Top Items:
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft Firing 15,000 People On Jan 15? Unlikely (MSFT) — Microsoft (MSFT) is preparing to whack 15,000 people in two weeks, says Fudzilla, 17% of its global work force. A cut of this magnitude seems highly unlikely, although the targeted areas do make sense.
RELATED:
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.
internetnews.com:
Is Microsoft Planning Its First-Ever Layoffs? — Plenty of speculation, but few details as the rumored date approaches. — With the economy in the tank and other major firms planning massive cutbacks, rumors have been swirling for several weeks that Microsoft plans big layoffs of its own to be announced on or about Jan. 15.
Discussion:
Technologizer
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).
Discussion:
Appletell, SlashGear, My Digital Life, Digital Noise, Engadget, Techdirt, Microsoft Pri0, The Mobile Gadgeteer, PalmAddicts, Between the Lines, Lockergnome Blog Network, Technologizer, Anything But iPod, OpsanBlog, Windows-Now.com, TechCrunch, The Register, Smalltalk Tidbits … and Ars Technica
RELATED:
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.
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
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.
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.
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
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Top Social Media Sites of 2008 (Facebook Still Rising) — What were the top social media sites of 2008? ComScore came out with its worldwide traffic stats for November a few days ago (so these don't include December). They are a mix of social networks and blogging platforms.
