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The Japanese Internet mogul who became emblematic of the high-flying Internet sector in that country was found guilty Friday of fraud and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Takafumi Horie, the 34-year-old founder of Internet portal, Web services and interactive marketing firm Livedoor, was found gu...

Cisco has agreed to pay a pretty penny for WebEx. By any measure, the $3.2 billion -- in cash -- represents a hefty premium. The company obviously has big plans for this product line. Either that, or it wanted to take WebEx off the market so no one else would acquire it. Or both. Indeed, ever since...

We all negotiate one thing or another almost on a daily basis. When you negotiate, you are trying to achieve a goal through discussion and compromise. Typically, both elements have to be present in order to arrive at a successful outcome. Therefore, you must be able to communicate and be willing to...

If I've learned one thing in my career in retailing and the Internet, it is that people love the opportunity to save money. They hate it when somebody else is getting a bargain when they aren't. This is actually how I got started in the online couponing business. I noticed when I was "checking out" ...

Time Warner's AOL unit said it would withdraw its $900 million offer to purchase the Swedish online marketing company TradeDoubler, saying it had not received enough interest in its bid from shareholders. TradeDoubler's management had backed the AOL offer, which was made in January, but several majo...

Taking direct aim at Microsoft, Cisco plans to acquire WebEx Communications for $3.2 billion. Under the agreement, Cisco will purchase all of the outstanding shares of WebEx for $57 per share. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2007. The deal dramatical...

Former Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, whose decision to aggressively investigate boardroom press leaks led to a scandal that led to a wave of resignations -- but little collateral damage for the PC maker -- was cleared of all criminal charges Wednesday. Judge Ray E. Cunningham dismissed a...

I'm an early adopter. I don't just analyze technology from the safety of my own cubicle; I bring it into my home and live with it. I find that by doing so, I gain a perspective that would otherwise be lost. About a year ago, I disconnected my traditional landline phone and signed up for VoIP service...

Microsoft confirmed that it plans to acquire Tellme, a privately held speech recognition vendor. The deal gives Microsoft functionality in Tellme's core competencies: voice-activated nationwide directory assistance, enterprise customer service and voice-enabled mobile search. Founded in 1999, Tellme...

In a contentious congressional hearing Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission was accused of overstepping its authority in its recent actions regarding the cable TV industry. At the end of 2006, the FCC -- led by Commissioner Kevin Martin -- approved in a 3-2 vote new video franchising rul...

While Viacom is seeking a cool $1 billion in its suit against Google's YouTube for allegedly using Viacom's copyrighted content without permission, the stakes may be far higher for Google and other Internet companies. Google is expected to argue that the safe harbor provision of the Digital Millenni...

It's a time for excitement -- you're ready for the next generation of e-commerce. Online selling is driving an increasingly significant share of your business' revenue, and the time has come for you to take it to the next level. Evaluate what it takes to be a serious online merchant. The trouble is ...

Enterprises continue to add to their data storage capacity, with external disk storage system sales up 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 to $6.9 billion, according to a report released Monday by research firm IDC. IDC's Quarterly Tracker report on disk storage systems found the total disk stor...

MTV's parent company Viacom is seeking more than $1 billion in damages from YouTube and its owner Google for thousands of alleged copyright infringements. A complaint filed by the media giant in U.S. District Court in New York contends that almost 160,000 clips of Viacom's programming have been made...

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration is setting aside close to $1 billion to help consumers who will be forced to migrate to digital television after February 17, 2009 -- when analog broadcasting is scheduled to cease. The Digital Television Transit...