E-Commerce

Microsoft has scored a contract to provide Internet Protocol television services (IPTV) to one of the largest phone companies in Europe, possibly providing it a key proving ground for its technology as Web TV grows in popularity. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft and Deutsche Telekom announced they had...

Google has launched a beta version of a financial news and information site, creating a destination for investors and others that will target Web portal rival Yahoo, whose own finance site is one of the most heavily used on the Internet. Google Finance is an improvement over existing options, the co...

More and more companies are jumping into the Web analytics arena. In fact, Jupiter Research estimates the size of the Web analytics market will reach US$565 million in 2006. Choosing a Web analytics firm, however, is not merely a matter of brand name or even price. There are three distinct options i...

A new Internet venture that screams "too good to be true" is testing users' taste for gamesmanship in the online auction space, offering electronics, jewelry and other luxury items at a fraction of their retail prices. The idea is that Unique Auction, launched in September, makes up for the loss on ...

Microsoft inked a deal with Epic Records that will give Xbox Live users a year's worth of free access to downloadable music and high-definition on-demand video from Epic artists. Xbox Live is the online, interactive portion of the Xbox 360 gaming platform that debuted last year as the first of what ...

Continuing its aggressive campaign to cut down on piracy of its products, Microsoft has filed eight lawsuits against eBay sellers, accusing them of distributing counterfeit versions of the software giant's programs. The suits were filed against individuals in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, M...

In one of the first major efforts to bring an ad-supported broadband television experience to Internet users, America Online formally launched its In2TV service, with four major advertisers already signed up to have their commercials interspersed with the full-length programs and short video clips.

For years, the vast majority of purchases made from e-commerce sites have relied on the same technology to keep them safe and protect consumers from identity theft. Secure socket layer, or SSL, has helped complete millions of Web transactions, often working without consumers knowing it. When an SSL ...

VeriSign on Monday declared its entrance into the broadband content services market, announcing its US$62 million acquisition of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Kontiki to help establish its presence in the field. VeriSign plans to provide rich digital media over IP networks and has signed a definitive agre...

The showdown between Google and the Department of Justice (DoJ) over the search engine's refusal to turn over search records heads to court on Tuesday, with Google planning to argue that the right to privacy outweighs the government's need for the information. The two sides were scheduled to make ar...

The Web analytics market is heating up, as evidenced by at least two recent high-profile business deals in this area. Google entered the picture with a successful US$30 million bid for Urchin last spring, and NetIQ sold WebTrends to a group of company executives for more than $90 million. The name o...

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has agreed to a US$1.1 million settlement from an interactive marketing firm that he said reused e-mail addresses and other consumer information without authorization. Spitzer described the case involving Datran Media as being possibly "the largest breach of p...

Amazon is in talks with three Hollywood studios about starting a service that would allow consumers to download movies and TV shows for a fee and burn them onto DVDs. The online retailer is reportedly talking with Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. If the negotiations are success...

Google is moving to settle a class action lawsuit alleging widespread click fraud on its paid search network, setting aside US$90 million to repay advertisers who can prove they fell victim to the practice during a four-year period starting in 2002. The payouts would take the form of account credits...

For the second time in as many weeks, Google caused its own stock to fall, with shares sent lower this time by the search company's admission that it inadvertently posted financial projections on the Web before pulling them back. Google shares were down as much as US$10 or about 3 percent to $353.56...