E-Commerce

Search giant Google has updated its desktop search software with new features while also addressing privacy and security issues. Industry analysts said the latest version is both a natural extension and a significant improvement. However, there is also likely to be a lot of similar desktop search up...

In what could be a preview of an expanded product menu featuring more items delivered digitally, Amazon.com has begun selling short stories and novel excerpts from well-known authors. Amazon Shorts sell through their own storefront on Amazon for 49 cents each and will feature content from top author...

Hoping to raise awareness of its role as handler of much of the traffic that makes the World Wide Web possible, Akamai Technologies has unveiled a news usage index that shows when and where people are accessing online news sources. The Akamai Net Usage Index will be updated every five minutes to giv...

Google surprised analysts yesterday by announcing that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of more than 14 million class A common shares of stock. The Internet IPO darling has seen its shares triple since going public a yea...

Google surprised analysts today by announcing that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of more than 14 million class A common shares of stock. The Internet IPO darling has seen its shares triple since going public a year ag...

Not long ago, it sometimes took Web pages 30 seconds to load, thanks to slow, dial-up connections over-burdened servers and inexperienced Web design. Now, with high-speed connections and rapidly evolving technology, the days of slow-loading pages are gone. However, users might want to get used to wa...

Bidding to become a key entry way for the purchase of mobile services and content, America Online has launched a mobile storefront that users can customize to hold features designed for their phones and other hand-held devices. Most of the features will be available to all Web users and the site wil...

Fresh off a social-networking buy, traditional media giant News Corp. may be looking to further extend its online reach and has reportedly moved to acquire search engine Blinkx, which has specialized in helping users find music, video and other media online. Neither company would comment, but severa...

In an aggressive move to entice dial-up surfers to upgrade to broadband service, BellSouth announced a deal with Napster yesterday that the Baby Bell hopes websters will find hard to refuse. Under the agreement, new subscribers to BellSouth's FastAccess DSL service will get a free 256-megabyte digit...

In a trial that could mark the arrival of more widespread on-demand television programming and further rock the traditional media advertising industry, digital video recorder maker TiVo said it would offer original content from the Independent Film Channel (IFC) for download over the Internet. The c...

I would like to imagine a world where I never have to go to a mall, never have to wait in the checkout line behind the person returning 23 items, where I never have to make my tenth circle in the parking lot and engage in a to-the-death fight with that hulking SUV for the last space. I would like to...

Amazon.com has agreed to pay US$40 million to settle a year-old patent infringement lawsuit just days before the case was set to go to trial. Amazon will make the one-time payment to Soverain Software of Chicago. In exchange, Soverain agreed to drop all claims that Amazon violated five of its "core ...

The Web has been one of the fastest growing sales channels for multi-channel retailers and thus is often regarded with some trepidation and less esteem than traditional retail channels. However, the Web might be starting to show signs of maturity. Meanwhile, according to recent reports from Forreste...

Yahoo has said it will invest US$1 billion in China-based e-commerce company Alibaba.com, targeting a market exploding with growth and ripe with new opportunities. The terms of the deal, which Yahoo billed as a long-term strategic partnership, call for Alibaba to take over Yahoo China and for Yahoo ...

Online sales approached US$39 billion in the quarter ending in June, according to a report from Boston-based Forrester Research. That's a 25 percent increase over a comparable period last year and a slight increase over the quarter ending in April when sales were US$38 billion. Forrester analyst Car...