Business

The worldwide server market continues to struggle through the economic doldrums, according to Garter Dataquest, gaining a mere 0.5 percent in the second quarter. Worldwide server shipments totaled 1.08 million. Analysts said uncertain market conditions are preventing companies from purchasing hig...

Heavy promotions and midsummer sales are driving Web surfers to the sites of brick-and-mortar retail chains during a traditionally slow shopping season, according to a new report from Nielsen//NetRatings. For example, the research firm said, traffic to OfficeDepot.com more than doubled during the...

Legal professionals face an uphill battle in dealing with thorny new issues raised by the globalization and growth of e-commerce -- from taxes and intellectual property disputes to privacy and cybercrime. According to Thomas Smedinghoff, a partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie, the ever-changi...

The U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would let music companies and other media entities legally enter file-swapping services to block users from trading copyrighted files. Claiming to be "a big fan of [peer-to-peer] networks and the technology behind them," several state representatives i...

AOL Time Warner's positive earnings report this week was tempered by news that the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission is looking into the way the company's online division has handled its accounting. The company shrugged off the SEC inquiry, and Yankee Group analyst Mike Goodman told the E...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it has settled a case against a California Web site that claimed to offer an alternative cancer treatment. The commission also noted it has issued warnings to nearly 300 additional sites making "questionable" health claims. The FTC said it levied a $4.3 mill...

AOL has told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it will pull back from plans to offer server-to-server interoperability between AOL Instant Messenger and other messaging services. Citing technical difficulties and market dynamics, the company indicated in a letter to the FCC that it...

In a week when the stock market dipped wildly and WorldCom filed for bankruptcy, Amazon's $94 million net loss for the second quarter of 2002 paled in comparison. The loss actually represented an improvement over the online bookseller's year-ago second quarter, in which it posted a net loss of $1...

The bursting of the high-tech bubble may already have done away with the weakest players in e-commerce, but experts say the sector's survivors still face tough times in the second half of 2002 and beyond. "We are seeing larger players gaining market share against a background of shrinking demand,...

PayPal has reported that its second-quarter earnings and net income have increased, doubling in key areas compared with year-ago results. The Internet payment service reported second-quarter revenue of $53.8 million, a whopping 173 percent increase over the same period last year. Net income total...

Expanding its service offerings as it awaits eBay's buyout, PayPal said it will begin offering users direct access to U.S. postage through an alliance with Stamps.com. The two companies said the new service, which will let users buy and print U.S. Postal Service stamps through their PayPal accoun...

Following a second-quarter loss that reportedly was mediated by the effects of an aggressive pricing strategy, PC maker Gateway has announced it will knock another $100 off the price of its desktop and mobile computers. Specifically, Gateway said it will reduce the prices of its 300SE and 500SE d...

AOL chief operating officer Robert Pittman has resigned amid questions about how AOL structured ad revenue between 2000 and 2002. According to the Washington Post, the company attempted to make its long-term profit picture appear rosier than it really was in order to avoid jeopardizing its takeove...

WorldCom has agreed in U.S. district court to freeze its assets for 80 days if the banks pursuing its debt will refrain from legal proceedings for 70 days. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also has given its blessing to the freeze. At the center of the banks' suit are accusations that ...

Amazon.com has launched the first phase of a Web services offering, giving Web developers free access to Amazon content and features. The company said it hopes developers using its tools will enable visitors browsing other sites to buy Amazon products and start Amazon purchases. Developers also c...