Articles by Los Angeles Newsroom

More than 64 percent of top tech executives believe the next U.S. Congress will move to tax the Internet, according to an Ernst & Young survey released Thursday Federal and state governments have so far put a moratorium on taxing online transactions to protect an industry that is in its infancy. However, many observers argue that tax-free Internet ...

Joining the growing number of e-commerce companies that have been forced to cut costs amid the ongoing dot-com shakeout, Garden.com (Nasdaq: GDEN) announced Thursday it will lay off 93 employees, or about 40 percent of its workforce The company also said it expects to fall short of revenue predictions and is restructuring its operations. Refusing t...

Despite a lot of noisy consumer opposition to the junk e-mail unlovingly known as "spam," the practice of flooding in-boxes with unwanted marketing ploys continues unabated. In fact, even though there are now some state laws closely regulating spamming, the practice of sending mass unsolicited e-mails has acquired a sheen of respectability, and in some quarters is enthusiastically referred to as "sending an e-mail blitz."

Further fueling the Asia-Pacific region's high-tech boom, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HWP) announced separate partnerships with major Japanese companies Thursday The Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft is teaming up with Hitachi to focus on the development of a core set of replicable Microsoft 2000-based enterprise solutions...

IDG World Expo predicts that 30,000 national and international Linux users will attend the fourth LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Jose, California, surpassing the last show's record attendance The event, set for August 14-17, 2000, is billed as the largest Linux-focused gathering in the world. Attendees will have the opportunity to consult with...

Attorneys for Microsoft Corp. railed against the U.S. government in a Wednesday court hearing, labeling its proposal to split the company in two as "vague" and "ambiguous." Microsoft told U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson that the company needs more time to revamp its corporate strategy, and suggested that if a breakup is unavoidable, one...

Telecom giant SBC Communications (NYSE: SBC) lashed out at the proposed merger of America Online and Time Warner Wednesday, citing an alleged fraudulent action by Time Warner's cable group as evidence of "anti-competitive behavior." The San Antonio, Texas-based company, America's 13th largest employer, said that Time Warner Cable and Road Runner, I...

A destructive version of the "Love Bug" worm has emerged in Israel, Europe and the United States, but is expected to be contained without widespread damage The new variant, known as "NewLove," works through the Microsoft Outlook Express e-mail system, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and several antivirus software manufac...

PlanetFeedback, a new online site that allows users to voice their complaints and compliments to thousands of companies across the United States, selected Synchrony Communications, Inc. to provide its CRM tools and services, the companies said Tuesday The Cincinnati, Ohio-based Synchrony said its CRM applications would allow PlanetFeedback to provi...

Sitel Corporation (NYSE: SWW) announced Tuesday that it has signed a long-term contract to provide technical support and customer care for Cox Communications, Inc. (NYSE: COX) The Baltimore, Maryland-based Sitel said that it will operate from a new contact center in Las Vegas, Nevada to provide its CRM solutions to Cox Communications' data technica...

Toshiba American Information Systems (TAIS), the independent operating subsidiary of the $52 billion Japanese computer and electronics maker, said Tuesday that it has selected Siebel Systems (Nasdaq: SEBL) and Inforte Corp. to develop and integrate its eCRM initiative The Irvine, California-based company said that it intends to develop a CRM initia...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), FBI, and the National White Collar Crime Center launched the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) Monday to give consumers and businesses a place online to report incidents of online fraud "The Internet Fraud Complaint Center allows consumers who suspect Internet fraud to share that information with law enfor...

Hong Kong-based Web Connection, a provider of e-business and CRM solutions to dot-com companies looking to penetrate the Asian market, announced Monday that it has entered into a strategic agreement with an Australian Internet integration company The financial terms of the deal with XT3 were not disclosed.

Aspect Communications (Nasdaq: ASPT) said today that its CRM software has been selected by the largest privately held transaction processing company in the United States The San Jose, California-based company said Cardservice International, which processes some $11 billion in credit card transactions from 185,000 merchants, selected its software to...

Mountain View, California-based Sagent Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGNT) announced Monday that it has established a partnership with Boston, Massachusetts-based DiaLogos to provide CRM solutions DiaLogos is a consulting firm that focuses on online CRM solutions. Sagent said the company will incorporate its technology to build e-business intelligence ...

Staffware plc, a UK-based software firm engaged in the process workflow industry, announced Friday that it has acquired Arlington, Texas-based CRM solutions provider MarketForce in a $20 million stock and cash deal The acquisition will allow Staffware to extend its workflow process technologies into the CRM application area, where it predicts annua...

IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced Thursday that its Global Services division and Canadian data and wireless leader Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) have partnered to deliver CRM solutions globally IBM said it will establish a global consulting practice to employ Nortel's Clarify eBusiness suite of CRM applications. The alliance cements an existing relationship b...

TeleTech Holdings (Nasdaq: TTEC) said Friday that it has been hired by DSL Internet access provider NorthPoint Communications (Nasdaq: NPNT) to assist in scheduling customer installations The Denver, Colorado-based TeleTech operates 32 customer interaction centers in North America, Europe and Asia, employing nearly 17,000 people. It provides CRM so...

Boulder, Colorado-based SmartTalk, Inc. said today that it has been chosen by music retailer BMG Music Service to host a direct marketing campaign The company said it would employ its mail, e-mail, telephony and Web channels to offer personalized special offers to potential BMG customers.

Sitel Corporation (NYSE: SWW) said today that it has signed a broad-ranging exclusive partnership with a leading Japanese telemarketing services company to deliver CRM solutions to each other's clients in their home markets The Baltimore, Maryland-based company said the deal with Bellsystem 24 includes terms for revenue sharing and also encourages ...