retail sales

Michael Dell has grown tired of discussing his company's reinvention.

He mocks suggestions that the company he founded is taking more risks than in the past and parries questions about how Dell's culture had changed.

"It's O.K. if everyone doesn't understand what we're doing," Dell said during an interview at Dell headquarters here, just north of Austin.

Online sales on the day after Thanksgiving -- known as Black Friday among retailers -- were unexpectedly strong, raising hopes among Web-based vendors that this year's holiday shopping season may not turn out to be the total disaster that some analysts have been predicting.

McAfee and Symantec could be affected as Microsoft moves to provide free antivirus software. If the software, code-named Morro, successfully protects against viruses, analysts said, it could mean an exodus from well-known security brands.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a security offering focused on protecting against malware. The software giant is addressing what it sees as a growing need for a security solution that meets the unique needs of emerging markets and smaller PC form factors.

McAfee and Symantec could be affected as Microsoft moves to provide free antivirus software. If the software, code-named Morro, successfully protects against viruses, analysts said, it could mean an exodus from well-known security brands.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a security offering focused on protecting against malware. The software giant is addressing what it sees as a growing need for a security solution that meets the unique needs of emerging markets and smaller PC form factors.

The Gap company's stores have hardly been the hottest spots at the mall in recent months -- or even years.

In a market where most retailers are posting single-digit monthly losses, its brands -- Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic -- had a combined double-digit drop in September, and Old Navy's sales that month were down a startlingly bad 24 percent.

Toyota’s plug-in capable Prius is getting a big boost for testing, hitting the open road a year ahead of schedule. Several hundred of the PHEVs will be put into government and commercial fleets for field testing by the early 2009. So in just a few more months, we might be able to catch one of the new models out and about.

What if they called a war and no one showed up? Industry heavyweights may have fought hard on either side of the next-generation DVD battle, but consumers apparently have decided to take a pass.

Sales of Blu-ray disc players haven't been helped by maker Toshiba's capitulation over producing the rival HD DVD format, research firm NPD Group said Wednesday.

Toshiba announced on Feb. 19 that it would stop making HD DVD players, already doomed by Warner Bros. Entertainment's announcement Jan. 4 that it was dropping HD DVD to focus on Blu-ray.

Sales of Blu-ray players, excluding PlayStation 3 game consoles, dropped 40 percent from January to February in the U.S., according to NPD. Sales grew only 2 percent from February to March. The firm didn't release numbers of players sold.

Global PC shipments during this year's first quarter rose 12.3 percent in comparison with year-earlier results, say researchers at Gartner Client Computing. By contrast, PC shipments in the U.S. grew just three percent year over year to 15.2 million units.

Preliminary results show that PC sales in the U.S. were "modestly affected" by a downturn in the nation's economy, said Gartner analyst Mika Kitagawa. Though there was no one obvious indication of a "fundamental change" in market conditions, Kitagawa noted that the U.S. market is undeniably softening.