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What's a Bitcoin? A Bitcoin is a form of digital currency whose creator called it "a peer-to-peer, electronic cash system." It is presently used where the parties to a transaction do not want to leave a digital trail, like credit card transactions, or any other trail for that matter. For this reason...

If presenting to the technology industry analyst community is so important, why do most companies do such a poor job? I have participated in more analyst briefings over the last 25 years than I can remember. Companies all want the same positive result, but they all go about it very differently. Only...

Microsoft may cash in its Points virtual payment system. The company reportedly will discontinue Points in favor of a cash-based system that will accept credit and debit purchases, as well as gift cards purchased at retail outlets. Microsoft Points are the virtual currency for Xbox Live. Players pur...

Google on Wednesday unveiled Google Play Music All Access, a $9.99 per month subscription streaming music service that allows users to discover and curate music on the company's platform. The company announced All Access during the keynote of this year's I/O Developer's Conference, its annual gather...

Square announced Tuesday it would reach out to retail outlets with its new Square Stand, an iPad dock that can handle business transactions and customer analytics. The mobile payments processing startup said small and medium-sized businesses would be able to collect customer loyalty information when...

Zact, a startup that offers customized wireless plans, launched this week as the latest service provider to promise mobile customers more control over their monthly bills. The no-contract company allows users to pick and choose from data, talk and text limits per month, all from an app on their phon...

Government IT managers will no doubt spend every nickel of the Obama administration's 2014 proposed IT budget of $81 billion. They will also likely be dissatisfied with the business environment that affects IT acquisition and deployment. For starters, the proposed 2014 budget for IT, which actually ...

Amazon Kindle owners have a new way to pay for games, apps and in-app purchases -- Amazon Coins. Amazon released its virtual currency Monday, and to kick off the new feature the company deposited 500 free Coins into the accounts of every Kindle Fire owner. Since each Coin equals a penny, the gift am...

Rep. Hank Johnson last week introduced into the U.S. House a new bill that could considerably change mobile app development. The bipartisan legislation would require application developers to gain explicit consent from consumers before collecting their data. It also would require developers to secur...

ESPN is reportedly in talks with at least one wireless carrier to help subsidize data usage for customers who stream sports video content on their smartphones and tablets. News of the possible deal comes as more mobile device users are turning to their smartphones for data-intensive activities like ...

Aereo -- the lawsuit-embattled company that provides Internet-streamed, live, and recorded over-the-air broadcast television content -- may have started a trend. None other than Time Warner may be considering the redistribution of public broadcast content over the Internet too. What it comes down to...

Two of Dell's largest stockholders, Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, have teamed up to propose an alternative to Michael Dell's plans to take his computer company private. The new deal on the table, issued in a letter to board members, involves a leveraged recapitalization that will pay...

Barnes & Noble investors reacted with pure unadulterated joy to the possibility that Microsoft is considering entering the e-book market and will acquire the company's Nook unit for a whopping $1 billion. Shares rose by a dizzying 24 percent on Thursday, when the rumor surfaced. By the close of ...

Barnes & Noble investors reacted with pure unadulterated joy to the possibility that Microsoft is considering entering the e-book market and will acquire the company's Nook unit for a whopping $1 billion. Shares rose by a dizzying 24 percent on Thursday, when the rumor surfaced. By the close of ...

YouTube unveiled a new subscription plan this week and will allow select channels to charge for monthly viewing plans. It's the first time the online video hub will charge for content. Channels including Jim Henson's TV will show episodes of Sesame Street for subscriptions starting at $2.99 per mont...