Online Privacy Concerns: Who Knows? (eMarketer, December 24th)
You better watch out. US consumers will spurn who's naughty and reward who's nice when it comes to respecting privacy.

China: The World's Fastest Growing IT Market (eMarketer, December 23rd)
Though IT spending growth has slowed to single-digit growth in North America, government and corporate investments are aiding China's development.

Interview - American Greetings: Hello, Subscriptions! (eMarketer, December 20th)
The AmericanGreetings.com network has attracted nearly 2 million paying members. Marketing Director Allison Landers explains why they're buying, how the marketing works and what role online advertising plays.

Online Health Users Around the World (eMarketer, December 20th)
The internet has evolved into a valuable information tool, especially when it comes to health information. Learn who's going online for health information in various countries and what they're looking for.

Net Usage and TV Time in New Zealand (eMarketer, December 20th)
Roy Morgan reports that 21% of New Zealand internet users say they are watching less TV since they started going online.

Size Matters - But Measurement is Tricky (eMarketer, December 19th)
Do you visit adult content sites? Few would admit to it, and fewer still would admit they operate such sites, thus making it difficult to estimate the market. eMarketer takes an educated guess despite these limitations.

15.7 Million US Online Content Buyers This Year (eMarketer, December 18th)
In its newest report, Online Content, eMarketer estimates that the number of US consumers paying for internet content will rise from 15.7 million this year to 21 million by the end of 2003.

Microsoft is Main Net Browser (eMarketer, December 18th)
According to OneStat, Microsoft IE 6.0 claims 57.6% of the worldwide internet browser user market, while Microsoft's total web browser reach extends to 95% overall. Looks like Mozilla's got some catching up to do...

How (Many) People Are Shopping Online This Holiday (eMarketer, December 17th)
Gallup reports that 15% of US adults plan to shop online this holiday. How will they use the net? According to BizRate, 57% of e-buyers go directly to the relevant merchant's site.

Online Retailers Losing More Than Revenue to Fraud (eMarketer, December 16th)
CyberSource reports that 45% of online retailers with an offline presence say online fraud sales losses are higher than offline fraud sales losses. Additionally, 45% cite the loss of staff time from online fraud.

Credit Card Users Could Spend More (eMarketer, December 16th)
Nearly 67% of credit card users in the US say they'll spend the same or more this holiday compared to what they spent in 2001.

AOL: Anatomy of a Long Shot (BusinessWeek Online, December 16th)
An inside look at how the troubled AOL Time Warner unit forged its make-or-break broadband plan.

Music Labels Foresee Turning Point Online (eMarketer, December 12th)
The major music labels continue to play defense in the online music game. 2003 will see them play a little offense.

U.S. Firms Move IT Overseas (CNET News.com, December 11th)
Under pressure from overseas rivals, U.S. companies selling information technology services have a new mantra: If you can't beat them, join them.

Post-Thanksgiving E-Shopping Is Strong (eMarketer, December 11th)
comScore reports that $2 billion was spent online during the week ending 6 December, and retail categories like home and garden are shooting up in terms of dollars spent online this year versus this time last year.

Youth Represents Sizeable Holiday Market (eMarketer, December 11th)
Harris Interactive's youth survey determined that kids between the ages of eight and 18 in the US will spend roughly $5.05 billion this holiday season. But how many will shop online?

Yahoo! to Help Small Businesses with Site Hosting (internet.com, December 10th)
Depending on a small business customer's needs, the new business-class service offers everything from basic design templates and site building and authoring tools to advanced PHP scripting and MySQL database services.

Push Is On for Reusable Java Components (eWeek, December 10th)
Two initiatives are under way to help developers reuse Java components to simplify development in the Java and Java 2 Enterprise Edition worlds.

E-Commerce Holiday Gold Mines (E-Commerce Times, December 10th)
Despite consumers' low-end leanings, top searches on Yahoo! still include plasma-screen TVs, which can cost more than $10,000, as well as computers and digital cameras.

Aussie Court Backs Suit Over Net Article (internet.com, December 10th)
Australia's highest court Tuesday granted a businessman the right to sue a U.S. publication in Australia over an article published online in the U.S. and distributed over the Internet. The case is considered a landmark ruling and could set a precedent for global media companies publishing content in their home countries, while being subject to foreign laws for posting the material for access on the Internet.

W3C Proposes XML Encryption, Decryption Specs (internet.com, December 10th)
With security as a major barrier to the widespread adoption of Web services, the World Wide Web Consortium Tuesday recommended two specifications for an XML-based approach for securing XML data in a document which will be used by organizations who build Web services to help safeguard their payloads.

So, You Could Ask Jeeves About the Price (internet.com, December 10th)
In a deal that expands its reach in the crowded price-comparison field, PriceGrabber.com inked a deal with search operation Ask Jeeves to provide comparative shopping information.

Worldwide Attacks Down, U.S. Up (CyberAtlas, December 10th)
Increased connectivity coupled with political antagonism could largely be responsible for the 13 percent surge in digital penetrations Stateside during the same period in which global digital attacks dropped 8 per cent.

Software Popular Product This Holiday (eMarketer, December 9th)
Roper reports that over 50% of US adults will buy computer software this holiday season. But how many will buy these tech gifts online?

WML Gadgets, Building a Calculator (Developer.com Wireless, December 9th)
Learn how to build an application for your mobile device. With this article on building WML gadgets, you can expand your knowledge of implementing WAP and WML while building a real application.

Will Linux Superdesktops Storm the Mainstream? (NewsFactor, December 9th)
Despite repeated reports of its demise, the Linux desktop has refused to die. In fact, it is healthier than ever. Most well-known Linux distributions, including Red Hat, SuSE and Mandrake, are renewing their focus on the desktop. And a few newer distributions, such as Lindows and Xandros, focus exclusively on the desktop experience.

Virus Throttle a Hopeful Defense (Wired News, December 9th)
Computer viruses and worms live in the fast lane, propagating themselves through a network faster than even the most highly caffeinated techie can purge them from a system. But Matthew Williamson, a researcher at the Hewlett-Packard laboratories in Bristol, England, has come up with a new way to handle the quick-moving cybercritters: Throttle 'em.

FCC Panel Weighs Security Practices (internet.com, December 9th)
Representatives from telecom, cable, wireless, satellite and ISP industries review measures to protect nation's communications services from attack.

Macromedia Makes Major Contribution to Corporate Intranets (Intranet Journal, December 9th)
With precious few weeks left in the year, it's safe to declare Macromedia Contribute the intranet tool of the year.

A New CEO for Ensim (ISP Planet, December 9th)
A "godfather" of Silicon Valley has joined Ensim as president and CEO, promising to bring a new customer focus to the hosting automation company that he says has industry-leading technology.

UK Police Offer Cyber-Crime Victim Firms Anonymity (Reuters, December 9th)
Britain's top digital crime-fighting force said on Monday it is prepared to grant businesses victimized by digital attacks full anonymity if they come forward, an effort to jumpstart investigations into the growing wave of cyber crime. Fearing a dent in their corporate reputation and loss of customers, businesses are typically reluctant to report such crimes, leaving police at a disadvantage.

Dell Launches New Small-Business Initiative (Small Business Computing, December 9th)
The initiative includes onsite support, help-desk support, installation and consulting.

HP, Microsoft Reaffirm .Net Ties (CNET News.com, December 9th)
Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft on Monday tightened their partnership to promote the latter's .Net software initiative.

META Predicts Microsoft Will Offer Linux Software (Reuters, December 9th)
In a major strategy shift, Microsoft Corp. will introduce software based on the Linux open source operating system in 2004 for Web services and server software, market researcher META Group predicted on Monday.

Microsoft Upgrades IE Flaw to Critical (InfoWorld.com, December 9th)
Microsoft evevalated the risk rating on a security flaw in Internet Explorer to "critical" after criticism prompted it to reexamine the issue, the company said Friday.

Cheaters Pose Threat to the Growth of Online Gaming (USA Toady, December 9th)
The revenue potential is huge for online gaming, which IDC analyst Schelley Olhava projects will reach some 10 million households by 2005. Microsoft and Sony have just launched online gaming networks for their Xbox and PlayStation2 consoles and officials of the two companies say their consoles were designed from the hardware up to thwart cheating.

GroupWise 6.5 Beta: Novell's Challenge to MS Exchange (CrossNodes, December 9th)
Groupwise 6.5 Beta is playing to good reviews among analysts and administrators. Jacqueline Emigh reports on the highlights, including enhanced administrative controls and junk-mail filtering.

Using Apache Axis Version 1 to Build Web Services (Java Boutique, December 9th)
On the trail again, Keld Hansen pulls out his trusty toolkit, Apache Axis Version 1, and uses its SOAP to help clean up some of the murkiness surrounding Web services.

Software Giants 'Trample Freedoms' (BBC News, December 6th)
Every time you buy software from companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Sun and Adobe you hand over much more than just money, you also give up basic freedoms and human rights. So says Richard Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation, and long-time campaigner against the proprietary programs produced and owned by many software companies.

Internet is Important Resource for Gamers (eMarketer, December 6th)
The internet is becoming a valuable resource for video and/or PC gamers buying and researching the must-have games in 2002, reports Gigex. Indeed 24% prefer to buy games online.

The Big Business of Storing Big Data (E-Commerce Times, December 6th)
Since IT budgets have been slashed in the economic downturn, many businesses are seeking ways to reduce the burden on overworked staff. One way to do this is to use a SAN, or storage area network, which reduces data management costs, increases hardware efficiency and improves data recovery capabilities. With networked storage, any user armed with the proper level of access can search for any piece of data stored within an enterprise.

Qwest To Close Half Its Data Centers (CRN, December 6th)
Qwest this week said it plans to close eight of its 16 data centers and migrate customers to the remaining facilities. In a statement, the company attempted to assure customers that service would not be interrupted during the transition and that it would continue to support its full web hosting offering.

Books Are Among Bestsellers (CyberAtlas, December 6th)
New media is instrumental in traditional media sales, according to research that reveals the large number of Internet shoppers who are buying books online. The biannual consumer survey by Vertis found that books were purchased by 43 percent of online American shoppers during 2002, although that figure has declined by 4 percent since 2000.

Gateways to Come Loaded with Pressplay Tunes (internet.com, December 6th)
Just in time for a holiday advertising campaign, Gateway signs a deal with Pressplay to pre-load the music service - and lots of tunes - on new computers.

Judge Backs Sun, 'Kneecaps' Microsoft in Java Hearings (internet.com, December 6th)
U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz made some unusual analogies in his court when he said Microsoft's tactics against Sun were akin to Tonya Harding's 'knee-capping' of rival Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan.

Putting TCO Studies In Their Place (LinuxPlanet, December 6th)
LinuxPlanet spoke with Dan Kusnetzky, architect of the recent study released by Microsoft that indicated that Windows 2000 has a lower total cost of ownership than Linux. Kusnetzky puts the study in a broader perspective, and reveals his own surprise about the results, which may give Microsoft less to cheer about.

Proxy-Pro Gatekeeper: High Power for a Low Price (ServerWatch, December 6th)
ServerWatch reviews Infopulse's Proxy-Pro Professional Gatekeeper, which offers all of the standard features expected in a proxy server, including site blocking, content filtering, and firewall protection at a price even the most budget conscious of enterprises should love.

AOL: Back to the Future (eMarketer, December 5th)
AOL's decision to divide its portal and internet access products left many analysts saying, "I told you so!" eMarketer Senior Analyst Ben Macklin examines his own hits and misses from previous broadband and content analysis.

Microsoft Introduces New IE, Outlook Fixes (internet.com, December 5th)
Microsoft late Wednesday introduced two new security patches which seal moderate flaws in versions 5.5. and 6.0 of its Internet Explorer browser and Outlook 2002.

Online Fraud Growing in Scale, Sophistication (E-Commerce Guide, December 5th)
Fraud will cost online retailers about $500 million during this holiday season, according to a new study out by industry analyst giant Gartner.

RealNetworks to Release More Code (CNET News.com, December 5th)
RealNetworks is expected to release more streaming-media source code Monday, in the latest move to fend off Microsoft. A follow-up article announcing the code release in question may be found here.

New .Net Server Code Hits The Web (CRN, December 5th)
As of Thursday morning, the long-awaited second release candidate code for Windows .Net Server 2003 is available for download.

More Click on Item on Web, Pick It Up at Store (USA Today, December 5th)
Call it click 'n' pick shopping. Consumers increasingly are ordering big-ticket items such as digital cameras, computers and appliances online, then picking them up nearby stores.

IBM Debuts New Linux-Only Server (ZDNet Australia, December 5th)
IBM has announced a new low-end server, its first Power processor-based system that can run the Linux operating system without needing IBM's AIX as well.

eBay Says Outlook Bright with Better Margins (Reuters, December 5th)
Internet auction powerhouse eBay Inc. said on Thursday its business continues to fire on all cylinders and it expects to meet profitability targets and boost cash on-hand.

The New HP Way: World's Cheapest Consultants (Forbes.com, December 5th)
Tech giant Hewlett-Packard has seen the future of technology consulting. It's on the other side of the globe and it's really, really cheap. "We're trying to move everything we can offshore," HP Services chief Ann Livermore told Wall Street analysts at a meeting Wednesday. "We're aggressively realigning our resources." Short term, that means adding to the software and services personnel HP already has in India. Further out, HP expects China to also turn into a major consulting center.

The True Cost of Overseas IT Outsourcing (E-Commerce Times, December 5th)
For enterprises that want to cut IT costs, one answer is to ship some high-tech work overseas, to places like India, Singapore, the Philippines and even Russia or China. One advantage of using overseas workers falls into the "time-is-money" category: U.S.-based teams and overseas workers can work virtually around the clock because of time differences.

Sun Ponders Offering Open-Source Solaris (InfoWorld.com, December 5th)
Sun Microsystems is pondering whether or not to offer Solaris code in an open-source format to boost deployment of the operating system on Intel hardware, but questions remain about the effectiveness of open source, a Sun official said this week.

Sony Dumps Microsoft for StarOffice (CNET News.com, December 5th)
Sun Microsystems announced a deal Wednesday to install Sun's StarOffice software on some European Sony PCs, marking another defection from dominant Microsoft products.

National IT Guard Idea Will Take Time (internet.com, December 5th)
Attention Stateside Information Technology workers: Uncle Sam will eventually want you to volunteer for the National IT Guard included in the landmark Department of Homeland Security bill that is now law. But first, Uncle Sam needs you to wait while the whole thing is organized, which includes merging and reorganizing no less than 22 federal agencies and 170,000 employees in the new cabinet-level federal department.

Study: Top Four Search Sites Dominate E-Commerce (internet.com, December 4th)
WebSideStory's research unit says Google, Yahoo!, MSN and AOL combined to account for over 90 percent of shopping referrals.

Linux Jobs: They're Out There and Here's How to Find Them (LinuxPlanet, December 4th)
Got those economy slow-down blues? Looking for a really cool job where you're not forced to use Microsoft wares? Check out this round up of the best places to go hunting Linux employment.

Judge Leans Towards Java's Inclusion in Windows XP (internet.com, December 4th)
On the first day of arguments in a federal court in Baltimore, Sun Microsystems and Microsoft traded views on whether Sun's Java programming language should be bundled into future versions of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system.

Big Blue Delivers Native Linux Server (internet.com, December 4th)
IBM Wednesday again staged a competitive assault on HP when it launched a new pSeries server with a twist - it comes, solely, with the Linux operating system.

Bush Signs .Kids Bill Into Law (internet.com, December 4th)
US President George W. Bush signed into law Wednesday the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002, legislation passed in the last few hours in the 107th Congress designed to create a "safe zone" for children on the Internet under the USA's sovereign .us space. Casual discussion on the future of the domain may be found here.

Does Cybercrime Still Pay? (NewsFactor, December 4th)
It is the stuff of IT lore - a hacker is caught breaking into a company's systems and is given two options: Take a job with the company or face prosecution. But are such tactics still in use, or do malicious hackers now face nothing but a career dead end?

RealNetworks Joins Online Movie Subscription Fray (internet.com, December 4th)
Competition in the nascent streaming movie business is heating up; RealNetworks and Starz have the latest entry with the launch of a new broadband service called 'Starz On Demand.'

ICANN Finalizes .Org Deal With PIR (internet.com, December 4th)
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has signed the finalized agreement for the Public Interest Registry, the not-for-profit subsidiary of the Internet Society of Reston, Va., to operate the .org top-level domain. PIR takes over the management of the domain registry from VeriSign, the current .org registrar, on Jan. 1.

Daemons Running Amok? Daemontools to the Rescue! (CrossNodes, December 4th)
If you're always chasing daemons, daemontools might be the butterfly net you need to consolidate your services under a single, cross-platform management interface.

Online Shoppers and Buyers around the World (eMarketer, December 3rd)
Thanks to holiday media coverage, we know people are buying online in the US, but what about the rest of the world? Nielsen tracks Q3 online shoppers and buyers in 10 countries.

Red Hat Chief: Where is the Rage? (internet.com, December 3rd)
At Enterprise Linux Forum, Matthew Szulik urges the IT community to challenge legal and legislative manuevers that might stifle innovation, namely, the DMCA and copyright extensions.

SMS: Publishers Turn Cents Into Dollars (ClickZ, December 3rd)
Vin Crosbie continues his examination into emerging micropayment models by profiling four real-world publishers who use SMS messaging to process microtransaction fees for content.

E-Commerce and the Warm Fuzzies (internet.com, December 3rd)
A virtual credit card number company cites a study showing that consumers spend a good deal more online when security concerns are allayed.

The Emergence of 'Collaborative Commerce' (Datamation, December 3rd)
Creating a collaborative network of trade partners is key to strong business growth, according to a new study by Deloitte Consulting.

Red Hat Intros Server OS, Workstations (internet.com, December 3rd)
Dipping further into the Linux enterprise market, Red Hat unveils a version of Advanced Server aimed at telecommunications carriers, and a new enterprise workstation.

The Evolving CIO (CIO Information Network, December 3rd)
CIOs must continually keep their skills fresh and their learning curve up if they are to remain effective. What's becoming more of a phenomenon is the revolving role of CIOs and how they are learning to meet the challenge.

Back to Basics, On to Broadband for AOL (internet.com, December 3rd)
At its highly anticipated analyst day, America Online plans to map out its turnaround with new broadband growth strategy but the company also warned that advertising and commerce revenues will plunge 40-50 percent in 2003.

Fake Domain Sellers Nailed (internet.com, December 3rd)
The FTC wins a settlement in a scam involving the sale of phony dot-USA domains in a spam campaign that capitalized on American patriotism after 9-11.

Configuring Windows XP Professional as a DNS Client (ServerWatch, December 3rd)
Jason Zandri's latest article in the 'Learning Windows XP Professional in 15 Minutes a Week' series continues to overview the DNS service provided by Windows 2000 server and how it interacts in Windows XP Professional environments.

Hottest Hard Drives (NewsFactor, December 2nd)
A new technology called serial ATA soon will raise interface transfer rates to 150 megabytes per second from parallel ATA's 100 megabytes per second - a 50 percent increase.

HP Debuts Two 'Lights-Out' Servers (internet.com, December 2nd)
HP Monday introduced the ProLiant DL320 and DL360 servers designed specifically for data centers. To power these dense environments, the firm included what it calls "lights-out" technology in its overarching Adaptive Infrastructure initiative to help customers grasp greater control of the operations of their machines. The new servers provide reduced reactive support time, fault resilient technologies for reduced downtime, and performance architectures to handle greater transaction workloads.

Court Test For US Digital Piracy Law (BBC News, December 2nd)
The first legal test of the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Law designed to prevent digital piracy has started in the US.

At DealTime, They're Dealing (E-Commerce Guide, December 2nd)
The shopping comparison operation signs agreements to power EarthLink's shopping channel and adds a bundle of merchants from CatalogCity.com.

Enterprise Linux Conference Hits Hub (internet.com, December 2nd)
IT managers will flock to Boston tomorrow to learn how Linux and Linux-based data center applications can cut costs, reduce risk and increase flexibility within large organizations.

Microsoft to Amend .Net Server Licensing (CNET News.com, December 2nd)
Microsoft later on Monday plans to issue the second Windows .Net Server 2003 release candidate and to announce changes to its software licensing policy for businesses.

OASIS Stamps Approval on ebXML CPPA (internet.com, December 2nd)
The OASIS interoperability group Monday has finally ratified the ebXML Collaboration Protocol Profile and Agreement (CPPA) v2.0 as an OASIS Open Standard, making the protocol law in the consortium.

Get Ready, Get Set, Shop! (internet.com, December 2nd)
Black Friday was a nice boost for online sales as lots of consumers avoided mall madness and simply shopped the Web; one estimate shows a 61 percent spike in online sales. eMarketer presents more data on the Black Friday estimates here.

New Sybase Privilege Escalation Vulnerabilities Discovered (DatabaseJournal, December 2nd)
Patches for three new privilege escalation vulnerabilities have been released for Sybase Adaptive Server 12 and 12.5. The risk level for these vulnerabilities is considered high.

'Spam' Likely to Clutter E-Mail for Some Time (Reuters, December 2nd)
Sick of being inundated with get-rich-quick schemes and Viagra ads in your e-mail? Well, get used to it because, despite concerted efforts to fight it, "spam" is expected to get worse before it gets better, analysts say.

FTC Concludes Annual Holiday Web Surf (internet.com, December 2nd)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has concluded its holiday surf of Internet sites with advisory and warning letters to a number of Web retailers. The purpose of the campaign was to find out whether e-tailers were making "quick ship" claims, rebate offers, and certain disclosures for popular holiday items.

Java-Induced MIDP 2.0 Debuts (internet.com, December 2nd)
In a show of support for standardizing mobile devices, Sun Microsystems Monday say they have completed the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP 2.0) standard.

Sun Launches Updated Mobile Java Standard (InfoWorld.com, December 2nd)
The latest version of the standard set of technologies for Java-capable mobile devices has been finalized and Sun Microsystems announced at Telecom Asia 2002 on Monday the availability of the finished specification, a reference implementation, test suite and a beta version of a development toolkit.