O'Reilly closes software arm

Publishing company O'Reilly and Associates, best known for its computing books with animals on the covers, has shut down its software operation. "Although the software business was a profitable one for O'Reilly, we've realized that it's not a strong strategic fit with our other efforts," the company said in a statement.

Nine people were laid off as a result. Several others found jobs elsewhere at the Sebastopol, Calif., company. The company will continue to support its two products, WebSite Pro 3 Web server software and the WebBoard 4 program for running online discussions, until the company finds "new homes for them."