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Lost amid the hoopla and hyperbole of the e-commerce explosion is the nagging reality that few e-businesspeople seem to know how and when they are going to make a profit.

As the battle for Web survival intensifies, e-tailers are finding it increasingly necessary to ask themselves a most fundamental question: What do online customers really want?

While there has been much ado about how e-commerce is re-shaping the lives of consumers, the advent of business-to-business purchasing has been largely overlooked.

In an apparent attempt to counter America Online's recent brick-and-mortar alliances, Microsoft announced yesterday that it has signed a five-year pact with Tandy Corp.'s Radio Shack to deliver online service to consumers through the chain's 7,000 outlets.

About three quarters of new car dealers in the United States have Web sites, and that number is expected to grow to nearly 90 percent during the next six months.

Office supply superstore Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) announced today that it has sold a five percent stake in its e-commerce unit and has appointed an advisory board to guide it toward its goal of $1 billion (US$) in online sales by the year 2003.

Linux software vendor Red Hat, Inc. (Nasdaq: RHAT) has entered into a new strategic agreement with RSA Security, Inc. (Nasdaq: RSAS) to enhance security for professional users of the Red Hat Linux OS package.

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, I never would have predicted that Internet usage would become completely mainstream by November 1999.

Web portal Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCOS) is attempting to cash in on a lucrative e-tail niche by lending its name to a new computer and software retail site.

Genealogy.com announced today that it will assist in providing an online resource to track the journeys of millions of immigrants who came to America at New York Harbor's Ellis Island.

Survey results from PC Data Online and Ernst & Young indicate that Internet buying increased in October for the second consecutive month, removing any doubt that the 1999 holiday gift-buying season has arrived.

As the Internet continues its global expansion, many companies are finding that localized e-services are making the most inroads with consumers.

Contracts are a fundamental part of our society. Without exception, you enter into a contract in one form or another on a daily basis.

When giant e-tailer Amazon.com announced Monday that it would be hawking everything from software to home improvement items, its stock shot up more than $13 (US$) a share, closing at $78.

The U.S. Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce received a proposal from a broad coalition of anti-tax advocates yesterday that would lump general telecommunications taxes in with the Internet taxes that many politicians and consumer groups now oppose.