bankruptcy

This post was updated at 10:45 a.m. PDT with information from court filings.

Psystar, maker of the the Open Computer, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The papers were filed in a Florida federal court Thursday. Psystar is more than $250,000 in debt, according to the bankruptcy petition, owed mostly to shipping companies, the IRS, and the law firm Carr & Farrell.

In the filing, Psystar pins its financial mess on the poor economy.

"Debtor sales have been greatly affected by the decrease in consumer spending. The financial crisis has also caused creditors to tighten up their … Read more

The rough seas of the consumer electronics business has caused yet another smaller boat to capsize. Soyo, the maker of Honeywell TVs, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

The news was first reported by the HDGuru.com blog. An SEC filing from earlier this week states that the company shut down operations on May 5, and filed for Chapter 7. Chapter 7 means the company is planning on liquidating its remaining assets, with no plans to reorganize under a new repayment plant to creditors, as a Chapter 11 filing would allow. The company could not be reached for comment. … Read more

Rackable Systems, a data center hardware specialist, is adopting SGI as its new name, after completing its acquisition of Silicon Graphics Inc.

The company announced the move Monday. Its $42.5 million purchase of the supercomputing company was granted court approval on April 30 and closed on Friday.

For the deal, Rackable created a subsidiary called Silicon Graphics International. That subsidiary then acquired the assets and liabilities of Silicon Graphics Inc. Rackable will now be known as "a Silicon Graphics International entity," and Silicon Graphics International will be branded as SGI.

The new SGI's portfolio will include … Read more

Chrysler days away from bankruptcy? The 100 mpg Hummer H3, the Peapod car uses the iPhone for just about everything, and we soak up the fumes trackside at Laguna Seca.

• CNET's day at the track

• Watch the Scuderi split-cycle engine at work

• Chrysler's Peapod car turns on with an iPhone

• Good roundup of ways to connect your iPod in the car

• 100 mpg in a Hummer H3

In case some of you missed this Thursday, Ritz Camera--and by association Wolf and Kits Camera among others--is shutting down more than 300 stores around the U.S. as part of a court-supervised bankruptcy reorganization. This of course means stock liquidation sales, which will begin Saturday, April 4.

As with the Circuit City liquidation, I wouldn't expect huge discounts despite a senior VP at one of the four LLCs handling the sale saying we'll find "quality, brand-name merchandise at greatly reduced prices." (I'm willing to bet his idea of "greatly reduced" and … Read more

GM associated with the B word again, we have the hottest cars from the Geneva auto show, BMW wants their car keys to work like credit cards, figuring out the Toyota Venza.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

• CNET's Geneva auto show coverage

• Toyota Venza review

• Just try to dent an Aptera 2e

• Electric charging station map

• Artificial intelligence coming to BMW navigation?

• Best Buy to sell Enertia motorcycle?

Years ago I worked at a Circuit City-like big-box retailer in Washington state called Future Shop. I was there through the bitter end when they shuttered the U.S. stores, and I worked through the liquidation. Toward the end there wasn't much left. Employees would hide things they wanted so they could get the larger discounts later in the sale, but for the most part we treated the customers well.

Apparently not so at some Circuit Citys, like one near Boston. According to a local news channel, Gina Reis thought she was getting a good deal on a large-screen … Read more

Qimonda, an affiliate of Germany-based Infineon Technologies, is seeking protection under Chapter 11 for its U.S. unit, the company said Monday. Separately, a research report was released today forecasting dim prospects for chipmakers in 2009.

The U.S. unit of Qimonda AG, one of the world's largest memory chip manufacturers, said in a statement that it is seeking bankruptcy protection. "The US subsidiaries Qimonda North America Corp. and Qimonda Richmond L.L.C. filed for creditor protection under Chapter 11 on February 20, 2009," the company said in a statement Monday. "No disruptions to operations, … Read more

Sirius XM Radio's chief executive may lose his job if the company chooses to file for bankruptcy protection.

A group of creditors tells The Wall Street Journal that it will seek the removal of CEO Mel Karmazin if the company chooses bankruptcy over a deal with an investor that would allow it to remain solvent.

"Creditors will act quickly and definitively if they perceive that management is acting in their own interest and not in the best interest of the estate," Edward Weisfelner, a partner with Brown Rudnick, the law firm representing the creditor group, told the … Read more