Online business program

Britanyj Crimson earned 34,000 dollars last month online through the sale of jewelry she designed and created herself. That doesn’t include what her shop took in as donations for Relay For Life. Not bad for a business that didn’t exist before February 2007. Mike Gunderloy.) Those of us who haven’t joined the 6.7 million residents of Second Life may marvel at the US$50 million spent for real during a given month in this virtual world. But people like Jones considers her online life a “natural for those of us who spend a lot of time on the Internet.” Although the media has given great visibility to ***

Plumtree Software is readying a new version of its portal program designed to help businesses avoid what it calls "portal sprawl"--a proliferation of outdated and unused internal sites. Plumtree Corporate Portal 5.0, scheduled for release by July, features a portal directory that workers can search and browse, making various portals easier to find, update and maintain, the company said on Monday. Portals are private, password-protected Web pages through which employees, customers and business partners can take care of things like retrieving information on accrued vacation days or placing orders online. Keeping track of numerous portals can be a big challenge, especially for large companies, said AMR Research analyst Jim Murphy. In a recent AMR study, one company, which Murphy declined to name, reported having more than 2,000 separate portals. ***

A recent decision by a patent appeals court appears to give smooth sailing to a flurry of e-commerce patents issued this year, cheering e-commerce patent holders but potentially creating big headaches for Internet shopkeepers. The U.S. Court of Appeals decision means some Net merchants may find that their basic business model or technology has already been patented by a competitor. And that rival may be in a position to demand licensing fees. More broadly, the decision raises a question: Do patents on ways of doing business on the Net help or hinder Internet commerce? Consider this scenario: You're an Internet merchant ramping up for the holiday shopping season. Your store uses a "shopping cart" for buyers to select purchases, accepts credit card payments, and offers airline frequent flyer miles for purchases. ***