Amazon: Experience The Excitement
Between the Lines — October 22nd, 2008 Amazon: Experience The Excitement Posted by Tom Steinert-Threlkeld @ 2:31 pm Categories: Amazon , Earnings Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Financial Accounting , Investment , Finance , Tom Steinert-Threlkeld Amazon follows Apple with solid financial results . Sales are up 31%. Net income 48%. Take that, investors who drove the stock down 24 cents to $49.99 today, in the wake of another big stock selloff . But before you spend $49.95 on the Marpac SleepMate 980A Electro-Mechanical Sound ...

Same story for Amazon: Q3 beats, Q4 forecast disappoints
Between the Lines — October 22nd, 2008 Same story for Amazon: Q3 beats, Q4 forecast disappoints Posted by Sam Diaz @ 3:19 pm Categories: General , Apple , Google , Yahoo , eBay , VMware , Amazon , Earnings Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Sales Strategy , Sales Force Management , Sales , Sam Diaz Same story - different company, different day. This time it’s Amazon on the hot seat. The company reported third quarter earnings of $118 million, or 27 cents per share, on $4.26 billion in revenue. ( ...

E-commerce’s looming question: Will consumers show up?
Between the Lines — October 23rd, 2008 E-commerce’s looming question: Will consumers show up? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:42 am Categories: General , Web Technology , Amazon , E-commerce Tags: Consumer , GSI Commerce Inc. , Analyst , Amazon.com Inc. , E-business , Web Technology , E-business/E-Commerce , Internet , Larry Dignan The fourth quarter for e-commerce will be very telling. Will online sales continue to grow even if the consumer is strapped? Or will e-commerce increasingly look like the ...

Amazon battens down the hatches before Microsoft’s cloud launch next week
All about Microsoft — October 23rd, 2008 Amazon battens down the hatches before Microsoft’s cloud launch next week Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 6:50 am Categories: Windows server , Corporate strategy , System Center , Utility/cloud computing , PDC 2008 Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Mary Jo Foley , Microsoft Windows , Cloud Computing , Databases , Enterprise Software , Operating Systems , Software , Data Management Amazon has made a few tweaks and additions to its Elastic ...

Amazon: EC2 is production ready; Will enterprises bite?
Between the Lines — October 23rd, 2008 Amazon: EC2 is production ready; Will enterprises bite? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 8:24 am Categories: General , Software Infrastructure , Hardware Infrastructure , Web Technology , Datacenter , Amazon , Enterprise 2.0 , Cloud computing Tags: SLA , Amazon.com Inc. , EC2 , Windows Instance , Service Level Management , Microsoft Windows , It Operations , It service Management , Operating Systems , Software Amazon Web ...

Salesforce partners with Facebook, Amazon to spark more app development
Between the Lines — November 3rd, 2008 Salesforce partners with Facebook, Amazon to spark more app development Posted by Sam Diaz @ 12:54 pm Categories: General , Microsoft , SaaS , Amazon , Innovation , Facebook , Cloud computing Tags: Salesforce.com Inc. , Job , Facebook , Sales Force , Amazon.com Inc. , Sales Force Management , Sales , Sam Diaz Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff doesn’t think companies should be worrying about things like servers and security, software updates and ...

Amazon launches CloudFront; Content delivery network margins go kaboom
Between the Lines — November 18th, 2008 Amazon launches CloudFront; Content delivery network margins go kaboom Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:55 am Categories: General , Software Infrastructure , Web Technology , Broadband , Amazon Tags: Content Delivery , Content Delivery Network , Amazon.com Inc. , Akamai Technologies Inc. , CloudFront , Larry Dignan Amazon Web Services on Tuesday launched CloudFront, a pay-as-you-go content delivery network. The move is likely to accelerate already brutal pricing in the content ...

Amazon CTO: Cloud infrastructure keeps companies focused on innovation
Between the Lines — November 20th, 2008 Amazon CTO: Cloud infrastructure keeps companies focused on innovation Posted by Sam Diaz @ 10:11 am Categories: General , Datacenter , Amazon , Innovation , Cloud computing Tags: Innovation , Amazon.com Inc. , Infrastructure , Cloud Computing , Data Centers , Storage , Hardware , Data Management , Sam Diaz On the night of the historic U.S. presidential election, news outlets across the country streamed live video of the news coverage on their Web ...

Microsoft, Amazon take different paths to cloud caching
All about Microsoft — November 24th, 2008 Microsoft, Amazon take different paths to cloud caching Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 9:14 am Categories: Corporate strategy , .Net Framework , Code names , Channel , Utility/cloud computing , PDC 2008 , Azure Tags: Content Delivery , Velocity , Content Delivery Network , Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , CloudFront , Mary Jo Foley Amazon and Microsoft, two of the leaders in the evolving cloud-services space, are offering customers a number of wares ...

Turkey, stuffing and Macs?
The Apple Core — November 30th, 2008 Turkey, stuffing and Macs? Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:59 pm Categories: Hardware , Retail , Store Tags: Apple Macintosh , Electronics , Apple Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Sales Strategy , Sales Force Management , Sales , Jason D. O'Grady It appears that Americans enjoyed a healthy serving of Macs over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Writing for Fortune’s Apple 2.0 blog Philip Elmer-DeWitt analyzed Apple’s domestic sales on Amazon.com over the critical Black ...

Amazon launches iPhone app
Between the Lines — December 3rd, 2008 Amazon launches iPhone app Posted by Larry Dignan @ 8:03 am Categories: General , Web Technology , Apple , Amazon , E-commerce Tags: Apple iPhone , Amazon.com Inc. , Larry Dignan Amazon on Wednesday said it launched an application on Apple’s App Store to target the iPhone and iPod touch. The news comes as Apple’s App Store is generating a good amount of buzz this holiday season ( Techmeme ). Amazon said in a statement that it is experimenting with a feature called Amazon Remembers. ...

Amazon iPhone app released
The Apple Core — December 3rd, 2008 Amazon iPhone app released Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:47 am Categories: iPhone , App Store , iPod touch Tags: Apple iPhone , Amazon.com Inc. , Advertising & Promotion , Marketing , Jason D. O'Grady Amazon iPhone app released Amazon.com today released Amazon Mobile ( iTunes ) a free application for iPhone via the App Store. The world’s largest e-commerce Web site was previously available as a Web application ( m.amazon.com ) but it lacked the sophistication of ...

Amazon puts human genome, other data sets in the cloud
Between the Lines — December 4th, 2008 Amazon puts human genome, other data sets in the cloud Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:01 am Categories: General , Web Technology , Amazon Tags: Genome , Amazon.com Inc. , Data Set , Storage , Hardware , Larry Dignan Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Thursday said it will publish data sets such as the Human Genome, U.S. Census and labor statistics to its cloud to make the information easier to access for researchers. aws2.png For starters, Amazon will publish various U.S. Census databases from ...

Handicapping cloud computing: The big picture
Between the Lines — December 12th, 2008 Handicapping cloud computing: The big picture Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:17 am Categories: General , Software Infrastructure , Web Technology , Google , Microsoft , IBM , Sun , Amazon , Cloud computing Tags: Revenue , Google Inc. , Google Apps , Web Service , Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Jeffrey Lindsay , Cloud Computing , Larry Dignan Cloud computing isn’t going to dominate the tech landscape, but will raise a ...

Microsoft datacenter architect defects to Amazon
All about Microsoft — December 12th, 2008 Microsoft datacenter architect defects to Amazon Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 1:42 pm Categories: Windows Live , Corporate strategy , Research , Utility/cloud computing , Azure Tags: Team , Data Center , Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Hamilton , Data Management , Data Centers , Team Management , Storage , Databases James Hamilton, an architect on Microsoft’s Data Center Futures team, has decided to leave Microsoft for Amazon.com, as ...

Cloud computing: Think collective, not zero sum
Between the Lines — December 16th, 2008 Cloud computing: Think collective, not zero sum Posted by Larry Dignan @ 5:06 am Categories: General , IT Management , Software Infrastructure , Hardware Infrastructure , Microsoft , Datacenter , SaaS , SAP , Hewlett-Packard , IBM , Oracle , Salesforce.com , Amazon , Cloud computing Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Cloud Ecosystem Theory , Cloud Computing , Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) , Web Services , ...

Migrating to Amazon Web Services: The blueprint
Between the Lines — December 18th, 2008 Migrating to Amazon Web Services: The blueprint Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:25 am Categories: General , IT Management , Software Infrastructure , Hardware Infrastructure , Web Technology , SaaS , Storage , Amazon Tags: Web Service , Amazon.com Inc. , Infrastructure , Helpstream , EC2 , Cloud Computing , Data Centers , Software As A Service (SaaS) , Web Services , Storage Moving your infrastructure to Amazon Web ...

10 most influential biztech products of 2008
Between the Lines — December 22nd, 2008 10 most influential biztech products of 2008 Posted by Jason Hiner @ 2:00 am Categories: IT Management , Apple , Microsoft Tags: Salesforce.com Inc. , Apple iPhone , Web , Information Technology , Video Conferencing , Smart Phone , Amazon.com Inc. , RIM BlackBerry , Smart Phones , WANs 10. HP EliteBook laptops Hewlett-Packard has already overtaken the top spot for worldwide PC sales, but the company is making a stronger run than ever at the business notebook ...

Holiday recap: Amazon bucks trend of worst retail season in decades
Between the Lines — December 26th, 2008 Holiday recap: Amazon bucks trend of worst retail season in decades Posted by Sam Diaz @ 10:14 am Categories: General , iPhone , Amazon , E-commerce , Economy Tags: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Sales Strategy , Sales Force Management , Sales , Sam Diaz On this, the other Black Friday, here are a few bits of retail news worth sharing: Amazon says very little about its success, choosing instead to release only one tidbit of data: more than 6.3 million items were ...

Amazon Remembers, a brilliant iPhone companion
The Apple Core — December 31st, 2008 Amazon Remembers, a brilliant iPhone companion Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:17 am Categories: Retail , iPhone , App Store , iPod touch Tags: Apple iPhone , Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Remembers , E-mail , Engineering , Online Communications , Jason D. O'Grady Amazon Remembers, a brilliant iPhone companion One of the interesting aspects of the Amazon Mobile app ( iTunes , free) that I reviewed on 03 December 2008 is its experimental Amazon Remembers ...

Amazon EC2 launches Web-based management console
Between the Lines — January 9th, 2009 Amazon EC2 launches Web-based management console Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:39 am Categories: General , Software Infrastructure , Web Technology , Amazon , Cloud computing Tags: Web , Password , Console , Amazon.com Inc. , Management Console , Cloud Computing , Web Services , Enterprise Software , Software , Larry Dignan Amazon Web Services announced a Web-based management console for its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) service. According to ...

Adobe takes LiveCycle developer tools to Amazon Web Services
Between the Lines — January 12th, 2009 Adobe takes LiveCycle developer tools to Amazon Web Services Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:13 am Categories: General , Web Technology , Adobe , Amazon , Cloud computing Tags: Adobe Systems Inc. , Adobe LiveCycle , Development Tool , Web Service , Amazon.com Inc. , Tool , Cloud Computing , Web Services , Enterprise Software , Software Adobe said Monday that it will make its LiveCycle ES Developer Express software available on Amazon Web Services. ...

Engine Yard takes Ruby and Rails to Amazon’s cloud bandwagon
Between the Lines — January 14th, 2009 Engine Yard takes Ruby and Rails to Amazon’s cloud bandwagon Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:12 am Categories: General , Software Infrastructure , Web Technology Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Ruby , Vertebra , Scripting Languages , Software/Web Development , Web Development , Larry Dignan Engine Yard, which makes application development software for Ruby and Rails deployments, said it will make its offerings available on Amazon Web Services. The move is part of a mass migration to Amazon’s EC2 ...

Amazon wants to put govt. in the cloud
ZDNet Government — January 14th, 2009 Amazon wants to put govt. in the cloud Posted by Richard Koman @ January 14, 2009 @ 2:28 PM Categories: State & Local Govt Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Federal Government , Government , Richard Koman Amazon is targeting state and federal government as a major new client for its cloud services. TechFlash found this job posting on Amazon’s site: Would you like to be part of a team focused on increasing awareness and adoption of Amazon Web Services by developing relationships with government organizations and ecosystem ...

Review: M-Edge Executive Leather Jacket and e-Luminator light for the Amazon Kindle
The Mobile Gadgeteer — January 19th, 2009 Review: M-Edge Executive Leather Jacket and e-Luminator light for the Amazon Kindle Posted by Matthew Miller @ 5:00 am Categories: On the road , Review , Gadgets , ebooks Tags: Accessory , Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , e-Luminator Kindle , E-books , Personal Technology , Matthew Miller I was quite late to the Kindle party, but after getting some Amazon gift certificates and a Fall credit card deal I picked one up a few months ago. I also have a Sony Reader, but use the ...

Amazon, Netflix, Priceline: Are they really recession resistant?
Between the Lines — January 20th, 2009 Amazon, Netflix, Priceline: Are they really recession resistant? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 3:00 am Categories: eBay , Amazon , E-commerce , Earnings , Economy Tags: NetFlix Inc. , Google Inc. , Recession , Amazon.com Inc. , Priceline.com Inc. , Larry Dignan With Google and eBay kicking off a round of Internet earnings this week analysts seem to be on a hunt to find the most recession resistant Web  companies. The early line: Amazon, Netflix and Priceline appear to be able to ...

Kindle day: Amazon preps new e-book
Between the Lines — February 9th, 2009 Kindle day: Amazon preps new e-book Posted by Larry Dignan @ 3:48 am Categories: Amazon , General Tags: Stephen King , Amazon.com Inc. , E-books , Blogging , Pricing , Marketing Research , Personal Technology , Internet , Marketing , Larry Dignan Amazon is expected to unveil its latest Kindle Monday and will reportedly offer a new Stephen King novel that is exclusive to the device.  Kindle 2.0 is expected to be announced Monday in New York. I’ll be blogging live from ...

Leaked Kindle 2 images show a sleeker, thinner, more rounded device
Hardware 2.0 — February 9th, 2009 Leaked Kindle 2 images show a sleeker, thinner, more rounded device Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 4:19 am Categories: In the news , Mobile Technology Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Kindle 2 , E-books , Sales Strategy , Personal Technology , Sales , Adrian Kingsley-Hughes With only hours to go until Amazon is expected to unveil the second-generation e-book reader Kindle 2, genuine-looking images are circulating the web. Kindle 2 Kindle 2 At first blush the new Kindle looks sleeker, thinner, ...

Live from New York: Amazon’s Kindle 2.0
Between the Lines — February 9th, 2009 Live from New York: Amazon’s Kindle 2.0 Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:59 am Categories: Amazon , General Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , Managed Hosting , Outsourcing , It Operations , Business Operations , Outsourcing & Subcontracting , Larry Dignan 9:57 a.m. EDT: Amazon’s Kindle announcement is about to kick off and we’re in. Here’s a look at some shots of the venue.  Many of the details are known about the Kindle 2.0 unveiling, Stephen King’s novel and ...

Kindle 3 should be an iPhone app
The Apple Core — February 9th, 2009 Kindle 3 should be an iPhone app Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:53 am Categories: Amazon , Gadget , Hardware Tags: Apple iPhone , Amazon.com Inc. , E-books , Corporate Communications , Personal Technology , Marketing , Jason D. O'Grady Carry your library in 10.2 ounces Amazon today announced the new Kindle 2 [image] ($259) the successor to its a purpose-built eBook reader. The update is thinner, lighter, has more storage, a better display, better button placement and will ...

Amazon’s Kindle 2: 5 burning questions
Between the Lines — February 9th, 2009 Amazon’s Kindle 2: 5 burning questions Posted by Larry Dignan @ 10:12 am Categories: Amazon , General , Mobile , Wired & Wireless Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , Kindle 2 , Sales Strategy , Sales Force Management , Wireless And Mobility , Sales , Larry Dignan Amazon unveiled its Kindle 2 in New York Monday and the device looks impressive, but may not enough to inspire gadget lust in a down economy. Meanwhile, Amazon’s press conference was a ...

IBM taps Amazon to further extend cloud offerings
Between the Lines — February 11th, 2009 IBM taps Amazon to further extend cloud offerings Posted by Sam Diaz @ 4:29 pm Categories: General Tags: Software , Amazon.com Inc. , IBM Corp. , Cloud Computing , Sam Diaz Just one day after IBM made several announcements related to a new cloud computing initiative, the company said it would offer software to clients and developers on Amazon Web Services under a “pay-as-you-go” model. In a release , the company said: Businesses today are looking for ways to quickly build, deploy and take advantage of the ...

IBM, Amazon foreshadow a bevy of connecting clouds; Is Microsoft surrounded?
Between the Lines — February 13th, 2009 IBM, Amazon foreshadow a bevy of connecting clouds; Is Microsoft surrounded? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 3:30 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , Google , IBM , SaaS , Software Infrastructure , Web Technology Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , IBM Corp. , Cloud Computing , Larry Dignan If there were any lingering doubts about whether Amazon Web Services were enterprise ready they dissolved this week once IBM became a partner. And now that Amazon and IBM ...

Newegg, Amazon, Netflix lead e-tail customer satisfaction; eBay hits all-time low
Between the Lines — February 17th, 2009 Newegg, Amazon, Netflix lead e-tail customer satisfaction; eBay hits all-time low Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:54 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General , eBay Tags: NetFlix Inc. , Newegg.com , Customer Satisfaction , Amazon.com Inc. , eBay Inc. , American Customer Satisfaction Index , E-tail , Larry Dignan Consumers report more customer satisfaction with goods and services, but e-commerce results were mixed as e-tailers like Amazon and Newegg remained strong ...

The Kindle 2 debate: If a robot reads a book is it an audio book?
Between the Lines — February 25th, 2009 The Kindle 2 debate: If a robot reads a book is it an audio book? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 7:45 am Categories: Amazon , General , Personal Technology Tags: Customer Service , Amazon.com Inc. , Audio Book , Audio Right , Robots , E-books , Emerging Technologies , Personal Technology , Larry Dignan Roy Blount Jr., president of the Author’s Guild, argues that the Kindle 2’s ability to read text aloud like one of those automated customer service robots is a substitute ...

Kindlenomics: Keep publishers and authors happy (cave once in a while)
Between the Lines — February 28th, 2009 Kindlenomics: Keep publishers and authors happy (cave once in a while) Posted by Larry Dignan @ 12:26 pm Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General , Personal Technology Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Author , Guild , Robots , Emerging Technologies , Larry Dignan Amazon has backtracked a bit on the Kindle 2’s text-to-speech feature, which riled up the Author’s Guild.  Amazon’s most recent move ( statement , Techmeme ) is designed to appease the Author’s Guild. The Author’s ...

Text-to-speech on the Kindle 2 - A fuss over nothing
Hardware 2.0 — March 2nd, 2009 Text-to-speech on the Kindle 2 - A fuss over nothing Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 3:44 am Categories: In the news Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Audio Book , Adrian Kingsley-Hughes Over the weekend Amazon decided to tweak the way that the text-to-speech feature of the Kindle 2 worked following claims made by the Authors Guild that the new feature created a derivative work and violated copyright. Amazon will issue the Kindle 2 with an update that allows the copyright holder to disable the feature for selected works (yeah, I ...

Amazon's Kindle cave shows the power of publishers
ZDNet Government — March 2nd, 2009 Amazon's Kindle cave shows the power of publishers Posted by Richard Koman @ March 2, 2009 @ 4:00 PM Categories: Government technology Tags: Publisher , Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , E-books , Personal Technology , Richard Koman Catching up with Kindle news: Amazon says it is re-doing the text-to-speech function to aid publishers’ and authors’ comfort level, but that the feature is absolutely legal: Kindle 2’s experimental text-to-speech feature is legal: no copy is made, no derivative work is ...

Amazon's Kindle comes to the iPhone, iPod touch; It's about the store not the device
Between the Lines — March 4th, 2009 Amazon's Kindle comes to the iPhone, iPod touch; More about convenience than Kindlenomics for now Posted by Larry Dignan @ 3:42 am Categories: Amazon , Apple , E-commerce , General , Personal Technology , iPhone Tags: Apple iPhone , Apple iPod , Amazon.com Inc. , Apple iPod Touch , Amazon Kindle , Digital Music , Digital Media , Personal Technology , Consumer Electronics , Larry Dignan Amazon said Wednesday that it will bring the Kindle ...

Is Amazon's Kindle iPhone app crippled or companion? CFO says companion
Between the Lines — March 4th, 2009 Is Amazon's Kindle iPhone app crippled or companion? CFO says companion Posted by Larry Dignan @ 10:00 am Categories: General Tags: Apple iPhone , Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , Ed , Digital Music , Digital Media , Personal Technology , Consumer Electronics , Larry Dignan Ed Burnette raises an interesting question about Amazon’s Kindle application for the iPhone and iPod touch: Did the e-commerce giant cripple the iPhone to keep selling Kindles? Ed writes ( Techmeme ...

Amazon takes shot at GameStop, starts accepting videogame trade-ins
Between the Lines — March 5th, 2009 Amazon takes shot at GameStop, starts accepting videogame trade-ins Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 9:31 am Categories: Amazon , Gaming Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , GameStop , Games , Corporate Communications , Personal Technology , Marketing , Andrew Nusca Amazon said today that it would allow shoppers to trade-in used video games for store credit, a move that may challenge a core business of GameStop , the biggest U.S. video game retailer. [image] Amazon has already launched the beta ...

GameStop CEO to Amazon: 'Zero' chance game trade-in program will work
Between the Lines — March 6th, 2009 GameStop CEO to Amazon: 'Zero' chance game trade-in program will work Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 9:02 am Categories: Amazon , Gaming Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , GameStop , Games , Personal Technology , Andrew Nusca [image] Just one day after Amazon announced and launched the beta version of its new used videogame trade-in program — firing the first salvo in the war against GameStop for the used game market — GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo says the “probability of this working is zero,” according ...

Review: M-Edge Genuine Leather Prodigy and Platform Jackets for Kindle 2
The Mobile Gadgeteer — March 10th, 2009 Review: M-Edge Genuine Leather Prodigy and Platform Jackets for Kindle 2 Posted by Matthew Miller @ 1:20 pm Categories: Gadgets , Review , ebooks Tags: Strap , Amazon.com Inc. , Prodigy Communications , Amazon Kindle , Platform Jacket , Prodigy Jacket , Corporate Communications , Notebooks , Marketing , Hardware My Amazon Kindle 2 arrived almost two weeks ago (see my review ) and then at the end of last week two M-edge cases arrived for me to ...

Amazon tweaks EC2 pricing; Takes next step in its enterprise evolution
Between the Lines — March 12th, 2009 Amazon tweaks EC2 pricing; Takes next step in its enterprise evolution Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:42 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , Datacenter , Enterprise 2.0 , General , Hardware Infrastructure , IT Management , Software Infrastructure , Web Technology Tags: Instance , Amazon.com Inc. , Pricing Strategy , Pricing , Marketing Research , Cloud Computing , Marketing , Larry Dignan Amazon has tweaked its Elastic Compute ...

Sony partners with Google to battle Amazon for eBook readers
Between the Lines — March 19th, 2009 Sony partners with Google to battle Amazon for eBook readers Posted by Sam Diaz @ 12:19 pm Categories: Amazon , Digital Media , General , Google , Sony Tags: Sony Corp. , Google Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , E-books , Business Structures , Hd Dvd , Digital Media , Personal Technology , Finance , DVD Google and Sony are expected to announce a non-exclusive digital books partnership today, a move that goes directly at Amazon and its new Kindle ...

Memo to Google & Amazon: ‘Cloud Computing’ Really Is Time-Sharing. Next: Will Punch Cards Make A Comeback?
Between the Lines — March 23rd, 2009 Memo to Google & Amazon: ‘Cloud Computing’ Really Is Time-Sharing. Next: Will Punch Cards Make A Comeback? Posted by Tom Steinert-Threlkeld @ 6:41 pm Categories: Amazon , Business Intelligence , Cloud computing , Datacenter , General , Google , Hardware Infrastructure , IT Management Tags: Google Inc. , Card , Server Farm , SAS Institute , Amazon.com Inc. , Cloud Computing , Servers , Hardware , Tom Steinert-Threlkeld ...

Amazon not joining the Open Cloud Manifesto, either
All about Microsoft — March 27th, 2009 Amazon not joining the Open Cloud Manifesto, either Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 9:01 am Categories: App Compatibility , Azure , Corporate strategy , Development tools , Utility/cloud computing Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Data Center Knowledge , Data Centers , Blogging , Quality , Storage , Hardware , Data Management , Internet It will be interesting to see who signs on to the Open Cloud Manifesto document that is circulating ...

What a difference a decade makes: Barron’s proclaims Amazon best retailer
Between the Lines — March 28th, 2009 What a difference a decade makes: Barron’s proclaims Amazon best retailer Posted by Larry Dignan @ 9:27 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General Tags: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Barron , Retail , Operational Accounting , Personal Finance , Finance , Larry Dignan Reading Barron’s cover story on Amazon where the publication loves damn near everything about the e-tailer—the cash flow, the business model, the cloud services, the marketplace for third party ...

Can you have an Open Cloud Manifesto without Amazon, Google, Salesforce and Microsoft?
Between the Lines — ... Posted by Larry Dignan @ 9:01 pm Categories: AMD , Amazon , Cisco , Cloud computing , Datacenter , EMC , General , Google , Hardware Infrastructure , IBM , Juniper Networks , Microsoft , Open Source , Oracle , Salesforce.com , Software Infrastructure , Web Technology Tags: Salesforce.com Inc. , Google Inc. , Cloud Computing , Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Standards , Manifesto , IT ...

DoS attack on UltraDNS affects Amazon.com, SalesForce.com, Petco.com
Between the Lines — April 1st, 2009 DDoS attack on UltraDNS affects Amazon.com, SalesForce.com, Petco.com Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 9:42 am Categories: Amazon , Salesforce.com , Security Tags: Denial Of Service , Salesforce.com Inc. , DNS , UltraDNS , NeuStar Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Domain Names , Networking , Security , Internet Several NeuStar UltraDNS managed DNS service customers, including Amazon.com, SalesForce.com, advertising.com and Petco.com, were knocked offline for several ...

Amazon launches Hadoop data crunching service
Between the Lines — April 2nd, 2009 Amazon launches Hadoop data crunching service Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:20 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , Enterprise 2.0 , General , Web Technology Tags: Apache Hadoop , Amazon.com Inc. , MapReduce Programming Model , Cloud Computing , Recruitment & Selection , Tools & Techniques , Human Resources , Workforce Management , Management , Larry Dignan Amazon on Thursday announced a new cloud computing ...

eBay power sellers: Amazon is kicking eBay's tail
Between the Lines — April 6th, 2009 eBay power sellers: Amazon is kicking eBay's tail Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:15 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , Economy , General , Web Technology , eBay Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , eBay Inc. , Skip McGrath , Jeffrey Lindsay , Sales Strategy , Sales Force Management , Sales , Larry Dignan Three eBay power sellers are painting a mixed picture at best for the auction site and note that the recession and Amazon are thumping the company.  These power ...

Amazon launches BlackBerry app; Leaves Storm out
Between the Lines — April 9th, 2009 Amazon launches BlackBerry app; Leaves Storm out Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:36 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General , Mobile , RIM , Research In Motion , Wired & Wireless Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , RIM BlackBerry , Handhelds , Hardware , Larry Dignan Updated: Amazon followed up its iPhone application with one for the BlackBerry, but only folks with trackball devices need to bother with the download. The BlackBerry Storm isn’t supported.   ...

Amazon now one-third of all U.S. e-commerce, analyst says
Between the Lines — April 15th, 2009 Amazon now one-third of all U.S. e-commerce, analyst says Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 4:52 am Categories: Amazon Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , E-business , Sales Strategy , Web Technology , E-business/E-Commerce , Sales Force Management , Sales , Internet , Andrew Nusca [image] Amazon could be responsible for nearly a third of all U.S. e-commerce transactions, RBC Capital analyst Stephen Ju asserted in a research note this morning via Barron’s . Amazon’s reported revenues are a mix of ...

Amazon: "Kindle exceeded our most optimistic expectations"; beats Q1 estimates
Between the Lines — April 23rd, 2009 Amazon: "Kindle exceeded our most optimistic expectations"; beats Q1 estimates Posted by Sam Diaz @ 1:23 pm Categories: Amazon , Earnings , General Tags: Quarter , Amazon.com Inc. , Sales Strategy , Sales Force Management , Operational Accounting , Sales , Finance , Sam Diaz Amazon may be taking a lesson from Apple when it comes to earnings. Forecast low, come in high and keep everyone on Wall Street smiling. The company surpassed expectations, giving much of the credit to the ...

News Corp. names Facebook VP Van Natta as CEO
Between the Lines — April 24th, 2009 MySpace names Facebook VP Van Natta as CEO Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 9:25 am Categories: MySpace Tags: Facebook , Vice President , Amazon.com Inc. , News Corp. , CEO , Business Structures , Operational Accounting , Finance , Andrew Nusca [image] News Corporation today announced the appointment of Owen Van Natta to the role of MySpace Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Van Natta will be based in Los Angeles and report directly to Jonathan Miller, News ...

Google, Sony, Amazon and Microsoft lead tech industry in Harris reputation rankings
Between the Lines — April 29th, 2009 Google, Sony, Amazon and Microsoft lead tech industry in Harris reputation rankings Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:17 am Categories: AT&T , Amazon , Apple , Dell , Google , IBM , Microsoft , Sony Tags: Sony Corp. , Google Inc. , Reputation , Industry , Harris Interactive , Amazon.com Inc. , Strategy , Management , Larry Dignan Google, Sony, Amazon and Microsoft pace the technology pack in Harris Interactive’s 2008 reputation ...

Amazon's Kindle: Your fat personal docs aren't cheap
Between the Lines — April 30th, 2009 Amazon's Kindle: Your fat personal docs aren't cheap Posted by Larry Dignan @ 7:21 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , Wireless , Wi-Fi , Wireless And Mobility , Larry Dignan Amazon on May 4 will start charging by the megabyte for personal files sent to individual Kindles.  Kindle has a feature where you can send personal docs (Word files, pictures, Web pages etc.) over its wireless network. The old fee was 10 cents per send. In a blog ...

Amazon plans big screen Kindle: Textbook margins are the real aim not saving newspapers
Between the Lines — May 4th, 2009 Amazon plans big screen Kindle: Textbook margins are the real aim not saving newspapers Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:18 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General Tags: New York Times Co. , Amazon.com Inc. , Textbook , Strategy , Management , Larry Dignan Updated: Amazon will reportedly unveil a new large-screen Kindle Wednesday. The company just scheduled a press conference for Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in New York City at Pace University. Get the subtle hint? Despite that subtle hint—holding a ...

Amazon's Kindle: With a $489 price tag, iPod Touch may be the better buy
Between the Lines — May 6th, 2009 Amazon's Kindle: With a $489 price tag, iPod Touch may be the better buy Posted by Sam Diaz @ 9:19 am Categories: Amazon , Apple Tags: Apple iPod , Amazon.com Inc. , Apple iPod Touch , Netbook , Amazon Kindle , Wireless LANs , Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs , Tablets , Digital Music , Wi-Fi Four hundred and eighty-nine dollars?!?! For an e-reader…  That’s not even in color. And doesn’t come with Wi-Fi or games or apps or music playback or… Tell me again why I ...

News to know: Cisco; Kindle DX; MySpace; Microsoft
Between the Lines — May 7th, 2009 News to know: Cisco; Kindle DX; MySpace; Microsoft Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:00 am Categories: General , News to know Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Cisco Systems Inc. , Twitter , Amazon Kindle , MySpace , Notebooks , Strategy , Hardware , Notebooks & Tablets [image] Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know  vi a e mail al ert  and  RSS daily .  For continuous updates see BNET’s  ...

Revisiting the ROI of the Kindle DX: Why is Amazon blind to Wi-Fi?
Between the Lines — May 7th, 2009 Revisiting the ROI of the Kindle DX: Why is Amazon blind to Wi-Fi? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:24 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General Tags: Student , ROI , Amazon.com Inc. , Textbook , Amazon Kindle , Kindle DX , Roi/Tco , Wireless LANs , Wi-Fi , Wireless And Mobility Amazon unveiled its much hyped Kindle DX, an e-book with a 9.7-inch screen designed to raise a ruckus in the textbook market, but delivered a $489 curve ball that seriously alters the return ...

Are Amazon and Real one-upping Apple?
Between the Lines — May 8th, 2009 Are Amazon and Real one-upping Apple? Posted by Sam Diaz @ 4:00 am Categories: Apple , Digital Media , General , Real Networks Tags: Apple Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Apple TV , Apple iTunes , DVD , E-books , Digital Music , Digital Media , Personal Technology , Consumer Electronics Twice this week, I’ve engaged in conversations about Apple missing the boat on potentially sweet markets that would have fit right into its iTunes growth strategy. The first ...

Forget the Kindle; University "requires" iPhone
Between the Lines — May 11th, 2009 Forget the Kindle; University "requires" iPhone Posted by Sam Diaz @ 7:41 am Categories: Amazon , Apple , Education , General , iPhone Tags: Apple iPhone , Apple iPod , Amazon.com Inc. , Apple iPod Touch , Lecture , Digital Music , Digital Media , Personal Technology , Consumer Electronics , Sam Diaz There goes the need for a Kindle. Incoming freshmen at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism will be required to have an iPhone or iPod ...

Is the Kindle one massive DRM timebomb?
Hardware 2.0 — May 15th, 2009 Is the Kindle one massive DRM timebomb? Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 2:32 am Categories: DRM Tags: Digital-rights Management , Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , Digital Rights Management (DRM) , E-books , Digital Media , Security , Personal Technology , Consumer Electronics , Adrian Kingsley-Hughes Over the past few weeks I’ve come across a lot of both speculation and information relating to Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader. I’ve heard of kill switches and Amazon’s ability to ...

Jeff Bezos, meet Tony Hsieh. Zappos Moving into Electronics. And More.
Between the Lines — May 15th, 2009 Jeff Bezos, meet Tony Hsieh. Zappos Moving into Electronics. And More. Posted by Tom Steinert-Threlkeld @ 12:58 pm Categories: Amazon , Business 2.0 , E-commerce , General Tags: Jeff Bezos , Electronics , Amazon.com Inc. , Zappos , Zeta , Tom Steinert-Threlkeld As I said this morning, you should rule the world!!! How about starting by giving seminars? You could start with Wall St., then banks, how about the auto industry, then there’s the airlines. I could go on, but it would just be ...

Amazon beefs up cloud visibility and monitoring tools
Between the Lines — May 18th, 2009 Amazon beefs up cloud visibility and monitoring tools Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:55 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , Datacenter , General , Infrastructure , Web Technology Tags: Amazon Web Services , Web Service , Monitoring , Amazon.com Inc. , Tool , Cloud Computing , Virtualization , Productivity , Web Services , Hardware Amazon Web Services rolled out a beta for Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) tools that will allow for better ...

Long live the Sneakernet: Computing's most resilient network
Between the Lines — May 22nd, 2009 Long live the Sneakernet: Computing's most resilient network Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:31 am Categories: Amazon , Broadband , Cloud computing , General , Hardware Infrastructure , Infrastructure , Storage Tags: Bandwidth , Network , Terabyte , Data , Amazon.com Inc. , Computing , Sneakernet , Gigabyte Data Set , Networking , Storage When Amazon Web Services’ latest—and arguably most valuable—service is a system that allows you to ...

E-reader devices: The fun is just starting
Between the Lines — June 2nd, 2009 E-reader devices: The fun is just starting Posted by Larry Dignan @ 3:00 am Categories: Amazon , General , Hardware Infrastructure , Innovation , Personal Technology , Sony Tags: Jeff Bezos , Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , Sarah Rotman Epps , E-books , Personal Technology , Larry Dignan The interest in e-readers, or e-books as they are called  now, has reached a fever pitch. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos  fields nothing but Kindle questions at the company’s ...

Amazon fields Kindle questions, doesn't provide much insight
Between the Lines — June 10th, 2009 Amazon fields Kindle questions, doesn't provide much insight Posted by Sam Diaz @ 11:57 am Categories: Amazon Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Camera , Kindle , Szkutak , Camera Phones , Sales Strategy , Corporate Communications , Digital Cameras , Digital Media , Cellular Phones Amazon fielded a number of questions this morning during a presentation at the Credit Suisse First Boston conference. But what attendees really wanted to know more about, gauging by the questions they were ...

Why Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are racing to run your data center
Between the Lines — June 15th, 2009 Why Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are racing to run your data center Posted by Jason Hiner @ 7:32 am Categories: Amazon , Google , Microsoft Tags: Google Inc. , Data Center , Information Technology , Utility Computing , Server , Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Server Capacity , Data Centers , Storage The race for your data center has already begun. Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are the leading players in a global data center build-out that has not ...

Amazon preps private label goods: Furniture, tools and linens oh my
Between the Lines — June 16th, 2009 Amazon preps private label goods: Furniture, tools and linens oh my Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:38 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Tool , Branding , Productivity , Marketing , Larry Dignan Amazon is diving head first into the private label business with brands for home furnishings, tools, kitchenware and linens. The strategy, which rhymes with private label moves by brick-and-mortar retailers, is likely to boost profit margins. In a research note, Piper ...

Amazon vs. tax happy states: E-tailer could nuke Associates program and still win
Between the Lines — June 30th, 2009 Amazon vs. tax happy states: E-tailer could nuke Associates program and still win Posted by Larry Dignan @ 3:18 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General , Government Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , States , Marketing Research , Taxes , Marketing , Financial Planning , Finance , Larry Dignan Amazon is in a high-profile tax showdown with states over its Associates referral program and is likely to come out a winner either way. Amazon has pulled its Associates program ...

Analyst: Kindle to reach 10 percent of Amazon's customer base; Ending Target deal a risk
Between the Lines — June 30th, 2009 Analyst: Kindle to reach 10 percent of Amazon's customer base; Ending Target deal a risk Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:23 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General , Web Technology Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Target.com , Jim Friedland , Business Structures , Web Site Development , Sales Strategy , Web Technology , Strategy , Finance , Internet The great Kindle sales guessing game continues. Cowen and Co. analyst Jim Friedland upgraded Amazon to outperform ...

Overstock dumps affiliates, rants about tax-happy states
Between the Lines — July 1st, 2009 Overstock dumps affiliates, rants about tax-happy states Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:47 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , Economy Tags: Overstock.com Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , E-business , Taxes , Free Trade , Personal Finance , Internet , Financial Planning , Finance , Larry Dignan Overstock is joining Amazon and Blue Nile in the parade of e-commerce companies dumping affiliates in states that aim to slap a tax on Internet referrals. On Wednesday, Overstock ...

Comparing infrastructure as a service providers: Amazon, Rackspace emerge
Between the Lines — July 6th, 2009 Comparing infrastructure as a service providers: Amazon, Rackspace emerge Posted by Larry Dignan @ 5:05 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , General , Infrastructure Tags: Rackspace , Rackable Systems , Amazon.com Inc. , Walravens , Cloud Computing , Virtualization , Pricing , Web Services , Hardware , Marketing Amazon Web Services has the best pricing based on dollar per virtual machine, but Rackspace fills in a few gaps—especially with persistent ...

Azure pricing: How low will Microsoft go?
All about Microsoft — July 6th, 2009 Azure pricing: How low will Microsoft go? Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 8:25 am Categories: .Net Framework , Azure , Channel , Development tools , Google , Management tools , Network service providers , Red Dog , Systems integrators , Worldwide Partner Conference (WWPC) Tags: Microsoft Azure , Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Pricing Strategy , Azure , Pricing , Marketing Research , Marketing , Mary Jo Foley ...

Is Amazon really thinking of placing ads in Kindle e-books?
Between the Lines — July 7th, 2009 Is Amazon really thinking of placing ads in Kindle e-books? Posted by Sam Diaz @ 11:29 am Categories: Amazon Tags: Advertisement , Amazon.com Inc. , MediaPost Blog Entry , E-books , Personal Technology , Sam Diaz The thing to remember about Amazon’s Kindle DX is that it will set you back nearly $500 just to get your hands on one. With that said, there is a report this morning on MediaPost that Amazon may be considering advertisements in the e-books you read on the device - at the beginning of the ...

Amazon's Kindle price cut: Thank Prime View's acquisition of E-Ink
Between the Lines — July 9th, 2009 Amazon's Kindle price cut: Thank Prime View's acquisition of E-Ink Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:17 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General Tags: Acquisition , Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , Kindle , Sales Strategy , Mergers & Acquisitions , Corporate Law , Sales , Investment , Finance Amazon has dropped the price of the Kindle 2 to $299, a $60 drop that may stoke demand. But Amazon’s move has more to do with scale than any competitive ...

AmazonWireless: shopping the phone instead of the plan
Between the Lines — July 10th, 2009 AmazonWireless: shopping the phone instead of the plan Posted by Sam Diaz @ 3:00 am Categories: Amazon , General , Mobile , iPhone Tags: Phone , Amazon.com Inc. , Service Plan , Telecom & Utilities , Sam Diaz I’ve said it time and time again. When it comes to buying a wireless phone, my best advice is to  shop the service, not the device. It’s common sense. The device can be the best in the world but if the service is unreliable or filled with extra charges, then what good is ...

BMC to link up with Amazon Web Services for hybrid cloud deployments
Between the Lines — July 15th, 2009 BMC to link up with Amazon Web Services for hybrid cloud deployments Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:20 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , Datacenter , General , Hardware Infrastructure , Software Infrastructure Tags: BMC Software Inc. , Data Center , Amazon Web Services , Web Service , Amazon.com Inc. , Data Centers , It Management , Cloud Computing , Storage , Hardware BMC Software on Wednesday will detail plans to collaborate with ...

Amazon gets bullied, pulls purchased e-books from Kindles
Between the Lines — July 17th, 2009 Amazon gets bullied, pulls purchased e-books from Kindles Posted by Sam Diaz @ 2:27 pm Categories: Amazon , Copyright issues , DRM , E-commerce , Legal Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Public Relations , E-books , DVD , Consumer Electronics , Marketing , Corporate Communications , Personal Technology , Home Entertainment , Sam Diaz Imagine buying a DVD at Wal-Mart and then, a few days later, someone from the Hollywood studio that produced that movie ...

A good fit: Amazon gobbles up Zappos
Between the Lines — July 22nd, 2009 A good fit: Amazon gobbles up Zappos Posted by Larry Dignan @ 1:37 pm Categories: General Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Zappos , Operational Accounting , Finance , Larry Dignan Amazon said Wednesday that it is acquiring Zappos in a deal worth $850 million. The combination is an interesting one. Zappos.com, which primarily peddles shoes, has had plans to expand into new markets. Zappos has a strong following among customers. At some point, Zappos was going to compete with Amazon in more categories. Amazon’s answer: Just buy ...

Don't Forget to Turn Out the Lights, Tony
Between the Lines — July 22nd, 2009 Don't Forget to Turn Out the Lights, Tony Posted by Tom Steinert-Threlkeld @ 4:41 pm Categories: Amazon , Business 2.0 , E-commerce , Economy Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Games , Personal Technology , Tom Steinert-Threlkeld The announcement that Amazon is buying Zappo s is so sad. What online retailing needs is more innovators, not fewer. Jeff Bezos of Amazon (recommendation engine and free delivery over $25) and Tony Hsieh of Zappos (free delivery both ways, 365-day guarantee and social shopping) ...

5 looming questions about the Amazon-Zappos deal
Between the Lines — July 23rd, 2009 5 looming questions about the Amazon-Zappos deal Posted by Larry Dignan @ 5:45 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General , Web Technology Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Zappos , Mitchell , Roi/Tco , Finance , Managerial Accounting , Larry Dignan Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos is notable on a few fronts. The combination is largely complementary, but there are a few questions hanging. With any luck there will be a few answers on Amazon’s second quarter earnings conference call. Among ...

Amazon: Shares tumble late as Q2 sales fall short of expectations
Between the Lines — July 23rd, 2009 Amazon: Shares tumble late as Q2 sales fall short; quiet about Kindle Posted by Sam Diaz @ 1:21 pm Categories: Amazon , Earnings Tags: Revenue , Amazon.com Inc. , Sales , Retail , Operational Accounting , Finance , Sam Diaz Amazon made headlines this week by looking ahead with the announced acquisition of online shoe retailer Zappos. But the second quarter performance was all about the Kindle e-Book reader. The online retailer today reported second quarter net income of $142 million, ...

Amazon CEO apology: 'Stupid,' 'thoughtless' to remove e-books from Kindle readers
Between the Lines — July 24th, 2009 Amazon CEO apology: 'Stupid,' 'thoughtless' to remove e-books from Kindle readers Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 10:04 am Categories: Amazon Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Apology , E-books , Sales Strategy , Personal Technology , Sales , Andrew Nusca [image] A rare thing occurred yesterday: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos apologized. Quite the Kindle user flareup ensued after the company decided to remotely remove copies of popular George Orwell novels 1984 and Animal Farm— yes, the irony was ...

Kindle lawsuit not so 'ridiculous'
ZDNet Government — July 31st, 2009 Kindle lawsuit not so 'ridiculous' Posted by Richard Koman @ July 31, 2009 @ 11:32 AM Categories: Government technology Tags: Lawsuit , Amazon.com Inc. , Digital Content , Chris Dawson , Chris , Richard Koman Chris Dawson thinks this: If you don’t like buying online products only to have them remotely deleted without so much as a “have a nice day,” … Don’t buy a bloody Kindle! Chris thinks that Amazon’s terms of service create a contractual bar to any action against the company. I disagree. ...

Target's departure from Amazon creates IT risk; Opportunity for GSI Commerce?
Between the Lines — August 10th, 2009 Target's departure from Amazon creates IT risk; Opportunity for GSI Commerce? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:19 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General , IT Management Tags: Information Technology , GSI Commerce Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Target.com , E-business , Target , Web Technology , E-business/E-Commerce , Retail , Internet Target plans to leave Amazon’s e-commerce platform to build its own site ahead of the 2011 holiday season. The transition is ...

Can Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon help scuttle Google's book settlement?
Between the Lines — August 21st, 2009 Can Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon help scuttle Google's book settlement? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:37 am Categories: Amazon , General , Google , Government , Microsoft , Yahoo Tags: Google Inc. , Yahoo! Inc. , Settlement , Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Litigation , Business Operations , Larry Dignan Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon are reportedly joining the Internet Archive and other non-profit groups to dismantle Google’s book settlement with ...

Amazon lowers fees on reserved EC2 instances
Between the Lines — August 21st, 2009 Amazon lowers fees on reserved EC2 instances Posted by Larry Dignan @ 1:12 pm Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , General Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Pricing Strategy , Pricing , Marketing Research , Marketing , Larry Dignan Amazon is lowering prices for reserve instances of its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) services to entice more enterprises to sign up for longer-term deals. The reserve instances were a big deal in March when Amazon rolled them out. In a nutshell, big enterprise ...

Sony's new Reader lineup assaults Amazon biz plan
Between the Lines — August 25th, 2009 Sony's new Reader lineup assaults Amazon biz plan Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 8:19 am Categories: Amazon , Sony Tags: Touch Screen , E-reader , Sony Corp. , Amazon.com Inc. , Keyboards , 3G , E-books , Monitors & Displays , Wireless LANs , Wireless And Mobility Sony released a 7-inch, $399, touchscreen, 3G and Wi-Fi e-book reader this morning , and it’s never more obvious that Amazon is up against a wall in the market segment it helped create. ...

Amazon Web Services rolls out Virtual Private Cloud: Enterprise customer tipping point on deck?
Between the Lines — August 26th, 2009 Amazon Web Services rolls out Virtual Private Cloud: Enterprise customer tipping point on deck? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:01 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , General Tags: Amazon Web Services , Web Service , Amazon.com Inc. , Cloud , Virtual Private Clouds , Virtual Private Clouds Effort , AWS , Cloud Computing , Data Centers , Web Services Amazon Web Services on Wednesday launched Amazon Virtual Private Cloud, a secure bridge designed to connect ...

Sniping over Google Books Settlement intensifies
Between the Lines — September 4th, 2009 Sniping over Google Books Settlement intensifies Posted by Larry Dignan @ 5:44 am Categories: Amazon , Copyright issues , General , Google Tags: Google Inc. , Settlement , Amazon.com Inc. , Open Book Alliances , Authors Guild , Litigation , E-books , Business Operations , Personal Technology , Larry Dignan Google details its privacy safeguards behind its book settlement. The Open Book Alliances says “trust us” isn’t a good privacy policy. Meanwhile, ...

Amazon makes up for '1984' snafu but the chapter isn't over
ZDNet Government — September 4th, 2009 Amazon makes up for '1984' snafu but the chapter isn't over Posted by Richard Koman @ September 4, 2009 @ 11:55 AM Categories: Government technology Tags: Jeff Bezos , Amazon.com Inc. , David Pogue , E-mail , Public Relations , Regulations , Online Communications , Marketing , Corporate Communications , Government [image] David Pogue says Amazon is doing the right thing in finally offering to return “1984″ - including users’ annotations - to Kindle users who had the book ...

Makers offer little help for lost or stolen devices
ZDNet Government — September 6th, 2009 Makers offer little help for lost or stolen devices Posted by Richard Koman @ September 6, 2009 @ 11:43 PM Categories: Government technology Tags: Device , Amazon.com Inc. , Smart Phones , Mobile Operating Systems , Consumer Electronics , Personal Technology , Richard Koman Remember the story about the guy who tracked down his stolen iPhone with MobileMe? All very well as long as he tracked the thieves down on his own, but this Times article says that most manufacturers aren’t at all ...

Authors Guild calls Amazon 'hypocritical'
ZDNet Government — September 6th, 2009 Authors Guild calls Amazon 'hypocritical' Posted by Richard Koman @ September 6, 2009 @ 11:53 PM Categories: Government technology Tags: Google Inc. , Settlement , Amazon.com Inc. , E-books , Litigation , Personal Technology , Business Operations , Richard Koman In a slap-back at Amazon for its extensive brief in the Google Books settlement, the Authors Guild says “Amazon’s hypocricy is breathtaking.” Here’s more: Amazon’s hypocrisy is breathtaking. It dominates online bookselling and ...

Google says it would make books available to Amazon, Copyright Office says deal 'usurps' Congressional role
ZDNet Government — September 10th, 2009 Google says it would make books available to Amazon, Copyright Office says deal 'usurps' Congressional role Posted by Richard Koman @ September 10, 2009 @ 9:05 AM Categories: Copyright , Google Book Deal Tags: Google Inc. , Settlement , Copyright Law , U.S. Congress , Copyright Office , Amazon.com Inc. , Competitior , Litigation , Business Operations , Richard Koman Google’s David Drummond is making promises on the fly during today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing. He ...

Amazon clears up Kindle content deletion policy
Hardware 2.0 — October 2nd, 2009 Amazon clears up Kindle content deletion policy Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 9:02 am Categories: Copyright , Gadgets , In the news Tags: Settlement , Amazon.com Inc. , Litigation , Financial Services , Business Operations , Adrian Kingsley-Hughes It seems that Amazon has settled a lawsuit that it picked up after deleting George Orwell’s “1984″ and “Animal Farm” from people’s Kindle devices. As part of the settlement, Amazon has finally cleared up Kindle content deletion policy. Here’s the ...

Amazon cuts Kindle price, goes global as competition ramps
Between the Lines — October 7th, 2009 Amazon cuts Kindle price, goes global as competition ramps Posted by Larry Dignan @ 3:30 am Categories: Amazon , Ebook , General Tags: E-reader , Amazon.com Inc. , Kindle , Larry Dignan Amazon cut the price of its Kindle from $299 to $259 and launched and international version. First, the price cut . The move comes as e-reader competition ramps up . Sony has e-readers with broad retail distribution. In addition, Barnes & Noble plans to sell a handful of e-readers. And Best Buy is planning an ...

Amazon same day delivery squarely aimed at brick-and-mortar rivals
Between the Lines — October 16th, 2009 Amazon same day delivery squarely aimed at brick-and-mortar rivals Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:01 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General Tags: Amazon.com Inc. , Sales Strategy , Web Technology , Sales Force Management , E-business/E-Commerce , Sales , Internet , Larry Dignan Amazon is using its distribution, information technology and shipping prowess to try and gain sales from brick-and-mortar retailers all the way up to Christmas. As Amazon continues to grow its rivals won’t ...

Amazon to release Kindle reader for Windows PCs in November
All about Microsoft — October 22nd, 2009 Amazon to release Kindle reader for Windows PCs in November Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 9:55 am Categories: Corporate strategy , Vista , Windows 7 , Windows XP , Windows client Tags: PC , Amazon.com Inc. , Windows PC , Kindle , Windows Kindle App , Microsoft Windows , Microsoft Windows 7 , Operating Systems , Software , Mary Jo Foley Microsoft managed to keep a couple of news nuggets under wraps until the actual launch of the product on October 22. The ...

Amazon deivers strong Q3; shares skyrocket after hours
Between the Lines — October 22nd, 2009 Amazon delivers strong Q3; shares skyrocket after hours Posted by Sam Diaz @ 1:27 pm Categories: Amazon , Earnings Tags: E-reader , Amazon.com Inc. , Sales Strategy , Sales Force Management , Sales , Sam Diaz Amazon easily beat Wall Street’s estimates for its third quarter, reporting a net income of $199 million, or 45 cents per share, on sales of $5.45 billion, a 28 percent jump from the year-ago quarter. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 33 cents on sales of $5.03 billion. ( Statement ) ...

Amazon launches relational database service: Think MySQL in the cloud
Between the Lines — October 27th, 2009 Amazon launches relational database service: Think MySQL in the cloud Posted by Larry Dignan @ 1:00 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , General , Web Technology Tags: MySQL , Amazon Web Services , Amazon.com Inc. , RDBMS , EC2 , Databases , Enterprise Software , Software , Data Management , Larry Dignan Amazon on Tuesday launched a public beta of a service dubbed the Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS). The main appeal: Allow customers to operate ...

Amazon's PayPhrase: Amazon's PayPhrase: Can it juice Amazon Checkout, Payments?
Between the Lines — October 29th, 2009 Amazon's PayPhrase: Can it juice Amazon Checkout, Payments? Posted by Larry Dignan @ 9:37 am Categories: Amazon , E-commerce , General Tags: Payment , Amazon.com Inc. , Checkout , PayPhrase , Operational Accounting , Finance , Larry Dignan Amazon launched an effort called PayPhrase in what the company calls an e-commerce shortcut that allows shoppers to buy around the Web with a phrase and a PIN. When first reading Amazon’s release ( Techmeme ), my initial thought could be ...

Amazon's Kindle for PC app available; It's a handy download
Between the Lines — November 10th, 2009 Amazon's Kindle for PC app available; It's a handy download Posted by Larry Dignan @ 4:43 am Categories: Amazon , Ebook , General , Personal Technology Tags: E-reader , PC , Amazon.com Inc. , Amazon Kindle , Larry Dignan Amazon on Tuesday said that the Kindle for PC app is now available. The app allows you to read your Kindle books on your PC. The move ( statement , download ) illustrates the gradual move to put Kindle content on more devices. In 2010, the availability of e-books ...

Amazon Web Services plots Asia rollout
Between the Lines — November 12th, 2009 Amazon Web Services plots Asia rollout Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:25 am Categories: Amazon , Cloud computing , General Tags: Amazon Web Services , Web Service , Amazon.com Inc. , Cloud Computing , Web Services , Enterprise Software , Software , Larry Dignan Amazon Web Services plans to expand its services into Asia-Pacific in 2010. The company said in a statement that it will offer “multiple availability zones” in Singapore in the first half of 2010. Other services will ...

AT&T plots compute cloud similar to Amazon Web Services
Between the Lines — November 16th, 2009 AT&T plots compute cloud similar to Amazon Web Services Posted by Larry Dignan @ 3:57 am Categories: AT&T , Cloud computing , General , Infrastructure Tags: Amazon Web Services , Web Service , AT Corp. , Amazon.com Inc. , Storage , Cloud Computing , Hardware , Larry Dignan AT&T on Monday rolled out a cloud computing system that mimics the approach of Amazon Web Services. Dubbed the AT&T Synaptic Computer Service , the telecom giant is offering on-demand ...

Amazon bolsters battery life for Kindle; Adds native PDF reader
Between the Lines — November 24th, 2009 Amazon bolsters battery life for Kindle; Adds native PDF reader Posted by Larry Dignan @ 9:34 am Categories: Amazon , Ebook , General Tags: Adobe PDF , Battery , Amazon.com Inc. , Battery Life , Kindle , Engineering , Larry Dignan Amazon on Tuesday said it has improved the battery life of the Kindle and added a native PDF reader. The statement appears to be timed to get holiday shoppers off the fence about the Kindle as rivals like Barnes & Noble and Sony struggle ...