AT&T Layoffs: The Tip of a Telecom Downturn

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December 08, 2008
Tech Insider Technology & Science News, Product Reviews

NEWS  THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES AT&T Layoffs: The Tip of a Telecom Downturn Cutbacks in consumer spending will force telecoms to trim staff and spending—likely spreading the pain to equipment makers as well

Inside: This Week in Technology Hello again to everyone in Tech Land I wish I could be cheerful. I wish I could be optimistic. I wish so much that the news in tech were not so dour, but the facts are simply too hard to ignore: "Layoff" was the word of the week at companies like AT&T and Adobe while "revenue shortfall" was heard from chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices. Unfortunately we lead this week with 12,000 job eliminated at AT&T and the speculation by our Olga Kharif that more cutting is on the way across the telecom spectrum. Once you've had your fill of the bad news, don't miss Catherine Arnst's interesting story "Health 2.0" produced with our partners at CBS News about how patients suffering from various conditions are banding together in Web communities to share what would otherwise be considered private information in a bid to improve the quality of treatment for all. We'll see you again next week. — Arik Hesseldahl GET RSS  |  NEWSLETTERS

TECH ANALYSIS SEMICONDUCTORS AMD Warns of a Revenue Shortfall Advanced Micro Devices is hardly in the chips. It predicts fourth-quarter sales will drop 25%, as customers dial back tech outlays THE TECH BEAT Tech Malaise Hits Adobe Adobe Systems is cutting 600 jobs, or about 8% of its staff, and lowering its sales outlook for the next two quarters TECH & YOU Windows on a Mac: Virtually Perfect New "virtualization" software lets Outlook and other apps work like Apple OS X programs   TECH INVESTING SMALL BUSINESS FINANCING Advice for Startups Seeking Venture Capital The financial crisis makes it harder to get funding, but those that prove themselves during this period will be better positioned to thrive   TECH INNOVATION IN DEPTH Health 2.0: Patients as Partners Social networks like PatientsLikeMe let people take charge of their own care--changing the nature of drug research and the practice of medicine TECH PIONEERS Tech Leaders of Tomorrow Some former winners such as Google helped give a leg up to the crop of 2009 Technology Pioneers chosen by the World Economic Forum   TECH CAREERS VIEWPOINT Engineering: Suddenly Sexy for College Grads As the financial crisis deepens, science and math grads who once flocked to investment banking are now considering jobs in engineering   TECH SPECIAL REPORTS CEO GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY How Cloud Computing Is Changing the World A major shift in the way companies obtain software and computing capacity is under way as more companies tap into Web-based applications CEO GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY Best and Worst Places for Data Centers Demand for off-site computing power delivered over the Web is rising, but finding the best place for those machines isn't easy CEO GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY Cloud Computing: Small Companies Take Flight Small businesses are flocking to the new services, which provide secure IT infrastructure with little up-front investment and no heavy lifting VIEWPOINT Enter the Cloud with Caution Here are nine questions to ask before trusting your company's data or computing tasks to an outside provider CEO GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY Podcast: The Risks and Benefits of Corporate Cloud Computing Corporations are starting to look at the potential benefits of cloud computing—computing power obtained through the Internet. But large companies have particular security and reliability needs CEO GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY Public-Private Alliances to the Rescue Many companies are realizing that they can play a crucial role in helping communities recover from natural catastrophes CEO GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY Making Maps Work When Disaster Strikes GeoCommons, OpenStreetMap, and Mapufacture are three online hubs where people can collaboratively map areas, which could help in emergencies CEO GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY The Do-Good Imperative Some of the most innovative ideas today are coming from efforts to address the needs of those most in need SPECIAL REPORT Best Young Entrepreneurs of Tech As the economy slumps, many entrepreneurs are looking past consumer Web sites to focus on products and services for companies SPECIAL REPORT The Power of Play Check out our special report on the current gaming industry, including an analysis of trends for 2008, profiles of radical innovators—and introducing the BusinessWeek Arcade, a celebration of some of the Web's best free games SUSTAINABLE TECH Special Report: Sustainable Tech Scientists are experimenting with viruses, salmon sperm DNA, potatoes, and more in making biomaterials for consumer electronics TECH HOMELAND SECURITY Homeland Insecurity The Homeland Security Dept.'s overreliance on outside contractors and insufficient management of them could leave the U.S. vulnerable TECH PIONEERS Meet This Year's Tech Pioneers The World Economic Forum has bestowed the coveted honor on 39 companies, which could become the Googles, a previous winner, of tomorrow BEST OF THE WEB Scaling the Social Web Move over, MySpace. Online players from media giant Viacom to auctioneer eBay are adding networking features for their users TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT Selling Computers to India With growth slowing in China, computer makers hope Asia's other big market will pick up the slack SPECIAL REPORT The Power of Gaming A recent report estimates that the video game market will increase to $48.9 billion in 2011. Our special report looks at some of the innovations sparking this growth SPECIAL REPORT The Future of Social Networking A rising tide of companies are tapping Semantic Web technologies to unearth hard-to-find connections between disparate pieces of online data SPECIAL REPORT Wireless World Ultrafast networks and whizzy features are about to turn your cellphone into—well, your right arm VIRTUAL LIFE The Coming Virtual Web In the future, the Internet is almost certain to look more realistic, interactive, and social—a lot like a virtual world NEXT-GEN GAME CONSOLES Game Definitely Not Over On the eve of the launch of PS3 and Wii, stakes in the console tussle amid Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft have never been higher CEO GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY Taming the World Wide Web A rising tide of companies are tapping Semantic Web technologies to unearth hard-to-find connections between disparate pieces of online data TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH LIBRARY Powered By IT white papers, webcasts and reports for tech leaders and decision-makers SEARCH LIBRARY Most Popular White Papers Help | Advanced Search Find new documents on these hot topics now: Business Intelligence | Network Security | Storage Management | Wireless LANs | VoIP  BW MALL   SPONSORED LINKS Discover the State of Data Protection  Avoid security threats and regulatory risk. Is your data as secure as it can be? Find out today! Server Virtualization Planning: 10 Best Practices  Learn how to combine applications and systems with server virtualization. Discover Maximum Mobility  See how new advances in wireless technologies have expanded the boundaries of mobile communications. Free Enterprise IP Telephony eBook!  Get your free 96 Page IP Telephony eBook! 11 Chapters on deployment, cost savings, security & more. FREE CRM COMPARISON GUIDE: Choose The Right CRM  Find Out Which CRM Makes Sense For Your Business. Grow Sales and Improve Customer Relationships. Buy a link now! This newsletter is a FREE service provided by BusinessWeek.com. To sign up for other newsletters, cancel delivery, change delivery options or change your e-mail address, please go to our Newsletter Preferences page. 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