Latest E-Commerce Information in the news

It's likely not illegal, and it may not even be improper, but the fact that security consultant Ron Bowes gathered and aggregated the information from about 100 million Facebook profiles has created quite a stir. Bowes created his data torrent to aid the development of a password-cracking-protection tool, he has said. To do that, he needed the names of many thousands of individuals and the user names they likely would have on an account. However, Bowes has also made the compiled data file publicly available, and it has been replicated on many sites across the Internet. [More...]


At face value, Motorola turned in respectable second quarter earnings: It posted revenue of $5.414 billion, which, although down slightly from the $5.497 billion realized the same period a year earlier, nonetheless beat analyst expectations of approximately $5.19 billion. The company also posted mobile smartphone shipments of 2.7 million units in Q2, up from 2.3 million in the first quarter. Here, though, doubts begin to set in about Motorola's performance: Some analysts were expecting shipments of 3.1 million to 3.2 million. One firm, Reuters, had predicted 2.7 million -- which Motorola delivered. [More...]


AT&T Mobility and Apple iPhone have been successful together, but every coin has two sides. The other side has been a wireless data logjam. Could that problem finally be getting under control? AT&T has been working very hard to do just that, said Ralph de la Vega, AT&T mobility and consumer markets president and CEO, at last week's Fortune Brainstorm Tech Conference in Aspen, Colo. Improved connectivity should already be evident. If that is true, millions of AT&T smartphone customers should be very happy starting about now. [More...]


There's no denying that everyone needs a little love from time to time, but for those of us in the FOSS community, that need can be particularly acute. After all, rarely a week goes by without some affront from those we had hoped were our friends. Case in point? Dell. First, it was the disappearing love letter. Then, it was the "helpful" Windows vs. Ubuntu comparison guide. The latest? None other than outright rejection. Imagine our surprise, then -- nay, outright joy! -- when none other than Neelie Kroes lavished a heaping helping of love upon the FOSS community. [More...]


CRM is a complex thing. It involves understanding your customers and your own business -- two difficult things to fully grasp under any circumstances -- and then using technology to convert that understanding into a positive impact on your business. Customers, and to a lesser extent your business, are always changing, which makes the juggling of people, processes and technology an ongoing and always complex exercise. When you sell through the channel, that complexity increases exponentially. [More...]


The pressure on major Web site operators and online advertisers to do a better job of protecting consumers' privacy continues to mount. On Tuesday, Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., said he plans to introduce legislation that would "give people more control over how their personal information is collected and distributed online." Kerry's announcement coincided with a hearing in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on the issue of consumer online privacy. Kerry is chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. [More...]


In the struggle to grow revenues in tighter markets, most companies are pushing their marketing departments to provide greater market coverage and deliver more sales opportunities. Yet statistics reveal that an astonishing 79 percent of leads generated by corporate marketing departments are never contacted by corporate sales groups. Unless that issue is addressed, stepping up marketing efforts simply amplifies a core inefficiency rather than leading to increased sales. [More...]


The new age of sustainability is like a three-legged stool, and over the last couple of weeks I've discussed my ideas for the first two legs, including customers and energy or transportation. The third leg involves products, and this idea takes some thinking to fully comprehend. Most of us don't think a lot about products because they are ubiquitous. Unless you lived in the old Soviet Union, the concept of bare store shelves makes no sense. In the old CCCP, basic commodities were in short supply, and for everything from bread to shampoo, you stood in line. [More...]


Yahoo Japan has announced that it will begin a relationship with Google to power its search functions and also administer ads that appear on the site. In this deal, the company is not following in the steps of its U.S. counterpart, Yahoo, which cut a deal with Microsoft's Bing, announced last year. Although Yahoo Japan is owned in the majority by Softbank, the original California-based Yahoo still owns a minority stake in it. The deal likely will cause more than ripples in the search arena in Asia, as the Japanese market is the third-largest in the world. [More...]


Citigroup customers who do mobile banking on an iPhone should head to the Apple App Store immediately for an upgrade. A flaw in the Citigroup mobile banking iPhone app released in March 2009 causes personal information to be saved in a hidden file on the mobile device, the banking giant revealed in a letter to customers dated July 20, a day after it released an upgraded application. Without the upgrade, customers' personal data -- including account numbers, bill payment information and access codes -- is saved on the iPhone. [More...]


For most systems vendors, the launch of a next-generation server platform qualifies as a pretty big deal. After all, such occasions provide vendors multiple opportunities to strut their visionary stuff, roll out a host of satisfied customers, and highlight their current/future strategies. However, some next-gen platforms are -- literally and figuratively -- bigger than others, and in the world of enterprise computing, there is no bigger Kahuna in the data center than IBM's System z mainframe. [More...]


Retailers' worst nightmare has indeed come to bear: American consumers have permanently changed their buying habits, according to research by several firms. Gone are the days of shopping as a pastime. And, for all practical purposes, brand loyalty has just about evaporated. In its grocery-buyer survey, for example, Deloitte found that 84 percent of those polled were focused on cutting spending and saving money rather than on buying into trends or purchasing favorite brands. Most of the respondents said there were only "two or three brands" they could not live without. This does not bode well. [More...]

AP - Researchers have uncovered new ways that criminals can spy on Internet users even if they're using secure connections to banks, online retailers or other sensitive Web sites.

AP - Google Inc. triggered a false alarm Thursday by posting a notice that its search engine and several other services had been cut off from mainland China - a key market where the company has been locked in a high-profile battle over online censorship.

AP - The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday it is joining a fraud lawsuit against Oracle Corp. related to software contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.


Christopher Null - Today’s revelation about the existence of a document that details the names, URLs, and unique Facebook IDs of 100 million of the site’s users has raised new questions about what is and what is not private on the immensely popular website.


Ben Patterson - Looks like Apple may have started a trend with this whole iPad thing, both in terms of the tablet and — unfortunately for those who squirm at the word "pad" — the name itself.


Macworld.com - With Apple’s recent update of the iMac line, all new models now feature discrete graphic subsytems and Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processors.

AP - It's a maxim of technology: Invent the newest gadget and the porn industry will find a way to cash in.

PC World - Samsung Electronics on Friday reported a record high operating profit for the second quarter, driven by strong sales of memory chips and LCDs, but it warned that stiff competition in consumer electronics means it may not be able to maintain profitability at current levels.


AP - Japan received a sobering reminder Friday of its fragile recovery: The jobless rate rose, deflation deepened, and factories made fewer cars and mobile phones.


Christopher Null - How easy would it be to compile a list of, say, 20 percent of Facebook's user base, including their full name, unique user ID and URL of their Facebook page? Awfully easy, it turns out.


PC World - It's been a grand total of seven days since Samsung announced new additions to its point-and-shoot camera lineup, but the company has finally broken its excruciating week-long silence.


Mashable - We've been reading reports tonight that the popular European music service Spotify has hit yet another delay in making an entry in the U.S. market.


Appolicious - The new BlackBerry phone that Research In Motion (RIMM) and AT&T (T) are expected to unveil next week will need more than touch screen functionality and a slide-out keyboard to win back consumers who converted to the iPhone or Android-based devices.


AP - Business software maker Epicor Software Corp. said Thursday that its second-quarter loss narrowed as revenue climbed.


Investor's Business Daily - Businesses tend to resist government regulations, but new rules bring new opportunities. Such is the case with the recently passed financial reform bill.


AP - Computer-security software maker McAfee Inc. said Thursday that its second-quarter profit rose 38 percent, helped by growth in its corporate and consumer businesses.


PC World - Mirror, mirror, on the wall, which mobile operating system is fairest of all? That's a common question, given the many contenders in the mobile arena--and the well-publicized glitches that have recently come up.

AFP - Google said Friday its services appeared to be back up and running normally in China, after the US web giant reported that access to its search engine and other products were being blocked.