Corporate and legal

eBay is now in the fashion business.

The online auction company officially launched its Fashion Vault site on Monday where it's teaming up with fashion retailers to offer designer clothes at healthy discounts for short periods of time.

To attract price-conscious customers who crave designer labels, the site will rely on "flash" sales lasting from 48 to 72 hours. Rather than bid for the clothes in a typical eBay auction, interested shoppers will use the Buy Now option. Shipping is thrown in for free.

eBay said it assures that all the items in the Fashion Vault come … Read more

Rumors that the iPhone is coming to Verizon have been buzzing around the Web over the last day or so. So what should Verizon iPhone users expect when the device finally comes to the nation's largest wireless network?

First, rumors of the Verizon iPhone are just that. There has been no confirmation from Apple or Verizon about the launch of this device. That said, there was never a question that AT&T's exclusivity deal with Apple would end one day. The big question has simply been when. And considering that Verizon is the largest wireless operator in … Read more

Google CEO Eric Schmidt got the memo on Google's cost-cutting efforts in 2009.

Schmidt's 2009 compensation fell 52 percent as Google spent less on his personal security expenses and the cost of ferrying his friends and family around on Google jets. Schmidt's total compensation for 2009 was $245,322, almost all of which was related to security and travel expenses, according to Google's proxy statement released Tuesday.

Schmidt, like co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, receives just $1 a year in salary and does not receive stock options. However, he's entitled to the use of … Read more

A Taiwanese chipmaker is suing Apple over the use of multitouch technology in several products, including the iPhone, iPod Touch, and forthcoming iPad.

Elan Microelectronics filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission Tuesday, accusing Apple of violating an Elan-owned patent that covers "touch-sensitive input devices with the ability to detect the simultaneous presence of two or more fingers."

Elan claims the iPhone, iPod Touch, MacBook, and Magic Mouse are in violation of Elan's patent, No. 5,825,352, and when the iPad goes on sale this Saturday, it will be too. Elan has asked the ITC … Read more

Xerox's Anne Mulcahy is stepping down as chairman and board director on May 20, the company said Tuesday.

Current CEO Ursula Burns will take on the additional job of chairman immediately following Mulcahy's departure.

The news marks Mulcahy's final curtain call on her 34 years with Xerox after having handed over the role of CEO to Burns in July.

Taking the reins as chief executive officer in 2001 and chairman in 2002, Mulcahy is credited with steering the company on the road to recovery following a rough patch of falling earnings and rising layoffs.

During her lengthy … Read more

A former senior IBM executive pleaded guilty on Monday to securities fraud in a case that has also reached the executive ranks at high-tech giants Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

Robert Moffat, once thought to be a candidate for chief executive at IBM, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud at a Manhattan federal court, according to the Associated Press. He will face up to six months in prison, based on federal sentencing guidelines.

Moffat, 53, provided confidential information about a reorganization at chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, among other confidential … Read more

The United Kingdom's Security Service has introduced a redundancy program for staff who lack IT skills, according to the Intelligence and Security Committee's annual report (PDF).

In the report, which was laid before parliament on March 18, Security Service Director General Jonathan Evans is quoted as saying the service--commonly known as MI5--was instituting voluntary and compulsory reduncancies--that is, layoffs--after a review of its staff profile.

"I think some of the staff perhaps aren't quite the ones that we will want for the future," Evans said, according to the report.

Read more of IT-illiterate MI5 staff face redundancy&… Read more

Google is planning to bundle its Chrome browser and/or operating system with Adobe Systems' Flash in a deeper partnership, we've heard from reliable sources.

The announcement, which is expected to come on Tuesday, is an interesting wrinkle ahead of the launch of Apple's iPad, which famously doesn't include Flash. Adobe-Apple relations are chilly, to say the least.

Google's bundling of Flash into Chrome via a deeper partnership with Adobe could indicate that the two parties are drawing a line in the sand against Apple. Details about the partnership announcement were sparse. Chrome already works with … Read more

Houston is the latest city to get Clearwire's 4G WiMax service, the company announced Monday.

Both Clearwire and its partner, Sprint Nextel, will be offering 4G wireless service in Houston. Clearwire, which is backed by Sprint, cable giants Comcast and Time Warner Cable, as well as Intel and Google, has been building its nationwide 4G wireless network for over a year. Houston marks the 28th city to get the service. Most of the markets that already have 4G WiMax are in Texas along with some major cities, such as Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Baltimore.

Previously, Clearwire had announced it … Read more