In the struggle to grow revenues in tighter markets, most companies are pushing their marketing departments to provide greater market coverage and deliver more sales opportunities. Yet statistics reveal that an astonishing 79 percent of leads generated by corporate marketing departments are never contacted by corporate sales groups. Unless that issue is addressed, stepping up marketing efforts simply... 

Retailers’ worst nightmare has indeed come to bear: American consumers have permanently changed their buying habits, according to research by several firms. Gone are the days of shopping as a pastime. And, for all practical purposes, brand loyalty has just about evaporated. In its grocery-buyer survey, for example, Deloitte found that 84 percent of those polled were focused on cutting spending... 

In the obscure world of copyright law, it is now technically OK to jailbreak an iPhone. That’s according to a Library of Congress ruling, which has designated replacing the operating system of the phone with a less restrictive one to fall under the “fair use” guidelines. Fair use is the standard under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that permits some specific uses of copyrighted... 

Hacking the technological protections built into copyrighted digital material in order to view or use the content does not necessarily contravene the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans ruled on Friday. The move could send shock waves through the music, TV and movie industries, as well as companies in the business of digital protection. The court... 

Welcome to a panel discussion that examines the need for improved common defenses — including advancing cooperation between enterprise architects and chief security officers — to jointly defend against burgeoning cyber security threats. The risks are coming from inside enterprises, as well as myriad external sources. From the panel, we’ll learn more about the nature of these borderless,... 

Rumors are swirling that Verizon may phase out its unlimited data plans. The catalyzing factor could be the launch of the Motorola Droid X, which is widely considered to be Verizon’s answer to the iPhone. The Droid X brings many of the data-intensive elements of current-generation smartphones to the Verizon network, including video streaming, a wide range of music apps, and social networking.... 

Three years after Apple launched the iPhone, mobile commerce has reached a tipping point, driving retailers to change the way they think about their businesses. Mobile commerce has evolved from its origins as a marketplace for “virtual” goods like ringtones and applications to one enabling the sale of “real” products, particularly low-cost items that offer immediate gratification.... 

Amazon.com has signed a deal with the Wylie Agency to offer 20 books from big-name authors exclusively on the Kindle Store for two years, effectively cutting publishers out of the equation. The titles include Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead , Philip Roth’s Jewish-American literary masterpiece Portnoy’s Complaint , Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita , and Hunter S. Thompson’s... 

Speculation about Apple’s plans for ending the agreement that makes AT&T the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S. is heating up again. The guessing game went into full gear on Wednesday with reports of an anonymous source within T-Mobile saying there was an 80 percent chance that Apple would strike an iPhone distribution deal with that carrier by Q3 of this year. “I don’t... 

Apple’s third quarter, which saw revenues hit an all-time high of $15.7 billion, was fueled largely by sales of the iPad, iPhone and Mac lines. However, Apple has of late seemed to throw most of its marketing muscle behind the iPad and the iPhone 4, generally neglecting its former crown jewels, the iPod and Mac lines. Are developments in these lines slowing down as more resources are directed...