E-Commerce Breaking News

Microsoft buys European comparison shopping site for $486M
Microsoft has agreed to buy comparison shopping business Ciao in a deal worth around $486 million, and plans to integrate the service into its Live Search sites, it announced Friday. More..

Netflix: Hardware flaw caused shipping mess
A hardware component caused the problem that seriously disrupted Netflix's ability to mail out DVDs for several days this month. More..

Work-at-home Web sites settle FTC charges
Brothers who operated Web sites promising profits from work-at-home businesses have settled charges that they misled customers with false earnings claims, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said. More..

Netflix tech problem persists
A technology problem that has seriously disrupted Netflix's ability to mail DVDs to subscribers enters its fourth day Friday. More..

Netflix: Tech distribution problem solved
Netflix has finally resolved a technology problem that since Tuesday had crippled its ability to mail DVDs to subscribers of its movie rental service. More..

Business hacks reap money from e-commerce sites
Anyone with a sharp eye for flawed business logic and a dim view of business ethics can exploit e-commerce Web sites for millions of dollars, security experts told Black Hat attendees. More..

Nigerian IT group pushes forensic training
The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has called on the country's government to train civil servants in computer forensic technology as a way to fight e-commerce fraud in the country. More..

E-commerce leaders move to fight deceptive online ads
E-commerce leaders have joined together to try to protect Internet users from deceptive online ads. More..

Clear strategy key for SaaS e-commerce success
Companies seeking hosted e-commerce services will find many different providers and products. So, to make good purchasing decisions, business and IT managers must first establish clear goals for their online stores, Gartner said Wednesday. More..

11 ways to save money by using e-business
Maybe you've heard: We're in an economic downturn. For that reason, most of us are tightening our belts and looking for deals. So to help you keep more of your cash, here's a list of 11 ways you can go online to save money. Some of these sites aren't new, but they bear repeating as a guide in turbulent financial times. We welcome you to add your own suggestions in the "comments" field at the end of this story. More..

Microsoft's online woes hint at larger vulnerability
Microsoft has built its massive software business by watching other companies take the lead in emerging technology markets and then following fast with competitive products that eventually become dominant once those markets begin to pay out. More..

U.S. court strikes down COPA, again
A U.S. appeals court has for the third time struck down a law intended to keep Web sites with sexually oriented themes away from children, with judges saying the law is a vague and overly broad attack on free speech. More..

U.S. judge rules for eBay in counterfeit case
A U.S. judge has ruled that eBay is not legally liable for counterfeit Tiffany jewelry items that were sold on its auction site, despite a French court ruling against eBay last month in a similar lawsuit. More..

Autonomy, Endeca rate among top enterprise search vendors
The best enterprise search products on the market come from Autonomy, Endeca, the Microsoft subsidiary Fast and Vivisimo, but Google’s Search Appliance continues to dominate the market in terms of brand awareness and sheer number of customers, Forrester Research says in a new report. More..

Microsoft, HTC announce mobile Internet service platform
Microsoft Taiwan, mobile phone maker High Tech Computer and several other companies on Thursday announced a mobile Internet service station in Taiwan called Pl@net. More..

U.S. FTC settles with marketers of 'free' software CDs
A Texas company that offered supposedly free software on CDs, but then billed customers for a software continuity program they didn't sign up for, will pay nearly US $2.2 million to settle charges levied by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the agency announced. More..

Microsoft links with VitalPay for payment processing
Microsoft has made an unspecified agreement with a payment processing company, in what could be another step toward establishing its own online payment system. More..

Will Online Auctions Die Out?
Once a shining example of the potential for online profit, auctions on eBay may now be a dying breed, according to an interesting BusinessWeek story out Tuesday. More..

DOJ settles Internet complaint against real estate group
The U.S. Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) have reached a settlement on a 2005 antitrust complaint in which the DOJ accused the group of freezing out Internet-based real estate agents. More..

MIT researchers: morphing Web sites could bring riches
Web sites that automatically customize themselves for each visitor so they come across as more appealing or simply less annoying can boost sales for online businesses by close to 20%, MIT research says. More..

EBay to turn on feedback system changes
EBay will roll out a host of changes to its feedback mechanism this month globally, including the controversial elimination of sellers' ability to leave negative feedback for buyers. More..

U.S. court halts adult site's e-mail operation
A U.S. judge has ordered the halt to an e-mail campaign by the operators of adult Web sites after complaints by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice that the e-mail messages violated an antispam law. More..

Online everyone can hear your customers scream
OK, it's official. I love Neiman Marcus! At least, I love their customer service. For Christmas '06 my wife gave me this cool desktop weather station that Neiman Marcus was selling. It's a retro kind of design - a dome that houses a thermometer, hygrometer, and barometer - that looks almost steampunkish. Anyway, this device sat on my desk for a few months before I noticed that the barometer hardly moved. So, in the middle of last year I called Neiman Marcus and requested a replacement as the device had obviously never worked properly. More..

Payment fraud moves to Internet in Europe, says Commission
Despite recent efforts to clamp down on electronic payments fraud, the crime is still rife and is undermining citizens' confidence in buying and selling over the internet, the European Commission said Monday. More..

Data center mushrooming? Why not get rid of it?
If your data center processing load doubled this year, could you handle the growth? Booming businesses such as Bazaarvoice are turning to Web hosting companies, including Rackspace, Savvis, AT&T, Terramark and IBM, to handle their data center operations.  More..