Brian Morrissey

Amazon.com Monday reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over whether it helped Ashford.com skirt accounting rules. The online giant did not admit or deny guilt, and will not pay a fine in the matter. The settlement calls for Amazon, Ashford.com, and Ashford.com’s two former top executives at the time of […]

Looking to plug the security holes in wireless local area networks (LANs), 802.11 chipset maker Intersil Corp. announced new security software it called “a significant first step toward a totally automated and secure wireless environment.” Intersil said the new software extends 802.1x to pre-XP Windows operating systems and supports the major authentication standards, including EAP-TLS, […]

Looking to build on WebSphere’s momentum, IBM Corp. announced a series of new products to allow enterprises to link their business processes tighter together. IBM rolled out industry-specific software for linking business processes through WebSphere Business Integration. Designed for the auto, electronics, insurance, retail, and telecom industries, the software allows companies to integrate their core […]

The setting seems all too familiar: a technology standard gets grassroots support and a movement starts, shedding light on a once-vague notion. As popularity grows, venture capitalists rush in; big business takes notice; and evangelists predict this will change how we work and live. To paraphrase Yankee legend Yogi Berra, the hype around 802.11 technology, […]

As part of its bid to be at the center of Web services, Microsoft Corp. announced it would roll out new Internet security technology next year. The technology, code-named “TrustBridge,” will allow businesses to exchange user identities and interoperate. TrustBridge is built on WS-Security, a standard of Simple Object Access Protocol extensions that Microsoft developed […]

A Finnish computer security company said it uncovered a security flaw in Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer browser that could allow an attacker to take control of a user’s computer. According to a security advisory posted by Online Solutions Oy, IE is vulnerable to attack through its built-in gopher client . The attacker could exploit a […]

In a move to goose consumer interest in its Internet TV offering, Microsoft Corp. announced a new low-cost receiver and service plan for connecting televisions to the Net. Through a partnership with Thomson’s RCA unit, Microsoft will market the RCA RM 2100 Internet receiver, which will provide consumers will access to MSN TV for $99, […]

For a software company that holds the distinction of being the fastest to reach $1 billion in annual revenue, BEA Systems Inc. seems to have a chip on its shoulder lately. In the last week, the company released statements with headlines like “BEA WebLogic Server Kicks Apps” and “BEA Sets the Record Straight on Web […]

Microsoft Corp. announced the beta release of the latest version of its DirectX suite of multimedia application programming interfaces used by many video-game developers. The beta 1 version of Microsoft DirectX 9.0 features new high-level shader language (HLSL) as well as a new graphics toolset. “DirectX 9.0 offers unparalleled advances in graphics technology,” Ted Hase, […]

Microsoft Corp. is in negotiations with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to admit to a minor violation of SEC rules, according to Thursday’s Wall Street Journal. The settlement reportedly would not include a fine, with Microsoft promising to abide by SEC accounting rules in the future. The Microsoft investigation arises from the company not […]

Video on demand (VoD) company nCube Corp. scored a legal victory in its patent disputes with rival SeaChange International Wednesday. A district court jury found SeaChange had violated nCube’s video-server software patent and awarded the company over $2 million, in addition to 7 percent royalty of all sales of SeaChange products that have infringed on […]

Adding to its potential regulatory problems in Europe, Microsoft Corp. might face an investigation of its Passport digital-identification system by European Union (EU) countries. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it would examine the privacy safeguards of Microsoft’s Passport, according to reports over the weekend. Under EU law, the European Union’s 15 member […]