Major book publishers have quietly begun selling directly to customers over the Internet, in a move that could transform the trade by putting them in competition with online retailers like Amazon.com. The publishers, including Simon & Schuster, Random House and Penguin, claim to have limited retail ambitions and are simply trying to use their Web sites to help readers.

SBC Communications Inc. sees little challenge to its traditional telephone business from services such as Skype that offer free phone calls over the Internet, SBC's chief financial officer said on Thursday. In recent weeks several tech giants, notably Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc., have either launched or bolstered services offering free voice calls between computers.

Blog addicts overwhelmed by information may have found their savior. Memeorandum, which started with a focus on political blogs in 2004 and launched a technology version just weeks ago, aims to be the automated newspaper of the online world. It attempts to solve the problem of information overload with a few smart algorithms that constantly track the hot topics in tech and politics blogs. However, it's not just the Google News of the blog world, since in addition to automatically tracking the top stories of the day, it also highlights the conversations between bloggers and mainstream media about each topic.

The war to win the eyes and ears of Internet users moved to a new front this week as Yahoo! acquired a UK electronic mapping feature to compete with Google. After years of simply fighting to keep pace with Google, Yahoo! has over the past few months ramped up to a full-scale assault on its arch-rival. Yahoo!'s newly aggressive posture is an attitude adjustment for a company that often appeared to be struggling to keep up with the Google juggernaut.

Apple's announcement of its new video iPod sent analysts scrambling to contemplate a new revenue stream for broadcasters, movie studios, and, of course, Apple. While they try to figure out how much money can be made, it's yet another wakeup call to the advertising industry. It must figure out how best to take advantage of the growing amount of video inventory being made available online.

FilmLoop has signed advertisers like Purina, HP and TBS to create and sponsor photo slide shows on its recently launched desktop photo broadcasting tool. FilmLoop allows consumers to create "loops" -- a dynamic string of images that scrolls across a user's desktop. Advertisers can purchase a photo ad placement that will appear between the user-generated loops, as well as alongside photos when they are clicked on and enlarged.

A recent government order mandating that voice over internet protocol services must include the same government-approved wiretapping capabilities as traditional phone companies threatens to cripple peer-to-peer telephone innovation, according to new warnings from civil liberties groups and an internet telephony pioneer.

In a few short years, users can expect to make telephone calls for free, with no per-minute charges, as part of a package of services through which carriers make money on advertising or transaction fees, eBay's chief executive said on Wednesday. Seeking to justify eBay's $4 billion purchase last week of Web-based communications phenomenon Skype Technologies, Meg Whitman countered criticism by a financial analyst during the company's quarterly conference call by agreeing with some of his points.

A Google map is no longer just a Google map. An army of programmers, most of them doing it just for fun, has grabbed the software code that generates the distinctive maps with their drop-shadowed virtual pushpins, and combined it with other data like the locations of potholes, taco trucks and U.F.O. sightings, and even the sites of murders and muggings.

America Online is trimming down ahead of a potential partnership with another Internet giant. Time Warner's AOL unit said yesterday it is slashing about 700 jobs - with the cuts coming mainly from the company's beleaguered dial-up Internet access business.