Business

A day after posting disappointing quarterly earnings, Groupon ousted its founder and CEO Andrew Mason. The company's stock jumped 4 percent in after-hours trading as the news became public. "I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding -- I was fired today. If you're wo...

The U.S. government has some unique -- and exacting -- security requirements related to the adoption of cloud technology. These internal government security hurdles have resulted in significant outreach to expertise from commercial information technology companies. The latest example is an invitatio...

The Center for Copyright Information is ready to start implementing the Copyright Alert System, it said Monday. Under the system, content partners, such as music and movie producers, will alert participating ISPs of alleged P2P copyright infringement by their customers. The ISPs will then forward th...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer needs all employees close as she tries to fix the ailing company's problems. That means beginning in June, Yahoo employees who have been able to work from home will be asked to head back into the office, according to a company human resources memo. Some of Yahoo's most import...

At the oral argument in Bowman v. Monsanto, Chief Justice Roberts cut off Bowman's attorney seconds into his delivery, questioning his thesis, which undermined the purposes of patent law. "Why in the world would anybody spend any money to try to improve the seed if as soon as they sold the first one...

The Federal Trade Commission last week reached a settlement with HTC America over charges the company failed to take reasonable steps to secure the software in its smartphones and tablet computers. The security flaws could have compromised the privacy of millions of consumers, the agency said. This ...

The evolving technological needs of consumers have prompted changes not only in tech support services, but also in the business strategies of technical support providers. Those providers need to adjust their business models in order to effectively meet consumers' needs and remain relevant. At first ...

After months of dismal news, HP had something positive to report to its shareholders: fiscal Q1 numbers that exceeded both Wall Street and company expectations. Granted, the bar was set exceedingly low for the company, which shocked investors last year with news that it would have to take an $8.8 bi...

Twitter launched an API for advertisers Wednesday, a move designed to help the social network boost revenues to better compete with its Internet ad competitors. The company has had an ad structure in place since 2010, when it launched its Promoted Tweets program, which allows advertisers to push 140...

Do you dread calling a company to get customer support? Most of us do. We are on hold forever and the problem drags on way too long, leaving brand loyalty damaged. Some companies are solving that problem by partnering with Support.com -- building customer loyalty, developing a competitive advantag...

Much has been said over the last few years about the loss of American jobs to other countries. The fact is that China and India, as well as other cheap labor countries, have taken a good number of jobs. Many of these jobs will likely never return. I wrote an article in 2006 titled "Why Money Chases ...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is putting her money -- or rather her shareholders' money -- where her mouth is. Mayer has been proclaiming Yahoo's mission of becoming a must-visit daily portal equally accessible via PCs and mobile devices. To that end, the company unveiled a redesign of its website on Wed...

Dell reported another quarter with a drop in sales and profits, but its Q4 earnings Tuesday did beat analyst expectations, thereby putting a hotter spotlight on the computer maker's proposed $24.4 billion leveraged buyout deal. The company reported a net income of $530 million, or 30 cents per share...

Oracle is not letting go of its Java patent infringement beef against Google despite its sound drubbing last spring when U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled that programming APIs were not subject to copyright protection. Last week, Oracle took the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ...

Patent laws remain in the crosshairs, despite the passage and near final implementation of the infamous America Invents Act of 2011. The Supreme Court is again hearing a case that has far-reaching implications for future innovation in self-replicating systems in fields such as nanotechnology, cell ...