Source: GMANews.tv

SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. will make the first mass layoffs in its 34-year history, cutting 5,000 jobs as demand for personal computers falls and even one of the world’s richest companies gets burned by the recession.

The company announced the cuts Thursday as it reported an 11 percent drop in second-quarter profit, which fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Microsoft shares plunged nearly 12 percent.

“We’re certainly in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime set of economic conditions,” Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said during a conference call. With less access to credit, businesses and consumers are spending less and stretching the life span of their existing computers.

The biggest names in the technology sector have been no stranger to layoffs lately. Giants such as chip maker Intel Corp. and even Google Inc. are among the companies that have pulled back on jobs to hunker down in the recession.

At Microsoft, the cuts appeared to reflect uncertainty about when times will get better. The company said it could not issue a forecast for earnings and profits for the rest of the year.

The software maker was already facing tough problems, among them its inability to snag a significant share of the lucrative Web search advertising market from leader Google Inc. It tried to fix this by buying Yahoo Inc. and pouring money into its own technology, all the while relying on Office programs such as Word and Excel, and on Windows to keep bringing home huge profits. Now, with the recession pinching software earnings, Microsoft’s problems seem even harder to fix.

Microsoft, which has $20.7 billion in cash on hand, said its business prospects were hurt by the deteriorating global economy and lower revenue from software for PCs. The holiday quarter of 2008 was the worst for the PC market since 2002, with computer shipments declining about a half of 1 percent, according to IDC, a technology research group.

Making matters worse, the one type of PC consumers have warmed to in tight times — the low-cost, low-power “netbook” — actually cut further into Microsoft’s earnings. The tiny portable computers run on Windows XP, which is older and less profitable for Microsoft than Windows Vista. Read more…

By Penelope Endozo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

IF THE YEAR 2008 WAS AN aisle in the marketplace of ideas, the tech industry’s shakers and movers needed more shelves to fill them with bestsellers. This year’s most-wanted gadgets had something for everyone, even perhaps the Luddites. Consider:

1. iPhone 3G. Like its touch-sensing predecessor that started it all, iPhone is attracting hordes of fanatics. The first iPhone landed in the 2007 Time Gadget of the year and appeared in “Sex and the City”—indicators of its pop-culture caché. The great add-on this year is its 3G power!

2. Samsung Omnia. The god of small things made it a point to make Samsung Omnia the only touchscreen phone with Windows compatibility.

3. Nokia N96. Designed to be Nokia’s 2008 flagship phone, this gadget offers 5MP camera, stabilizer for its MPEG4 format videos and an expandable 16GB memory, among other cool features.

4. Mac Air and Pro. Mac’s slimmest version fits right inside a Manila envelope—a hip, hip creation. The Mac Pro, however, is the bomb—the fastest, strongest and lap-toughest Mac ever with 2.8 GHz processor and 800 MHz DDr2 fully buffered memory, making it the Mac tower of power.

5. Nintendo Wii. As if 3D isn’t enough to define the 21st century’s contribution to gaming, ensuring the virtual extinction of 2D versions of Mario Brothers and his brethren, Nintendo Wii weeds out the wires from its consoles and turns the sofa into the playpen. No wonder Wii is eBay’s hottest find this year. Read more…