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Digg thisAs the economy falters, technology stalls
December 19, 2008
In this 14-day series, CNET News profiles people in various technology sectors--from the start-up execs getting a stern talking-to from their investors to the holiday shoppers in the housing foreclosure epicenter of Modesto, Calif., to see how real people are handling the recession.
Feature stories
Day 1: IBM to start-up: Industry vet responds to recession
LogLogic's Patricia Sueltz heard a clear message about the economy from investors. But she already knows a thing or two about navigating through tough times.
Day 2: Confessions of a man who does the layoffs
It's easy to vilify the guy who hands out the pink slips. But contrary to popular notions, these aren't decisions that are taken lightly, at least with the executive we interviewed.• Video: What it's like to lay people off
Day 3: Slowing expectations at a green-tech start-up
Six months ago, biofuels start-up Mascoma had the wind in its sails, as did the rest of the clean-tech sector. Now, the company is treading carefully and scaling back.
Day 4: After a layoff, a family learns to cope
Balancing the checkbook is a tense chore for an unemployed IT consultant and his wife. Their story is becoming less unique.
Day 5: A tech reporter's unexpected path to freelance
Changing reader tastes and the downturn in print advertising are making it tough on some longtime trade magazine hands.• Video: Tech journalists feeling the crunch
Day 6: Amid recession, developer finds hope in the Apple App Store
Dennis Hescox has been around the games industry for years. Now, as the economy founders, he is trying to turn to iPhone games as a way to make a living. The challenges are huge.
Day 7: A Web 2.0 entrepreneur counts his blessings
Suleman Ali had quick success with his start-up. But with the economy sinking and big companies flexing their muscles, he knows it will be harder for his peers to do the same.
Day 8: Fighting cybercrime in an economic downturn
With malware attacks on the rise, McAfee cybercrime strategist Pamela Warren is increasingly focused on helping Internet users.
Day 9: Contractless in Seattle
A programmer thought he was settling into good shape financially when he landed a temporary job with Microsoft. He was wrong.
Day 10: For Net consultant, crisis, then a silver lining
Four-fifths of Steve Borsch's revenue evaporated in two months. But the problem sent the Web communication consultant in a new, better direction.
Day 11: Liquidated at Circuit City
A young single father's career in retail electronics is stalled before it really gets started, as Circuit City closes its stores.
Day 12: Talking Apple in the land of foreclosures
Modesto, Calif., has been hit hard by the housing crisis and already has double-digit unemployment. Nonetheless, there are plenty of shoppers in the new local Apple store.
Day 13: Working overtime for venture capital funding
Treb Ryan managed to sell a start-up for big bucks just as the dot-com boom was ending. But now, just getting funding for his current company is proving hard work.
Day 14: You don't need satellite TV when times get tough
An Oakland, Calif., family knew they had to trim monthly expenses. So they took a novel, Internet-savvy approach to cutting costs while still watching their favorite programs.Latest financial coverage
Gartner: Growth coming after IT's worst-ever year
Expect 3.3 percent growth to $3.3 trillion in 2010. Also, Gartner releases fresh buzzwords: "context-aware computing" and "pattern-based strategies."
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IAB: Internet ads actually doing OK
A 5.3 percent shrinkage in online advertising for the first half of 2009 isn't all that bad, when compared to rest of the ad market, new figures indicate.
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Microsoft closing YouTube rival
The software company already was paring down its Soapbox video site, but now it says it'll be eliminated altogether.
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Dell poised to benefit most from PC market recovery
The PC maker will see improvement when its corporate customers start buying computers again later this year and into 2010.
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Forrester: Tech recovery to start in fourth quarter
IT spending should pick up again in the fourth quarter in the United States, Forrester Research forecasts, followed by increased spending in 2010 in Europe and Asia.
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NY mayor: Info to the people will improve gov't
Michael Bloomberg kicks off the Personal Democracy Forum conference by suggesting that governments will run more smoothly by making information more readily available to the people--the same concept that made him a billionaire.
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Gartner: PC sales to pick up by end of the year
Shipments will be down 6 percent this year compared to 2008, but positive growth is expected for 2010.
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Tech layoffs: The scorecard
Follow the companies that are shedding workers with this live layoff tracker, which we'll continue to update as more news surfaces.
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MySpace slashes head count by 30 percent
Once the leader in social networking, the News Corp. division has announced a "return to start-up culture" that involves cutting nearly a third of its U.S. staff.
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Microsoft: No iPhone reimbursements for workers
As part of its wave of cost cuts, the software maker will only reimburse workers for Windows Mobile cell phones.
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Wired magazine's pitch to New York
Wired Business Conference targets suits, not geeks, as it looks at changing business practices that both caused and are being decimated by the current recession.
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N.Y. Internet Week: All in the same boat
The mood at the annual digital-culture confab was one of cautious optimism and camaraderie--except when it was clear there are still lots of unknowns.
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For Internet Week, NY's tech elite emerge from bunkers
The second annual digital culture extravaganza starts Monday, and it will be taking place in a very different New York than last year's, to say the least.
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Honeywell TV maker files for bankruptcy protection
Another small TV maker finds it rough going in the current economic environment for consumer electronics, filing for Chapter 7.
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Microsoft layoffs hit several products
Software maker is downsizing its ambitions in several areas including its ResponsePoint phone system for small businesses.
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Resources
Making sense of the Wall Street meltdown
The tech downturn: How long and how bad?
The makings of another tech mess?
Credits
Editors: Jim Kerstetter, Jennifer Guevin
Art: Ellen Ng
