Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer warned that all of Microsoft's businesses will be effected by the current recession in the months to come. Ballmer also reiterated today that although a full acquisition of Yahoo was not currently a possibility they would like to continue conversations with Yang's replacement Carol Bartz.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Dell maybe be prepared to launch a high-end smart phone as early as next month. The report indicated that the mobile phone will feature a touch screen similar to Apple's iPhone.

Shares of Microsoft plunged to a 11 year low as the company reported disappointing earnings for the quarter and announced that it would be laying off 5,000 workers. Microsoft reported earnings of 47 cents per share slightly lower than the 50 cents per share they reported for the same quarter a year prior.

Motorola stated that it will need to cut another 4,000 employees, nearly 6 percent of its workforce, and issued a warning that it post a loss for its fourth quarter. The company indicated that its mobile phone sales were significantly weaker than expected as the continues to lose market share in the mobile market to Nokia.

CEO Steve Jobs will take a medical leave of absence from Apple until the end of June. Jobs stated that his health has become too distracting for the company. Tim Cook will lead Apple's day to day operations. Jobs didn't provide any specifics but indicated that his health-related issues "are more complex than I originally thought."

Seagate technologies announced Monday that Stephen Luczo will be replacing its chief executive William Watkins, and that the company will be reducing its workforce by 10 percent. The hard drive industry has seen lackluster sales due to the economic slowdown, and at the same time Seagate has lost nearly 79.2 percent of its market share over the past 12 months.

Google has just released a pre-beta version of Chrome 2.0, Google's new web browser. In the new version Google changed the network protocol to HTTP network protocol from the current WinHTTP library. The HTTP network protocol is compatible across multiple platforms including Mac and Linux. Currently, Mac and Linux support are the top requested features for Google chrome. The new browser, released... More

At the 2009 CES conference today, Microsoft announced its new IPTV platform named Anytime TV. Anytime TV allows users to access previously aired shows directly from its integrated program guide at any time without any preplanning or any prior DVR recording.

Steve Ballmer stated in an interview that the acquisition of Yahoo Inc by Microsoft is "a thing of the past." The news puts an end to recent rumors that talks between the two companies had been revived.

EMC, the world largest supplier of external storage devices, plans to cut 2,400 people or 7 percent of its workforce in order to reduce costs. The news comes in spite of the company announcing projected fourth-quarter results in-line with expectations.

Intel reported that it's fourth quarter sales dropped 23 percent more than previously projected. Intel sited that the global recession significantly lowered demand for personal computers. The news hit the entire economy as more investors became nervous that the recession may be far from over.

Adobe and Broadcom announced the integration of Adobe Flash support into Broadcom's latest digital television and set top box system-on-a-chip platforms. The collaboration between the companies brings the way to deliver rich flash based entertainment to new television sets.

Sales of semiconductors dropped 9.8 percent in November, as consumers halted their spending habits. The world wide economic crisis is having an impact on the demand for semiconductors; however, to a lessor degree than many other sectors.

It is no secret that Google is hoping that its new mobile Android operating system based on Linux can be used for more devices other than just mobile phones. And according to recent reports, Google's new OS already contains policies in the operating system for phones as well as MID. Intel refers to MID as mobile internet devices, commonly marketed as netbooks. Enthusiasts are hoping that 2009 maybe... More

As corporate spending on computers, software, and information technology continues to drop, rumors of layoffs at Microsoft are continuing to mount. An employee of Microsoft posted on a blog that, "Just heard on the finance grapevine. MSFT layoffs are coming on January 15th. They are substantial.". Just a few days ago Oppenheimer & Co stated in a report to Microsoft that a layoff of as much as 10... More