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.
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:
Alex Pham / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Microsoft to Zune 30 owners: It's a leap-year problem. Wait until tomorrow — Microsoft this afternoon sent out a message to frustrated owners of its Zune 30 digital media player: Wait until tomorrow. — An estimated 1 million owners of the 30-gigabyte Zune woke up this morning to find their devices inoperable.
Discussion:
forums.zune.net, Obsessable, paidContent.org, Tech-Ex, The Microsoft Blog and Mobility Site
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.
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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
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.
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
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.
Digital Transactions:
Bill Me Later Not Likely to Suffer from Its Ouster from Amazon — Not surprisingly, Amazon.com Inc. disclosed this week that it would no longer accept Bill Me Later Inc., the fast-growing online credit system now owned by Amazon archrival eBay Inc. But at least one analyst expects the damage …
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider
Jonathan V. Last / Wall Street Journal:
Playing the Fool — How Sony inadvertently helped a competitor and lost position in the videogame market. — Like dynasties rising and falling, videogame systems enjoy periods of ascendancy and popular support, only to be thrust aside by a new and conquering power.
