Articles by Keith Regan

Microsoft is making broad changes to its technological and business practices in an effort to make its most popular products more open and interoperable with those from other vendors Driven by industry changes, competitive pressures and legal realities, Microsoft laid out a variety of moves designed to make Windows and other products work better wi...

Three of the four largest wireless carriers rolled out new flat-fee monthly subscription options that let users talk as much as they want, sparking concerns among investors about a profit-sapping price war in the mobile space Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all announced all-you-can-consume plans within hours of each other on Tuesday. Verizon broke the ...

A Swiss bank has succeeded in at least temporarily shutting down the U.S. version of a Web site where a former bank employee posted internal documents he claims showed the bank was being used to hide and launder money. Earlier, a judge approved an order taking down the Web site The U.S. arm of whistle-blower Web site Wikileaks.org, a site designed ...

With significant recent defections threatening to make what was expected to be a close and ongoing battle for next-generation DVD supremacy a rout in favor of Sony's Blu-ray format, Toshiba is reportedly close to pulling the plug on HD DVD Toshiba has already made the decision to stop pushing the HD DVD technology and will soon make that decision p...

Microsoft has announced one of its most sweeping executive reorganizations in years, promoting 14 and announcing the departure of three. Many of the changes are aimed at the online and mobile units, where the overlap with potential acquisition target Yahoo is the greatest Some of the changes had been rumored earlier in the week and the first shoe t...

Just days after announcing a major mobile acquisition, Microsoft reportedly is poised to shake up the upper management of its mobile division after the group's former director departed to take a position with Vodafone Microsoft's mobile business -- which could get a significant boost if the software giant can pull off its attempted acquisition of Y...

Yahoo has held talks with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. about a partnership, merger or similar arrangement, according to reports. Such a deal would help fend off Microsoft's unsolicited US$44.6 billion bid to take over the portal and create an Internet force capable of rivaling Google News Corp. would offer significant benefit to Yahoo, most notably ...

Cable carrier Comcast on Wednesday defended its practice of managing Web-based traffic over its network as legal and necessary, providing new fodder for the network neutrality debate even as a lawmaker revived legislation to require that all Internet traffic be treated equally In an 80-page document filed with the Federal Communications Commission ...

Struggling wireless carrier Sprint Nextel said Tuesday it would add an activist investor who has been agitating for changes at the company to its board of directors Sprint appointed Ralph V. Whitworth, founder and principal ofRelational Investors, to its board. Whitworth will take the seat immediately but will have to stand for election at the comp...

AT&T will deliver WiFi access in thousands of Starbucks locations across the country as the coffee chain parts ways with former access partner T-Mobile AT&T will offer both free and paid WiFi connectivity at more than 7,000 company-run Starbucks locations, the companies said Monday. The new deal ends Starbucks' six-year partnership with T-Mobile, w...

AT&T will deliver WiFi access in thousands of Starbucks locations across the country as the coffee chain parts ways with former access partner T-Mobile AT&T will offer both free and paid WiFi connectivity at more than 7,000 company-run Starbucks locations, the companies said Monday. The new deal ends Starbucks' six-year partnership with T-Mobile, w...

AT&T will deliver WiFi access in thousands of Starbucks locations across the country as the coffee chain parts ways with former access partner T-Mobile AT&T will offer both free and paid WiFi connectivity at more than 7,000 company-run Starbucks locations, the companies said Monday. The new deal ends Starbucks' six-year partnership with T-Mobile, w...

Yahoo's board of directors has unanimously voted that Microsoft's unsolicited takeover bid is "not in the best interests" of the Web portal, a widely expected move that could put pressure on Redmond to beef up its US$44.6 billion offer Yahoo's board met over the weekend to consider the $31 per share offer, which Microsoft announced on Feb. 1. Yahoo...

Shares of computer security software maker McAfee surged Friday after it posted higher revenue and, despite a sharp drop in profit compared with the year before, better-than-expected earnings McAfee's net income fell to US$12.2 million, or 7 cents per share, in the quarter that ended in December, down sharply from $32.9 million, or 20 cents, a year...

Alcatel-Lucent lost more than US$3.7 billion in the fourth quarter and predicted a soft market for its telecommunications gear for much of 2008 The France-based company -- created through a $13 billion merger in 2006 -- also said it would not pay out a dividend to shareholders. However, the company did not announce additional layoffs, as had been w...

Subscription digital music service Napster posted one of its best quarters as a public company, with record revenue and a smaller financial loss The Los Angeles-based firm lost US$2.8 million, or 6 cents per share, in its third fiscal quarter, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $9.5 million. Revenue rose 15 percent to $32.8 million, the most ...

Internet and network gear maker Cisco Systems posted second quarter results that were in line with expectations, but stayed true to recent form among fellow technology firms by disappointing analysts and investors with its outlook The current business climate is "challenging" in both the U.S. and Europe, said Cisco CEO John Chambers. Any downturn w...

Adding another twist to its efforts to gain business adoption for its Web-based applications, Google has released a Team Edition of Google Apps Google Apps Team Edition allows users to sign up using their work e-mail addresses to gain access to a suite of Apps -- Google Docs, Calendar, Google Talk, but not Gmail -- and enable instant collaboration ...

AOL has reached a deal to purchase affiliate marketing network Buy.at in an effort to expand its online advertising platform Buy.at, which operates networks in the U.S. and the UK, will become part of AOL's New York-based Advertising.com and Platform A online marketing organizations....

The online video distribution sweepstakes gained another entrant Monday, with cable provider Cablevision throwing its resources behind a joint venture with Popcorn Home Entertainment that will offer movie downloads the same day they are released on DVD Cablevision said the service will enable subscribers to its iO TV digital cable service to downlo...