Articles by Keith Regan

Super Bowl XLII may have been an historic upset, but the Internet traffic driven by the multimillion-dollar advertising largely held true to form Web hosting and domain registration company GoDaddy.com appeared to have once again stirred up the most excitement, using a tried-and-true formula -- a tantalizing, suggestive ad -- and a new twist to dri...

Does being a Web user in 2008 automatically mean giving up your right to privacy? A growing chorus of voices says the evolution of the Internet, the increasingly cozy relationship between search and advertising companies and the rise of Web 2.0 social networking technologies adds up to an environment where true privacy may be but an illusion....

Search giant Google missed analyst forecasts for fourth-quarter profit -- even as it slowed its hiring growth to curb expenses -- and executives cited the difficulties of making social networking advertising work as one of the factors for the miss The longtime Wall Street darling joined a long list of tech companies to disappoint analysts recently ...

Seeking to reshape the online landscape and create a serious challenger to Google with a single bold stroke, Microsoft has made a US$44.6 billion unsolicited bid to buy struggling portal Yahoo The offer -- shareholders can choose either cash or the equivalent amount of Microsoft stock -- valued Yahoo at $31 per share, a 62 percent premium over the ...

Sprint will write down nearly US$31 billion worth of goodwill value it has carried on its books since it purchased Nextel Communications in a deal that has failed to help the No. 3 telecom firm compete with larger rivals In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sprint said that an annual internal review of the goodwill -- the intang...

Amazon.com doubled its fourth-quarter profit as international sales fueled growth, but the e-tailer's outlook raised questions about its continued reliance on discounting as it expands into new markets and product categories The company met analyst expectations for fourth quarter earnings with net profit of US$207 million, or 48 cents per share. It...

In the wake of a fourth-quarter report that showed a drop in profits and an outlook that disappointed investors, Yahoo said Tuesday it will cut 1,000 workers from its payroll as CEO Jerry Yang attempts to reinvigorate the portal he cofounded Yahoo's fourth quarter profit of US$205.7 million, or 15 cents per share, handily beat Wall Street expectati...

In a blow to the music industry's worldwide campaign to crack down on copyright infringement, a European court has ruled that Internet service providers cannot turn over the identities of alleged file-sharers The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg found that existing European Union laws do not allow for such a forced disclosure of information ...

Hoping to overcome sizable hurdles such as a volatile stock market and uncertain economy, Current Media -- the money-losing, multichannel media company cofounded by former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore -- has filed for an initial public offering Current Media, which operates a Web site as well as a television network, estimate...

eBay's PayPal unit will acquire the software firm Fraud Sciences for US$170 million. The move could help boost confidence in the online payment industry and in the parent company's online auctions Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, and founded by former members of Israel's intelligence agency, Fraud Sciences gives merchants online tools to help them verify...

Microsoft posted an impressive quarter on Thursday, with Vista and Office sales setting the pace. The software giant also issued a strong outlook for the current quarter and all of 2008 -- something many of its fellow tech companies have been unable to do Microsoft's earnings rose about 79 percent for the quarter that ended in December -- its fisca...

The Federal Communications Commission began its long-awaited 700 megahertz wireless spectrum auction Thursday, setting in motion a process that could help determine how -- and by whom -- next-generation wireless services will be delivered The FCC has said the auction could raise more than US$15 billion for the federal government. The spectrum also ...

eBay confirmed Wednesday that its president and CEO, Meg Whitman, will step down after a decade at the helm of one of the most successful e-commerce companies in the world. Investors brushed aside the succession news to focus on the auction company's relatively weak forecast for 2008 Whitman will leave eBay at the end of March; eBay Marketplaces ch...

IBM continues to emphasize software as part of its future road map. In laying out a plan to use its Lotus franchise to expand the number of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) using its applications, Big Blue is taking aim at a key part of rival Microsoft's core market At its annual Lotusphere trade show this week, IBM announced it would creat...

Electronic Arts will launch a free Web-based online battlefield game, the first barrage of what may become an advertising-supported blitz which could help change the economics of the game-publishing industry EA's "Battlefield Heroes" will be a free-to-download and free-to-play multi-player personal computer game that will also use back-end technolo...

HBO will start to make its high-profile catalog of series, films and specials available online this week for some subscribers, a move that underscores the growing comfort content owners feel toward using the Web as a distribution channel The service, known as "HBO on Broadband," will go live on Tuesday in two relatively small test markets -- Milwau...

IBM's relatively robust outlook and the details of its fourth quarter performance have helped restore some investor optimism toward the tech sector after a wild week that saw recession fears rise on weak results from the likes of Intel IBM, which earlier in the week preannounced its earnings, said Thursday that many of its key business lines turned...

Seeking to streamline in the face of continued customer losses, No. 3 wireless telecommunications carrier Sprint Nextel will cut 4,000 jobs and shutter scores of retail outlets Sprint Nextel described the moves as the "initial plans" and as part of "an ongoing review of operations and market approach," leaving the door open for additional cuts down...

Putting its money where its mouth is -- and where its corporate parent's future may lie as well -- Google's charitable arm, Google.org, on Thursday announced US$25 million worth of new grants across what it now says are the five core areas that it will focus on going forward Google.org will concentrate its monetary giving and related work in the fi...

In a move with potentially far-reaching implications for Web users and Internet companies alike, Time Warner Cable will test a new model for high-speed Internet access that charges users based on how much bandwidth they consume Time Warner Cable will try out the metered approach to selling high-speed Internet access through its Road Runner cable br...