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'Tis the Season for Safe Holiday Shopping November 07, 2009 
While recent reports don't predict a major recovery for retailers this holiday season, the outlook for e-commerce sites is slightly more optimistic: 2009 will post an 18 percent increase in online holiday shopping over last year. For many consumers, though, the convenience of online shopping comes with a hefty price: their identity.
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Southwest Doesn't Fool Around November 06, 2009 
This week, I headed southwest as I continued making the rounds of travel-planning Web sites for the E-Commerce Times. My first impression of Southwest Airlines' Web site was that its online presence faithfully reflected its corporate persona: It looked to be a roll-up-your sleeves, no nonsense outfit.
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Commerce Search Puts Google Inside Retailers' Catalogs November 05, 2009 
Google has introduced a search engine for online retailers. Priced at $50,000 annually, the Software as a Service offering is aimed at high-end e-commerce operations that want to provide customers looking for a particular product on their site with more accurate search results. Search is arguably one of the weakest features on most retailers' sites.
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EU Drafts New Bill of Rights for Internet Users November 05, 2009 
EU lawmakers and governments agreed on new rights for Internet users Thursday, aiming to protect them from arbitrary crackdowns on those who illegally download music and movies on the Internet. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said a deal was reached after EU governments agreed to EU parliament demands to balance measures against illegal downloaders with a broader set of rights for telecom users.
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Microsoft Scrapes Years of Mold Off MSN Portal November 04, 2009 
White space replaces the sky-blue color scheme in MSN.com's new redesign, which Microsoft began previewing Wednesday before it becomes an official re-launch sometime in early 2010. Content sections are streamlined down to five top-of-page links: news, entertainment, sports, money, lifestyle and "more."
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PayPal Gets Friendly With Developers November 04, 2009 
New APIs from PayPal will allow developers to integrate its payment capabilities within applications. Typically, online shoppers have to visit PayPal's site to complete purchases. The new functionality will let them complete their transaction without leaving a shopping site or game -- even allowing those who don't already have a PayPal account to set one up on the spot.
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Black Swans and Blue Birds November 04, 2009 
I just finished reading The Black Swan, a book that has been on my list since it came out in 2007, and I highly recommend it, though it is not easy reading. There is a great deal of set up before you get to the whole point of the book in the last 50 pages. The Black Swan is about uncertainty in the real world, and the subtitle explains it all: "The Impact of the Highly Improbable."
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Making Micro-Payment Models Work Online November 02, 2009 
Forecasts for the magnitude of online micro-payments can whet the appetite of any profit-minded businessperson. However, cracking that code is more complicated than one thinks. There is little question as to whether sub-US$5 products can be sold in mass volume, but the lynchpin to opening the floodgates of micro-payments may very well be payment method.
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Is Facebook's $711M Spam Award Just Monopoly Money? October 30, 2009 
Social networking site Facebook has been awarded US$711 million in damages from prolific spammer and social network scammer Sanford Wallace for bombarding its users with spam, Facebook attorney Sam O'Rourke reported in a blog post. Judge Jeremy Fogel of the U.S. District Court in Northern California also banned Wallace from accessing Facebook.
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The Audacity of Droid October 30, 2009 
The Android mobile operating system is graduating soon to 2.0 status, and Google gave it a pretty nice present to celebrate: a free turn-by-turn navigation app called "Google Maps Navigation." It'll run on Android 2.0 phones with GPS, and it'll use the phone's cellular Internet connection to get live map information.
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JetBlue: Light on Frills, Heavy on Friendly October 30, 2009 
My tour of travel-planning Web sites for the E-Commerce Times has included stops at some of the aggregator sites, some discount companies and some alternative services. I'm now entering new territory with explorations of the Web sites of the operators themselves. First stop: JetBlue, a discount airline that has carefully cultivated a customer-friendly reputation.
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Amazon Lets Users Shop Around With a Single Phrase October 29, 2009 
Amazon has introduced a new shortcut for consumers to pay for their purchases on Amazon.com and partner Web sites. Amazon PayPhrase lets shoppers pick their own phrase -- for example, "Knick Knack" or "Jack's Allowance" -- and use it in lieu of entering a credit card number to make purchases.
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Google Breaks Into Song With New Music Search October 29, 2009 
Google's new music search service, announced Wednesday, is in tune with that company's overall goal to make every last bit of information searchable on the Web. After all, "two of our top 10 queries of all time are music-related," according to an introductory video on Google's Discover Music landing page.
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Bartz Gives Analysts a Little of the Old Soft Shoe October 29, 2009 
With its stock in a three-year funk, Yahoo set out Wednesday to persuade investors that the Internet company's struggles are nearly over. "We have fallen and we really want to get back up," Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz said as she kicked off an all-day meeting with financial analysts.
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Microsoft a Little Slow on the Uptake in 'Family Guy' Brouhaha October 28, 2009 
Fans of "Family Guy" are chortling about Microsoft's belated discovery that a "Family Guy" special might not jibe with the software giant's corporate image. On Monday, Microsoft said it's pulling out as sponsor of a "Family Guy" variety show, just two weeks after announcing its sole sponsorship of the special, "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show," scheduled to air Nov. 8.
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Top 9 Web 2.0 Drivers for E-Commerce Success October 28, 2009 
Is social media/Web 2.0 for retail just hype or an essential part of doing business in the 21st century? Web 2.0 includes leveraging social commerce on Web sites, blogging/podcasting and participating in social networks like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere a retailer or its customers can create and share content.
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