Corporate & legal

Ballmer: Google, Google, the economy, Google

LAS VEGAS--Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer arrived at the Consumer Electronics Show with his usual optimism, but he also brings a clear sense of reality: The tech industry is in for some rough times.

"The fact of the matter is, this is not a downturn, this is a bit of a reset. Those are quite different and we're trying to really suss through what we think that means for us," Ballmer said in an interview here with CNET News Thursday, a day after delivering the keynote address at the conference.

Ballmer talked about what the "reset" will mean for Microsoft, as well as lessons learned from Vista and Microsoft's move to put Office on the Web. When it comes to what worries him most, most days it's still Google, although he concedes he has had to spend more time recently on economic issues and making sure Microsoft makes the adjustments it needs to. He wouldn't go into detail on what (and who) Microsoft plans to cut, but it is clear that some changes are coming.

The following is an edited version of that interview:

CNET News: Obviously, Microsoft didn't necessarily get everything it might have hoped for in terms of the critical response for Vista. What are you guys planning to do differently with Windows 7?

Ballmer: Well, I think we made some choices in Vista to improve security at the kind of expense, if you will, of compatibility. With Windows 7, we're able to build compatibly off of Vista and really sort of just tune, if you will, the user interface, the performance, and at the end of the day, it'll be what the users think of the product that we're building, and we'll start getting beta feedback this week.

Q: How hard are you pushing the team to get Windows 7 out this year?

Ballmer: I'm not pushing the team hard, the team is pushing itself. They set some goals and objectives and of course we'll ship the product when it's--as I said last night--both right and ready and when we know when that is, we'll share that.… Read more

Stringer stresses convergence to save CE industry

LAS VEGAS--It was fitting that in a city created as an elaborate fantasy world that a knight would get up on stage and tell us how to save the princess.

In this case, the knight is Sir Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony (and Knight Bachelor, a title awarded by the queen of England), and the princess is the consumer electronics industry. And according to Stringer, one of the keys to slaying the monster of the recession is the convergence of networked entertainment and technology.

In his keynote address on the opening day of CES here, besides pushing various Sony products … Read more

Dell's Ireland plant to shed 1,900 jobs

Dell announced Thursday that it is closing its manufacturing operation in Limerick, Ireland, and shifting production to its Polish plant and to third-party contractors.

The move will result in the loss of 1,900 jobs in a facility that employs 3,000 people.

Employees and unions in Ireland have long been expecting the decision, which is part of a $3 billion restructuring that Dell announced last year.

Dell said in a statement that the first Limerick employees would leave the company in April and the whole process of switching production will be completed by January 2010. Workers will receive a … Read more

Lenovo to cut 2,500 jobs amid restructuring

Chinese PC maker Lenovo confirmed Thursday that it is carrying out a restructuring, which involves the company letting go of 2,500 employees--about 11 percent of its workforce.

With the changes, the company is targeting to save $300 million annually, according to a Singapore-based company spokesperson.

The announcement comes after a report surfaced earlier this week, saying that the PC maker would lay off 200 employees in its Beijing-based headquarters, including around 10 senior management staff. In response to queries from ZDNet Asia, Lenovo had dismissed the report as rumors.

At its U.S. Web site, Lenovo said the job … Read more

Sony's Webbie cam follows Pure Digital bid

LAS VEGAS--Before making the new inexpensive mini camcorder it unveiled at CES Wednesday, Sony tried to purchase the category leader, Pure Digital.

Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow on Wednesday told CNET News that the vastly popular Flip Video camera made by Pure Digital came onto Sony's radar almost two years ago. Glasgow said he knew he wanted Sony to have a product in the category and talked to San Francisco-based Pure Digital about a possible acquisition six months ago.

Without saying how much Pure Digital was asking, Glasgow said it was much more than Sony wanted to pay. The … Read more

Microsoft strikes deals for Live Search

This story was co-written by Marguerite Reardon.

LAS VEGAS--Microsoft is hoping two new distribution deals will give its Live Search a much-needed boost.

The company is announcing on Wednesday a global deal with Dell that will see Live Search be the default search engine and a Windows Live toolbar bundled on the bulk of consumer and small-business PCs sold by the computer maker over the next three years. That deal is in addition to a five-year deal with Verizon Wireless, which leaked out earlier on Wednesday.

It's the latest effort for Microsoft, which has been trying--and struggling--for the past … Read more

OLPC slashes workforce in half, cuts salaries

The One Laptop Per Child project announced Wednesday that it is slashing its workforce by 50 percent, reducing salaries for the remaining staff, and restructuring its operations.

Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the group that aims to provide low-cost laptops to children in developing countries, announced the cuts in a company blog post:

Like many other nonprofits that are facing tough economic times, One Laptop per Child must downsize in order to keep costs in line with fewer financial resources. Today we are reducing our team by approximately 50% and there will be salary reductions for the remaining 32 people. While … Read more

Cisco CEO beats on the consumer electronics drum

LAS VEGAS--Cisco Systems plans to focus on the consumer market a lot more in the next three to five years, the company's CEO John Chambers said Wednesday during the company's press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show.

This increased focus will likely mean a "steady stream of product announcements, partnership announcements and acquisitions" from the company as it grows this market, Chambers said.

Cisco initially got into the home networking business in 2003 with its acquisition of Linksys and it increased its presence a couple of years later with the acquisition of set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta. … Read more

EMC to cut 2,400 from workforce

Storage giant EMC on Wednesday announced plans to cut 2,400 positions from its workforce, despite expectations of posting record fourth-quarter revenues.

The job cuts will represent 7 percent of the company's workforce, as part of a restructuring program that will also include consolidation of facilities and back office functions, and a rebalancing of products and markets.

EMC expects to cut $350 million in costs this year and as much as $500 million next year.

The cost cuts come as the company issued its preliminary fourth quarter forecast, in which it noted it expects to generate approximately $4 billion … Read more