Print with us or sell elsewhere, company tells on-demand publishers
Wall Street Journal Mar 28, 08 12:42 PM CDT
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Publishers who print books on demand will have to use Amazon’s printing service if they want to sell their books on the leading online bookseller's site. Amazon's new policy means print-on-demand publishers will have little choice but to accept Amazon’s prices if they want to sell via the site. It also threatens to steal business from competing on-demand printers, reports the Wall Street Journal .
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Pepsi Stuff promotion violated contract, undermines artistic integrity: rockers
Guardian (UK) Mar 26, 08 2:55 CDT
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The Smashing Pumpkins are suing Virgin Records, claiming the company illegally used the band's name and music in ads for Pepsi and Amazon.com, the Guardian reports. The rockers' contract does not allow using the band in promotional campaigns such as the Pepsi Stuff ads, and members would “never grant such authority" that undermines "artistic integrity," the suit charges. EMI, which owns Virgin, declined to comment.
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It wants retailers to stop selling game, claims patent infringement
Associated Press Mar 21, 08 1:00 PM CDT
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Gibson Guitar has sued Guitar Hero retailers, saying the Activision video games infringe on a patent it holds for a virtual-reality concert. The federal suit seeks to stop Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Amazon, GameStop, and Toys "R" Us from selling the games, reports AP. But Activision is fighting back—earlier this month it sued to have Guitar Hero declared free of patent violation.
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Amazon says first service pack for OS will be ready for download
Associated Press Mar 18, 08 11:30 CDT
(Newser)
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The long-awaited first service pack for Microsoft Vista will be available online starting today, at least according to Amazon, which is taking orders for boxed copies of the upgrade pack and says it will start shipping them tomorrow. Many of the pack's updates and security fixes have already been sent to users as part of monthly updates since Vista launched last year to decidedly mixed reviews.
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Friday outage leaves businesses
in the dark with customers
PC World Feb 16, 08 8:42 CST
(Newser)
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Part of Amazon.com’s 2-year-old Simple Storage Service went down for several hours Friday, leaving some customers in the dark and unable to access their own files, reports PC World . The pay-as-you-go “S3” service is used by companies to run websites and warehouse large amounts of data. The outage was resolved by 7am Pacific Time for most users.
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MARKETS
Wholesale inventories, financials struggle, but tech holds its ground
MarketWatch Feb 8, 08 3:57 PM CST
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Stocks showed mixed results today, as the Dow rallied and then teetered to a loss off lingering fears of recession. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq posted moderate gains buoyed by strong showings by Amazon, Google, Apple, and Research in Motion, Marketwatch reports. The Nasdaq gained 11.82 to end at 2,304.85; the Dow fell 64.87 to 12,181.32, and the S&P 500 dropped 5.62 to 1,331.29.
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9 danger signs that disaster is inevitable
Independent (UK) Feb 5, 08 4:34 CST
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Scientists have identified nine danger zones where global warming could be pushed past the point of no return within years, the Independent reports. The scenarios include the melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, the collapse of the Indian and West African monsoons, and the death of forests in Canada, Siberia and the Amazon. Once climate "tipping points" are reached in any of the zones, the change would likely be irreversible—and could all occur within this century, the experts warned.
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MARKETS
Insurer MBIA says its rating will be just fine
MarketWatch Jan 31, 08 3:32 PM CST
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Markets were up sharply today on calming words from bond insurer MBIA, with the Dow closing at 12,650.36, up 207.53. The company said its triple-A rating was not vulnerable and that it was solvent enough to weather the mortgage crisis, MarketWatch reports. The Nasdaq gained 40.86 to 2,389.86; the S&P 500 moved up 22.74 to 1,378.55.
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Holiday shopping doubles retailer's
quarterly income
Wall Street Journal Jan 30, 08 5:47 PM CST
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Amazon's net income more than doubled in the fourth quarter, in part because of the retailer's sales gimmicks for the holidays, reports the Wall Street Journal . In addition, Amazon released a cheerier than expected forecast for this year's first quarter. The good news could help soothe Wall Street's nervousness over decreasing consumer spending.
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Changes are meant to reward big auctioneers, but may hurt others
New York Times Jan 30, 08 4:24 PM CST
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Newly announced changes to eBay sellers’ fees do not always benefit auctioneers—and the backlash among them has already begun. “This is clearly not a straight fee decrease,” says the editor of AuctionBytes. Indeed, in some cases, sellers wind up paying as much s 33% more.
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Company hopes to drive growth with new policies
Associated Press Jan 29, 08 1:33 PM CST
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eBay is chopping its listing fee in half and will take a bigger chunk out of the price of sold items, a change that should lower risk for sellers and encourage more listing, the AP reports. The online auction giant is also changing the way its search results work, the company announced at a gathering today of its top 200 sellers: Negative feedback will hurt sellers’ placement.
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Even president's tough new measures may not halt rapid deforestation
Time Jan 27, 08 6:29 CST
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The deforestation of the Amazon jungle is speeding up, and Brazil may be unable to stop it, Time magazine reports. Over the last five months an estimated 2,700 square miles of forest have been cleared—more than twice the size of Rhode Island. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has reacted with tough new regulations banning deforestation in some areas, but many fear they can't be enforced in the wild and against owners whose identity is unknown.
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Donahoe set to take over as auction site predicts weak growth
Wall Street Journal Jan 23, 08 6:12 PM CST
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EBay today named John Donahoe to replace Meg Whitman, who will retire in March, as CEO, the Wall Street Journal reports. Donahoe’s ascension from president of the firm's auction business comes as the company is attempting to transform that aspect of its operations, which provides two-thirds of eBay’s annual revenue of $6 billion—but has been growing more slowly in recent years.
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