Clint Boulton

NEW YORK—Web platforms, systems designed to allow programmers to build applications using the Internet as the primary infrastructure, are getting a lot of buzz, with vendors such as Google, Amazon, Salesforce.com and Facebook leading the way. But its clear that security remains one of the top concerns for prospective customers of these platforms, as I […]

Though just a rumor at this point, the idea that Microsoft is negotiating to take a 5-percent stake in popular social networking site Facebook has some industry experts anticipating the next Internet bubble. Ovum Research analyst David Bradshaw said the stake, which could run from $300 million to $500 million and value Facebook between $6 […]

A couple of people have asked me what I think about Microsoft’s new Windows Live Search and how it will impact Google, so here goes. No matter how Microsoft spins it, I think the impact of the improved search relevance and other features (please read Peter Galli’s report here) in Live Search is a formality […]

As Google meets Sept. 27 with U.S. Senators to argue its $3.1 billion bid to buy DoubleClick is good for the competitive marketplace, the search giant is feeling the heat from a legal watchdog group that claims the company is not living up to its vow to respect copyright laws. National Legal and Policy Center […]

The N.Y. attorney generals office is investigating Facebook for deficiencies in the way the popular social networking site protects children from predators who lurk on the Internet. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wrote in a letter accompanying a subpoena for documents Sept. 24 that a review conducted by his office revealed major shortfalls in the sites […]

Some interesting rumors have surfaced this week regarding the Microsoft, Google and Facebook juggernauts. First, Michael Arrington from TechCrunch set the blogosphere afire Friday when he reported that a group of “industry luminaries” attended a cloak-and-dagger meeting at Google’s headquarters to discuss how to deal with Facebook, whose 40-million-plus users aren’t the issue so much […]

Determined to earn revenues beyond the Web developer market, Adobe Sept. 25 released its Technical Communication Suite, a bundle of software designed to help technical writers improve the way they create technical documentation. TCS seeks to help educate users via both traditional text and graphics and rich media, and it supports Adobe Flash Player-compatible video, […]

Refusing to be left out of the lucrative mobile advertising arms race Google, Yahoo, MSN and other big-time Web portals are engaged in, Fox Interactive Media Sept. 24 said it will offer free Web sites supported by mobile ads on MySpace and other brands. Tailored for the small screens on most handsets, MySpace Mobile Web […]

DEMOfall 07 in San Diego on Sept. 24 marked the formal launch of LongJump and Yuuguu, two vendors trying to make their products stick in a cluttered Web 2.0 market. LongJump, of Sunnyvale, Calif., is a Salesforce.com challenger, CEO and Founder Pankaj Malviya told eWEEK in a recent interview. A service of Relationals, a privately […]

LAS VEGAS—Microsoft, IBM, SAP and Oracle have driven the software market for so many years, were accustomed to seeing them lead new forays in high-tech. Thats not the case in the emerging sector for Web platforms, where consumer-oriented vendors such as Google, Amazon.com and eBay are ruling the roost, said an analyst at the Gartner […]

LAS VEGAS—Enterprise mashups have reached the peak of their hype cycle and are on their way to popping up in the enterprise. Many companies looking to cull data from multiple sources to help their employees do their jobs better are seeking mashups as an answer, said Anthony Bradley, a Gartner analyst, Sept. 21 at the […]

Nothing like a meeting of the Senate to find out which way the wind is blowing on a deal. The U.S. Senate subcommittee on antitrust competition policy and consumer rights said it will hold a hearing Sept. 27 to look at the $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick. This is a bid that had AT&T, Microsoft […]