Between the Lines

Report: Microsoft in stealth Yahoo takeover?

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:02:00 +0000

Techcrunch, quoting anonymous sources, is reporting that a group of Silicon Valley executives and investment bankers are proposing a takeover of Yahoo - with the help of financing from Microsoft. The proposal calls for a premium of about 20 percent over Yahoo’s current share price, which closed at $12.71 Tuesday, down 2 percent. Shares continued to [...]

EMC cuts 2,400 jobs

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:48:17 +0000

EMC said Wednesday that it will lay off 2,400 workers, or 7 percent of its workforce, as an effort to cut $350 million in costs in 2009 and $500 million in 2010. The company also added in a statement that its fourth quarter revenue will be $4 billion, up 4 percent from a year ago. EMC [...]

Verizon picks MSFT search, gets ready for Kindle killers

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:34:26 +0000

Between the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and an investor conference in Arizona, Verizon Wireless is making headlines today on issues ranging from a mobile search deal to plans for Kindle killers to Monday morning quarterbacking about the launch of the Blackberry Storm. Reuters is reporting that Verizon Wireless has chosen Microsoft to provide search [...]

Satyam fallout: Should customers stick? Full text of chairman’s stunning letter

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:14:17 +0000

Indian outsourcing company Satyam has cooked books, a $1 billion cash sink hole and its chairman and founder B Ramalinga Raju has fabricated figures. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch has bailed on being an adviser to the company and shares of the firm were down 90 percent or so in premarket trading before being halted. What do [...]

If iRecord can rip DVDs, why can’t Real?

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:30:10 +0000

If I were one of the lawyers for Real Networks, I’d be looking a bit closer at a device called iRecord, which is being showcased this week at Macworld. iRecord basically allows you to take video and audio clips from any source - cable/satellite, DVR, Video game console and, yes, even a DVD - and copy [...]

Facebook: We have 150 million active users

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:17:57 +0000

Facebook has hit its latest milestone: 150 million global active users. In a blog, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said half of those 150 million users visit the social network daily. Zuckerberg writes: If Facebook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia and Nigeria. When we first started [...]

Intel: Fourth quarter sales worse than expected (again)

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:08:41 +0000

Updated: Intel said Wednesday that its fourth quarter, which was already dismal, was actually worse than expected. The chip giant forecast fourth quarter revenue of $8.2 billion, down 20 percent from the third quarter and 23 percent from a year ago. Intel warned about the fourth quarter in November and forecast sales of about $9 billion. [...]

Sun acquires cloud computing vendor

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:57:10 +0000

Sun Microsystems said Wednesday that it has acquired Q-layer, a Belgium company that automates cloud computing deployments. Sun didn’t offer a lot of detail in its statement. Q-layer will become part of Sun’s cloud computing unit. The general idea is that Q-layer’s technology will allow Sun to more easily provision and deploy applications. Q-layer’s software allows [...]

Why Schiller’s Macworld keynote is a big deal in the big picture

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:30:58 +0000

There are two ways to view Philip Schiller’s keynote at Macworld Tuesday: It was either a respectable effort by one of Steve Jobs’ understudies or a bummer since the main attraction wasn’t on stage and the announcements left a lot to be desired. Both would miss the big picture. The big picture is this: For the [...]

News to know: Macworld, CES preview, Windows 7

podcast@zdnet.com (Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:00:20 +0000

Macworld Coverage: Photos: Jobs fill-in touts media, MacBook updates Jason D. O’Grady: Live: Philip Schiller keynote at Macworld 2009 Sam Diaz: Apple’s final Macworld: Schiller delivers but announcements disappoint Apple expands DRM-free music selection [video] Apple reveals new iPhoto features [video] Ed Burnette: Apple iTunes goes all DRM free, with three price tiers New high-end MacBook Pro has 8 hour battery Jason [...]