Amazon

Amazon's revenue jumps, beats Street forecast

Amazon.com beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, as the e-commerce giant posted strong holiday sales amid a weak economy.

Amazon's revenues jumped 18 percent to $6.7 billion for the quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. Wall Street had been expecting Amazon to generate sales of $6.4 billion for the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters.

The company reported a 9 percent increase in net income to $225 million for the quarter, or 52 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting a net profit of 50 cents a share, excluding stock options … Read more

New Amazon Kindle 2 coming February 9?

A few days ago I wrote a column speculating when Amazon's new Kindle might arrive, and I might have gotten the answer Tuesday morning.

I just received an invite "to an important Amazon.com press conference" on the morning of Monday, February 9 in New York. I'm not going to say where it is (that's not cool for Amazon's PR people, who would have to deal with crashers), but let's just say it's in a location that relates to books.

When the Kindle was first announced in 2007, Amazon held a very … Read more

Cloud computing security forecast: Clear skies

To critics, cloud computing can't be trusted because you aren't in control of the data outside your network.

But if that's the case, then how secure are the data and collocation centers that corporations contract with to host their data?

"It does come down to vetting the practices of the provider and making sure they meet the standards you want for your business," Phil Hochmuth, a senior analyst at Yankee Group, said Monday, the eve of Cloud Computing Innovation Day in Santa Clara, Calif.

Companies like Salesforce.com, Amazon.com, and Google have built businesses … Read more

Fully Equipped: Kindle 2, where are you?

Ever since rumors--and some alleged photos--of Amazon's next-generation Kindle digital reader hit the Web late last year, I keep getting e-mails from readers asking me for buying advice. Here's a typical note:

Hi, David:

Around Christmas, I ordered the Amazon Kindle, but as I'm sure you know, it's back-ordered for a couple of months. Then I saw your article on the Kindle 2 coming out soon and I'm not sure what to do. Should I cancel my order? If the new Kindle 2 comes out right after I get mine, will I be able … Read more

Kindle 2: Where are you?

Ever since rumors--and some alleged photos--of Amazon's next-generation Kindle digital reader hit the Web late last year, I keep getting e-mails from readers asking me for buying advice. Here's a typical note:

Hi, David:

Around Christmas, I ordered the Amazon Kindle, but as I'm sure you know, it's back-ordered for a couple of months. Then I saw your article on the Kindle 2 coming out soon and I'm not sure what to do. Should I cancel my order? If the new Kindle 2 comes out right after I get mine, will I be able … Read more

Is Google App Engine successful?

The original title of this post was going to be "Why isn't Google App Engine successful?" You see, I've been frustrated of late at the lack of followup press about the PaaS offering since Google's announcement about it last April. I was beginning to think that no one but a few Facebook application providers were using it, which makes it kind of irrelevant for the enterprise.

Compare Google's coverage to that of Amazon Web Services. Since its announcement in July 2002, the various services contained under the AWS umbrella have received a steady stream of press and accolades. Much of that is due to marketing (and the phenomenal technology evangelism program Amazon put into place), but part of it is also that successful start-ups are passing on their own success stories independent of Amazon.

Two quick examples of this are SmugMug and Animoto. Both are stories that were originally broadcast by the customers themselves, and then evangalized by Amazon. Almost everyone in the "cloud-o-sphere" knows about these guys as a result. In fact, Animoto's story is the most prevalent case study of the value of elasticity in Web applications today.

So, where is the Google equivalent? I've heard about a few Facebook widgets being developed on App Engine (and that is sort of cool), but I certainly haven't heard any other type of start-up trumpet the importance of App Engine to their success. Furthermore, there are zero examples of non-Web businesses using App Engine to change the nature of their IT processes. (See Eli Lilly's story for an AWS counterpoint.)

So, all of this might lead you to believe I'm anti-App Engine, or at least not confident that it is important except as a PaaS example. And until yesterday, you would be right. However, I spent the day yesterday at the Cloud Connect conference, hosted at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. Google was much more visible here (in part because they were a "platinum sponsor"), and perhaps more importantly, the "how to" sessions they hosted Wednesday afternoon were packed by interested developers and technologists.… Read more

eBay reports revenue and earnings decline

Facing a tight economic climate and strong dollar overseas, eBay reported on Wednesday a 7 percent revenue drop in the fourth quarter and weaker net profits.

Shares of eBay, in after-hours trading, fell 6.25 percent to $12.45. The stock rose nearly 6 percent to close at $13.28 a share during regular trading.

The online auction giant reported revenue of $2.07 billion, down 7 percent from a year ago. That figure fell short of analysts' expectations of $2.12 billion in revenue.

eBay's net income, meanwhile, fell nearly 31 percent to $367 million in the fourth … Read more

Fake reviews prompt Belkin apology

Fake positive reviews of Belkin products were actively solicited by one of its employees, the company admitted on Sunday.

Belkin, a networking and peripheral manufacturer, apologized for the worker's actions, which sought to artificially boost Belkin's status on Amazon while denigrating existing bad reviews.

On Friday, The Daily Background Web site revealed how someone, apparently Belkin business development representative Mark Bayard, had used the Mechanical Turk service to ask users to write positive reviews of a Belkin product at a rate of 65 cents per review. The requests made it clear that writers need have no experience of, … Read more

Amazon has the complete series of 'Everybody Loves Raymond' for $65

Everyone loves some R&R. For those comedy sitcom fans, what better way to sit back and relax, than watching 'Everybody Loves Raymond?' Amazon is offering the Complete Series (all 9 seasons) for $65! That is over 60% off the retail price! Now you can watch your fave episodes whenever instead of waiting for reruns. till next time, JT