Business

In an effort to reach the 85 percent of consumers who do not yet buy travel online, Orbitz has announced it will provide direct desktop access to its fares and its online search engine to travel agents. Both Travelocity and Expedia, the company's two main competitors in terms of number of visitor...

For online shoppers, making a purchase often seems relatively straightforward. Point and click, check the order, enter credit card information, and the transaction is a done deal. Authorization is delivered within seconds. Behind the scenes, it is not so easy. In the blink of an eye between an in...

The U.S. District Court judge presiding over the Microsoft antitrust settlement has posed several questions about the extent of proposed penalties to be levied against the software giant. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly indicated that while legal precedent affords her far-reaching powers to determin...

Internet radio advocates have told a U.S. panel that a mandate requiring Web stations to pay for songs they broadcast could put many such stations out of business. But representatives of the recording industry countered that Internet piracy threatens their bottom lines as well. The recording indu...

Two more companies have accused online payment site PayPal of using their technology without permission, and the company's relationship with MasterCard may be in jeopardy, PayPal disclosed in its quarterly report. The loss of MasterCard compatibility would be a significant blow because 15 percent...

While Big Blue's name was not always synonymous with e-commerce, the technology giant has become a major player in the sector in recent years. IBM made that transition in part through savvy partnerships with software companies specializing in e-business, and in part by offering its WebSphere soft...

Microsoft is slashing the price of its Xbox video game system from $299 to $199 in a move to compete with Sony's industry-leading PlayStation 2. The $100 price cut mirrors an identical reduction announced Monday by Sony. "Price reductions are part of being successful in this business," John O'Rourke...

Languishing Napster's high-profile CEO, Konrad Hilbers, and its cult-hero founder, Shawn Fanning, both have quit abruptly, leaving the once-soaring music-swapping site facing an uncertain future. The departures led to widespread speculation that Napster would file for bankruptcy and that rumored ...

There has been no shortage of software designed to transfer catalogs to the Web. But as e-commerce has matured, the market has started to evolve and leaders have begun to emerge. This process has been accelerated by the collapse of many software firms in the post-boom era. One major benefactor of...

Mothers were not the only ones delighted by the traditional flood of gifts and flowers last Sunday. According to Internet audience measurement service Nielsen//NetRatings, online retailers that targeted Mom as a gift recipient saw a significant spike in traffic. The rise in traffic at sites that o...

Sears Roebuck & Co. has announced it will pay a staggering $1.9 billion to buy Lands' End, the largest specialty clothing retailer in both online and catalog sales, in an effort to edge ahead of competitors like J.C. Penney. The deal will let Lands' End work its Internet magic on the Sears.co...

RealNames CEO Keith Teare was not shy about naming the company he holds responsible for shuttering his business, citing Microsoft's refusal to renew its contract with RealNames as the catalyst for the firm's closure. On his Web site, the RealNames founder provided an explanation of why he and 79 ...

Sun Microsystems has forged an alliance that will bring Yahoo's content to its enterprise portals. The pact is designed to drive adoption and use of such portals, which allow business users to access company e-mail and information on a single Web site. "We believe that ... populist apps -- things ...

Despite Microsoft's legal woes, it has forged ahead in a number of areas, including e-commerce. According to research firm Giga Information Group, the software giant generated $135 million in revenue from e-commerce products and client services during 2001. But as the company grows its e-business...

Auction giant eBay has renegotiated a long-term advertising deal with AOL, which now must meet performance targets to keep the partnership active. EBay also warned its members that it will begin testing an in-house pop-up ad campaign in coming weeks. "I'm sure there will be an outcry from eBay's ...