E-Commerce Blog

The U.S. economy is in a funk, but that doesn’t mean opportunities for venture investors have dried up. E-commerce is one sector that will see continued growth opportunities even in an economic downturn. In fact, industry observers say growth and revenue opportunities for e-commerce ventures — such as alternative payment options, next-generation advertising technologies, trading services, lead-generation platforms, and more — are as attractive as ever.

More here:
E-Commerce: Fertile Ground for Venture Investors

It can scale mountains in a single bound and wend its way down the most wretched roads. It is the mighty cell phone signal — and the latest hope for bringing financial services to the world’s masses who don’t have access to banks. Grameen Solutions, an affiliate of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank, this week teamed with Obopay, a for-profit mobile payment company based in California, to bring banking to a billion poor people using cell phones.

Credit:
The Cell Phone Connection: Financial Services for the Unbanked

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission came under fire for making a ruling that many consider outside its authority. Without levying a fine, it charged that Comcast violated federal policy when it interfered with a file-sharing application used by consumers. This new plot twist in the Net neutrality story should remind everyone that when it comes to new technologies, government failure is a bigger menace than market failure.

Here is the original:
Political Gain and Net Neutrality

Following a nearly six-month delay from its original target release date, Microsoft announced the release to manufacturing of its SQL Server 2008 Wednesday. The software maker had initially planned to launch the database application in February, but in January said it would have to move the date back to the third quarter. With the software’s code finalized and on its way to production, Microsoft is emphasizing that SQL Server 2008 will still arrive within three years of the release of the previous version, SQL Server 2005.

Continued here:
Microsoft Squeaks Out SQL Server 2008 Not a Moment Too Soon

Dan Kaminsky, the security researcher who first sounded the alarm that the entire Internet was in grave danger due to a widespread vulnerability, has revealed in front of a packed audience at the Black Hat security conference the details behind the initial subterfuge — and potential problems that could still pick apart the Web world as we know it. At the heart of the matter is the Domain Name System, which handles Internet addresses and routes traffic accordingly.

The rest is here:
Where Are All the Dangerous DNS Exploits? Nowhere and Everywhere