downturn

Midwesterners and Texans are doing their best to prop up the U.S. retail consumer technology market, according to new sales data released Thursday.

During the fourth quarter of 2008, Houston was the only market of the 45 largest in the United States to actually see an increase in gadget sales compared to a year earlier. Purchases of LCD TVs, notebooks, digital SLR cameras, cables, and camera accessories helped drive sales totals up 2.3 percent in the Houston area, according to NPD Group, which tallies store-level sales data.

Improved sales in Houston can be an example to retailers, said … Read more

Consumer advocates are reigniting a debate over Net neutrality by insisting that the government require recipients of the government's $7.2 billion broadband stimulus package to adhere to special rules to ensure traffic on the Internet flows freely.

Consumer groups and Internet service providers faced off at a public hearing in Washington, D.C., on Monday set up to discuss how money from President Obama's economic stimulus package should be allocated. Public interest groups believe that the government should require companies receiving funds to adhere to special Net neutrality rules that would prevent them from discriminating against traffic … Read more

To stem continued losses, Sony said Thursday there will be no pay increases for non-managerial employees this year.

Sony doesn't give automatic raises every year based on seniority--unlike many other Japanese companies--but instead awards them based on responsibility and performance, according to Reuters.

It's the first time Sony has ever made such a move, but the company's financial circumstances give it few options. Sony is predicting an operating loss of $2.9 billion for the current financial year ending March 31, the electronics giant's first annual loss in 14 years.

It has already resorted to closing … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--With panels and discussions every year about social engineering, hacking, remixing, and culture jamming, South by Southwest Interactive is the must-attend conference for geeks who want to shake things up.

Maybe that's why the many panels at the conference about the future of media--from print to broadcast to music to film--were tinged with the message that fast, often radical change is necessary. With panel topics like "How Copyright Law Failed The Digital Age," "New Think for Old Publishers," and "Old Media Finds New Voice Through Twitter," this year's SXSWi promised to … Read more

Nokia, the world's largest maker of cell phones, said Tuesday it will cut 1,700 jobs as demand for its products continues to wane.

The job cuts will affect workers who work in its Devices and Markets units as well as in its Corporate Development Office and global support functions. The company said in a statement that it plans to scale its sales, marketing and technology business units to match the slowing demand for its products.

The company is based in Finland and about 700 workers there will likely lose their jobs, according to a report by Bloomberg News. … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is cutting salaries of EDS workers another 10 percent beyond what it first announced in February, ZDNet reported Friday.

Last month, the company announced salary cuts for all employees, ranging from 2.5 percent for nonexempt employees to 20 percent for the CEO, ZDNet said. HP also said it was making changes to employee benefits to save money.

According to a Friday memo obtained by ZDNet: "Unfortunately, we need to take additional action. Specifically, we have decided to make a temporary, additional reduction in base salary affecting EDS business unit employees in the United States and Puerto Rico.&… Read more

The global economic crisis is taking its toll on the cell phone business, with sales even in the hot smartphone category also expected to slow in 2009.

Two major market research firms published figures for the fourth quarter of 2008 this week. And they each have bleak news for the cell phone industry.

IDC said it expects the volume of all mobile handsets to decline by 8.3 percent in 2009. And it expects sales of hot smartphones, like Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry phones, to slow to about 3.4 percent growth. Smartphones have been … Read more

A while back we predicted that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was in danger of losing his title as the world's youngest billionaire due to the maddening ascent of teen diva Miley Cyrus. But, Forbes magazine says, Mark Zuckerberg, who's just shy of his 25th birthday, has indeed lost his title as the world's youngest billionaire--simply because he's not a billionaire anymore.

He's still fabulously wealthy, obviously, and clearly stands a chance of making it back onto the list. But his fortune is tied closely to Facebook's valuation, and with the worldwide recession in effect, … Read more

An assembly plant in North Carolina will be next on Dell's streak of cost-cutting moves resulting in layoffs.

Dell is laying off workers, but the company will not give the total number and location of all employees affected. Dell did confirm that some of those affected are from the Winston-Salem, N.C., plant.

These layoffs are just the latest in a string of job cuts at the PC maker over the last year. The company laid out a goal in 2008 to cut its costs by $3 billion, which has resulted in plant closings and manufacturing being outsourced to … Read more