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With server software sales booming, Microsoft recorded a 26 percent gain in earnings, to $1.92 billion, for its recently ended fourth quarter -- but the software giant also posted a rare miss of analysts' profit targets. The company said its profit was dented by nearly $800 million in charges, large...

Apple Computer outpaced expectations with its latest earnings, posting a profit of $19 million as strong sales of non-desktop machines led the company to its best revenue-generating quarter in more than two years. Apple's revenue totaled $1.54 billion, an 8 percent increase over year-ago figures. Ga...

Apple's new server OS, known as Panther, is slated to launch before year's end with new capabilities that will be "awesome solutions for an awful lot of customers," according to Apple server software director Tom Goguen. While it is not surprising to hear Apple referring to its products as "awesome"...

Chip giant Intel has reported second-quarter earnings that slightly surpassed analysts' expectations, posting a profit of $896 million on revenue of $6.8 billion. IDC analyst Shane Rau noted that Intel "did not cite broad growth factors, like the corporate PC replacement cycle. Instead, it cited poc...

In a sign that one of the main combatants in the browser wars is ready to lay down its arms, AOL has cut workers from its already shrunken Netscape division and has cut loose the Mozilla open-source browser project. The move comes about a month and a half after AOL and Microsoft settled a long-simme...

The tech world's pie-eyed optimists want us to believe that the helter-skelter past few weeks on the mergers-and-acquisitions front is a good omen, a sign of great things to come for the economy in general and technology in particular. That may be so. We'll know soon enough whether this was the tip ...

Bringing together various applications and computer systems is certainly no picnic, but another vital integration challenge is often overlooked in the corporate dialogue: integrating the IT department with the rest of the enterprise. How can a CIO ensure that his or her department is involved in sha...

No. 2 chipmaker AMD has unveiled a joint venture with Japan-based Fujitsu, creating a $3 billion global company bent on mastering the market for flash memory products. Known as FASL LLC, the new venture is made up of the two companies' flash businesses, with a combined workforce of 7,000. It will ma...

Many companies have scaled back staffing levels and instituted mandatory hiring freezes in the past few years. Even so -- and somewhat surprisingly, considering the number of IT specialists out of work -- there is sometimes a shortage of qualified candidates to fill the gaps, even when money is budg...

In a move that could dramatically alter the booming search engine marketplace, Yahoo has announced plans to acquire Overture, the company credited with pioneering the pay-for-placement search business model, in a cash-and-stock deal worth more than $1.6 billion. The move positions Yahoo as the top c...

The number of high-tech job cuts fell sharply during the first six months of 2003, plunging 60 percent below 2002 levels, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. However, CEO John A. Challenger told the E-Commerce Times, "This may be something of the calm before the storm." ...

Of all the words that inspire affection in a small-business owner's heart, few can compete with "free," especially at a time when companies are trying to rein in spending as tightly as possible. Still, it is virtually impossible, even in a buyer's market, to get something for nothing when it comes t...

Yahoo comfortably met Wall Street targets for the second quarter, posting its fifth straight profitable quarter and its best revenue mark ever as key areas, such as subscriptions and premium online services, provided a spark. The company said it earned $50.8 million on $321.4 million in revenue in t...

To a small-business owner, choosing technology can be daunting. On one hand, the latest gadgets can glitter like a well-stocked toy store, with vendors promising to put a company on the cutting edge. On the other, budget constraints mean purchases must pay for themselves in the long run. So, what is...

Microsoft will stop granting employees options to buy company stock -- a benefit that helped make thousands of tech workers wealthy during the dot-com boom but has fallen out of favor more recently. The company is instead moving to a plan that will grant employees actual shares. Often credited with ...