Corporate & legal

Wikipedia functionality has returned for Brits after the country's Internet watchdog reversed its decision to prevent users in that country from visiting a Wikipedia page containing an image of a naked child.

The Internet Watch Foundation had taken exception with a page dedicated to a 1976 album by rock band The Scorpions. The cover of that album--called Virgin Killer--includes the image of a prepubescent girl, which the group deemed a "potentially illegal indecent image," landing Wikipedia on the group's blacklist.

As a result, Internet service providers in the U.K. began filtering access to all pages … Read more

Sony announced Tuesday it's cutting 5 percent of its full-time workforce, in addition to a sizable chunk of contractors, and delaying investment in some factories. It's all part of the Japanese electronics giant's plan to save money amid the troubled global economic environment.

The total annual savings will eventually amount to $1.1 billion by early 2010, the company says. But will it be enough? Sony's current struggles are well known, and it's not clear that cutting just 16,000 positions and a few factories is going to get the unwieldy behemoth back on track. … Read more

The Open Handset Alliance, which promotes the use of Google's Android mobile operating system, added 14 new members this week, including Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator.

In addition to Vodafone, new members of the alliance are AKM Semiconductor, ARM, ASUSTek Computer, Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International, Huawei Technologies, Omron Software, Softbank Mobile, Sony Ericsson, Teleca, and Toshiba.

Members in the alliance are expected to either "deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices," … Read more

Motorola will hold onto its market dominance in the U.S. handset market in 2008, but the company's market share is rapidly declining, according to a report from market research firm MultiMedia Intelligence.

Motorola is expected to provide 21 percent of all handsets bought in the consumer market in the U.S. in 2008. But without any new hit products coming on the market, Samsung and LG are poised to surpass Motorola in terms of market share in 2009.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and Apple's iPhone are also expected to gain market share in 2009. Rick Sizemore, … Read more

Growth in information technology spending next year is expected to reach 1.6 percent in the United States, a substantial drop from previous forecasts.

Forrester Research's current 2009 estimate, released on Tuesday, is down from its previous forecast of 6.1 percent growth, which was issued prior to the steep drop in IT spending at the close of the third quarter.

In September, Forrester took the unusual step to update its forecast outside of its usual quarterly schedule, noting that 2009 IT-spending growth would fall to 6.1 percent from previous forecasts of 10 percent growth.

"Our U.… Read more

Mimicking a larger technology industry consolidation trend, the American Electronics Association and Information Technology Association of America trade groups announced on Tuesday plans to merge lobbying efforts.

The AeA-ITAA deal, aiming to create a stronger industry advocacy voice in Washington, D.C. and provide a greater breadth of technology sector-specific programs, is expected to close by the end of the year. The combined group, to be known as the Technology Association of America, is expected to have approximately 2,000 member companies.

Updated at 7:41 a.m. PT to include reductions in temporary and contract workers.

Sony plans to lay off 8,000 workers in its electronics business worldwide as part of a broader plan to trim expenses and tighten its focus in a difficult financial climate, the company said Tuesday.

The Japanese electronics and media giant, which currently has a full-time global workforce of 160,000, joins a long list of tech companies that have cut jobs and scaled back production.

The company will also eliminate a number of contract workers and temporary employees, which would total an additional 8,… Read more

In another bad sign for the consumer electronics market, chipmaker Texas Instruments warned that its current quarter sales and earnings will come in far below earlier estimates.

The company said it now expects revenue of $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion, as compared with prior expectations of $2.83 billion to $3.07 billion. Per-share earnings are now seen between 10 cents and 16 cents, as compared with an earlier range of 30 cents to 36 cents.

TI did not provide further details in its press release, but said it would hold a conference call to discuss its finances. … Read more

Update at 9:27 a.m. PST, with comments from a shareholder activist research firm. Correction, 9:35 a.m. PST: This story initially had the incorrect day the agreement was announced. It is Monday. Update at 1:33 p.m. PST, with closing stock price and excerpt from Southeastern podcast about its board seats.

Sun Microsystems and its largest investor announced an agreement on Monday that entitles the investor to nominate two directors to Sun's board, marking the latest action it has taken to right the struggling company.

Southeastern Asset Management, which holds a 22 percent stake in … Read more