Articles by Keith Regan

In a move that could dampen the tech sector's unbridled enthusiasm for low-cost outsourcing, Dell said it would stop routing some customer-support requests to call centers in India after customers complained about the quality of service Dell said it had received some complaints about the technical support through the overseas support center, with o...

Hewlett-Packard unveiled a line of low-cost servers aimed at the small- and medium-sized business market, saying it would sell the products for as much as 50 percent less than similar offerings from competitors HP said the server-storage products are part of its larger smart-office push to attract more nonenterprise business customers, an initiativ...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and a handful of other law enforcement agencies have charged 125 people with a host of Internet-related crimes, ranging from identity theft and software piracy to auction fraud and hacking. The FBI said those arrested so far in Operation Cyber Sweep are responsible for bilking at least 125,000 victims out of mor...

Posting its best overall quarter since merging with Compaq more than a year ago, Hewlett-Packard outpaced earnings and revenue estimates in the third quarter and said all five of its business segments operated in the black. The company said it brought in revenue of US$19.85 billion during the quarter ended October 31st, up from $18.05 billion a ye...

It's a simple equation, really: Personal computer desktop equals Microsoft. It's probably not fair, and it may even be that the synonymous status represents the ill-gotten gains of a monopolistic company. But it's as close to hard, fast truth as you can get. Ninety-seven percent of the population can't be wrong Or can they? Linux backers think so, ...

In a move that could open a new front in the search engine wars, America Online has purchased Singingfish, a search company that focuses exclusively on helping Web surfers find audio and video clips on the Internet and whose customers include Microsoft and RealNetworks AOL did not disclose terms of its acquisition of Seattle, Washington-based Singi...

Leaving little doubt about its resolve to press the legal issues surrounding its claimed ownership of part of the Linux source code, SCO Group said it has set aside millions of dollars in cash and stock to pay its high-profile legal team. SCO also indicated it may move to block Novell's planned purchase of SuSE Linux, saying that by acquiring the ...

Microsoft has announced it is putting the finishing touches on its own entry into the music download business, setting up a competitive showdown with a host of already established players in the marketplace The software giant has not set a specific date for the launch of its service, which will be run through MSN, and did not disclose many other de...

Few e-commerce companies tread their path entirely alone. The majority rely on partnerships with portals, search sites, fellow merchants and brick-and-mortar retailers to survive and thrive in a fiercely competitive environment. However, forging partnerships that work well is a tricky business, a tightrope walk with myriad pitfalls, from establish...

Three former Gateway executives face civil suitscharging they manipulated the computer maker'searnings in mid-2000 as the onetime market darlingstruggled to keep up with expectations amid slumpingsales. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed suitThursday against former CFO John J. Todd, whom thecomplaint charges was the "principal archi...

IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has said private enterprises plan to increase technology spending by as much as 4 percent next year, offering the first quantified look at the recovery that technology firms have hinted at in recent weeks. Palmisano said meetings with private customers indicate widespread increases in information technology budgets, although ...

Consumers are gearing up for another strong online holiday shopping season, but they continue to express concern about the security aspects of buying via the Web, according to a survey commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA). The BSA said the survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs with 4,000 consumers in four countries, found that ...

In an effort to build on momentum generated by a robust earnings report, Cisco Systems has reached an agreement to buy Latitude Communications, a software firm that makes Web conferencing products Cisco said it will pay US$3.95 for each share of Latitude stock, making the deal worth an estimated $80 million. The takeover is expected to close by the...

Some ideas are so genius they're downright obvious. They're the ones that make you slap your forehead and wonder aloud why you didn't think of it first. Even worse is when you did think of it but didn't do anything about it That had to be the reaction across the Web search industry when word of Google's Deskbar began to circulate. The tool, which p...

Oracle Corp. has asked a court to toss out PeopleSoft's customer assurance program, saying the company's cash guarantees amount to an attempt to block Oracle's hostile takeover bid and lock in pay packages for PeopleSoft executives. In a motion filed with the Delaware court that is handling other aspects of the takeover bid, Oracle said PeopleSoft...

Microsoft has released Virtual PC 2004 to manufacturers, completing a lengthy product-customization process that began when the software giant acquired Connectix earlier this year The Redmond, Washington-based company also said it will lower the sticker price of Virtual PC dramatically -- by US$100, to $129 -- and predicted the product will be read...

Number-two microprocessor maker AMD has said it sees signs of improving market conditions and will start "selectively hiring" during 2004 to meet an anticipated increase in demand. The company said it expects to post a profit in the fourth quarter and is optimistic about at least the first half of 2004, thanks to what executives called a "mini-boo...

Cisco Systems blew past Wall Street targets for revenue and earnings in its first quarter as telecommunications companies, government agencies and consumers helped power the Internet gear maker's sales to strong growth. The company said revenue in the quarter totaled US$5.1 billion, up from $4.8 billion in the same period last year, a gain of abou...

As everyone knows well, there was a time when you couldn't swing a hastily written business plan without finding someone so pie-eyed optimistic about the tech sector they'd break open their kid's piggy bank to help fund it. How things change. Today, you can't toss your underwater stock options out the window without hitting 10 die-hard skeptics sq...

Hoping to use cold, hard cash to crack two frustrating investigations, Microsoft has set up a US$5 million "reward fund" to pay bounties to those who track down writers of malicious code. The company launched the program by offering to pay two $250,000 bounties for information that leads to the capture and conviction of the authors of the SoBig an...