Articles by Lou Hirsh

Like Apple Computer, Linux vendor Red Hat Software is playing the role of challenger as it tries to convert longtime users of a competing brand to its own products But according to officials at North Carolina-based Red Hat, the similarity between the two companies' missions ends there. Red Hat product services director Marty Wesley told the E-Comme...

Intel could make a long-term splash in the server market with its new Itanium 2 processor, but first it must make its case to enterprise technology buyers Besides speedier performance, Intel officials contend that use of the processor could result in significant cost savings. According to Michael Graf, product manager of the Itanium line, the chip ...

Purveyors of interactive online games have hit upon an audience-pleasing business model, featuring methods like subscription plans that give users unlimited access for a monthly fee. But gamers are an avid and demanding clientele, and industry experts say firms in other areas of e-commerce will be hard-pressed to emulate gaming companies' success using the same tactics...

Server technology improvements are poised to turbocharge the way companies run their e-commerce operations, ranging from the way they process transactions to the methods they use to snag new sales. In the not-so-distant future -- perhaps even next year -- consumers could begin to see results of this transformation as hardware processing power increases and more companies incorporate broadband capabilities into their servers...

The stock market and the dot-com world may be down for now, but that does not mean launching a new e-business is out of the question True, the startup funding spigots have slowed to a drip, and entrepreneurs looking to strike it rich quick with little risk to their own wallets can forget about it. But experts say these factors did not stop business...

E-tailers have come to the costly understanding that providing a general e-mail address ona Web site is no way to handle customer queries, especially when many of those queries arenever answered. In fact, countless online sales have been lost because a company did notrespond in a timely manner to customer concerns that arose in the middle of thetr...

As they gear up for what is expected to be a crucial fourth quarter, e-tailers are anxiously examining the ongoing third quarter for signs of what awaits them in the future. Specifically, many observers are focused on the health of online travel and retail firms, because the travel sector in particular has dragged down the overall economy in the past year...

For all the financial reeling and corporate belt-tightening in many e-commerce sectors, experts say no tears need be shed for the online porn industry. While exact revenue figures are tough to unearth, established players have not been significantly hurt by current economic woes, though competition in the space has intensified Indeed, IDC research ...

As consumers seek relief from bleak news about war and the economy, experts say entertainment could spawn the next wave of lucrative niche opportunities on the Web Yankee Group program manager Paul Ritter told the E-Commerce Times that Hollywood could prove to be a blockbuster. According to Ritter, online purchases of movies and videos will ramp up...

Just as a museum helps visitors learn lessons from the past, a monument dedicated to bad e-commerce ideas -- perhaps called the "hall of e-commerce oblivion" -- might offer a similar kind of education to those who sell on the Web Such a collection of bad ideas could impart a key truth: While users will flock to sites that make their lives easier, t...

As e-commerce goes mainstream and stands on its own two feet, experts say the industry can no longer count on receiving the kid-glove treatment from the U.S. government. Nevertheless, as long as the economy remains fragile, it is also unlikely that the government will lift the current tax moratorium or repeal other hands-off policies.

For Web travelers seeking to lighten their load of usernames and passwords, help has generally been slow to arrive. Some relief for the forgetful has come in the form of functions -- installed on popular operating systems -- that serve to ease the mental burden of those surfing from a single computer "Microsoft and Apple both offer effective passwo...

For the quarter ending August 2nd, Dell expects its revenue to reach US$8.3 billion, up about 9 percent from last year's second quarter, while earnings are expected to increase by 19 percent Analysts agree that Dell's build-to-order model for selling PCs and servers not only works well for current market conditions but also is likely to keep rivals...

Legal professionals face an uphill battle in dealing with thorny new issues raised by the globalization and growth of e-commerce -- from taxes and intellectual property disputes to privacy and cybercrime According to Thomas Smedinghoff, a partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie, the ever-changing e-commerce landscape can prove vexing, not only to atto...

The bursting of the high-tech bubble may already have done away with the weakest players in e-commerce, but experts say the sector's survivors still face tough times in the second half of 2002 and beyond With corporate IT budgets tight, revenue down and the stock market ailing, analysts say shakeouts and mergers remain distinct possibilities, espec...

Sifting through the stock market wreckage in search of wireless gems has not been a fruitful pursuit in recent weeks. For the most part, experts say, companies in the sector -- especially wireless service carriers -- will need to undergo drastic shifts before wireless stocks again become "must-haves" in investor portfolios Even before stocks fell i...

In the not-too-distant future, e-commerce technology not only will become smarter and faster, but could completely transform the way companies deal with internal information and customer service Moreover, industry experts say technologies in the pipeline -- such as interactive company portals that can communicate with other portals in real-time -- ...

Different experts might define e-commerce differently, but most agree on one thing: The sector represents a growing piece of the overall commerce pie, and its share is expected to increase steadily -- though gradually -- over the next five years For example, Forrester research director Kate Delhagen told the E-Commerce Times that online sales accou...

Interactive TV never exploded onto the scene in the way its promoters hoped it would, and the features it once promised -- ranging from movie selection to Web-based shopping and games -- have been co-opted by other technologies For example, Aberdeen Group chief research officer Peter Kastner told the E-Commerce Times that consumers' time and dollar...

Companies that successfully create a sense of online community not only give like-minded people a place to call home, they also reap revenue. They achieve this goal by offering compelling content that builds trust and credibility with visitors and keeps them coming back The most profitable example is online auction site eBay, which consistently ran...