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Amazon has introduced a new shortcut for consumers to pay for their purchases on Amazon.com and partner Web sites. Amazon PayPhrase lets shoppers pick their own phrase -- for example, "Knick Knack" or "Jack's Allowance" -- and use it in lieu of entering a credit card number to make purchases. The p...

The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 on Tuesday to adopt Google Apps, which include Gmail and other office software tools, for its 30,000 employees. The deal places Los Angeles among the vanguard of public sector operations relying on cloud-based productivity software. Plans call for installation...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has introduced the Internet Freedom Act of 2009, legislation that would negate many of the principles underlying the concept of Net neutrality, which aims to ensure that Internet users have equal and unfettered access to all services available on the Web. The McCain bill c...

As I got ready to jump off at the next stop on my whirlwind tour of travel-planning Web sites, I found myself in the grip of something close to excitement. Trying out Priceline.com was going to be a new experience for me as well -- but it already felt familiar, thanks to my beloved William Shatner (...

Oracle's $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems appears threatened by recent developments, starting with difficulties in gaining regulatory approval in the EU and ending with a startlingly decline at Sun Microsystems -- a company that was on a downward trajectory long before Oracle made its pl...

Sprint Nextel is acquiring iPCS, an affiliate that sells its branded products, in a deal that will put an end to a number of legal clashes between the two. It will also bring an additional 710,000 subscribers under the Sprint Nextel corporate umbrella. The acquisition means that Sprint will not have...

The tech industry is getting a boost from Google's 7 percent revenue jump from the year-ago quarter, as well as from better-than-expected earnings reports from IBM and, earlier this week, Intel. Google is apparently feeling confident enough about the economy and its own near-term prospects that it's...

Hotwire is a discount site that sells off unsold inventory by masking the identity of the hotel or rental car service or airline until the purchase is complete. I have to confess the concept never appealed to me that much -- it conjured up visions of middle-row airline seats and secluded hotels that...

Service is now largely restored to Sidekick users, but T-Mobile is apparently still struggling to retrieve content and data lost due to a server malfunction over the weekend. At the same time, the carrier is piling on the mea culpas to its customers, many of whom are furious about the incident. Its ...

Google and Microsoft are reportedly in separate talks with Twitter with the goal of licensing the microblogging site's rich store of data. The potential deal structures could be anything from up-front payments to revenue-sharing schemes. Whatever form it might take, a deal would represent Twitter's ...

Clutter, clutter, clutter -- will they never learn? Well into our survey of travel-planning Web sites, a common design theme continues to predominate: a crowded user interface that detracts from the supposed utilitarian purpose of the site. Bookit.com is no exception, although it is not as bad as so...

Search engine Ask.com has introduced a new feature that allows users to search for coupons and product discounts. The feature is embedded in the Ask.com front page, where visitors find an everyday-type picture -- in today's case, a man holding a camera and wearing a watch; a couple holding a compute...

Google has developed a new JavaScript snippet for AdSense aimed at high-end mobile phones, giving advertisers yet another option for using its mobile platform. The new feature allows publishers to run larger-scale text and image ads on smartphones. As more people use these devices, more advertisers ...

IBM has launched LotusLive iNotes, an email and mobile mail service that interoperates with Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange. The package includes calendaring and contact management services. iNotes can be deployed to work with an existing on-premise email application or as a company's sole system...

I remember when Kayak accused Bing of "borrowing" some of its design features last year. At the time, I wondered if indeed Kayak had a legitimate complaint -- the sites' designs are similar. However, after reviewing four separate travel-planning Web sites, I have concluded that Bing and Kayak could...

Cisco Systems has made a huge play in the video-conferencing industry, acquiring one of the world's largest makers of such equipment for close to $3 billion. Cisco is acquiring Tandberg for about $26.37 a share in cash -- an 11 percent premium over Tandberg's closing price on the Oslo exchange. The ...

For six years, Uniloc and Microsoft have duked it out in the courts over charges that Microsoft infringed on Uniloc's patent. A jury said it did and awarded Uniloc what was purported to be the fifth largest patent verdict in history. However, in a 66-page decision, Rhode Island's District Judge Will...

ATG has launched a program modeled partly on the now-ubiquitous app store concept and partly on the principle of open source code-sharing. The ATG Catalyst Program is an asset distribution channel for posting full-fledged applications or portions of code. ATG is kicking off the official launch of th...

Warner Music Group and Google have come to terms on a revenue-sharing agreement that will allow content from Warner's full music catalog to be used in YouTube videos, according to a blog post by Chris Maxcy, director of YouTube partner development. Warner will be able to sell its own ad inventory an...

After much speculation, Twitter CEO Evan Williams confirmed on the microblogging site's own blog that it has closed a "significant" round of funding. Williams didn't cite the dollar amount, but it has been widely reported that six investors are prepared to pump close to $100 million into the company...