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Movie rental giant Netflix will partner with LG Electronics to offer set-top boxes that will enable consumers to stream movies from the Internet to their network-enabled TV sets. The service will eliminate the need to use a personal computer to download films -- a service Netflix currently offers on...

While brick-and-mortar retailers assess the damage from what could be the worst holiday shopping season since 2002, online retailers are celebrating a banner year. For the 2007 holiday season, online shopping reached nearly $28 billion, according to a report released by comScore. That represents a 1...

As the holiday shopping season wraps up, what better time to take a look back at what has changed in retailing this year as we set priorities for 2008. The most important development in retail in 2007 was the shift in consumers' attitudes about online shopping. We learned during the past year that ...

The U.S. government is putting plans into motion to help consumers who have analog TVs continue to receive broadcasts on Feb. 17, 2009 -- the date when most television stations are scheduled to start sending digital signals exclusively. Without taking special steps, those relying on analog broadcast...

The Recording Industry Association of America has dumped a load of mud into the already murky waters surrounding the personal use of copyrighted music. The trade group, which represents the U.S. recording industry, is taking legal action against Jeffrey Howell of Scottsdale, Ariz., for allegedly sha...

Qualcomm began the new year by scrambling to deal with an old problem. The mobile chip maker will appeal a judge's injunction barring it from selling products found to infringe on patents held by rival Broadcom. Qualcomm intends to push hard to finalize development of work-around alternatives to the...

In an effort to get ahead of the curve with "emerging storage opportunities," IBM has purchased XIV, an Israeli storage technology company headed by a big name in the storage industry: Moshe Yanai. Big Blue did not disclose the purchase price, but Israel's financial daily Globes reported IBM spent b...

2008 may be the year the outsourcing function or process in a business becomes as standardized and mainstream as, say, accounting or human resources. Outsourcing, of course, has been an integral part of the global economy with countless firms handing off to third party providers their contact center...

These days, just about every business -- from the corner store to Wal-Mart -- has a Web presence. While the Internet's vast expanse provides companies with the ability to reach more potential customers, it also pits them against more competitors than ever before. As a result, it has become increasin...

There are many reasons why a company might opt to conduct virtual meetings rather than face-to-face ones. Cost is one, particularly with fuel costs soaring; having a widely dispersed base of employees, clients or partners is another common one. An increasing number of companies are also meeting up i...

Already, YouTube has conquered your PC and mobile. However, what happens if YouTube conquers your living room, too -- and in HDTV quality? With IPTV that is possible, and the race to see who will be best-positioned in the digital living room of the future has already started. IPTV is being called th...

Amazon.com has picked up the third major record label to let the online music retailer sell MP3 songs without digital rights management schemes attached. Warner Music Group announced Thursday that Amazon customers can now buy and download songs from its artists, which include Matchbox Twenty, Rob Th...

Considering the speed at which technology evolves, predicting even a year in advance can be a dicey proposition. Still, given key tech sector developments during 2007 and the outlook for 2008, some trends are unmistakable. It's a safe bet that social networking and Web 2.0 overall will remain a clos...

Amazon.com executives and investors had a very merry holiday season as buyers chose the online mall in huge numbers. Amazon said the 2007 holiday season, its 13th, was its best ever in terms of sales. While the Seattle-based e-commerce giant did not reveal final sales figures, it noted customers ord...

While retailers are rich in data, they are struggling to gather information from point-of-sale systems, planning systems and various other locations where customer, vendor and internal data collection take place. Retailers are generally performing poorly in terms of executing analysis and utilizing ...