E-business Topic Center

Opinions, news and in-depth looks at the business behind e-commerce

Apple's Eddy Cue offers short answers in e-book antitrust trial

Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue offered only short answers in federal court when questioned by federal prosecutors trying to solidify their case that Apple, along with five of the largest book publishers, worked together to illegally set the prices of electronic books for the market.
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Sprint to sell LG Optimus F3 on June 14 for $30 after rebate

Sprint and LG Electronics announced that the LG Optimus F3 smartphone will go on sale online starting June 14 for $29.99, after rebate, with a two-year agreement.

Rakuten continues Amazon pursuit, agrees to buy US logistics firm

Rakuten, Japan's largest online retailer, is acquiring a U.S. logistics firm as it continues to build out its infrastructure to compete with foreign rivals like Amazon.com.

Facebook sets Sept. 12 deadline for moving games to local currencies

Facebook is phasing out its Credits virtual payment system and will be transitioning all games integrated into the social network to a new local payments API by Sept. 12, the company announced Wednesday.

Advertising group close to mobile privacy guidelines

The Digital Advertising Alliance, a coalition of online advertising networks and companies, will soon release guidelines for the use of targeted advertising on mobile devices, although it's been difficult to come up with standards in the diverse mobile marketplace, members of the DAA said.

Amazon.com sets up portal in India, will only service other retailers

Amazon.com has set up a website with its brand in India, but will not be selling on the site.

Apple under the gun as US e-book trial starts

Apple appears to face an uphill battle as it goes to trial Monday in New York on e-book price fixing charges brought by the U.S. government.

IE10 steals user share from IE9, jumps 53%

Microsoft's Internet Explorer boosted its user share last month by 53% as the company's enforced upgrade for Windows 7 continued to take effect.

Payleven chip-and-PIN readers land in Apple retail stores

Mobile payments startup Payleven has struck a deal that calls for Apple to start selling chip-and-PIN readers in its retail stores across Europe.

Yahoo goes after younger, mobile users with reported Hulu bid

With Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer taking steps to transform the company back into a top-tier player, reports are out that Yahoo is in talks to buy Hulu for as much as $800 million.

Internet taxes: Is the inevitable about to happen?

Some things never happen the way that us pundits expect. Back on Independence Day in 1999 I wrote this about government taxing the purchase of goods over the Internet: "I fully believe in the ingenuity of the government when it comes to imposing taxes. We will be paying these taxes soon." Well, "soon" has not happened yet, but maybe it is getting closer.

Choosing an open-source CMS, part 3: Why we use WordPress

In the third part of a three-part series, we look at two organizations that have chosen WordPress as their content management system.

Choosing an open-source CMS, part 2: Why we use Joomla

In the second part of a three-part series, we look at two companies that have chosen Joomla as their content management system.

Choosing an open-source CMS, part 1: Why we use Drupal

In the first part of a three-part series, we look at two companies that have chosen Drupal as their content management system.

When Will Mobile Commerce Be Ready for Primetime?

Mobile commerce offers great deal potential, but like many technology trends, it may take time to really catch on. If your business is looking to implement mcommerce, there are some important factors to consider beyond the technology. First and foremost, think about your customer, and the customer experience.

The e-book revolution is bypassing U.S. elementary schools

Textbooks aren't available for e-readers, and the children's literature that is available generally can't be searched by reading level.

How a Mobile Payment Service Can Grow Your Online Business

As more and more smartphone and tablet users shop via their mobile devices, being able to accept mobile payments is becoming a more important element of ecommerce. But does it make sense for your business? Mobile payment service providers Square, PayAnywhere, PayPal and Bank of America discuss fees, security and which types of business would benefit the most.

Google's antitrust settlement means few changes

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's antitrust settlement with Google will create few changes in the way the company operates, both critics and fans of the deal said.

Why Oracle bought Eloqua, and what it means for the market

Oracle surprised many tech industry observers by announcing Thursday it would pay US$871 million for marketing automation software vendor Eloqua. The move seemed a bit unlikely given the amount of sales and marketing software Oracle already had.

Here comes the shameless social money grab

Social network services that used to be free now cost money, writes columnist Mike Elgan. He says this is wrong.