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A Senate committee is scheduled to debate a new online privacy bill that would increase consumer privacy on the Web by forcing companies to obtain permission from individuals in order to collect and share information about them. "Companies are already much better at communicating their privacy pr...

With a first-quarter net loss of $54.2 billion, one of the largest ever recorded, AOL Time Warner's earnings news drifted like a black cloud over a week that previously had seemed mostly positive for the technology and Internet industries. The company took a massive hit in advertising and commerc...

It is not an easy time for startup companies. The economy may be starting to recover, but investors are still leery about pouring money into new businesses, especially in the tech sector. In fact, the best advice for would-be entrepreneurs may be to wait until the economic climate takes a more po...

Lawyers have kicked off the trial between Hewlett-Packard and dissident scion Walter Hewlett in Delaware Chancery Court, trading fire over whether HP misled shareholders in an attempt to convince them to approve its mega-merger with Compaq. Among the evidence was a personal journal entry by Compa...

Expedia has served up the most solid proof to date that online travel has almost completely recovered from September 11th, beating expectations and registering a profit of $5.7 million in the first quarter on revenue that doubled to $116 million from a year ago. The company's profit compares with...

There is always the risk of jinxing something just by talking about it, like acknowledging a no-hitter that is still in progress. Then again, why not state the obvious? The dot-com shakeout, once a runaway train hurtling downhill with no apparent end in sight, not only has squealed to a stop befo...

Don't look now, but at least one e-commerce stock has quietly clawed its way back up the price ladder. Before long, it and others may be flirting with the $100 level again. The problem is that triple-digit stock prices already killed e-commerce once. If stocks start soaring again, people might st...

Amazon.com has announced the expansion of its year-old partnership with Borders Group, in which Amazon operates the Borders.com Web site. Now, customers who buy certain books, music and movies through the e-tailer will be able to pick up their purchases in Borders stores nationwide. The deal, sla...

In advance of its scheduled first-quarter earnings report, AOL has named Robert Sherman as its new president of interactive marketing, replacing Robert Friedman, who was brought in to lead AOL's marketing efforts in August 2001. Investors took the appointment as yet another sign of trouble. "Base...

PC maker Gateway has introduced a sleek new design for some of its desktop and notebook computers. Gone are the ivory-colored desktop shells and the flat black finish that characterized the company's notebook line. In their stead is a new platinum case with graphite accents. "Particularly in the ...

Contrary to what Microsoft's .NET spin doctors would have users believe, the software powerhouse is not likely to dominate e-commerce the way it now rules the desktop. ".NET will not radically change Microsoft's position within e-commerce," Giga Information Group analyst Andrew Bartels told the E...

Although Amazon.com has denied it will post back-to-back profitable quarters, analysts, investors and other e-tailers will be watching closely for signs of growth when the company reports first-quarter earnings. Moreover, they will want to determine the impact of the e-tailer's free shipping offe...

In most cases, small e-tailers and other e-businesses must climb big mountains to reach their goals. For example, the increasingly cluttered Internet sales channel demands that sellers provide unique and aptly delivered products and services. "If small companies are 'me toos' to the big players, ...

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates will take the witness stand to testify in the government's ongoing antitrust trial against the software giant, the company announced. Gates's appearance will mark the first time he has testified in person during the proceedings. He is expected to stress that the reme...

TMP Worldwide, the parent company of job site Monster.com, has paid $800,000 for rights to acquire the Jobs.com domain name and trademark from a defunct competitor. TMP said the bankruptcy court purchase will give its family of job search sites an immediate traffic boost. Jobs.com is now an umbre...