft Talks Up Windows 7 - But Only a Little
Although it is not officially scheduled to be released until 2010, Microsoft is starting to talk up Windows 7, its next OS. To that end, it has started a blog hosted by the two senior engineering managers for the Windows 7 product, Jon DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky, and is promising to release in-depth technical specs in October.2008-08-16 00:00:00
Researchers Step Way Back From Earlier Online Video Ad Estimate
Internet market researcher eMarketer has drastically lowered its estimates on how much businesses will spend on online video advertising in the near future. The New York City-based firm expects spending on online video ads to reach $505 million by the end of this year, down from the $1.35 billion eMarketer predicted earlier this year.2008-08-15 00:00:00
Open Source Wins Landmark Legal Validation
Open source developers now have newly clarified protection, thanks to an appeals court ruling over the validity of their licenses. A judge with U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Wednesday that programmers who "engage in open source licensing" and copyright their work do "have the right to control the modification and distribution" of their products.2008-08-15 00:00:00
If You Love Your Data, Set It Free
In the past, data was structured, secure and tightly controlled. The bad news is that the data was limited by the firewall of personnel, technologies, and process rigidity. Today, however, the demand is for just-in-time and inclusive data, moving away from a monolithic data system mentality to multiple sources of data that provide real-time inferences on consumers, activities, events and transactions.2008-08-15 00:00:00
NBC Online Olympic Coverage Pumps Up TV Audience
Live sports coverage on the Internet, far from threatening TV networks, might let some lucky networks become sports giants bestriding the earth. Amid unprecedented live online Olympic coverage in the U.S., we have the umpteenth example -- following the proliferation of sports radio and TV highlight shows and events appearing live online. When it comes to sports coverage, enough is never enough.2008-08-15 00:00:00
Universal Remotes: Do Brand Names Turn Consumers On?
Brand is always among the top factors for consumers when they purchase a product. However, rankings between the top factor categories change by specific product. Brand has power for gaming and laptops but lower importance for digital photo frames and NAS. Where brand power is high, price sensitivity drops, and strong awareness of available brands exists. Where it is low, the reverse is true.2008-08-15 00:00:00
Blackjack Whiz Antes Up on Fantasy Football for Facebook
By the time he graduated from MIT, Jeff Ma already had led a life many guys dream about. His card-counting prowess at blackjack tables during wild weekends in Las Vegas and Atlantic City won him and his college buddies millions of dollars, inspiring a best-selling book and the recent movie "21." Now 35 years old, Ma thinks he can hit his next jackpot in a different fantasy land.2008-08-13 00:00:00
HP Draws Up New Imaging Systems, Inks Deals With Smaller Vendors
HP on Tuesday announced partnerships with five printing vendors to grow its portfolio of security and manageability enterprise printer and imaging offerings. The new solutions range from check printing security to document capture. The new additions to the HP Solution Business Partner program is aimed at managing and securing workflow in imaging and printing environments.2008-08-13 00:00:00
Best Buy Kiosks Aim to Snag Customers on the Fly
Consumer electronics retailing giant Best Buy is coming to an airport near you. With 965 stores in the U.S. alone, Best Buy is already one of the most ubiquitous retail chains in America. Now, the Richfield, Minn.-based company will soon have kiosks peddling electronics gear at major airports in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Francisco.2008-08-13 00:00:00
The Cyber Highway to Dubai
Right now, the global business community at large is curious to discover the charm of Dubai and what it is about its business community that works so well. The outside world wants to know, who these people are, how they run their projects, and what they do exactly that is so grand and magical?2008-08-13 00:00:00
Best Buy Clears a Spot on Its Shelf for iPhone
Big-box retailer Best Buy will begin stocking the iPhone 3G this September, giving the device shelf space both in the Mac section of the store as well as in Best Buy Mobile. Best Buy will sell the phone at the suggested retail price of $199 for the 8 GB model and $299 for the 16 GB model with the start of a new two-year service contract -- the same prices found at AT&T and Apple retail locations.2008-08-13 00:00:00
IBM Kicks Mobility Play Into High Gear
IBM has rolled out "Mobility@Work," a package of new software tools that allow developers to run existing desktop applications on a mobile device, together with new mobile consulting services aimed at helping companies implement and manage a mobile work environment.2008-08-10 00:00:00
Google Expects to Take a Loss on AOL Stake
Search engine giant Google could see a significant write-down in its $1 billion investment in AOL, the company revealed. "We believe our investment in AOL may be impaired," it says in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "There can be no assurance that impairment charges will not be required in the future and any such amounts may be material."2008-08-09 00:00:00
National Energy Services Prez on Reducing Business Energy Bills
In a recent article for the E-Commerce Times entitled "Getting Serious About Energy Independence," I outlined what I thought was the general direction the country should take in order to conserve energy and ultimately become energy independent. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an e-mail from the President of National Energy Services Company John Grillo.2008-08-09 00:00:00
Political Gain and Net Neutrality
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission came under fire for making a ruling that many consider outside its authority. Without levying a fine, it charged that Comcast violated federal policy when it interfered with a file-sharing application used by consumers.2008-08-09 00:00:00
Microsoft Squeaks Out SQL Server 2008 Not a Moment Too Soon
Following a nearly six-month delay from its original target release date, Microsoft announced the release to manufacturing of its SQL Server 2008 Wednesday. The software maker had initially planned to launch the database application in February, but in January said it would have to move the date back to the third quarter.2008-08-08 00:00:00
Sustainability and CRM
This summer, I have been doing a lot of research into sustainability and have developed some thoughts that relate to CRM, especially CRM 2.0. The whole idea of "sustainability" deserves some contemplation. Too often we see the word applied to just about anything that needs to look a little bit green. Sustainability and related words absolve a multitude of sins.2008-08-07 00:00:00
AT&T Joins the Cloud Crowd
AT&T announced its new cloud computing service on Tuesday, dubbed "AT&T Synaptic Hosting." With the new offering, the telecommunications company joins Amazon, Google and IBM as a service provider in the nascent application hosting market. The service is aimed at providing companies with greater flexibility by eliminating the need to maintain their own data centers, according to AT&T.2008-08-07 00:00:00
Consumers Should Set Online Privacy Ground Rules
Finding the right balance between privacy and convenience online is best left to individual consumers; they are more vested than anyone in protecting their personal information. More control will enable them to decide what information they want to share and how they want to share it.2008-08-07 00:00:00
Researchers: Online Geegaws Can Open Door to Flimflammery
One of the biggest problems with the so-called Web 2.0 movement has been its encouragement of oversharing -- which often means underestimating security risks. Adding doodads of varying quality to a home page can add a lot of pizazz, but can also be fraught with danger, since they can open a door for hackers.2008-08-07 00:00:00
What Does Apple Have Up Its Sleeve?
When Apple announced last month that it anticipated higher development costs in coming months, analysts cringed and the stock dropped. But tech heads rejoiced. Such a message often means new products are coming from the company. Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer told analysts that a "future product transition" will lower gross margins from nearly 35 to about 30 percent in 2009.2008-08-07 00:00:00
Google Aims to Make It Big in China With Music Giveaway
Search engine giant Google has launched a new music search service in China that enables users to legally download online music. Music OneBox, which is backed by some of the major global music labels, as well as Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, is available at Chinese music site Top100.cn.2008-08-07 00:00:00
Where Are All the Dangerous DNS Exploits? Nowhere and Everywhere
Dan Kaminsky, the security researcher who first sounded the alarm that the entire Internet was in grave danger due to a widespread vulnerability, has revealed in front of a packed audience at the Black Hat security conference the details behind the initial subterfuge -- and potential problems that could still pick apart the Web world as we know it.2008-08-07 00:00:00
The Billion-Dollar Domain Babies
The latest ICANN plan to allow the global populace to assemble an entire domain name like www.yourname.yourname as their free choice is a revolutionary and timely decision. This now opens doors to cyber-brands like "my.ibm," "hotel.chicago," "it.jobs," "play.poker," "fly.usa" or "go.dell."2008-08-05 00:00:00
Prime for the Unpredictable With Network Management Tools
When it comes to the preferred avenue for information access, the Internet continues to be the medium of choice. From news to commerce to entertainment, our always-on culture is constantly finding new ways to satisfy its digital fix, placing unknown and sometimes intensive demands on enterprise networks.2008-08-05 00:00:00
Tech Spying Tools: Feeding the Cancer Within
I was once in the middle of an anchor dispute, but it happened long before the rise of computer hacking, spyware and keylogging devices. Who knows what kind of damage we could have done to each other -- and our station -- had we had access to a relatively cheap gadget that makes it easy to snoop through private e-mails?2008-08-02 00:00:00
Sun Shrouded in Q4 Gloom
Sun Microsystems continues to struggle. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based server maker reported that earnings in the quarter ended June 30 fell nearly 74 percent to $88 million, compared with earnings of $329 million during the same period a year ago. Quarterly revenue fell 1.4 percent to $3.78 billion, down from $3.83 billion during the same period in 2007.2008-08-02 00:00:00
LiMo, Google and Symbian: Cooperation Needed
When it comes to cell phone software, open is the new black. In less than two years, no fewer than three coalitions have formed with the intent of building mobile handset operating systems with input from all comers. Suddenly the business of developing mobile software -- once handled by coders working behind closed doors for a single vendor or group -- has gone open source.2008-08-02 00:00:00
Google Climbs Onto Corporate VC Funding Bandwagon
Search engine giant Google is setting up a new venture capital arm and has hired William Maris, a 33-year-old former entrepreneur, to help coordinate the venture fund, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Google is the latest in a long line of large companies across several sectors to create a venture capital arm.2008-08-01 00:00:00
PGP CEO Dunkelberger on Research, Learning and Carlos Castaneda
Heading the company with perhaps the most recognized acronym in the information security field and following in the footsteps of lightning-rod figure Phil Zimmerman must have both its charms and its challenges. PGP CEO Phil Dunkelberger, however, ranges far and wide in his reflections on how data -- and keeping it safe -- affects our lives and our thinking.2008-07-31 00:00:00
Sharing Platforms, Sharing Flaws: Does Interoperable Mean Vulnerable?
Interoperability is fast becoming a key watchword in business computing circles. Open source products continue to gain enterprise acceptance. With that acceptance comes an increase in users who demand that data produced with one application to work with data produced for another application -- or even another operating system.2008-07-31 00:00:00
Yahoo, HP, Intel Give Ivory Towers a Stairway to the Cloud
Yahoo, HP and Intel are collaborating on an ambitious research endeavor called "Cloud Computing Test Bed" -- designed to support cloud computing research and education at universities. Users will be able to develop and test software, data center management, and hardware associated with cloud computing on this large-scale grid.2008-07-31 00:00:00
Missed Payment for IM Software Could Leave Traders in the Lurch
Beginning on Friday, Reuters can no longer use a critical piece of technology in its widely used Reuters Messaging Network, a court ruled Wednesday. Instead, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered judgment in favor of FaceTime Communications, owner of the instant messaging technology, in its contract dispute with Thomson Reuters.2008-07-31 00:00:00
Network and App Management: Going Wide vs. Drilling Down
End-user organizations are looking to leverage enterprise applications to achieve competitive advantages, operational efficiencies and improve information flow in their value chains. In order to maximize the return on investment from these deployments, organizations are optimizing their networks and ensuring a high level of performance.2008-07-31 00:00:00
Three Special Ingredients for a Great Cross-Channel Loyalty Brew
In this heated battle for the consumer dollar, retail marketers are looking to establish a personal and consistent relationship with shoppers through integrated customer loyalty programs that leverage traditional offline and emerging communications channels. Not surprisingly, it can be overwhelming for retailers to figure out where to start.2008-07-31 00:00:00
Report: Hackers Getting Faster at Cooking Up New Attacks
The bad guys on the Internet are narrowing the time frame they need to unleash computer attacks that take advantage of publicly disclosed security holes, new research shows. More and more of these attacks are coming within 24 hours after a vulnerability is disclosed.2008-07-29 00:00:00
FCC to Hammer Comcast on Throttling Shenanigans
Reports continue to circulate that the Federal Communications Commission has enough votes to rule that Comcast illegally blocked traffic between peer-to-peer Internet applications and that the government will soon set down guidelines for the Internet service provider that could serve as a precedent regarding the hotly debated topic of Net neutrality.2008-07-29 00:00:00
Wireless Leads Verizon to Q2 Profit Gain
Verizon Communications beat Wall Street expectations on Monday, thanks to a strong showing by its wireless business. Second-quarter revenue grew to $24.1 billion, a 3.7 percent increase compared with the same period a year ago. Second-quarter earnings grew to $1.88 billion, up from $1.68 billion during the same period a year ago.2008-07-29 00:00:00
XM, Sirius Pick Up Marriage License
The two giants of satellite radio are about to become one. The FCC has approved the merger of XM and Sirius, ending a year-and-a-half struggle to finalize the deal. The move will give the newly combined company unprecedented power in the world of satellite communications; however, it will come with some strict conditions as well.2008-07-29 00:00:00
Twitter and Twitterers: Running Full Speed Ahead to Keep Up
"What are you doing?" That question is the rocket fuel for Twitter -- a hot social network service that lets you tell people what you are up to at any given moment of the day -- via cell phone, instant messenger or the Web. Never heard of it, you say? "What are you doing?" is the question Twitter asks "Twitterers" to answer in a simple text message as they connect with friends, coworkers or the wider world.2008-07-28 00:00:00
Smash, Grab, Then Make a Killing Online
At first it seemed like ordinary shoplifting -- stuffing a few pairs of jeans into an oversize bag and walking out of the store. But the thieves got bolder. They began showing up in groups of five or six in the middle of the day, spraying store clerks with mace and knocking customers out of the way as they gathered armfuls of clothes. Sometimes they tossed a brick through the glass.2008-07-27 00:00:00
Yahoo to Music Customers: Burn It to Save It
Although Yahoo Music Unlimited subscribers have known since February that their music service would end in September, they may have been surprised to learn this week they would need to back up any purchased tracks on an audio CD by September 30 if they wanted to keep them. Failure to do so could leave users unable to play music they had bought.2008-07-27 00:00:00
Scrabble-Scrabulous Fuss Lands in Court
Hasbro, maker of the word game Scrabble, has issued the ultimate double challenge to social network Facebook and its wildly popular Scrabble-like application Scrabulous: a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement. The suit, filed Thursday in a New York district court, claims the application violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.2008-07-27 00:00:00
Sony Turns the Page on E-Book Business Model
Sony announced Thursday that the new iteration of its Reader digital book will be able to read electronic books published in the .epub file format, a file type gaining acceptance among major trade book publishers, many of whom have committed to begin publishing forthcoming e-books in the format.2008-07-27 00:00:00
Court Nixes Law Aimed at Protecting Kids Online
Proponents of the beleaguered Child Online Protection Act suffered yet another blow Tuesday when a federal appeals court deemed the law unconstitutional once again. The 1998 law, known as "COPA," aims to keep children from viewing pornographic materials on the Internet by making it a crime for commercial Web site operators to let children access "harmful" material.2008-07-24 00:00:00
Giving Your Site a Social Life
The world of online business communication has introduced two industry-changing elements for small business: more customers and more competitors. Circa 1999, you were ahead of the competition by simply having a Web site to preview your service or products. By 2004, Web transactions were the norm, and convenience was the king.2008-07-24 00:00:00
Customer Feedback: Mind if I Ask You a Few Questions?
Never before has the voice of the customer been so loud. And never before have companies been so keen to not only pay close attention to the wants, likes, experiences, preferences, opinions, suggestions and complaints of customers, but to carefully analyze and act upon the information in a systematic fashion.2008-07-24 00:00:00