Articles by Lori Enos

Legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress this week could make copyright battles over the way MP3.com offers music obsolete, meaning that the company would be free to build up its digital music database without having to pay the record labels any royalties Introduced by Rep. Rich Boucher (D-Virginia), the Music Owners' Listening Rights Act of 200...

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) won a round Tuesday in its appeal of the antitrust judgment against it when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the software giant's appeal should first be heard by a lower appellate court The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) -- which along with 19 states filed the antitrust suit against Microsoft in 1998 -- had asked t...

Controversial Internet advertising firm DoubleClick, Inc. (Nasdaq: DCLK) announced Monday that it will acquire online market research firm @Plan (Nasdaq: APLN) in a deal worth approximately $120 million (US$). The companies said the deal will enable both firms to provide enhanced research and planning solutions tools to the online marketing community.

Texas officials have moved to prevent bankrupt e-tailer Living.com from selling the personal information of its customers, reaching a settlement agreement concurrent with a lawsuit filed Monday against the Amazon-backed company "It is important that Internet companies respect Texans' privacy rights whether the company is in the black or in the red,...

The U.S. government launched its FirstGov Web site Friday, providing a single point of entry to its more than 20,000 Web sites "It's just the beginning," said David J. Barram, administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), adding that FirstGov is a place where you can "plan your vacation or plan your life." ...

In an effort to halt the sale of firearms over the Internet, President Bill Clinton announced on Saturday the launch of the "eZ Check'' firearm license verification system on the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Web site Designed to prevent criminals and juveniles from using fraudulent licenses to buy firearms, eZ Check will allow...

A report released Thursday by Jupiter Research predicts that by 2005, more than 40 million U.S. households will pay at least part of their bills using online bill paying services The report also advises banks to "forgo selfish interests" and form alliances with online electronic bill payment and presentment services (EBPP).

Online grocer Webvan (Nasdaq: WBVN) announced Friday it will delay its scheduled expansion and a planned distribution center move in order to concentrate on obtaining profitability and integrating its systems with those of acquired rival HomeGrocer.com "For the near term, Webvan's energies will be directed toward our integration into a single brand...

The number of unique visitors to online real estate sites this summer increased by 75 percent over the same period last year, according to a survey released Wednesday by market research firm The NPD Group and Internet audience measurement firm Media Metrix Notably, "The e-Visory Report" shows that the increase occurred even though the number of pro...

A 15 year-old boy from New Jersey who used the Internet to manipulate stock profits has agreed to pay back his ill-gotten gains of $285,000 (US$), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Wednesday. The Commission said it had never before brought charges against a minor Classifying the case as a "large pump and dump scheme," Rona...

During the first half of this year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) notified more than 4,500 Web sites in the United States that that they were breaking the law by illegally trafficking copyrighted material, according to statistics released Tuesday That figure represents a 200 percent increase over the number of notices sent ou...

General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced Monday that it is launching a pilot program designed to streamline the sale of vehicles over the Internet Beginning next month, seven Oldsmobile dealerships in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area will take part in the program, which will allow consumers to scan dealer inventories, select a vehicle and arrang...

Apple Computer Inc. has inked a licensing agreement with e-tail giant Amazon.com that will allow the computer company to use Amazon's patented 1-Click technology, as well as the "1-Click" trademark Amazon's 1-Click technology securely stores billing and shipping information so that returning customers only have to click their mouse one time to purc...

E-tailers are scrambling to add customer-oriented features to their sites before the 2000 holiday season rolls around, according to a survey just released by Internet research firm IDC The survey, part of IDC's ongoing Internet Executive ePanel, revealed that the percentage of business-to-consumer (B2C) sites that offer interactive customer service...

Despite the popular conception that Europeans distrust e-commerce, a new survey by Jupiter Communications reveals that lower prices, not tighter security, would motivate European e-shoppers to spend more online The survey, conducted in partnership with European research firm Ipsos, also found that Internet usage varies widely as established online ...

Furthering the trend toward e-tail consolidation, Barnesandnoble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN) announced late Wednesday that it will purchase online professional and technical bookseller Fatbrain.com (Nasdaq: FATB) in a deal worth roughly $64 million (US$) After the deal closes, the Santa Clara, California-based Fatbrain.com will become a wholly owned subsidi...

A study released Wednesday by online research firm Jupiter Communications says that kids and teens will only spend $4.9 billion (US$) online in 2005, but the research they do online will drive an estimated $21.4 billion in offline spending The study, released during Jupiter's Digital Kids Forum in San Francisco, California, said that although teens...

Nearly two-thirds of Canadian retailers believe they are lagging behind their U.S. counterparts when it comes to e-commerce, according to IDC Canada's "National Online Retail Industry Study." The report, co-sponsored by Microsoft Canada and Compaq Canada Inc., also found that barely 50 percent of the 132 retailers surveyed have a clearly defined st...

Billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, announced Monday that he has agreed in principle to invest an additional $50 million (US$) in Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN). The prince's total investment in the online merchant will reach $100 million once the deal closes The forward contract calls for Priceline founder Ja...

Determined hackers could easily break into government computers and access information ranging from Social Security numbers to defense secrets, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) "Federal computer systems are riddled with weaknesses that continue to put critical operations and assets at risk," GAO dire...