E-Commerce Blog

Blockbuster on Tuesday threw its hat into the increasingly crowded ring of set-top boxes with the announcement of a deal with hardware maker 2Wire. Blockbuster’s system will bring video directly to viewers’ televisions on demand via a broadband Internet connection. The move follows similar offerings from competitors. The Web-connected hardware comes months after chief rival Netflix came out with a set-top box manufactured by Roku. However, Blockbuster’s system draws video from the Web differently, and it charges using a different pay structure.

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Elbowing Into the Set-Top Scene: Q and A With Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes

The Utah-based SCO Group has been cleared to appeal a court ruling that might lead to a revival of its dispute with IBM over copyright claims to the freely distributed Linux operating system. Utah Federal Judge Dale A. Kimball has signed a final judgment in a case involving Novell, in which he had awarded Novell $2.5 million for some of the revenues SCO obtained in licensing the Unix computer operating system. The judgment is the latest development in the case that began in 2003 when SCO sued IBM saying the Unix code that SCO claimed to own had been the basis for code placed in Linux.

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SCO Vows to Appeal Judge’s Patent Ruling

The silver Macbook spins slowly in front of an all-white background, as it has in previous Apple television commercials. But this ad’s overall spin is different — instead of talking up digital media, faster processors and more memory, this one mentions toxic chemicals, recyclable aluminum and glass, and energy efficiency. “The new Macbooks. The world’s greenest family of notebooks,” says the voiceover in the commercial, which began running in network prime-time slots this week. Also released this week: the 10th version of Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics.

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Greenpeace Drizzles on Apple’s New Green Ad Campaign

Networking giant Cisco Systems will shut down most of its American and Canadian offices from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2 in a move the San Jose, Calif.-based company says will save it about $1 billion. Cisco’s announcement is just the latest signal that technology companies are making efforts to cut costs as demand for new computing equipment slows down and a recession looms. Cisco’s stock was trading up nearly 4 percent to $16.02 per share in mid-day trading on Wednesday.

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Cisco to Go Dark for 5 Days in Cost-Savings Move

Google’s stock snapped out of its recent funk Tuesday after new data showed the Internet search leader is becoming even more dominant in the most lucrative part of the online advertising market. Internet research firms comScore and Nielsen Online both said the volume of search requests at Google has climbed substantially over the past year while rivals Yahoo and Microsoft are losing market share. The statistics, based on October search activity, bode well for Google’s fourth-quarter revenue.

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Google Investors Cheer Search Ad Market Reports