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One thing Wall Street hates is uncertainty. So last week, when companies such as IBM and Microsoft put a damper on their spectacular earnings -- by making statements that they couldn't predict what impact Y2K would have on the rest of the year's earnings -- the stock market nose-dived ...

When IBM announced its profits soared 65 percent for its second quarter, the company confirmed what most analysts already knew: "Big Blue" has regained its luster -- and then some ...

According to a new study by Forrester Research, Inc., many online merchants convert just two percent of their visitors into buyers. This is true, despite the fact more than 75 percent of the e-commerce marketers surveyed in the study have gone to great lengths to make their Web sites more user-friendly. Yet, Forrester found that 66 percent of virtual shopping carts were abandoned in 1998 due to complicated instructions or "hefty shipping-and-handling gotchas."

A decisive court victory last week for Bill Gates and company may -- or may not -- affect the outcome of Microsoft's government antitrust case, so argue legal pundits. But for the cynics of the world, there's little doubt but that it will ...

Despite Intel's disappointing second-quarter earnings, the world's No. 1 chipmaker has come back swinging -- still aggressively pursuing its e-commerce quest ...

OfficeMax, Inc., the number three office supply superstore, (NYSE: OMX) announced Friday that it launched international Web sites in Japan and Mexico. This expansion comes on the heels of the company's recent success in domestic U.S. e-commerce efforts ...

Penetrating China's great walls and tapping into its huge marketplace has been the dream of Westerners since the days of Marco Polo. Perhaps this explains the investor buying frenzy that took place last week, when China.com made its debut on Wall Street ...

Penguin Computing, a manufacturer of Linux-based hardware solutions, predicts that Linux will soon become the operating system of choice in developing countries -- but don't count Microsoft out ...

Big players in the music industry must overcome "security paranoia" if they ever hope to profit from digital music as it enters the mainstream, according to a recent report by Jupiter Communications ...

Online grocer Webvan Group, Inc. fired a salvo across the shopping carts of the brick-and-mortar supermarket industry last week, when it announced that within two years it would be delivering Web ordered groceries free-of-charge in 26 major markets throughout the United States. Moreover, some analysts speculate the move could be the first step in the eventual restructuring of the $500 billion (US$) per year grocery business...

Last week, E-Commerce Industries, Inc. formed an alliance with United Stationers, Inc., the United States' largest wholesaler distributor of office goods, which could be the salvation of many smaller mom-and-pop office suppliers ...

Last week, Yahoo!, Inc. may have shown its critics that the company is not only capable of turning a profit, but also able to quell a customer revolt swiftly -- before it got out of hand ...

Toys "R" Us rocked the e-commerce world earlier this week when it announced that the hand-picked chief executive officer it had chosen to run its online operations wouldn't be coming on board after all ...

Last week, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced that it's preparing to ramp up its Internet efforts by cutting a deal with Books-A-Million Inc. to supply and deliver books for its online store. This action has resurrected the legion of analysts, who have been howling in unison for months, predicting that the giant retailer will soon pulverize Amazon.com into oblivion. But, I for one, don't think they're right -- even though I'm in the minority...

A Boston start-up called Verbind Inc. has developed one of the many new software products to help e-commerce sites predict their customers' actions ...

Last week, America Online Inc. took minority stake in low-priced personal-computer maker eMachines Inc. By doing so, the No. 1 online service may have just proved that Microsoft wasn't being disingenuous when it testified in court recently that it feared AOL would try to make Windows obsolete ...

In a move that surely gained favor with Microsoft and drew disdain from Linux lovers, Intel Chief Executive Crag Barrett made a joint speech with Bill Gates at a Burlington, California meeting this week -- showcasing companies that are switching from Unix systems to Windows NT. The companies included Ford Motor Co., Enron Corp. and Sony Corp ...

A greater than expected number of small and local businesses have turned to the Internet to sell their products and services -- causing some members of the traditional media to fear for the worst ...

Intel Corp.'s CEO Craig Barrett told reporters in Amsterdam last week that current forecasts projecting the growth of e-commerce were too low ...

Softbank Corp., Japan's No. 1 software distributor, said last week it will pump $1.6 billion (US$) in three venture capital funds that will only invest in Internet-related startups ...