Articles by Keith Regan

After announcing its .NET initiative in mid-2000, then backing it up with a slew of releases and hype, Microsoft clearly was hoping 2002 would be the year Web services took off. But the calendar has flipped to 2003, .NET is nowhere near as far along as anticipated, and some observers are wondering if the software giant might have gotten ahead of itself in making such bold predictions.

Total security for a corporate network may be a goal of many IT executives, but no matter how much a company invests in security systems, breaches -- originating either outside or inside a corporate network -- are a fact of life in the information age. Given that security incidents are inevitable, how can IT executives budget for them, earmarking ...

In a ruling hailed by some as a major victory in the recording industry's epic battle against online piracy -- but decried by others as a threat to Web privacy -- a judge has ordered an Internet service provider to turn over the identity of a voracious file-swapper to an industry group U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates ruled that Verizon Inte...

Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft will combine marketing and training efforts in hopes of expanding their share of the US$1.8 billion-a-year market for network-attached storage (NAS). Although specific financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed, both companies said they have pledged "significant investment" in marketing efforts and training...

Microsoft has won another legal victory as a judge has barred two industry groups, backed by several of Microsofts rivals, from appealing the settlement the software giant reached with the U.S. Department of Justice on antitrust charges. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) ...

Fewer high-tech workers lost their jobs in 2002 than in 2001 as layoffs declined 33 percent, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas (CGC). Strikingly, CGC reported there were only 4,496 layoffs by e-commerce companies in 2002, compared with more than 56,000 in 2001. Even so, the total number of slashed jobs was high: 2002 sa...

Gateway (NYSE: GTW) has revealed that its fourth-quarter earnings will not meet expectations because a flurry of promotional offers, including a first-ever two-for-one offer on PCs, failed to lift sales Gateway said it expects to book sales of US$1.06 billion for the last three months of 2002, well short of its earlier estimate of $1.2 billion. Als...

Holiday sales rose 24 percent over last year's levels to US$13.7 billion, boosted by strong growth in online clothing sales and changes in the makeup of the Web shopping population, according to a new report. That final tally from the eSpending report prepared by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings means sales far surpassed 2...

Few things are more precious to an enterprise than information. Using it effectively -- which oftens means sharing it efficiently -- can provide a competitive edge, helping separate winners from also-rans. But data is precious in another way: It must be protected, not only against outside threats, but increasingly against unauthorized use by emplo...

The National Venture Capital Association has made official what most observers already knew: 2002 was a dismal year for initial public offerings, with just 22 venture-backed companies debuting in U.S. stock markets. Those firms raised a collective US$1.9 billion. In comparison, 35 companies held IPOs in 2001, raising a total of $2.8 billion in the...

The bad news is no secret, but it bears repeating: If you have bought anything online in the past several years, your personal information, including your home address and credit card number, is probably accessible via the Internet -- and available to people with less-than-noble intentions. Driving home that stark reality, New York officials recen...

Recognizing that more consumers than ever would take to the Internet for holiday shopping this year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission warned consumers to be cautious. Their first piece of advice: Deal with only those companies that you know and trust. But because the Web is a blind medium, sometimes it is not even possible to verify the identity of the person at the other end of a transaction. On the disinformation superhighway, scams are increasingly successful at passing for the real McCoy...

Storage software maker Veritas (Nasdaq: VRTS) has scooped up two smaller firms in deals worth about US$600 million, leading a pre-holiday buying spree by software companies that has rapidly accelerated the pace of industry consolidation. In a separate deal, business intelligence software firm Cognos said it will pay $160 million in cash to acquire...

A Russian software firm has been acquitted of copyright infringement in the first-ever criminal prosecution under the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The decision seems likely to reopen debate on the law's future. After more than two days of deliberations, a federal jury in California found ElcomSoft not guilty of copyright ...

Trying to find anyone willing to forecast a vigorous rebound in 2003 technology spending is like searching for a nonexistent needle in a haystack. But it is almost as hard to find someone who thinks tech spending has anywhere to go but up. Overall, most analysts and high-tech bellwethers -- at least those willing to commit to a forecast -- expect ...

In a move that likely indicates companies will not return to vigorous spending on telecommunications equipment anytime soon, Cisco Systems has inked a deal with SBC Communications to offer outsourced communications services. Cisco will provide its network engine to SBC, which will work with Cisco to market the outsourced services. The two companie...

Even in a world of overstuffed e-mail inboxes and jaded recipients, advertisers continue to find value in e-mail marketing campaigns. The difficulty, of course, is finding a way to stand out amid a sea of spam. Successful marketers have done so -- and at the same time have refined their e-mail blasts to a point at which recipients are not only wil...

Aiming to parlay its soaring popularity as a search site into e-tail glory, Google has launched a shopping search site, quietly releasing a beta version of Froogle during the busiest shopping week of the year. Much like the main Google search site, Froogle will use automatic Web-crawling technology to generate results. Merchants need not pay to be...

EBay sellers in eight states have been hit with lawsuits filed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), claiming they sold pirated DVDs through the auction site. The MPAA filed suit Tuesday against nine separate ventures, marking the first time that the industry group, whose members include most of the large movie studios, has targeted...

Online sales continue to impress as the holiday season enters its home stretch, according to two new reports. ComScore/Media Metrix said consumers spent US$2 billion during the week after Thanksgiving, marking an all-time one-week sales record for the Web and representing an increase of 34 percent over the same week in 2001. As in past years, the ...