Business

Women's online network iVillage (Nasdaq: IVIL) ended months of speculation with the announcement that it is selling its iBaby e-commerce business to online rival Babygear.com, and closing two of its other e-commerce sites, iMaternity.com and PlusBoutique.com.

After a challenging investigation and trial, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has successfully shut down an Internet pyramid scheme that bilked consumers out of $2.9 million (US$).

Canadian e-commerce welcomed a prominent player to the field when the country's oldest department store, Hudson's Bay, announced a joint venture to add an online component to its retail offerings.

In an attempt to test the waters before releasing his latest version of an Internet-only computer to the general public, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison is making the first 10 units available through an online auction.

Bank of America is teaming with NIC Commerce to form a new company that will provide electronic payment and purchasing services to state and local governments.

The battle between Napster and the recording industry is still a David versus Goliath proposition. But with a steady diet of venture capital flowing into Napster and its cousins, David is laying on some serious muscle -- and getting harder to cheer for every day.

Hoping to fend off government regulation of online privacy, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), a trade group that counts among its more than 300 members some of the most recognized names in cyberspace, has issued a set of privacy guidelines for companies doing business on the Internet.

The bells tolling in the e-commerce distance seem to be growing louder, but whether the ringing bodes ill is a matter of perception. For some dot-coms, the sound is surely a death knell, but for others, it is the tinkling of a carol.

Amazon.com and Federal Express will take on one of the most significant e-commerce challenges to date on Saturday when they attempt to deliver a popular new children's book to 250,000 U.S. homes in a period of just a few hours.

Joining Microsoft and IBM who have made similar moves, America Online is betting that speech-recognition will soon become a key component of e-commerce transactions.

Despite a lot of noisy consumer opposition to the junk e-mail unlovingly known as "spam," the practice of flooding in-boxes with unwanted marketing ploys continues unabated. In fact, even though there are now some state laws closely regulating spamming, the practice of sending mass unsolicited e-mai...

Although I may be a lone voice in the wireless wilderness, I still believe the personal computer is not only alive, but healthy as a horse.

For sale: Customer list of failed retail dot-com. Includes thousands of one-time customers from Christmas of 1999. Value to a rival dot-com striving for all-important market share: Considerable. Real cost in terms of lost faith among consumers in the privacy and security of e-commerce: Immeasurable....

The Internet is often compared with the wild American west, and e-commerce seems to be the manifest destiny of early Web explorers.

As e-tailers struggle to find their core user groups, many are increasingly shifting their focus to the fastest growing online population segment -- women.