Articles by Chet Dembeck

Even as Microsoft fights for its corporate life at its federal antitrust trial, some say it's switching into hyper-drive in a plan to combat the threat of the Linux operating system Linus Torvalds, a Finnish graduate student, who based the operating system on the Unix operating system developed Linux in 1991 -- making it available for free via the ...

At the same time a new study by Nielson Media Research and CommerceNet showed that the number of women making purchases online is skyrocketing, elected officials at two separate meetings held last week called for the taxation of the Internet According to the Associated Press, Ron Kirk, Dallas mayor and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors city...

E-commerce could be turned on its head when broadband Internet connections become common place and consumers are hooked to the Internet all day long When such high-speed connections as digital subscriber lines, cable modems and other devices proliferate, industry experts say online companies will be faced with some major challenges -- in some cases...

Last week, just seven months after AOL bought his company, it was announced that Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen will step down from his post as America Online's chief technology officer I wasn't surprised.

The Internet can give and the Internet can take away. This e-commerce fact of life should now be crystal clear to top eBay, Inc. executives, in the aftermath of the online auctioneer's 22-hour outage last week Although its auction Web site was trouble-free most of Monday, that same day, investors cut away $4 billion from eBay's market value -- anti...

The plot thickens as the government antitrust case against Microsoft is revealing through company memos the inner thoughts of its founder Bill Gates With all the hyperbole and melodrama of the Jerry Springer Show, the winding-down trial shows Gates to be a man who's used to getting what he wants, very much in control -- but prone to nasty temper ta...

Recent statistics from Forrester Research Inc. show that many e-merchants are shying away from exclusively using popular portals to promote their products online -- instead they're turning to traditional media Even though the deals with the Web portals like Yahoo!, Lycos and AOL are getting pricier by the month, the percentage of Internet traffic g...

The Internet economy is growing faster than anyone predicted, generating about $301 billion (US$) last year, according to a study done by the University of Texas. But some -- such as Commerce Secretary William Daley -- seem concerned it could leave some behind "This wave of technological innovation is more than just a ripple in the sea of society,"...

Microsoft set a precedent this week by announcing on June 8th that it would begin giving its subscribers in the U.K. free Internet access -- a trend that some say could eventually spread to the United States The move was fueled by Freeserve, an Internet-assess service owned by Dixons Group Plc, Britain's largest electronics and appliance retailer, ...

Feeling the pressure from the recent $1.8 billion (US$) merger of TeleBanc Financial Corp. and E*Trade Inc., D.R. Grimes, the chief executive of Net.B@nk Inc., told Reuters this week that he's also interested in forming new partnerships Grimes said the Alpharetta, Georgia online bank is looking for opportunities to expand its product line.

When Red Hat Software, Inc.announced last week it was going public to raise $96.6 million (US$) in a stock offering -- it caught the attention of Linux watchers all over the world In its short statement, the Durham, North Carolina company said it had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but it left out details such as the number of sh...

Oracle's Chief Executive Larry Ellison said last week that the company would cut its expenses by $1 billion (US$) over the next 18 months -- by increasing the sale of its software over the Internet "We're going to increase development spending very substantially while taking $1 billion out of the company because we're becoming the ultimate e-busin...

Over the last several weeks, Yahoo! Inc. has plowed millions into buying companies that will move e-commerce from PCs onto wireless devices. But some industry experts say the wireless market is a china egg that will never hatch When the well-known Internet search engine forked over $130 million in stock buying Atlanta, Georgia-based Encompass, a co...

Both Merrill Lynch & Co. and Amazon.com took a beating earlier this week -- one for entering the world of e-commerce too late and the other for being a pioneer that's still not showing a profit When Merrill Lynch gleefully announced Tuesday that it was finally joining the ranks of online brokers, the reception it got was far from enthusiastic. Chri...

No matter how Microsoft denies the credibility of their testimony, government witnesses like IBM's Garry Norris do much to make its antitrust case against the software giant According to Reuters, Norris, who negotiated Windows licensing agreements for IBM, testified last week at a pre-trail deposition that Microsoft threatened IBM if it didn't stop...

Before you drink too many more cups of java, Starbucks Corp. could begin an e-commerce blitz -- instantly transforming itself from a successful bean grinder into an online mass marketer The billion-dollar Seattle, Washington coffee seller has been dropping hints, but when it recently pumped $20 million into Talk City, Inc., a company that created a...

In response to harsh criticism, top online brokers are moving quickly to tone down their ads, according to The Wall Street Journal. Charles Schwab, E*Trade and Datek Online all unveiled plans last week -- which included new television and print ads For several months, Security and Exchange Commissioner Chairman Arthur Levitt has let it be known tha...

Fidelity Investments announced this week it's offering its customers two-way wireless stock trades via 3Com Corp's new Palm VII handheld organizer The new service is said to include tracking capabilities for Fidelity's most active traders. In addition, the Boston, Massachusetts firm is launching a new Web site and it will also offer voice recogniti...

Auctioning off the top hits to its advertisers is a unique search engine concept that GoTo.com, Inc. hopes will capture the imagination and pockets of Wall Street. The privately held company expects to sell 5 million common shares for $11 to $13 dollars in its initial public offering -- which could happen as early as the first week of June, according to Reuters...

Amazon.com, Inc. chief executive officer Jeffrey P. Bezos told Business Week in its latest edition that there's plenty of room for both his company and eBay, in the online auction arena "I think that's one of the most misunderstood things about e-commerce," Bezos said. There aren't going to be a few winners. There are going to be tens of thousands ...