Top Items:
Emil Protalinski / One Microsoft Way:
Rumor: Microsoft to lay off 17% of staff on January 15, 2009 — Last week, Mini-Microsoft reported on a rumor regarding Microsoft layoffs expected to start on January 15, 2009 (a week before Microsoft's Q2 earnings report). I brushed the news aside then, but now it's worth quoting, just in case:
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Lars-Göran Nilsson / Fudzilla:
Microsoft getting ready to lay off 17% of staff — Worldwide cutbacks — The rumor that Microsoft was set to lay off people on January 15th, 2009 is no longer a rumor but a fact. Staff at Microsoft have been informed that the company is readying major layoffs to its worldwide operations and it's not a small cut, either.
Discussion:
Search Engine Journal, Webmetricsguru, SlashGear, VentureBeat, Beyond Search, Xbox 360 Fanboy, Joystiq and Texas Startup Blog
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Report: Microsoft To Lay Off 15,000 Workers — There are reports that Microsoft is getting ready to lay off 17% of their workforce on this new year. The layoffs are expected to happen on or around January 15th. So it looks like the rumors are right and this recession is going to hit …
Matt Akers / forums.zune.net:
Official response for Zune 30 Freezing Issue (Zune 30gb stuck at reboot screen) — Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used).
RELATED:
Seth Weintraub / PC World:
Apple to Give iMovie Big Update: Rumor — According to rumors Apple will announce at Macworld that its video editing software iMovie will receive a big update. — Recommends — I've heard from reliable sources that Apple will offer a significant update to iMovie at next week's Macworld.
John Biggs / CrunchGear:
How to unlock your 3G iPhone — YellowSn0w is out and it's ready to rock. Here's how to become SIM-independent. — NB: Install the latest 2.2 firmware before beginning this process. — 1. First, download quickpwn and jailbreak your phone. — Pick your device. We want the iP3G, obviously.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Apple's Internet share registered strong gains in Dec. — Apple's (AAPL) presence on the Web expanded to record levels in December, according to preliminary data released early New Year's day by Net Applications. — Mac OS X's percentage of Web hits reached a record 9.63% …
Stephen H. Wildstrom / Business Week:
Hollywood's Digital Dawdling — Many great old films are unavailable on DVD or online thanks to movie studios' 20th century thinking — On Feb. 3, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SNE) is going to make an honest man of me. Finally I will be able to buy a legal DVD of one of my favorite movies, Carol Reed's 1959 Our Man in Havana.
Discussion:
Beet.TV
Louis Gray:
10 Predictions for 2009 In the World of Tech — Following on to last year's 10 Predictions for 2008 In the World of Tech and the recent results: My 2008 Tech Predictions Look Bad As Year Nears a Close. — 1) The Real-Time Web Will Become Critical for News and Information Discovery
Discussion:
Off On A Tangent
Nat Worden / Wall Street Journal:
Time Warner, Viacom Reach Deal — NEW YORK — Time Warner Cable Inc. Thursday said it reached an agreement with Viacom Inc. on carriage fees shortly after midnight, averting the prospect of having its subscribers deprived of popular networks such as Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon.
Gopal Ratnam / Bloomberg:
Lockheed, Boeing Tap $11 Billion Cybersecurity Market — A A A — Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., the world's biggest defense companies, are deploying forces and resources to a new battlefield: cyberspace. — The military contractors, eager to capture a share …
Discussion:
Threat Level
Michael Calore / Wired News:
6 New Web Technologies of 2008 You Need to Use Now — Every year, we see scores of innovations trickle onto the web — everything from new browser features to cool web apps to entire programming languages. Some of these concepts just make us smile, then we move on.




