Ben Charny

Internet telephone providers love to flaunt subscriber mobility as a selling point. Dialing from any broadband connection is a key benefit their service has over traditional telephony, they say. But their ace in the hole appears to now be an endangered feature. And its thanks to a new set of federal regulations. VOIP (voice over […]

Net phone operators recently provided federal regulators with a bleak assessment of their industrys chances of meeting an important emergency calling milestone anytime soon. The Federal Communications Commission now demands that every U.S. Net phone operator make 911 calls a standard feature with every calling plan, and that every 911 call be accompanied the callers […]

Microsoft Corp. said it is readying an online marketplace, code-named Fremont, which is apparently in response to a similar feature that rival Google Inc. introduced a few weeks ago. Fremont is a free service in which people contribute listings, whether its about a couch for sale or someone looking for a commuting partner. Microsoft plans […]

Technology provider UnifiedRoot, based in Amsterdam, has begun leasing Internet addresses that can end in any word, rather than in .com, .org, .net or other top-level domains. For instance, Brinks Home Security could replace its collection of different Web addresses with just one: home.brinks, according to an example the company cites on its Web site. […]

Google Inc. is testing a new advertising feature that lets someone chat directly with the person or business vying for their attention. The ads, that started showing up a few days ago, sport a phone icon to activate the feature. From there, you provide a telephone number so the advertiser can call you. The caller, […]

Unwanted text messages from a Florida-based travel company were sent recently to 98,000 Verizon Wireless customers, according to a new lawsuit filed by the operator. The Verizon Wireless litigation highlights an unfortunate circumstance for the 200 million U.S. cell phone subscribers. Spam on cell phones is becoming a fact of life in the U.S., despite […]

America Online Inc. released Monday a new version of its popular Instant Messenger software, which is meant to draw more eyeballs to the companys other online facets. AIM Triton more prominently features many of AOLs other Web-based facets, such as AOL Radio and free PC-to-PC calling along with a chance to subscribe to TotalTalk, AOLs […]

Search giant Google Inc.s price comparison service now points users to shops or merchants that have a sought-after product in stock, but dont necessarily have a way to order it online. The move is a significant one, say analysts. Inventory information from small and midsize businesses is difficult to come by, mainly because the businesses […]

Microsoft Corp.s Web site Live.com has over the past few days added a new feature aimed at owners of Internet domains. The new facet can be found at www.live.com, which Microsoft uses to deliver some of its software products. The Live.com Web site debuted about three weeks ago. At Live.com, Microsoft now supplies e-mail and […]

Editors Note: This story is part of , a continuing series of stories from the reporters and editors of Ziff Davis Internet. Instead of the usual mile-high look at the year ahead, these articles examine particular technologies and markets in transition, including whats in store for them. In 2005, the news got out that Google […]