Though eBay reported a 29 percent drop in profit for its third quarter Wednesday, the company did deliver revenue that was reasonably higher than Wall Street’s expectations. Not that it mattered much. Investors took eBay out to the woodshed anyway, beating its shares down seven percent in after-hours trading.
The ax is swinging at Rhapsody America. The subscription music service, a joint venture between RealNetworks and Viacom subsidiary MTV Networks, is sacking nine percent of its employees, mostly in editorial.
Is Google’s Android OS a panacea for the decrepitude and irrelevance that are now the hallmark of Motorola’s handset division? The company is betting that it is. “People familiar with the matter” tell The Wall Street Journal that Verizon and T-Mobile USA both plan to offer Motorola handsets running the OS by the end of the year.
Interesting turn of events in the Apple-Psystar spat. The unauthorized Mac clone maker has filed for bankruptcy. Seems Psystar’s acrimonious legal battle with Apple and the souring economy have had a deleterious effect on its finances.
So the seemingly unfailing demand for Nintendo’s Wii? Failing. Though Wii manufacturer Nintendo posted a 21 percent gain in quarterly operating profit on brisk demand for the videogame console, it slashed its forecast for full-year sales of the device.
The econalypse is finally catching up with Google–according to the company’s recently released 10-Q and Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth, who apparently just read it. Noting that advertising spending generally declines in ugly economic conditions, Anmuth lowered his share price forecast for Google to $490 from $542.
Black Friday, the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season, will kick off far earlier than usual this year, thanks to Circuit City. In the aftermath of a particularly nasty second-quarter loss and a 95 percent decline in share price, the long-suffering electronics retailer said today it is shuttering 155 of its stores across 12 U.S. markets and sacking 17 percent of its domestic workforce.
The deepening recession is playing havoc with EBay’s now nine-month old turnaround strategy. While the company beat Wall Street’s lowered expectations for its third quarter Wednesday, it also updated it’s guidance to better reflect “current business trends.” And “current business trends” being what they are, that guidance falls somewhere between lousy and repellent.
Economic softness in the states is widespread, but apparently it stops short of 1 Infinite Loop. Though consumer spending on electronics is generally trending lower, it’s trending higher for Apple products.
John Paczkowski has been poking fun at the tech industry and the personalities that drive it since 1997. From 1999 to 2007, he wrote the award-winning tech news Web log Good Morning Silicon Valley for the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's daily newspaper. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
12:58 AM: Breakfast: Two schools of fish from Tokyo Bay. Calories: 782,000. How I was feeling when I ate this: confused, irradiated, hating my size.
11:37 AM: Exercise: “Taxi Stomp” (alternating legs, for 30 blocks). Calories burned: 148,900,183.
1983. The Beatles announce their first tour in thirteen years, but likewise announce that Michael Jackson will be going on tour with them as a one gigantic mega-concert event.
Best video mashup ever.
A Facebook Memorial
Wow.
Worth it for the Rickrolling photo alone.
Excellent.
Flughumor!
… you vacuous, toffee-nosed, malodorous perverts
Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine meet the kakapo — a fat, flightless and very randy rare parrot.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
Don't miss a post! Sign up for our Daily Email and get AllThingsD.com delivered each day.
Get columns, blogs and video from D and All Things Digital on your iPhone. Download now »
