E-Commerce

In a bid to win customers from market leader and now fierce rival Apple, RealNetworks said Tuesday it would offer 49-cent music downloads, a price-slashing move that the company admitted would cut into its profits. Real said it would cut its prices in half, offering single-song downloads for 49 cent...

While eager to take advantage of the enhanced security features of Microsoft's long-awaited SP2 update, many corporate users of Windows XP will be cautious in activating it. Microsoft did extensive compatibility testing aimed at ensuring SP2 would work with as many third-party applications as possib...

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the trade group for the US movie industry, said Tuesday it has settled lawsuits with 321 Studios, a now defunct company which once made software which allowed consumers to make back up copies of DVDs and video games.

While eager to take advantage of the enhanced security features of Microsoft's long-awaited SP2 update, many corporate users of Windows XP will be cautious in activating it. Microsoft did extensive compatibility testing aimed at ensuring SP2 would work with as many third-party applications as possib...

Home entertainment pioneer TiVo today announced it will be dropping the cost of its basic digital video recorder to $99 and will expand distribution of its products to three more major retailers. The Alviso, California-based company also announced a redesign of its TiVo box and a rewards program for...

HP has confirmed that it is planning to acquire UK services firm Synstar in a deal believed to be valued at around US$160 million.

Loudeye today announced a multiyear agreement with the multimedia business group of Nokia to develop a wireless digital music platform for mobile operators and their subscribers worldwide. This agreement includes a multimillion dollar commitment to Loudeye for development fees and defines a global c...

Cablevision Systems today reported financial results for the second quarter 2004. According to a company statement, consolidated second-quarter revenues increased 25 percent to US$1.2 billion compared to the prior year period, based on continued growth at the company's Telecommunications Services an...

An attorney has sued Yahoo, charging the portal didn't do enough to help him stop personal attacks against him on its message boards. He hopes to make the suit a class action. Stephen Galton, a corporate lawyer in Los Angeles, filed suit on Wednesday. Galton claims the Internet company has protected...

The Federal Communications Commission will try to forge a compromise on rules under which local phone companies lease their telephone lines to competitors. FCC Chairman Michael Powell said that he asked other members of the commission to work on finding a compromise that would allow changes to exist...

TiVo, one of the initial creators of television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), announced today that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has certified TiVo's technology protection of digital broadcast television. The FCC determined that digital broadcast television content shoul...

America Online today announced the acquisition of Mailblocks, a personal, Web-based e-mail service known for using state-of-the-art technology to block spam and provide a streamlined, efficient e-mail user interface. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Mailblocks is best known for its development ...

Pfizer today announced it has filed a barrage of lawsuits aimed at shutting down online sales of generic, counterfeit or fake versions of Viagra, its copyrighted erectile dysfunction medication. The New York-based drugmaker filed the suits against dozens of what it called "illegitimate online pharma...

Online search engine Ask Jeeves has reached an agreement to start offering Citysearch's local content and business data, with the information expected to start showing up in searches in September. Citysearch's data will complement the local features already offered on Ask Jeeves, including maps, dri...

During the late 1990s, when the online commerce movement was in its infancy, the notion of adding personalization capabilities to one's Web site was a logical extension to the basic concept of online transactions. The premise was simple enough: prompt customers to enter some basic information about ...