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A California woman has filed what could become a class-action suit against Microsoft, claiming the software giant's flaw alert and patching system is inadequate and fails to protect consumers. The action, being handled by a California attorney known for taking on big business on behalf of consumers,...

When the Web was young and hotshot designers were eager to prove their talents, chaos ruled. Pages often featured unwieldy graphics that brought visitors' browsers to a halt, and nonstandard layouts forced users to hunt for information. Since then, certain design conventions have been adopted, makin...

Seeking an advantage in its brutal battle with Dell for dominance in the consumer computing market, Hewlett-Packard has announced it will launch a $300 million worldwide ad campaign aimed at the average technology user. The push is designed to support HP's August release of nearly 150 different cons...

In mid-September, U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner Mozelle Thompson kicked off the Strategic Global Summit for E-Commerce with a keynote address that touched on several pertinent e-commerce topics, the role the FTC has assumed as the Internet has developed into a business channel, and issues that leg...

They have their networks locked tight, their data hidden behind firewalls and their e-mail scanned by virus protection software. But too many IT managers and security officers overlook a crucial security risk: the telephone system. As voice over IP (VoIP) setups become more common, the risk of compr...

Hoping to light a fire under sales of home PCs, Microsoft has unveiled the newest version of its Windows XP Media Center, which is designed to make it easier to download media and burn CDs and DVDs. The company also has debuted several content partnerships designed to emphasize the range of entertai...

The conspiracy theorists didn't have to exercise a boatload of imagination to picture the invisible hand of Microsoft wielding the axe that cut short Daniel Geer's tenure at @stake. But this isn't about Microsoft flexing a muscle up in Washington state and a guy in Boston falling off the tech map. A...

In Part 1 of this story, The Mac Observer publisher Bryan Chaffin told the E-Commerce Times that the market standing of Apple's iPod will play a critical role in determining iTunes' success. However, the iPod faces increasing competition. Dell recently announced a new hard drive-based music player, ...

Sun Microsystems has surprised observers by warning it is mired in what it called a "particularly difficult quarter" that will result in a massive financial loss of as much as 10 U.S. cents per share, compared with analysts' previous estimates of 2 cents per share. The disclosure raises questions in...

Before the year is out, Apple plans to launch a Windows version of its well-received iTunes Music Store. However, iTunes' success thus far -- Apple has sold 10 million songs through the Mac-only version -- has galvanized other sellers of digital music, which are launching Windows-based services at a...

IBM has expanded its countersuit against The SCO Group, saying SCO has harmed Big Blue's Linux business with its claims that IBM incorporated SCO's proprietary Unix code into AIX and Linux products. In addition, the high-tech giant has turned the tables by arguing that SCO actually stole some of IBM...

When Brocade was founded in 1995, it had lofty goals and a simple premise. The company believed storage should be networked, and it envisioned allowing CIOs to cut storage costs and increase efficiency. Brocade also was was the first to develop fibre-channel switches, which are specifically designe...

The chief technology officer of @stake, an IT security company with close ties to Microsoft, was reportedly terminated by his company just after he released a report critical of the Redmond, Washington-based software vendor. Daniel Geer, also one of the founders of the company, is principal author o...

Apparently recognizing the same market opportunity as the major search players, Amazon.com has moved to establish a wholly owned subsidiary, called A9, that will work on using search to drive shoppers to Amazon's site. Indeed, A9's goal will be to ensure Amazon is not cut out of the loop as shoppers...

For years, the U.S. Internet and e-commerce industries resisted any push for a national online sales tax on the grounds that it would harm e-tail sales growth. However, at least some retailers that finally have transitioned to full-scale tax collection say the move has had little or no impact on the...