Search

A long list of companies -- including big names such as Amazon, Dish Network, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and YouTube -- appear to be gearing up to enter the online video rental business. Of course, they all have visions of eventually overtaking the current market leader Netflix. It makes sense. Streaming vi...

Social networking technology has found a solid niche in the business world. Facebook and Twitter are proving to be powerful -- and cost-effective -- tools for connecting with customers and promoting products and services. Major corporations like Pepsi and Procter & Gamble have been so happy with...

After a long period of unfulfilled hype, there finally appears to be some real momentum behind a nationwide movement to electronic medical records -- and that's just one of a series of recent developments that have caused me to change my attitude about online privacy. Over the years, I've gone to gr...

The PC is not yet in danger of becoming extinct, but its position as the primary computing device in most people's lives could soon be threatened by the tablet. Several analyst firms have recalculated their 2011 PC sales projections after noticing a trend in which more consumers are passing on PC p...

It's difficult to find an industry that has had a harder time transitioning to the digital age than the print news media. It also would be tough to find an industry that inflicted so much damage on itself by making a single bad decision. When readers started gravitating to electronic platforms, most...

I chuckled when I first heard of AT&T's plan to buy T-Mobile. Just days before, I had written that AT&T's movement toward phasing out unlimited data plans for the iPhone and its broadband Internet offerings was a sign that the telecommunications services that have become such an integral par...

I chuckled when I first heard of AT&T's plan to buy T-Mobile. Just days before, I had written that AT&T's movement toward phasing out unlimited data plans for the iPhone and its broadband Internet offerings was a sign that the telecommunications services that have become such an integral par...

I chuckled when I first heard of AT&T's plan to buy T-Mobile. Just days before, I had written that AT&T's movement toward phasing out unlimited data plans for the iPhone and its broadband Internet offerings was a sign that the telecommunications services that have become such an integral par...

There's no question that as a society, we're addicted to technology. That was evident when the earliest versions of BlackBerry smartphones were given a nickname I won't repeat here. Most technophiles are familiar with the term. It equated the devices with an illicit street drug, and alluded to use...

"Convergence" is a popular term in information technology. It generally refers to the meshing of separate technology platforms -- telephones, computers and televisions, for instance -- to give users multiple options for accessing information. Convergence is what allows us get some of the same shows ...

With Apple revealing that the second generation of its popular tablet computer-- aka the iPad2 -- will be available for purchase next week, it's a good time to think about mobile devices in general: how they fit into our lives now, and how they may ultimately change our lives in the future. Of cours...

Numerous sites supporting some form of mobile photo sharing have popped up over the past few months, ushering in the next big social media trend. While the press coverage of these sites generally has been positive, they also have been subject to a fair amount of criticism in online forums. The commo...

Despite Groupon's recent high-profile missteps, enthusiasm over the daily deal site's anticipated initial public offering doesn't seem to be dissipating. That's unfortunate, at least in my opinion -- and my thoughts have nothing to do with Groupon running what were widely perceived as culturally in...

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act -- enacted in the waning days of the 20th century -- contains provisions designed to make it evolve over time. The idea was that as technology fostered new ways of creating and distributing copyrighted material such as music, movies and software programs, the law...

Consumer privacy advocates are outraged that the FTC has decided to stop investigating why Google was collecting personal information transmitted by users over private WiFi networks. Google has admitted to collecting such data -- which in some cases included individual emails and user passwords -- ...

The personnel shakeup taking place at Digg offers an example of how difficult it can be for a social media site to make the transition from a popular online destination to a profitable business enterprise. In addition to losing its top sales and finance executives, Digg is reducing its total workfor...

Microsoft unveiled a series of Windows Phone 7 handsets on Monday that will offer a range of features and services, including a version of the AT&T's U-verse, that are designed to help Microsoft make up the ground it has lost in the mobile space in recent years. Microsoft and AT&T also annou...

Verizon Wireless unveiled its plan for rolling out its 4G network on Wednesday, offering a glimpse into how the wireless experience will change for most users in the not-too-distant future. Consumers who do a lot of Web surfing or regularly download music or video on wireless devices should expect t...

Congress is unlikely to pass legislation regulating the activities of broadband Internet service providers this year. And it's not clear when -- or if -- such rules will be enacted. Democratic California Congressman Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, pulled a bill...

Blockbuster, the company that once reigned atop the video rental business, announced Thursday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This may be its last chance at surviving in an industry in which consumers increasingly are gravitating toward services that enable instant access to ...