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One would think that the cost of doing business on the Web is so small that it would be almost negligible, but that's not the case with many e-tailers, which is why many of them fail. It's also why Prashant Nedungadi decided to found IMshopping, an online company that's trying to emulate offline customer service. With Nedungadi at the helm as CEO, IMshopping recently launched its site in beta.

"If you can't make money at it, you don't have a business, you've got a hobby." -- Words of wisdom from my dad....

During the software development life cycle (SDLC), time and resources need to be committed to application testing. This is the testing that is done by the testing group, (i.e., the black box testers.) The allocation of time and resources is always a problem, as some organizations aren't quite sure how much should be assigned. Where does testing ...

Twitter messages hinting at the possible emergence of a Zune phone -- posted by a user who appeared to be a Microsoft insider -- drew a considerable amount of attention recently, especially considering their timing. They came to light at around the same time Microsoft launched a new ad touting the benefits of its Zune Pass music service over its rival, Apple's iTunes...

Software piracy dropped or remained steady in scores of countries across the globe in 2008, but the worldwide rate still rose, thanks to rising piracy in emerging markets, according to a report for the Business Software Alliance released Monday As usual, the report contained an ever-controversial estimate of what the BSA terms "losses" from softwar...

It seemed like a simple enough idea when FixYa.com CEO and founderYaniv Bensadon sought a solution for consumers caught in the maze oftech support that encompassed nearly every piece of consumerelectronics equipment and household appliance on the market. Why not offer acommunity-based service, not unlike Google Forums or eBay, so consumerscould fi...

Mission-critical IT investments are inherently risky, even with a certified project management professional (PMP) in place to guide the project. Factors like unrealistic timelines and poor planning can certainly jeopardize project success -- but could these factors be symptoms of a larger issue? Perhaps the root cause for project failure lies in...

Packet switching, in short, is a method to deliver data across a computer network connection. The impact of packet switching cannot be understated, as it essentially makes today's Internet function Looking to the future, packet switching is on the precipice of impacting and disrupting another technology -- storage -- which is gaining more and more ...

The Obama Administration is making good on a campaign promise to stepup antitrust enforcement. The Justice department's top antitrustenforcement official, Christine Varney, said in a speech Monday morningthat the DoJ would be setting aside a policy interpretation developedin the previous Bush Administration The interpretation was set out last Septe...

About 160,000 people may have had their personal data stolen during a computer security breach at the University of California at Berkeley Affected groups include current and former UC Berkeley students and family members, as well as about 3,400 students of Mills College who received, or were eligible to receive healthcare at UC Berkeley....

The European Commission could be nearing a decision to impose a significant fine against Intel. The timing coincides with a Department of Justice announcement promising more vigorous antitrust enforcement in the United States Taken together, the possibility of a record fine against the market-leading chipmaker in Europe and the promise of stronger ...

The term "journalism" conjures up powerful memories for many people. For some, it's the epic confrontation between Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joe McCarthy, which ultimately led to the senator's downfall and the end of the Red Scare. For others, it's Walter Cronkite, whose stentorian tones and skill in telling the story served to chronicle the 1960s, earning him the sobriquet of the "Most Trusted Man in America." Still others can point to Bob Woodward's coverage of Watergate during the 1970s, which ultimately forced President Richard Nixon to resign in disgrace. Indeed, Woodward's role may have spawned a number of TV shows and movies over the years in which reporters and journalists are featured heavily...

Tigerpaw Software is a family-owned software company that, 24 years after it was founded, is about to enter a new phase of growth. The company's enterprise CRM, inventory and project management platform has always had a loyal following, in no small part because of the care and attention Tigerpaw lavishes on its customers, CEO Dave Foxall told CRM Buyer.

Last week, a number of Apple supporters took me to task for my comment that Apple made the technology equivalent of sugar water and that Steve Jobs gave up on his goal of changing the world. I'm hardly original in thinking this way. It does amaze me that not a single Apple fan cared about global warming, philanthropy or even Apple's lack of computing prowess. They earn their reputations every week.

A hacker -- or a group of hackers -- is attempting to hold hostage some 8 million records purportedly acquired from the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program, according to ransom note posted to the program's Web site on April 30. Few statements have been released by Virginia state authorities, other than warnings that users of theprogram should...

The "razors and razor blade" analogy is always the first to be employed when analysts -- or technology reporters -- begin their discussions of the copier/printer business. If you're HP or Xerox, you sell the machine once, but you really make your money supplying customers with ink cartridges, toner and other supplies during the life of that machine...

Google, which has never been one to show much regard for Microsoft, could well be feeling sympathetic toward Redmond now that it finds itself under the antitrust gun. Microsoft has been beleaguered by antitrust investigations in the U.S. and Europe for decades. To be sure, Microsoft brought much of that regulatory attention on itself -- but its su...

They are either the silicon-drenched saviors of books, newspapers and magazines, or yet one more reason for deep-pocketed early technology adopters to spend money ...

Microsoft's limited distribution of the Windows 7 release candidate (RC) on April 30 -- followed by its more widespread release a week later -- has triggered a firestorm of opinions, comments, critiques and compliments. As usual, the commenters can be generally divided into two camps: Windows haters and Windows fans. On the whole, though, the RC h...

Now that the concept of cloud computing has become tech the topic du jour, the latest round of debate has centered on whether cloud computing can be extended into the enterprise in the form of private clouds to meet the unique requirements of individual organizations Cloud computing zealots are vehemently opposed to this idea. They believe that the...