Business

Oracle is snapping up another social media company: It announced this week that it has entered into an agreement to buy Involver, a platform provider of SML, or social markup language. SML is a developer tool used to create customized marketing applications for social media sites and Web campaigns.

To listen to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer talk, you'd think he was the prime minister of a besieged nation, rather than the captain of one of the largest software companies in the world. In an interview Tuesday with CRN, a website for VARs and technology integrators, the flamboyant head of Microsoft pl...

Google is about to be smacked with the highest fine ever levied by the Federal Trade Commission -- $22.5 million -- according to reports. The search engine is expected to agree to the stiff penalty to put to rest the agency's concerns over its apparent privacy violations in connection with Apple's S...

There's a new "Big Brother" on the scene. Some of the largest automobile insurance companies are now using driving data obtained from GPS and other devices to create preferred pricing for those who submit real-time driving data that demonstrate their good driving habits and low risk. So, if drivers...

Following a 30-day period in which the company lost $2 billion in value, Research In Motion executives faced shareholders Tuesday at the company's annual meeting. On the positive side, CEO Thorsten Heins reportedly told shareholders the company remains strong in some market segments. However, he adm...

Andreessen Horowitz is investing $100 million in GitHub, the San Francisco startup that provides online resources for software programmers. It's the largest investment the venture capital firm has ever made. Github's acceptance of the cash is notable. Unlike many startups, the company has been profi...

Yahoo and Facebook are ending their patent infringement lawsuits against each other with a settlement that includes a licensing partnership as well as an expanded content distribution and advertising relationship. The new agreement allows for collaboration on ad campaigns during major media events.

Picture this: You're a young entrepreneur who's had that a-ha! moment that most only ever dream of. You've found your niche, built your offering, compiled an impressive team of engineers and salespeople that checkbook-wielding VCs are drooling over -- you're nearly ready to take the world by storm.

Amazon has acquired 3D-mapping startup UpNext, according to a report earlier this week. Mapping functionality has become a must-have feature for mobile device makers, but that alone may not explain what Amazon is planning for UpNext. Amazon's tablet, the Kindle Fire, does not sport a GPS radio, and ...

Dell's announcement of its planned Quest Software acquisition seemed more inevitable than surprising. Quest had been in play since March, when it said investment firm Insight Venture Partners offered $23 per share, or about $2 billion, for the company. The price jumped when an unidentified player en...

Google may have to buffer its patent portfolio or start paying licensing fees to Nokia now that the search engine giant is becoming a bigger player in the tablet market. Google launched the Nexus 7, its first Nexus-branded tablet device, last week. The 7-inch slate will run the latest version of the...

Verizon has filed a legal brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals against the Federal Communications Commission's Net neutrality rules, arguing that they exceed the agency's regulatory authority and violate constitutional rights protected by the First and Fifth Amendments. The FCC adopted the rules in ...

Windstream has been riding the growth Wave over the last several years. Are things starting to change? You may recall that a while back I said the company would continue to look strong as long as acquisitions continued. I asked what would happen when it slowed? That next chapter may be starting. It'...

Based on the underperformance of its online services division, Microsoft announced Monday that it would be taking a write-down of $6.2 billion. The non-cash, non-tax-deductible income statement charge for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 is for the "impairment of goodwill" related primarily to...

Google has sent a letter to European antitrust regulators proposing to address the Commission's concerns about competition. The widespread assumption is that Google is seeking to head off formal proceedings that may be pending to avoid a long, drawn-out investigation and hefty fine. Google's overtur...