Articles by Jim Offner

There's big money in counterfeiting name-brand goods.Sales of knockoff products over the Internet climbed to nearly US$120 billion in 2007, up from $84 billion the previous year, estimated MarkMonitor, an online protection firm that works with eBay and other online auction houses to shut counterfeiters down Pirated items run the value gamut from CD...

Part 1 of this two-part series discusses the benefits and risks of storing corporate data in the cloud Cloud storage opportunities for consumers are increasing rapidly. Those looking to store photos, music libraries and other personal data online have a number of choices, including both free and fee-based services....

For most businesses, data security is a mission-critical undertaking, and a summer of weather calamities drove home that point "As the recent hurricanes reminded us, off-premise backup solutions can make the difference between being out of business for good and being on hiatus for a few months," Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the Enderle Group...

Part 1 of this two-part series focuses on the way eBay's newest business strategies, which favor larger sellers and fixed-price sales, are altering the online auction marketplace. Part 2 takes a look at where many disenchanted smaller sellers and auctioneers are migrating in search of friendlier environments to sell their wares Online auction site ...

Things are changing at eBay eBay says it is evolving to adapt to changes in the larger market, but it's not clear how the auction giant will fare against an emerging army of specialized competitors, and it's far from clear whether sellers will warm to its new internal price structure....

Internet radio station operators are concerned that skyrocketing royalty fees could zap an industry that's still in its infancy However, technology may be bringing some solutions to the vexing problem of paying artists a royalty fee each time a listener hears a song....

"Smart" shopping carts have been around for a while, but until recently, they haven't managed to gain much traction. Now, some momentum is building, according to proponents of the computer-rigged market baskets that -- with a swipe of a card -- can flash an alert that a customer's favorite brand of ice cream is on sale, display nutritional values ...

Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores will allow Blockbuster and its largest shareholder, Carl Icahn, to look into the company's finances in connection with the video rental company's proposed buyout offer Circuit City also revealed that it has hired Goldman Sachs to help the company look into strategic alternatives to build its shareholder valu...

A federal judge in Los Angeles has awarded the Motion Picture Association of America US$110 million in compensation from Valence Media, operator of the now-defunct file-sharing Web site TorrentSpy U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ordered Valence Media to pay $30,000 for each copyright infringement of nearly 3,700 movies and television prog...

Take-Two Interactive Software is reporting record-setting sales of US$500 million for "Grand Theft Auto IV," with more than 6 million units sold in just one week. "We knew 'Grand Theft Auto IV' would break new ground in terms of the player's experience. ... Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well," said Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two's chai...

Yahoo is working with Web security technology specialist McAfee to alert users about potentially risky Web sites The companies launched the beta version of the SearchScan service on Tuesday. Now, Yahoo users will see red exclamation points and warnings next to search results McAfee has identified as offering potentially dangerous downloads, unsolic...

Germany-based Deutsche Telekom could take over the top position in the U.S. wireless telephone market if reports of its potential bid for Sprint Nextel prove true The company may place an offer on slumping Sprint within the next few days, according to press reports.

Entertainment conglomerate Viacom, riding a wave of success from a video game launch and a strong showing by its television enterprises, reported a 33 percent increase in first-quarter profit Friday Viacom, which owns the Nickelodeon, MTV and BET networks as well as moviemaker Paramount, reported earnings of US$270 million, or 42 cents per share, f...

A federal judge has established a framework that determines the licensing fee amounts three online services -- Yahoo, AOL and RealNetworks -- should pay to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). The fees could amount to US$100 million, according to ASCAP, and will be paid to members whose music users have streamed over ...

Internet service provider and Classmates.com parent United Online has agreed to acquire floral vendor FTD Group for about US$800 million United Online's offer of $15.08 per share is about a 12 percent premium on FTD's closing price of $13.50 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday....

Intel has signed a multiyear agreement with supercomputer vendor Cray The deal gives microchips from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel an avenue into Cray supercomputer systems that serve some of the most highly advanced computing applications in the government, military and engineering sectors....

Research In Motion has delayed the release of its 3G BlackBerry for AT&T from June to August, according to reports. The postponement may be due to testing of the new device A June launch might have placed the device, the BlackBerry 9000, in direct competition for marketplace attention with Apple's 3G iPhone, which is expected to surface that month....

Research In Motion has delayed the release of its 3G BlackBerry for AT&T from June to August, according to reports. The postponement may be due to testing of the new device A June launch might have placed the device, the BlackBerry 9000, in direct competition for marketplace attention with Apple's 3G iPhone, which is expected to surface that month....

Research In Motion has delayed the release of its 3G BlackBerry for AT&T from June to August, according to reports. The postponement may be due to testing of the new device A June launch might have placed the device, the BlackBerry 9000, in direct competition for marketplace attention with Apple's 3G iPhone, which is expected to surface that month....

The amount of click fraud decreased slightly in the first quarter, thanks in part to actions taken by Google and Yahoo, according to the latest Click Fraud Index by Click Forensics The overall industry average click fraud rate was 16.3 percent in the quarter, which was down slightly from the 16.6 percent rate reported in the previous quarter but up...