Carol King

Cluttered sites, distracting banner ads, inadequate search features and confusing privacy policies jaded the shopping experience at several leading Internet portals, according to a study conducted by Consumer Reports Online. The study evaluated eight top community sites: AltaVista, Shop@AOL, Bolt, Excite@Home’s Shopping, Lycos.com, MSN.com, women.com and Yahoo Shopping. The reviewers inspected the portals’ policies, usability […]

In an attempt to grab a larger slice of the server market pie, Fujitsu Technology Solutions (FTS) Friday unleashed an upgraded PRIMEPOWER Unix server, capable of supporting two to 16 central processing units (CPUs). The PRIMEPOWER 800 is an addition to the line of Solaris, SPARC-compliant servers to be shipped to the North American market […]

When Ebates launched in 1998, the online shopping network redefined the affiliate marketing concept by adding a new — and desirable — spin: rebates for buyers. “The company’s strategy is really very simple. I pay a 10 percent commission for the sales Ebates generates for me, and they pass that 10 percent savings on to […]

Britannica.com Inc. Wednesday revised its business model to add pay services. The paid services will include BritannicaSchool.com, a Web-based resource for the K-12 market, which will premier this summer. The focus of the site will shift toward reference, education and learning content, and away from topical features. The altered business plans includes the layoffs of […]

Amazon.com was taken to task Wednesday regarding whether the e-tailer has a rightful hold on the one-click shopping technology. Although Amazon.com filed with the patent office in 1997, and was issued patent ‘411 in 1999, findings by two independent searches show that examples of the technology were cited before the company opened its doors for […]

A class-action lawsuit dismissed in December reared its head on PSINet again Tuesday. The lawsuit, originally filed in November 2000 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, charges the provider of global e-commerce infrastructure with fraud under the Securities Act of 1934. In December 2000, Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that the […]

Marking the end of a year-long dispute, Electronic Arts and Nintendo Monday dropped a lawsuit against Yahoo, which promised it would prevent pirated video devices and games from being sold on its site. The two online game providers, in March 2000, charged that Yahoo! permitted its users to sell illegal video games and devices. At […]

Microsoft and eBay Monday united to jointly expand their global online presence while streamlining the online buying process. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Product development and joint integration, however, are key factors of the new partnership. The alliance, in addition to serving the online buying community, provides significant opportunities for Web developers, […]

ezboard Inc., an online community provider, Friday unveiled a business model that counters diminishing advertising revenue. Through its Community-Supported Communities program, the site is seeking user support via semi-annual contributions of $2 per month. “The revenue model is based on the highly successful National Public Radio public listeners campaigns,” said says Vanchau Nguyen, ezboard’s founder […]

No surprise, many Internet-savvy Americans have gone online in preparation for the IRS’ April 16 tax-filing deadline. However, the increased traffic to these tax-preparation sites may not be beneficial to the vendors or to their visitors, according to Keynote Systems, a provider of online performance measurement, diagnostic and consulting services. “With the tax day less […]

Priceline.com Thursday began promoting what it best known for: catering to the last-minute traveler. Beginning today, the name-your-own-price company revised the look of its Web site to feature last-minute travel options. The down-to-the-wire options include airline tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars. “Although catering to last-minute travelers is something we have always been known for, […]

For the past year, Eastern European-based hackers have been systematically exploiting known Windows NT vulnerabilities to steal customer data, according to reports from the FBI and SANS Institute. More than a million credit cards have been taken and more than 40 sites have been victimized to date. According to SANS Institute, The Center for Internet […]