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Before they call or have a face-to-face meeting with a prospect, smart salespeople check the CRM system to see what the customer record says about that person or that business. That's what CRM is there for, from a sales perspective: to give sales the background information it needs to have the best chance at closing a sale. However, the picture of...

The NSA is reading communications between Americans and foreigners abroad, despite its denials, The New York Times reported The NSA responded to the allegations by stating its activities are lawful attempts to gather intelligence about foreign powers and their agents, foreign organizations, foreign persons or international terrorists, and not Amer...

Comedian and writer Andy Borowitz has risen to pretty heady comedic heights. His Borowitz Report, a satirical chronicle of daily news -- one election season headline read, "Weather Forces Romney to Shift Lying to Other States" -- was picked up by The New Yorker and is frequently the Most Popular item on the high-brow site Not everyone, however, ge...

Yahoo's 20-year-old logo is set to change next month with the unveiling of a new graphic "that's more reflective of our reimagined design and new experiences," said Chief Marketing Officer Kathy Savitt ...

Groupon stock climbed more than 27 percent Thursday following Wednesday's release of a second quarter earnings report that beat expectations, and the announcement that cofounder Eric Lefkofsky was officially named CEO. The company stock bounced more than 20 percent in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement. It cooled slightly Thu...

It appears YouTube cofounders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen want to mix it up with Vine and Instagram. Their video-editing app, MixBit, which was developed by the pair's new venture, Avos Systems, made its iOS debut on Thursday. An Android version is due in the coming weeks ...

Samsung this week launched a marketing blitz for its Galaxy Note III phablet, which will be unveiled in Berlin Sept. 4, just before the IFA consumer electronics show, which will run Sept. 6-11 That timing has become a Samsung tradition, as have the orchestrated leaks about its forthcoming product....

Six years ago when Apple's iPhone and smartphones running Google's Android first hit the streets, it seemed that lots of carriers jumped into the unlimited space. They did this to let customers test drive the wireless data app world and get hooked -- and customers loved it. Since then, both AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless have dropped their un...

Zozi, a company that connects customers to activity-related adventures or trips -- say sailing lessons or rock-climbing tours -- rolled out a CRM system earlier this year that is an offshoot of an acquisition the startup made at the end of 2012. The name of the CRM system is "Zozi Advance," and it is a build-out from a system the company acquired...

Amazon on Wednesday launched support for HTML5 Web apps in its Mobile App Distribution Program Developers can now submit URLs for their HTML5 apps to Amazon and leverage the company's In-App Purchasing API for JavaScript....

Movie star Jackie Chan, the Chinese kung fu aficionado who has appeared in more than 150 films, is taking loads of flak for posts on Chinese social media Chan first riled Chinese netizens when he posted a photo of a picturesque Beijing skyline with the caption, "I took the picture myself. Who says Beijing doesn't have blue sky? Look how blue the s...

Some Xerox copiers/scanners have produced altered copies, researcher David Kriesel reported last week. A Xerox Work Center 7535 actually changed the numbers on scanned documents....

Nielsen this week released a study that indicates there is a causal relationship between Twitter conversations and TV ratings. The findings suggest the volume of tweets could actually increase the number of TV viewers for certain shows. Nielsen's conclusion -- along with research projects including TV Ad Targeting and Twitter Amplify -- lends str...

LG -- the other major Korean smartphone maker -- on Wednesday unveiled its G2 device in New York, in what might be construed as an attempt to pip Samsung, which is slated to unveil its Galaxy Note III phablet on Sept. 4 in Berlin ...

Consumers with an itch for a hybrid car can now spend less scratch for one. Chevy announced Tuesday that the 2014 models of its Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle will carry a sticker price of US$34,995, a $5,000 cut from the current model. A federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for some buyers of green vehicles could lower the price further....

Amazon on Tuesday added "purveyor of fine art" to its e-commerce business creds, opening Amazon Art, a marketplace to view and purchase fine art created by contemporary and classical artists. ...

I've been having so much fun lately that I may have missed something, but let me ask -- have we already reached the end of the customer experience trend? I think CX still has a lot of life in it, but let me play devil's advocate for a moment "CX" is a nebulous term and idea, and its discussion leads to all kinds of confusion about its meaning. Is ...

Looking for an everything-included Linux distro designed for people who are just transitioning to Linux? Need an OS specifically tailored for the needs of students? Then look no further than UberStudent....

The buzz about Samsung's plans for a smartwatch has intensified with the discovery of trademark and patent filings in the United States and Korea The U.S. Patent and Trade Office filing lists the name of the patented device as "Samsung Galaxy Gear" and essentially describes a smartwatch....

Scientists unveiled the world's first lab-grown hamburger at a press event in London on Monday, showcasing a patty made from stem cells -- a technique that could help alleviate the growing demand for more sustainable beef products ...