Business

Which should companies focus on first -- investors, customers or workers? This is a question we have asked and answered so many times, you would think the answer would be obvious. However, we always see companies either doing well or struggling because they just don't get it. A look at a few of toda...

Let the exceptions and exemptions begin, Net neutrality critics cry, as the Federal Communications Commission's newly approved rules take effect for all but a chosen few -- mobile broadband providers, that is, with a Google-Verizon pact taking the lead. Striking similarities between the FCC ruling a...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has apparently opened an inquiry into former HP CEO Mark Hurd's sudden departure from the company last August. The SEC is looking into whether Hurd leaked information about HP's planned $13.9 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems to Jodie Fisher, ...

Net neutrality may be anything but after the Federal Communications Commission votes Tuesday on the proposal, rumored to contain a controversial "usage-based pricing provision" that could boost service provider bottom lines. A leaked PowerPoint presentation reveals two large wireless suppliers -- Al...

Yahoo's grand scheme for repositioning itself is becoming more clear. Earlier this week, news came out that the Internet company was instituting widespread layoffs, with some 4 percent of its staff expected to be let go. It was a tough but necessary call, CEO Carol Bartz reportedly wrote in a memo t...

The U.S. Commerce Department's proposed federal Internet privacy rules are a giveaway to data collectors, according to some consumer groups. Other critics say they could spell the end of the free Internet. The Commerce Department wants to create an online privacy bill of rights and a code of conduct...

Twitter has received $200 million in financing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, according to Twitter CEO Dick Costolo. The funding pegs Twitter's valuation at $3.7 billion. Clearly, the investors believe Twitter will find an effective way to squeeze substantial revenue from its massive use...

Google has put off making a choice on which city to use as a test for ultra high-speed broadband, according to a Wednesday blog post by Milo Medin, vice president of access services. The company had planned to announce the selected city by the end of 2010, but it was not prepared for the level of in...

The consumer electronics marketplace is changing. Will this year be better or worse, stronger or weaker? So far, the reports of holiday technology shopping sound pretty strong this year, with a few bumps in the road. One big bump comes from Best Buy, which delivered some disturbing news. While the r...

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down a ruling that delights privacy advocates and Fourth Amendment purists: In U.S. v. Warshak, it found that the government should have obtained a search warrant before seizing and searching defendant Stephen Warshak's emails, which were stored by email...

Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla have a lot in common with Apple, Google, HTC, Motorola, and Research In Motion. They are all warriors in the ongoing war to see who can amass the largest number of the most lucrative technology patents. Edison and Tesla waged their battle from the late 1860s through t...

Yahoo is planning to cut its workforce by about 650 employees Tuesday, according to numerous press reports, in response to pressure from investors who want the company to inject some life into its lackluster stock performance. The Web portal has been struggling in the face of stellar growth by compe...

Apple, Google and others reportedly have entered into a bidding war for the patents held by Nortel Networks, which is liquidating its assets in bankruptcy. Nortel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2009 but failed to emerge successfully and began selling assets in mid-2009. Nortel...

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a patent lawsuit Interval Licensing -- Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's company -- filed last August in Seattle against 11 firms, including Apple and Google. Interval claims the defendants violated four patents owned by Paul Allen's company Interval Research on te...

Dell announced Thursday it has entered into merger talks with Compellent Technologies, offering $27.50 per share for a total of nearly $900 million. The offer is below Compellent's stock price on Wednesday of $33.65 a share. While acquisition bids are typically slightly above stock price, Dell may s...