Beth Cox

Auction giant eBay in many ways is the very model of capitalism at work, and that means that it affords opportunities for both the best – and the worst – in human nature. Saturday’s space shuttle disaster afforded an opportunity for some of the worst, as a handful of people listed debris from the fallen […]

eBay’s automotive business, one of its fastest growing segments, shifted up a gear with the acquisition of CARad.com and a new deal to become the exclusive auction partner on Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, one of the better-known auto sites. San Jose, Calif.-based eBay , which said recently that its eBay Motors operation is now generating […]

European market appears to be embracing the use of travel Web sites more than the United States, and French Internet surfers visit travel sites more than those from any other nation, according to a new study. In fact, travel sites reached 33 percent of the active Internet audience in France in December, according to figures […]

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has stepped up its initiative aimed at college students in an attempt to make some impact on illegal file-sharing and downloading. An RIAA spokesman told internetnews.com that the trade association has been “informing universities” about the problems of illegal file sharing and “encouraging them to take steps to […]

Internet clothing retailer Bluefly , whose stock is trading around $1 a share, said that affiliates of Soros Private Equity Partners have invested an additional $1 million in the company. New York City-based Bluefly, which sells designer brands at a discount, issued $1 million of demand convertible promissory notes that bear interest at 8 percent […]

Just a day after settling a copyright infringement lawsuit related to its LAUNCHcast Web radio service, Internet portal Yahoo! rolled out LAUNCHcast Plus, its first music subscription service. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo! said that LAUNCHcast Plus offers commercial-free music, additional stations and new community features for $3.99 a month or $35.99 per year. The new service, […]

After narrowing its quarterly loss but continuing to bleed money, AT&T Wireless said it is taking a series of steps to turn things around, including entry into the Wi-Fi business and roll-out of a new cell phone plan that does not require a long-term contract or deposit. The nation’s third largest wireless carrier is entering […]

The music business is being fundamentally and forever altered by the Internet, and the big real-world retailers are painfully aware of that fact as conventional music sales have steadily headed south. But these companies are not going to slink off licking their wounds, and that accounts for today’s launch of Echo, a retailer-driven digital music […]

More than 53 percent of Americans fear that any Congressional efforts to limit piracy of online content such as music and movies would only end up making an already complicated problem worse, according to a recent poll of consumer attitudes. In fact, only four percent of those polled believe the government should get actively involved […]

Free shipping offers are proving to be the keys to success at Seattle-based online retailer Amazon.com, which reported 28 percent sales growth in the fourth quarter and said its free Super Saver shipping offer on orders over $26 will continue year-round. Amazon said net sales were a record $1.43 billion in the fourth quarter, compared […]

A move by software company SCO Group that hints at possible legal action against companies that use Linux (or may have incorporated some of it into their products) has grabbed the attention of IT execs who thought they were using freely available open source software. But at least one Linux expert says it’s no big […]

In a flurry of CRM-related deals and announcements, Microsoft Wednesday sold off its MSN Autos Dealerpoint sales lead platform, launched a brand new customer relationship service for the mid-market and debuted a new toolkit for some of its other products. Dayton, Ohio-based Reynolds and Reynolds , a company that sells software and technology consulting services […]