Archive

The global economy is changing. For many consumers, the credit card crunch is crumbling their ability to buy things online. In many countries outside the U.S., consumers do not have credit cards but rely instead on smart cards to swipe transactions directly through their banks. Often, children too y...

Oracle's announcement Monday that it is buying Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in cash has the potential to rock the hardware and software markets. Oracle expects the deal will boost its earnings considerably over the next few years. The two companies' technologies will likely mesh to make Oracle ...

You may keep your computer and your TV in separate rooms in your house, but the living arrangements between the two devices are going to get a little cozier, thanks to Adobe. The multimedia software company used the National Association of Broadcasters' annual meeting in Las Vegas Monday as a stage ...

It's telling when a company in this market registers growth yet still comes under scrutiny because the growth wasn't as high as previous years. Then again, this is Google we're talking about -- the uber-corporation of the Web with seemingly limitless potential and promise. It still has both, of cour...

The music industry cheered as a Swedish court on Friday found the four proprietors of The Pirate Bay guilty of copyright law violation. The Pirate Bay is a torrent tracker site in Sweden that helps users find and download files used to swap movies, music, TV shows, games, books and software via BitT...

You search, you find, you click "buy." Your e-commerce quest is nearly complete. You get to that checkout screen, and you think it's all good. Then the shipping charges get tacked onto your total, and you're left thinking that $9.95 deal didn't end up being such a bargain after all. Then there are t...

eBay is making a play for one of the most wired nations in Asia with a $1.2 billion acquisition offer for South Korea's Gmarket, the country's largest online market. Under the terms of the proposal, eBay will make a cash tender offer of $24 per share for all outstanding Gmarket common shares and Ame...

If video killed the radio star, than Internet video may signal the demise of flat-rate broadband pricing. At least that's the suspicion of public advocacy groups who are complaining about attempts by Time Warner Cable and other providers to experiment with metered high-speed Internet usage. For thos...

It's been another busy week in the gaming world. Topping the news was the announcement that game designer Will Wright is leaving Electronic Arts to head up his entertainment think tank, Stupid Fun Club, full-time. Elsewhere, Take-Two may have another hit on its hands -- this time in downloadable for...

eBay is planning to spin off Skype in a public offering next year. While Skype has been successful in terms of growing its user base since being acquired by eBay over three years ago, the VoIP service has proven to be a less-than-perfect match with the Internet auction powerhouse. "What can I tell y...

Broadband penetration has increased -- over the past three years, the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany and France have added roughly 50 million new broadband households -- and brought social media usage up along with it. Currently, almost 40 percent of broadband households in those countries use a social n...

What is worse: to be accused of prejudice, or accused of incompetence? In the e-commerce world, where how well one safeguards one's customer data is paramount to any reputation, taking a hit on the latter is a bitter pill to swallow. That is better, though, than to be viewed as a company that would ...

It's official: Mobile is moving into the mainstream. With the ever-growing proliferation of devices offering full Internet browsing access, more and more consumers are interacting -- and purchasing -- on the Web via their device of choice. In fact, according to an October 2008 Forrester Research rep...

Microsoft has reportedly resumed its on-again, off-again talks with Yahoo on teaming up for online search and advertising. The discussions are apparently being held between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his Yahoo counterpart Carol Bartz. Both companies may need each other if they want to grow thei...

The four-month-long process to find a strategic investor for Satyam -- the India-based outsourcer that rattled the global business community with its ex-chairman's confession in January of longstanding accounting fraud -- is apparently over. Venturbay Consultants, a unit of Tech Mahindra, is acquiri...