Archive

Perhaps not content with successful sales of its own electronic reading device, Amazon on Monday added another chapter to its e-book strategy with the purchase of Portland, Ore.-based Lexcycle, the makers of Stanza, a reading application downloadable onto iPhones and iPod touches. In announcing the ...

Earlier this month, the journal Science published a report about a robot that could formulate hypotheses, perform experiments to test those hypotheses, and thereby contribute to scientific knowledge. This technological advance raises legal concerns: Based on current law, if a robot conceived the i...

Wireless may prove to be the magic bullet for many tech and telecom firms in this recession. Verizon's newly released earnings report is yet another indication of movement in that direction. The company reported higher revenue on Monday, based largely on growth in its wireless division, as well as i...

The reported acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle makes a ton more sense than IBM's earlier failed bid. This new compact, if it succeeds, will bring as good an end to an independent Sun as the pioneering IT vendor could have hoped for at this sorry stage in its history. However, there are much ...

Google has rolled out a mobile-friendly version of its Product Search feature for iPhone and Android-powered devices. Google Product Search is a search engine that works much as the name indicates: Users type in keywords relevant to what they're seeking -- "garnet rings," for instance -- and the fea...

Nothing is as heart-wrenching to an e-tailer as watching a customer abandon a full cart just seconds before consummating the deal. To be so close yet so cashless is more than frustrating; it's harmful to an e-tailer's health. A virtual armory of tools are in use to woo, cajole, prompt and push consu...

The music and entertainment industry didn't even have a week to fully savor its victory against the four proprietors of The Pirate Bay before they filed an appeal. Though the move was expected, the grounds for the appeal may have caught the plaintiffs by surprise. The Pirate Bay contends that the ju...

Profits dropped at eBay last quarter, but the online marketplace still delivered a solid earnings report for Q2 that beat analysts' expectations. eBay's results provide a welcome boost to the tech sector, whose performance has been all over the map this earnings cycle. They also validate the directi...

It's been a tough week for the gaming industry. NPD reported a 17 percent decline in console video game sales for March, and the "Grand Theft Auto IV: Chinatown Wars" debut was not so grand. Activision's upcoming "DJ Hero" stirred up legal issues, while "Fallout" developer Bethesda Softworks got bus...

Yahoo announced Wednesday that first-quarter earnings fell by nearly 80 percent and that it will cut 675 jobs as CEO Carol Bartz struggles to revive the ailing Internet company. The news was not generally jeered by investors, however. Between opening time Tuesday, when they stood at $13.94, and mid-...

By some measures, AT&T's Q1 earnings report was lackluster, at best. The company reported a nearly 10 percent profit decline for the quarter ending March 31, compared with the same period a year ago. However, the drop was not as steep as analysts had expected. Furthermore, certain segments of AT...

By some measures, AT&T's Q1 earnings report was lackluster, at best. The company reported a nearly 10 percent profit decline for the quarter ending March 31, compared with the same period a year ago. However, the drop was not as steep as analysts had expected. Furthermore, certain segments of AT...

By some measures, AT&T's Q1 earnings report was lackluster, at best. The company reported a nearly 10 percent profit decline for the quarter ending March 31, compared with the same period a year ago. However, the drop was not as steep as analysts had expected. Furthermore, certain segments of AT...

Online retailers are facing new challenges today. While more people are shopping online, there are more sites for comparison shopping, and in this difficult economy, people are spending less. Price discounting may help create sales now, but if it is the foundation of your customer acquisition and re...

If it goes through without a hitch, Oracle's purchase of Sun Microsystems, announced Monday, could fill significant gaps in the database vendor's offerings. In addition to getting technologies in hot areas such as virtualization and cloud computing, Oracle will get access to patents that could prove...