Search Results

The familiar adage that the consumer is always right has taken on a new meaning in the Internet age. Rather than talk with a store manager, consumers are now making their feelings about different products known on message boards and blogs ...

Search engines have taken on the role of parents doling out rewards as well as punishment to companies building Web sites. The punishment comes from two sources. For one, the search engines are flawed, often unable to work with various types of information ...

As evidenced by the phenomenal success of Google, search has evolved from an interesting sideline into a primary function for many, if not most, Internet users. Consequently, more and more companies are putting content up on their Web sites to attract the attention of search engines ...

Lately, corporate interest in Web services has been rising -- and justifiably so. The advent of this new way of building applications promises to almost magically allow organizations to exchange information within their own systems with partners and customers ...

The Internet has emerged as a great place to shop for someone looking for a good deal. Price comparison sites ensure that consumers pay as little as possible, so they often end up with tremendous bargains ...

Google shook up the e-payment market last summer with a ballyhooed entry into this space with its Google Checkout service. While many positioned the move as a salvo against eBay and its PayPal subsidiary, traditional banks may have more to lose if Google is successful as the Internet increasingly reshapes how financial transactions are completed ...

Uncle Sam is often portrayed as a technological laggard, representing a market segment bringing up the rear as new innovations take hold. Well, surprise, surprise -- the government is ahead of the private sector by a better than a three-to-one margin in one emerging area: telework ...

Television once represented the Holy Grail for advertisers. As millions of consumers tuned in to watch their favorite dramas and sitcoms, it presented advertisers with unprecedented opportunities to reach millions of target customers quickly and easily. However, as technology has advanced, television's grip on consumers has loosened. To protect the golden goose, television networks are trying to make their ads stickier, and are tinkering with new multimedia advertising models...

Advertisers face multiple new challenges today. Consumers' viewing and purchasing habits are changing dramatically, the number of ways to reach potential customers is increasing and new techniques to measure advertising effectiveness are emerging. The confluence of these changes is leading advertisers to a new medium: in-game video game ads ...

Popular video games, such as Electronic Arts' "Madden NFL," traditionally have been viewed as enemies rather than allies in the educational process. After all, many educators have questioned: What good can come from students sitting and banging away at gaming consoles for hours in an often futile quest for higher scores? ...

Cell phones are increasingly becoming miniature PCs. In keeping with that trend, majormobile carriers throughout the world have been enhancing their services to support IM functions, further blurring distinctions between the two devices ...

Because WiMax promises to deliver 70 million bits per second (BPS) of bandwidth at prices lower than current 1 million BPS connections, the new wireless network option is gaining interest among telecommunications providers. As this occurs, questions are arising about its security functions ...

Handheld computers have simplified many activities. Individuals can surf the Web, text message their friends, buy a new pair of pants, and, increasingly, try to hit the jackpot in the lottery ...

The idea of students entering a virtual classroom and holding electronic rather than face-to-face meetings has become quite accepted at the collegiate level. The model is now making its way into the K-12 market, mainly as a supplemental educational option ...

It's easy to see how some gamers end up spending so much money on accessories when you add up all the special controllers, high-powered headsets, memory upgrades and multiplayer network subscriptions that players use to enhance the experience ...

Although 2006 was filled with surprises in the telecom space, as described inPart 1 of this two-part series, there were equally dramatic changes in terms of the pure processing ability of computers and how that power translated to consumers in the form of lower-cost, higher-end products ...

After several disappointing years, the telecom market experienced renewed growth in 2006, and a number of surprising developments occurred. The highlights include the integration of cellular and WiFi features, a rush to deliver mobile music services, movement toward bundled services, a focus on higher speed home networks, and unprecedented acceptance of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)...

After dominating the business handheld e-mail market, Research In Motion unveiled its follow-up act: high-end consumer smartphones ...

Hot spots, which provide travelers and nomads with a quick and easy way to access the Internet, have grown in popularity -- there are now more than 100,000 scattered across the globe. Consumers and businesspeople can walk into coffee shops, fast food restaurants, hotels, office buildings and even municipal parks, where they can turn on computers and check e-mail, surf the Web or access corporate data...

The use of cell phones at school has generated conflict between school officials, who view cell phones as a nuisance that distracts students from school activities, and parents, who say the devices let them stay in touch with their children more easily ...