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(CNNMoney.com) — When Jim Ball ran a traditional call center in Golden, Colo., in the late 1990s, employee turnover was rampant. Often, Ball was forced to hire just about anyone who walked in the door because few people were willing to commute to the call center and sit in a sterile cubicle for minimum wage.

When Ball and his partner Steve Rockwood sold the call center in 1997, they decided the next business would be radically different: Customer service agents would work from home.

Full Story at msnbc.com

LOS ANGELES – Hard-working Barbie is adding two more careers to her long resume — news anchor and computer engineer.

The two new ventures for the world’s most popular fashion doll were chosen for the first time by the public, who cast more than 500,000 votes to select Barbie’s 125th and 126th careers, toymaker Mattel said on Friday.

Full Story at  CBS News.com

(AP) Internet search leader Google will ease its control over millions of copyright-protected books earmarked for its digital library if a court approves a revised lawsuit settlement that addresses objections of antitrust regulators.

The offer comes two months after the U.S. Justice Department balked at Google’s original agreement with authors and publishers, warning the arrangement could do more harm than good in the emerging market for electronic books.

Google Inc. is hoping to keep the deal alive with a series of new provisions. Among other things, the modified agreement provides more flexibility to offer discounts on electronic books and promises to make it easier for others to resell access to a digital index of books covered in the settlement.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Google said Monday that it plans to pay $750 million in stock for AdMob, a company that provides display advertising technology for mobile Internet sites.

The search giant said the acquisition will help the company’s advertising partners improve how they target mobile Web users, as well as refine advertising formats to get end-users to click on more ads. All of that will ultimately help advertisers to more effectively monetize their mobile ads, said Google.

Full Story at brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com

College students who took advantage of a “deal too sweet to pass up” have run into a bit of trouble.

The $29 electronic version of Windows 7 Home Edition sold for Microsoft (MSFT) through Digital River (DRIV) doesn’t seem to install properly on some 32-bit Vista machines.

Apparently the download files weren’t properly packaged and when some users tried to “unload the box” they got an error that read:

“We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded”

A discussion thread with that title was begun on Microsoft Answers’ Windows 7 install forum less than 3 hours after the new operating system launched. By Saturday morning it had generated more than 500 replies and been read nearly 44,000 times.

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Microsoft Corp.’s stock soared early Friday after the software giant reported quarterly sales and profit that fell from year-ago results but easily beat Wall Street’s forecasts.

Shares of Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) rose more than 10% in early trading. It surged as high as $29.35 at the open, hitting its highest level, on an intraday basis, since June 13, 2008.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant said its first-quarter net income fell 18% to $3.6 billion, or 40 cents per share, for the period ended Sept. 30. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of 32 cents per share.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Computer maker Dell announced on Wednesday that it will close a plant in Winston-Salem, N.C., and will cut 905 jobs as a result.

Dell said that 600 plant workers will be laid off in November, and the remaining 305 employees will be cut by January 2010, when the plant is scheduled to close. The cuts represent about 1% of the company’s 78,900 employees.

“This is a difficult decision, especially for our North Carolina colleagues, but a necessary one for Dell customers and our company,” said Frank Miller, vice president of Dell, in a statement. “The efforts of our team members there have been significant and we’re committed to helping them through their transition.”

Full Story at money.cnn.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. securities regulators proposed Thursday a ban on flash orders that stock exchanges send to a select group of traders, fractions of a second before revealing them publicly.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking to end the practice criticized for giving an unfair advantage to some market participants who have lightning-fast computer trading software.

Nasdaq OMX’s Nasdaq Stock Market and privately-held BATS Exchange recently canceled their flash services that disclosed buy and sell orders to specific trading firms before sending them to the wider market.

NYSE Euronext’s New York Stock Exchange did not adopt the flashes under scrutiny but major alternative venue Direct Edge still offers flashes.

The SEC will put its proposal out for public comment for 60 days, and will later schedule a meeting to decide whether to adopt the proposal.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. hope that by joining forces, they can tilt the balance of power in Internet search away from Google Inc. First, however, Yahoo and Microsoft have to convince regulators that their plan won’t hurt online advertisers and consumers.

As the U.S. Justice Department reviews the proposed partnership, approval figures to hinge on this question: Will the online ad market be healthier if Google’s dominance is challenged by a single, more muscular rival instead of two scrawnier foes?

Full Story at Bing vs. Google: Consumers Can’t Tell a Difference

(alleyinsider.com) — We consumers seem to becoming pawns in the power struggle between internet behemoths Google and Microsoft. To Google, we are “products” to be sold to highest bidding advertiser and to Microsoft we have been reduced largely to a software license. The battle these two corporate superpowers are undergoing leaves me feeling awed, and puny.

So when I read the plethora of opinions the experts are spinning about whether Bing is better than Google, I wonder what “Judy Consumer” thinks. I suspect the subtleties of the technology are probably lost on her.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Fresh out of bankruptcy, the new General Motors hopes to soon start selling its whole line of cars on eBay through a pilot program.

While the marketing effort would initially be limited to California, it could go national if it proves to be successful, said GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson at a news conference Friday.

A tie-up with eBay wouldn’t be entirely new for GM. The automaker has been placing all of its “GM Certified” used cars on eBay for over a year. Toyota and Chrysler have similar programs for their certified used cars, as well.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNN) — After years of tweaking and rewording agreements, commercial Webcasters have agreed to royalty rates for music they stream online, according to a statement from SoundExchange, a not-for-profit organization that collects and distributes digital music royalties.

The terms of the agreement are complex. The formula, which includes revenue sharing and song monitoring, is considered experimental, however “pureplay” Webcasters say the new terms are viable.