Sun Microsystems officially started down the path to an open-source version of Solaris on Tuesday with a partial release of source code which ultimately will be OpenSolaris. Being released under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), the full OpenSolaris distribution is expected in the second quarter.

Cisco Systems today announced plans to buy privately held Protego Networks, part of a year-long acquisition spree aimed at rounding out Cisco's network security offerings. Cisco said it would pay US$65 million in cash for Protego, which was founded in 2002 by two former Cisco executives and makes security appliances that monitor networks and detect anomalies to spot and mitigate security threats.

Microsoft reportedly has sold a Utah-based development studio that makes its sports video games, the second time in recent months that the company has sold off a game-development operation, effectively changing the gaming industry landscape. The studio, known as Indie Built, was sold for an undisclosed sum to Take-Two Interactive Software.

While U.S. legislators and e-mail users are hoping a new national anti-spam law will stem the flow of unwanted electronic solicitations, companies engaged in legitimate marketing are concerned they will pay a higher price than spammers who skirt legislative requirements or conduct their business from offshore.

In a move designed to enable the company to better serve emerging markets and changing industries, IBM said it will reorganize its software business to enable it to target vertical industry segments more effectively. Big Blue plans to retain around half of its 13,000 sales employees around the world in industry-specific products and configurations.

As e-commerce shoppers have become as comfortable booking travel online as they are buying a book on Amazon.com, the competition in the online travel market has become brisk indeed. Although the sudden decline in travel after the terrorist acts of September 11th caused fiscal repercussions for travel companies long afterwards, the industry seems now to be looking at rosier days ahead.

Online shoppers joined their real-world counterparts in roaring out of the gate as the official holiday shopping season began in the days after Thanksgiving, setting up e-commerce to exceed already lofty estimates for growth, according to reports. Nielsen//NetRatings reported that online retail sites saw traffic jump 28 percent on Friday compared to the same day a week earlier.

Today's teenagers have powered the ongoing success of apparel seller Abercrombie & Fitch and music heavyweight MTV, among many other brands -- but the vast majority of e-tailers have long ignored the buying power of this group of consumers. That neglect is shortsighted, say industry experts who track and work in the youth market.

As brick-and-mortar store managers start dusting off their reindeer and snowflake decorations, thoughts of revenue sugarplums doubtless are dancing in e-tailers' heads. Analysts are predicting robust growth in online spending as the gift-buying season gathers steam. Here are some predictions of likely hot sellers.

Hewlett-Packard unveiled a line of low-cost servers aimed at the small- and medium-sized business market, saying it would sell the products for as much as 50 percent less than similar offerings from competitors. HP said the server-storage products are part of its larger smart-office push to attract more nonenterprise business customers.

With the second decade of large-scale e-business dawning, the E-Commerce Times decided to poll several well-known industry analysts to get their thoughts on some of the patents that have altered the e-business landscape.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and a handful of other law enforcement agencies have charged 125 people with a host of Internet-related crimes, ranging from identity theft and software piracy to auction fraud and hacking. The FBI said those arrested so far are responsible for bilking at least 125,000 victims out of more than $100 million.

In part 1 of this story, the E-Commerce Times looked at how Web sites are gearing up for the holiday buying season by beefing up staff, servers and warehouse operations. However, once sites are stable and customer-service departments are fully staffed, what are e-tailers doing to lure holiday shoppers so that their traffic will spike as planned?

Posting its best overall quarter since merging with Compaq more than a year ago, Hewlett-Packard outpaced earnings and revenue estimates in the third quarter, more than doubling its profit to $862 million, and said all five of its business segments operated in the black.

As the holiday period approaches, e-commerce players are gearing up for an online buying rush. Many analysts predict this will be the best year yet in terms of site visits and sales. What are companies doing to ensure the season proceeds as smoothly as possible?

In a move that could open a new front in the search engine wars, America Online has purchased Singingfish, a search company that focuses exclusively on helping Web surfers find audio and video clips on the Internet and whose customers include Microsoft and RealNetworks.

A $75 box of truffles. A $550 designer handbag. A $10,000 diamond ring. While these may not sound like the kinds of products consumers would rush to buy over the Internet, plenty of people are in fact patronizing luxury e-tail sites. Who are these shoppers, and why are they attracted to the online channel for big-ticket purchases?

Few e-commerce companies tread their path entirely alone. The majority rely on partnerships with portals, search sites, fellow merchants and brick-and-mortar retailers to survive and thrive in a fiercely competitive environment. However, forging partnerships that work well is a tricky business. How do e-commerce companies do it?

Judging by bids on eBay and postings on craigslist, the market for slightly used PCs appears to be sizzling. However, would-be buyers face several of the same pitfalls inherent in buying used cars. How can they tell if they are getting a sweet deal -- or if they will be dealing with a lemon?

Three former Gateway executives, including former CFO John J. Todd and former CEO Jeffrey Weitzen, face civil suits charging they manipulated the computer maker's earnings in mid-2000 as the onetime market darling struggled to keep up with expectations amid slumping sales.

IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has disclosed that private enterprises intend to increase technology spending next year. Offering the first quantified look at the recovery that technology firms have hinted at in recent weeks, Palmisano said most companies plan modest boosts of between 2 and 4 percent.

Consumers are gearing up for another strong online holiday shopping season, but they continue to express concern about the security aspects of buying via the Web, according to a survey commissioned by the Business Software Alliance.

In an effort to build on momentum generated by a robust earnings report, Cisco Systems has reached an agreement to buy Latitude Communications, a software firm that makes Web conferencing products. Cisco said it will pay $3.95 for each share of Latitude stock, making the deal worth an estimated $80 million.

Microsoft has released Virtual PC 2004 to manufacturers, completing a lengthy product-customization process that began when the software giant acquired Connectix earlier this year. The Redmond, Washington-based company also said it will lower the sticker price of Virtual PC by $100, to $129, and predicted the product will be ready for sale by the end of this year.

Overstock.com, which offers up to 80 percent off the sticker price of items ranging from dresses to computers, has become a favorite bargain-hunting destination for many online shoppers, following a rough start. Will it manage to stay at the top, or could it end up as low as its price tags?

Ever heard, "Did you google today?" or, "Go try googling, and you will find it?" Watch out for this sort of lingo. To most people it may sound like free advertising for Google, but in reality it could be a nightmare for the corporation.

Chipmaker AMD has said it sees signs of improving market conditions and will start "selectively hiring" during 2004 to meet an anticipated increase in demand. The company said it expects to post a profit in the fourth quarter and is optimistic about at least the first half of 2004, thanks to what executives called a "mini-boomlet" in the PC market.

With many online behemoths still struggling to turn a profit in the e-commerce sector, smaller businesses may question whether the online sales model is truly a road to riches or just a pipedream. In the latest incarnation of SMB e-business, many companies are abandoning their aging homegrown systems in favor of prepackaged software.

Cisco Systems blew past Wall Street targets for revenue and earnings in its first quarter as telecommunications companies, government agencies and consumers helped power the Internet gear maker's sales to strong growth.

The first installment of this two-part series explored the notion that despite consumers' increasing demand for strong multimedia capabilities, vendors' low-end notebook computers can be a suitable replacement for home desktop PCs. Of course, there are some tradeoffs to be made.