Articles by Rob Conlin

Mail and messaging company Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) ended months of speculation about its online postage plans today by announcing that it has received approval from the U.S. Postal Service to debut its ClickStamp feature The Stamford, Connecticut-based company said the service will be the first in a series of Internet postage products to be introd...

According to a new study by Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR), online business-to-consumer (B2C) sales are set to grow explosively in Europe from $2.8 billion (US$) in 1999 to approximately $170 billion in 2005 The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research firm predicts that growth will average 98 percent annually, and will be fueled by a meteoric ri...

The derailed settlement talks between the U.S. Justice Department and software giant Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) may be back on track today, as reports indicate that the mediator in the case has asked the judge to delay issuing his opinion in hopes of a breakthrough The possibility of a settlement seemed all but dead as Microsoft's stock price fell ov...

London-based QXL.com (Nasdaq: QXLC), Europe's largest online auction company, has announced the acquisition of Swedish rival Bidlet AB for as much as $555 million (US$) in stock The deal will give QXL a business-to-consumer online auction base in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland to expand on its existing consumer-to-consumer auction base in Norw...

Internet grocer Peapod (Nasdaq: PPOD) received a resounding double blow Thursday, as the company announced that its highly respected CEO has resigned for health reasons and investors have yanked $120 million (US$) in planned equity financing off the table As a result, the Chicago, Illinois-based company said in a statement that it has advised its f...

U.S.-based online lottery firm eLot, Inc. (Nasdaq: ELOT) has signed a four-year contract to sell lottery tickets over the Internet to the general public in the United Kingdom eLot said its eLottery subsidiary signed the deal with the Gaming Board for Great Britain to become the online arm of the UK charity lottery that is expected to begin later th...

Music e-tailer CDNow (Nasdaq: CDNW) announced Monday that its proposed merger with music distributor Columbia House has been scrapped The merger, which was announced last July, would have melded CDNow's online and offline music operations with the joint venture between Sony Music and Time Warner. Sony and Time Warner were each to get 37 percent sta...

After enduring months of criticism over his company's protective patent policies, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos suggested Thursday that the United States undertake a fundamental retooling of the current patent system In an open letter posted on his company's Web site, Bezos said that he has received several hundred e-mails regarding Amazon's lawsuit ag...

Online search engine GoTo.com (Nasdaq: GOTO) heated up the competition in the already tight Internet auction world today by announcing that it will buy auction search and listings site AuctionRover.com in an estimated $175 million (US$) stock deal The Pasadena, California-based GoTo.com, which matches consumers with shopping and other destinations,...

In an effort to patch up its tattered reputation in the wake of its recent online invasion-of-privacy fiasco, controversial Internet advertising giant DoubleClick (Nasdaq: DCLK) announced today that two high-profile New York consumer advocates will now lead its privacy efforts Jules Polonetsky, who was named New York City Consumer Affairs Commissio...

Venerable computer giant IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today that it will form an alliance with Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA) and i2 Technologies (Nasdaq: ITWO) to provide what it calls an "end-to-end solution for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and collaboration." Saying the alliance will offer seamless integration of IBM's hardware, software and marketi...

As 16 U.S. states prepare to cast presidential primary votes in what has become known as "Super Tuesday," Internet research firm Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR) has declared Vice-President and Democratic front-runner Al Gore the most Internet-friendly candidate in the 2000 presidential race The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forrester said Monday...

Internet sports media company SportsLine.com (Nasdaq: SPLN) announced today that it intends to form a joint venture to launch a series of Web sites across Asia that will provide information and sell sporting goods and licensed team apparel The firm said the upcoming Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia and the 2002 World Cup soccer match in Korea and...

According to a new Internet retail index established by the National Retail Federation (NRF), Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR) and Greenfield Online, Internet spending by North American consumers reached $2.8 billion (US$) in January The new NRF/Forrester Research Index revealed that online spending for the month totaled more than half of what con...

A six-year subscriber of America Online (NYSE: AOL) has won $1 million (US$) in a marketing giveaway by the Virginia-based powerhouse and credit card giant Visa U.S.A Franza Giffen Newsom, of the San Francisco, California area, was chosen at random after signing up with AOL's Quick Checkout feature on its Shop@AOL e-commerce platform. The feature i...

Getty Images, Inc. (Nasdaq: GETY), one of the world's largest digital image providers, announced today that it will buy offline competitor Visual Communications Group (VCG) from United News and Media, Inc. for $220 million (US$) The Seattle, Washington-based Getty Images is battling for supremacy in the online image marketplace with Corbis, the ima...

Name-your-price pioneer Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) announced today that it will spearhead the Internet's effort to deflate rising gasoline prices in the U.S. by introducing a service that could allow consumers to save 10 to 20 cents per gallon at local major-brand gas stations The Stamford, Connecticut-based company said its WebHouse Club affilia...

Avis Europe and U.S.-based e-commerce solutions provider Navidec (Nasdaq: NVDC) announced today that they are forming a joint venture to sell used rental cars worldwide over the Internet According to the companies, the new site will launch in the United Kingdom later this year and will eventually expand throughout major European markets. Avis Europ...

Giant Internet investor Softbank gave Toys "R" Us (NYSE: TOY) a much needed vote of confidence Thursday by announcing that it will take a $57 million (US$) minority stake in the toy maker's Toysrus.com online subsidiary The move comes at a crucial time for Toys "R" Us, whose stock has been languishing near all-time lows recently. The toy retailer w...

Number two U.S. automaker Ford Motor Company said today that it will form a joint venture with business software and e-business solutions company Trilogy Software to develop and operate its consumer Web sites The Detroit, Michigan-based auto giant said it will retain a majority stake in the venture. Both companies, it said, will make a "significant...