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E-business Topic Center

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

Inside Apple's secret plan to kill the cash register

Apple's plans for a Bluetooth 4.0-based iWallet could be the beginning of the end for the venerable cash register.
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Update: Facebook shares rise as trading begins

After all the buildup, Facebook's long-anticipated initial public offering is finally here.

If Facebook's IPO goes south, social, tech markets could take a hit

With Facebook's initial public offering creating such a frenzy of interest, there's an important question to be considered: What happens if tomorrow or next week or five months from now, this investment goes south?

Facebook raises stock offering, shoots for $18.5B with IPO

Facebook is working to increase the size of its IPO by 85 million shares -- a move could lift the value the company's upcoming stock offering to about $18.5 billion.

QuickPoll: Is Facebook's IPO overhyped?

Facebook has raised the price range of its stock shares just days before the company's highly anticipated initial public offering. Is Facebook's IPO overhyped?

Levinsohn takes on CEO role at struggling Yahoo

Just one day into the job, Yahoo's interim CEO Ross Levinsohn is in charge of a company struggling with administrative chaos, industry position and growing competitors.

Facebook privacy head suggests company will serve ads on other sites

Facebook's head of privacy policy, Erin Egan, hinted in a Web chat on Monday that Facebook would begin serving targeted ads to users on third-party websites.

FTC shuts down website marketing business

A federal court in Arizona has shut down the operations of a company that allegedly promised it would build its customers websites that would generate income of up to $20,000 per month, after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint about its business practices.

With another CEO out, Yahoo's turnaround stalled

For the second time in eight months, Yahoo is without a permanent CEO. The latest development brings more trouble to a company struggling to regain its stature in the industry.

Apple's e-store satisfaction score jumps, thumps Microsoft's

Apple's online store scored the highest satisfaction rating of any computer-related company, and handily beat rival Microsoft, a consumer pollster said today.

Crowdfunding: The latest way to get your project funded

Crowdfunding sites like Kickerstarter are offering both established businesses and entrepreneurs a viable alternative to venture capitalists.

Why Amazon can't win a tablet price war against Google

Google and Amazon are about to go to war for the future of non-iPad tablets, but Amazon's business model can't be sustained. Here's why, according to columnist Mike Elgan.

David D. Clark

Meet David D. Clark, who has been involved in the development of the Internet since the 1970s. He talks here about the Internet, its potential and problems, and its future. Insider (registration required)

Content sanitized for whose protection?

PayPal doesn't want to handle payments for porn.

The next evolution of the Internet: The Shared Web

The past decade has seen a massive evolution of the Internet. The early years focused on the Information Web, allowing users to access enormous volumes of data. The Commerce Web followed, giving consumers the ability to transact online. YouTube and Twitter ushered in the Broadcast Web, turning individuals into self-publishers. And today we have the Shared Web, the next iteration that promises to usher in just as much innovation and change.

You are the product for The Google

As of March 1, if you hadn't erased your Google Web History and switched the feature off, you will have made a big mistake because Google has set itself on a course that will allow the company to find out way too much about you ... at least, way too much about you if you have any interest in maintaining your privacy.

The timeline's time has come

Facebook's Timeline feature will soon be imposed on all the social network's users. Columnist Mike Elgan expects to see an increased use of timeline-like interfaces in all kinds of applications because they work the way people think -- and people like them.

Social makes the Super Bowl more super

The Super Bowl has always been a social event. What's different now is that social media and the Internet have turned geography and proximity into nonfactors.

'Tis the season for 'ambient hangouts'

This holiday season, you can use Google's free and easy Hangout feature to hold virtual celebrations with family and friends.

How to bulletproof your website

'Tis the season for websites to crash and burn. Here are some strategies used successfully by retailers to make sure they don't go down. Ever.