Business Industry

Time Warner is testing a plan that could end flat-rate monthly broadband subscriptions. The second-largest Internet service provider in the US, Time Warner will soon launch a trial in the Beaumont, Texas market with four different prices for those ... downloading up to 5, 10, 20 or 40 gigabytes each month. They chose Beaumont randomly and say the area doesn't have a specific problem with heavy broadband use. A spokesman said it was a possible way to tackle the problem of light users effectively subsidising those who use the Internet more often. "What we're trying to accomplish is to create a ... (view more)

Sun Microsystems Inc. agreed to acquire MySQL AB, developers of open source databases for about $1 billion -- about $800 million in cash in exchange for all MySQL stock and to assume about $200 million in options. The transaction is reportedly ... expected to close late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of this year. Sun Microsystems Inc., based in Santa Clara, CA said the acquisition accelerates its position in enterprise IT to now include the database market, saying MySQL "will bring synergies to Sun that will change the landscape of the software industry by driving new ... (view more)

Amazon has signed a deal to sell MP3 files from artists on the Sony label without copy protection. It's the first site to sign such deals with all four major record labels (Sony, EMI, Universal and Warner) and is a big step forward in its battle ... with rival iTunes. The agreement means Amazon can now offer songs without digital rights management (DRM) protection. That's where files are 'locked' so that they can only be used on particular computers or players. Some systems only allow the file to work on the computer which downloaded it, while others allow a limited number of machines to play the ... (view more)

Although retailers reported an increase in sales this past holiday season, they're not particularly happy about it. Many analysts are startled that U.S. spenders didn't match an expected sales increase pegged at 4.5 per cent. According to major ... credit card company MasterCard, Americans spent more money this holiday season than last year, a surprising fact given a relatively stagnant U.S. dollar and more broadly, the U.S. economy. MasterCard finds that retailers experienced a 3.6 per cent rise in sales in 2007 over 2006. Earlier in the shopping season, most researchers pegged the holidays to " ... (view more)

Many of us have simply accepted that the holiday season's hottest Christmas gifts are often hard to find. In some ways, that makes up about half of their appeal. However, for the two companies behind this season's most in-demand items, customer ... complaints are beginning to mount. Could it even affect their post-Christmas sales? Few of us are new to the Nintendo Wii shortage. Even those that haven't much interest in owning the cutesy little console -- myself included -- it's no secret that the device is very hard to get, and has been for a remarkable amount of time. In fact, finding the Wii has ... (view more)

Proven internet success story Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of the Hotmail email client bought by Microsoft in 1998 for $400 million, is attempting to repeat his performance with a new venture. He is hoping to make inroads in the word processing market, ... principally attacking Microsoft Office's immense popularity. (Source: cnet.com ) His company, InstaColl, is set to develop a Flash-based Office 2007-like application, which will provide users with a uniquely collaborative experience. This is in keeping with Bhatia's speculation that by the year 2010, software sales on DVDs will plummet in favor of ... (view more)

Amidst all the worries over Black Friday security threats and the random phishing scheme, there's finally some good news for home and business software users. According to research firm Gartner, computer software should begin to decline ... significantly over the next decade. According to Gartner research vice president William Snyder, there are a number of reasons for the projected slip in costs. Collectively, they could drastically change the relationship between those producing the applications and those who need them. In the past, software buyers have had little say in the cost of the ... (view more)

Since it came out last November, the Sony PlayStation 3 has struggled to regain reign over its gaming throne, established during the first and second ages of the PlayStation. Heck, right now I think Sony would be pleased just to stand next to that ... throne, swinging a big fan and supplying Nintendo or Microsoft with juicy, delicious grapes. So, yeah, Sony isn't number one. But, it's doing all it can to change that. In a recent move, the company has lowered the price of its software for developers intent on crafting games for the PlayStation 3. In the past, that's been a bit of a problem, both ... (view more)

Napster is hoping to reclaim its former glory days after introducing a new web-based platform that allows users to play their music from anywhere in the world without having to download additional software. Once the best friend of every cheapskate ... music fan, Napster was forced by the Record Industry Association of America to charge customers money for the very songs they once shared for free. This was all received with a mass exodus of former "loyal" users from the company. Napster now hopes to attract subscribers by making their platform more flexible and compatible with any Internet-enabled ... (view more)

Ebay, made famous for selling everything from Pez to Picasso, is planning to launch its very own social networking service and promises to offer even more customer-friendly features by the end of 2007. The service will be called "Neighborhoods" and ... encourages all users to post photographs, product reviews and miscellaneous shopping tips for others to peruse at their leisure. The service is intended to create a far more visual and interactive experience compared to the standard text-based discussion forums currently found on the eBay website. (Source: usatoday.com ) While the introduction of ... (view more)