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Underscoring the importance of services in the high-tech world, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HWP) says it is in talks with PricewaterhouseCoopers to acquire that firm's professional consulting practice Although talks are not yet finalized, HP said in a statement that the purchase price would likely be in the $17 to $18 billion (US$) range and involve a c...

Continuing a commitment to promote the Linux operating system, IBM (NYSE: IBM) said Tuesday it will spend $200 million (US$) to build seven new Linux development centers in Asia The move is the latest step in Big Blue's ongoing strategy of expanding the role of Linux, the free, open-source alternative to Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows operating sys...

At the risk of sounding anachronistic, allow me to say at the outset that I don't want to interact with my television. I just want to watch it, and most of the time I don't even want to do that I understand it's the new, new thing in the e-commerce world and that everybody and his brother will be doing it in the fast approaching future. With voice ...

Seven of the largest investment banks worldwide, including The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), Merril Lynch (NYSE: MER), Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (NYSE: MWD), Salomon Smith Barney (NYSE: C), Credit Suisse First Boston (SWX:CSGN.SW), Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, and UBS Warburg (NYSE: UBS), announced an agreement Tuesday to create TheMarkets.com, a portal designed to provide information to investors...

Just days after being slammed with a multi-million dollar (US$) adverse ruling in the copyright case brought by Universal Music Group, Internet music download site MP3.com faces another legal challenge. Zomba Recording Corporation and Zomba Music Publishing, the label and music publisher behind Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and 'N Sync, are reportedly bringing a copyright lawsuit against MP3.com...

According to a report released Monday by Media Metrix, controversial music file-sharing application Napster climbed from 1.1 million unique users at home in February to 4.9 million unique users in July, a 345 percent increase that makes it one of the fastest growing applications on the Web The audience measurement firm said Napster was the 43rd mos...

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...

Kids and young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are spending a projected $164 billion (US$) online per year, according to two new studies by Nickelodeon Online/Harris Interactive KidPulse and MTV/Harris Interactive KidPulse The figure accounts for 13 percent of total spending by this age group, the studies found, and also represents a four-fold...

People all over the world travel to see the tombstones of celebrities, from Marilyn Monroe in Los Angeles to Jim Morrison in Paris. Why should online businesses be treated any differently? One of the Internet's quirks is that it offers easy access to the dot-com cemetery. Most deceased sites leave their Web sites up in some form long after the com...

Buoyed by news that the European Commission will not present any regulatory roadblocks, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY) announced the launch Monday of a mobile e-mail services venture The new operation, to be called Ericsson Microsoft Mobile Venture AB, will be functional by the end of the year, the companies said. The v...

An increasing number of Europeans are using the Web to look for a job, according to a survey released Monday by market research firm MMXI Europe In the UK, for example, the number of unique visitors to job-related Web sites more than doubled between January and July of this year -- with 684,000 unique visitors to job sites in July compared to 202,0...

In the latest example of the impact that embattled song-swapping forums such as Napster and MP3.com have had on the music industry, Warner Music Group announced Monday it will release 100 recordings in downloadable format before Christmas Warner, the fifth largest recording company in the U.S., is also the last of the major labels to unveil plans t...

With the presidential candidates now campaigning in earnest, their positions on e-commerce are putting on enough flesh to make significant and specific differences visible to the naked eye True, when it comes to most high-tech issues, the manufactured drama and passionate rhetoric reveal no twists on the same old story. Democratic voters are more l...

Online advertisers who want to reach children are shifting their focus to parents, according to a report released Monday by AdRelevance, a division of Internet statistics firm Media Metrix (Nasdaq: MMXI) Online ads aimed at families rose 96 percent between May and August, while ads targeted specifically at kids fell 56 percent, the report said. The...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is ready to give its seal of approval to Covisint, the business-to-business (B2B) Internet marketplace backed by DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors Citing sources close to the talks, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the FTC will approve the joint venture with no strings attached, but will re...

The credit and debit card information of about 15,700 Western Union customers who used the company's Web site to transfer money has been stolen by hackers, officials for the company confirmed Monday "We've determined there was a security breach," Western Union spokesperson Peter Zivertz told the E-Commerce Times, "and we believe the credit and debi...

Popular culture is a peculiar thing. It's supposed to be a reflection of the current reality -- especially the latest fads and trends -- and yet it sometimes lags far behind. Logistics play a role -- it takes a year to publish a book, longer to make a movie. But we've all seen the ads for TV mini-series based on real-life scandals and tragedies that seem ready to air before the ink is dry on the newspaper reports...

One year ago, all indicators pointed toward the most successful and lucrative e-holiday season yet. But by the night before Christmas, far too few delivery sleighs filled with toys clattered on the lawns outside U.S. homes. The e-tailers had failed a significant customer service exam Officials at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) responded st...

Embattled crime news Web site APBnews.com, valued at more than $100 million (US$) six months ago, was purchased in a bankruptcy sale Thursday by SafetyTips.com for $575,000 cash SafetyTip's bid was significantly lower than the $950,000 deal the parties originally struck in mid-August. The site, which specializes in safety consulting and training, r...