Archive

Despite Groupon's recent high-profile missteps, enthusiasm over the daily deal site's anticipated initial public offering doesn't seem to be dissipating. That's unfortunate, at least in my opinion -- and my thoughts have nothing to do with Groupon running what were widely perceived as culturally in...

Apple has announced a new subscription service that will be available to all content-based apps on the App Store. This includes magazines, newspapers, videos, music and more. Apple will process payments and keep a 30 percent share as it does with current App Store sales. However, if a publisher shou...

Major federal agencies in the U.S. are gradually getting the hang of dealing with open source technology -- a situation that bodes well for commercial open source providers. In a recently released "report card," Open Source for America says that a handful of top level cabinet departments have achiev...

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer delivered a keynote speech focused on Windows Phone 7 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, just days after announcing a major partnership with handset maker Nokia. Ballmer introduced new features to the mobile operating system, including deeper Twi...

JCPenney's search results on Google have been on a strange trajectory over the past few months. For weeks before the holiday shopping season, just about every related search term -- from "bedding" to "dresses" -- would include the retailer among the top listings. Then, within the last few days, ther...

A strong candidate for mCRM solutions is the retail industry -- an enormous business worldwide that includes apparel, restaurants, department stores, pharmacies, grocery, home and hardware, discount and speciality stores, hotels, malls, airports, convenience, and even telecoms. One American guide cl...

Nokia and Microsoft have banded together to fight Apple and Android. On Friday morning, Nokia announced it will partner with Microsoft, adopting the Windows Phone 7 operating system for its smartphones. In the past, Nokia has equipped its phones with its own software platform, Symbian, and a new one...

Given what they are and where they have been, there's little logical reason for Microsoft not dominating the mobile smartphone computing landscape. And it should have been a done-deal in many global major markets at least four years ago. The only reason that Microsoft is now partnering with Nokia on...

When the concept of "cloud computing" first began to gain attention within the technology industry, I have to admit that I was convinced that it was one of the worst terms ever created. What's harder to get your arms, or head, around than a cloud? Talk about an amorphous idea. Don't get me wrong. I ...

Back in the mid-2000s, "Guitar Hero" was a smash, and imitators such as "Rock Band" soon joined it in the gaming stratosphere. However, in a fourth-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday, Activision Blizzard pulled the plug on its once-innovative game, "due to continued declines in the music ...

Worldwide mobile device sales translated into 1.6 billion new units in the hands of consumers in 2010 -- an eye-popping 31.8 percent increase from 2009, according to new figures from Gartner. The firm found also that smartphone sales were up 72.1 percent from 2009, accounting for 19 percent of total...

Watch today as Verizon Wireless sells its first Apple iPhone: The media will change its focus from writing positive stories to negative stories. Over the next several days and weeks, we will read startling pieces about what is going wrong. This is the same news we have been so thrilled with over the...

A leaked internal memo written by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, circulating in press reports, indicates major changes are in the works for the company; an official announcement is expected Friday. Elop's memo lays out Nokia's major problems, comparing its current situation to that of a man standing on a b...

In 1998, Congress enacted the Internet Tax Freedom Act, effectively banning sales taxes on sales on the Internet, with some exceptions. Its purpose was to encourage and foster the growth of Internet business. Internet sales totaled an estimated $155 billion in 2010 and will reach about $250 billion...

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason released a statement on Monday regarding his company's Super Bowl ads, in response to a lot of flak from critics and the general public regarding Sunday's commercials. The ads start out appearing to be seeking support for humanitarian causes, but then switch up, revealing a ...