Top technology news headlines

• 

  Confessions of a man who does the layoffs

  special report 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.
  • Faces of the recession

  Read full story
• 

  Dell racks up Microsoft as data center customer

  After finding itself on the losing end of a number of deals, Dell creates a special unit aimed at getting its gear inside the world's largest data centers.

  Read full story

• Cyber Monday spending up 15 percent

  Shoppers hit the Web in force on Monday, which led to the second-biggest online shopping day on record.

  (Posted in Business Tech by Erica Ogg)

• Microsoft exec: Windows 7 is no service pack

  In a speech to investors, Windows business unit head Bill Veghte says there will be plenty to make Windows 7 a major release.

  (Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)

• Photo world begins grappling with video SLRs

  Photography buffs left cold by home video get new aesthetic possibilities with video SLRs. But adapting to the technology isn't always easy.

  (Posted in Underexposed by Stephen Shankland)

• Wikipedia gets $890,000 for the Luddites

  User-built online encyclopedia receives grant to hire new developers, with a goal of making the occasionally confusing interface friendlier to non-geek contributors.

  (Posted in The Social by Caroline McCarthy)

• Picasa chief departs Google for Fetch

  Mike Horowitz, a Google employee since 2003, has taken a new job at Fetch overseeing a product to extract useful information from the Web.

  (Posted in Underexposed by Stephen Shankland)

• BlackBerry sales to disappoint Wall Street

  Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones, reduces sales expectations for its third fiscal quarter, citing economic troubles in the United States.

  (Posted in Wireless by Marguerite Reardon)

• Gadget trade-in services that pay off

  Many Web sites pledge to pay you for mailing in used electronics. Which ones look the most lucrative?

  (Posted in Webware by Elsa Wenzel)

• Apple deletes Mac antivirus suggestion

  Apple removes statement to customers urging them to use antivirus software, saying that Macs are safe "out of the box."

  (Posted in Security by Elinor Mills)

• Hawaii unveils plans for Better Place

  Shai Agassi's company to bring a network of battery exchange stations for electric cars to the islands.

  (Posted in Planetary Gear by Candace Lombardi)

• Where the channel is investing in 2009

  Many of the current trends in IT spending favor open source and SaaS because they allow enterprises to take minibites of technology.

  (Posted in The Open Road by Matt Asay)

• Microsoft-HP cashback saga continues

  Earlier this week a Microsoft representative indicated that a deal offering 40 percent cash back at HP.com would be restarted following Black Friday glitches. Now that appears less certain.

  (Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)

• Windows 7 beta in January?

  A Microsoft developer blog makes it appear as if the test version is slated for January.
  • Windows Live gets its social makeover
  • Microsoft expands Vista SP2 testing

  (Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)

• Web ads seek to learn what attracts clicks

  Companies are creating hundreds of versions of the same ad with different colors or type fonts, trying to determine what works for whom.
  (From The New York Times)

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