Archive

Growing at more than 25 percent per year, e-commerce gives consumers a lot of what they want: broad assortment and convenient shopping any time from anywhere. To successfully compete with the bricks, all e-commerce has to do is stock the "long tail," ensure order accuracy, ensure nearly instant grat...

Amazon's new stock buyback program and its newly stated goals to retire outstanding debt appear to be a good fit for a company that seems to be in an aggressive mode, according to analysts. "It's certainly not going to put a huge dent in their cash coffers," said Michael Souers, a retail analyst wit...

Shares of computer security software maker McAfee surged Friday after it posted higher revenue and, despite a sharp drop in profit compared with the year before, better-than-expected earnings. McAfee's net income fell to $12.2 million, or 7 cents per share, in the quarter that ended in December, dow...

No service provider has been completely successful at micro-tailoring advertising for what is essentially a moving target: mobile device users. Now, though, CBS Mobile has linked up with Loopt to give advertisers a better chance to target these roamers, who thus far have been reachable only through ...

Alcatel-Lucent lost more than $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter and predicted a soft market for its telecommunications gear for much of 2008. The France-based company -- created through a $13 billion merger in 2006 -- also said it would not pay out a dividend to shareholders. However, the company d...

When a company is not publicly held, there is generally no legal reason why it should have a board of directors. Yet, there are plenty of private companies that have boards. In fact, I happen to sit on the board of a private company. So, the question must be asked: When should a private company have...

In January, network security tools startup Packet Analytics launched Net/FSE, or Network Forensic Search Engine. Net/FSE is the first commercial search engine for enterprise network data to focus on security incident response by harnessing the analysis of NetFlow data. It is designed to exploit the ...

With a marked lack of fanfare, Microsoft lowered the price of its Xbox 360 add-on HD DVD player from $179 to $129. Microsoft has also bundled five free HD DVDs with the player. The price cut comes just a few weeks after Toshiba dropped the price on its three HD DVD standalone players to $149 from $2...

Subscription digital music service Napster posted one of its best quarters as a public company, with record revenue and a smaller financial loss. Los Angeles-based Napster lost $2.8 million, or 6 cents per share, in its third fiscal quarter, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $9.5 million. Rev...

Despite its problems, Yahoo is playing it cool when it comes to Microsoft's bid of $31 a share, or $44.6 billion, even though the offer was 62 percent higher than its Jan. 31 closing price of $19.18 a share. Yahoo is "thoughtfully evaluating a wide range of potential strategic alternatives," CEO Jer...

eBay has taken the controversial step of banning sellers from posting negative comments -- or even giving neutral feedback -- about the buyers with whom they do business. The new rule, which will take effect in May, is apparently a reaction to sellers flaming buyers who posted negative information a...

The era of the virtual bank appears to have taken a major step toward reality with the unveiling of Remote Deposit Capture from CheckFree. The company's new technology could ultimately mean consumers can avoid a trip to the bank to deposit checks by simply making such transactions online. The techno...

Internet and network gear maker Cisco Systems posted second quarter results that were in line with expectations, but stayed true to recent form among fellow technology firms by disappointing analysts and investors with its outlook. The current business climate is "challenging" in both the U.S. and E...

In an effort to boost its market share in China, Google is reportedly in the final stages of a deal with Universal Music Group that would enable the Internet search giant to provide free music downloads to Chinese users. Google, the No. 1 search engine in other large markets such as the U.S., signif...

Adding another twist to its efforts to gain business adoption for its Web-based applications, Google has released a Team Edition of Google Apps. Google Apps Team Edition allows users to sign up using their work e-mail addresses to gain access to a suite of Apps -- Google Docs, Calendar, Google Talk,...