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In an early sign of the expanded presence Google intends to have in the online ad world now that it has closed on DoubleClick, the search giant Thursday launched a Web advertising management tool aimed at smaller publishers. The company formally announced Google Ad Manager after several months in te...

The promise of the Web has long been the ability to personalize, and the shopping experience is no exception. Startup iStorez is trying to bring a twist to the personalization of e-commerce, using proprietary technology to create a dynamic shopping experience that leverages the special offers that s...

Taking aim at Google, Microsoft is making its Internet-hosted software application services available to businesses of all sizes. Microsoft Online Services, a hosted-application program that started last year for businesses with more than 5,000 employees, launched its new all-inclusive service as a ...

When in doubt about buying a stock, ask a friend -- or rather, a million friends, Marcus New says. New, 38, has launched -- relaunched, actually -- Stockhouse.com, a community of investment experts who provide input on stocks that are hot, lukewarm or downright pestilent. Stockhouse.com, a product o...

There are approximately 20 million small businesses in the United States. Even for a large firm, finding the right person for any given job can be like finding a needle in a haystack. When you're a small business, finding reliable and affordable talent can be even more difficult. Filling that niche ...

It could only be a matter of time before someone found a formula for taking the immediacy of YouTube and the entrepreneurship of eBay and wrapping them around an original Internet mainstay -- the conversation of the Bulletin Board System. That time has arrived with the debut of BigThink.com. BigThin...

In January, network security tools startup Packet Analytics launched Net/FSE, or Network Forensic Search Engine. Net/FSE is the first commercial search engine for enterprise network data to focus on security incident response by harnessing the analysis of NetFlow data. It is designed to exploit the ...

Adding another twist to its efforts to gain business adoption for its Web-based applications, Google has released a Team Edition of Google Apps. Google Apps Team Edition allows users to sign up using their work e-mail addresses to gain access to a suite of Apps -- Google Docs, Calendar, Google Talk,...

IBM continues to emphasize software as part of its future road map. In laying out a plan to use its Lotus franchise to expand the number of small- and medium-sized businesses using its applications, Big Blue is taking aim at a key part of rival Microsoft's core market. At its annual Lotusphere trade...

Putting its money where its mouth is -- and where its corporate parent's future may lie as well -- Google's charitable arm, Google.org, on Thursday announced $25 million worth of new grants across what it now says are the five core areas that it will focus on going forward. Google.org will concentra...

The growth of e-commerce and the continuing expansion of outsourcing and the remote workforce are fueling a new approach to paying for services. Internet-focused companies are replacing traditional online payment transactions with prepaid debit cards. Payoneer is a startup firm that is pushing this ...

Of the Web's many attractions, the potential to tap into a global marketplace, has perhaps been first and foremost for businesses. If you are a manufacturer, distributor or merchant, designing and launching a Web site is but one piece of putting together and solving the e-commerce puzzle, however. B...

Considering the speed at which technology evolves, predicting even a year in advance can be a dicey proposition. Still, given key tech sector developments during 2007 and the outlook for 2008, some trends are unmistakable. It's a safe bet that social networking and Web 2.0 overall will remain a clos...

A Silicon Valley startup with an unlikely name announced Monday a new platform designed to enable telephony in a wide variety of applications. Using an open platform to facilitate connections between telephony and the Web, Ribbit is working with a community of more than 600 developers to help voice-...

For a small business that serves a local area -- a restaurant or gardening service, for example -- word of mouth can quickly make or break a reputation. When the conversation happens online in organized and professionally managed forums like Citysearch and YellowPages.com, reputations can be made an...