For Hooper, who was already waist-deep in corporate strategy at Cisco as senior vice president corporate development and head of its consumer division, this is quite a promotion, one that clearly suggests he’s being groomed for the CEO spot. And with former CEO candidates Charlie Giancarlo and Mike Volpi out of the picture, what’s to stop him from ascending to it? As Barclays Capital noted this morning, “The appointment cements our view that Mr. Hooper is well-regarded within Cisco and may continue to progress in the upper echelons of Cisco’s management team.”

While you might think of the Flip as a consumer device it is just as useful in our business line. The number of applications enabled by this network web 2.0 device in the business world is exploding.

Again using myself as an example I carry the same two devices in my business life and my personal life. A PDA and my Flip. Another key take away is to understand in my opinion the argument about consumer devices and business devices as well as the two architectures completely blurring is over. The real question is how do the CIO’s in the enterprise business facilitate this change and that is from a number [of] recent meetings with some of the top CIO’s in the world. They get it. They understand the change and it is how they facilitate it rather than slow it down.

An interesting point. That said, I imagine it will take a while for enterprise to overcome its security concerns over such uses. And for their employees to feel comfortable conducting personal business on company-issued handsets governed by those annoying corporate communications policies….

Another ugly SIA metric in a parade of them, though optimists will say that slight uptick in March is a sign that the industry has finally found a bottom from which to scramble upward. “The modest sequential rebound in worldwide sales in March suggests that demand has stabilized somewhat, albeit at substantially lower levels than last year,” SIA President George Scalise said in the report. “While all major product sectors showed month-on-month growth, there continues to be limited visibility in end markets. There are some bright spots such as ‘smart phones’ and ‘netbook’ PCs, but there are no clear signs of early firming of demand in other major end markets such as automotive, corporate information technology, and consumer electronics.”

So, perhaps we’re not on our way to the depths plumbed back in 2001-2002. And perhaps we are. The SIA doesn’t quite seem to know.

Clearly, the slowdown in the U.S. economy has reduced demand for electronics goods and, by extension, the chips on which they run. Said SIA president George Scalise, “The worldwide economic crisis is having an impact on demand for semiconductors, but to a lesser degree than some other major industry sectors.”

Right now, anyway. According to Gartner (IT), chipmakers haven’t yet seen the worst of this downturn. “In the last quarter of 2008, market conditions deteriorated significantly, and as the fourth quarter has progressed, many vendors have issued updated guidance for the quarter, reflecting weakening market conditions,” commented Gartner analyst Andrew Norwood. “Unfortunately for vendors, 2009 is going to be considerably worse. Some have compared the precipitous decline in semiconductor demand to that of the 2001 ‘dot-com’ bubble. However, unlike 2001, this economic downturn is much more broad-based and not limited primarily to the technology sector.”

Over at Mini-Microsoft, the Redmond insiders who frequent the site’s comments are incredulous over the layoff rumors, insisting that they are baseless. Costs will be cut, they say, but they will be cut through attrition and reduction in open headcount. “For the last time folks–THERE ARE NO LAYOFFS HAPPENINGS IN JANUARY,” writes one Mini-Microsoft commenter. “Beyond Jan…well we dont have a crystal ball–but if the economy doesn’t improve and the company misses targets–it would get uglier for everyone–from no raises/no bonuses to (maybe) cutbacks/layoffs… but then, those are the rules of the game in corporate America.”

An ugly blow for Motorola (MOT). With the economy in a deadspin and stronger rivals like Nokia (NOK) lowering handset sale expectations, things are looking decidedly bleak for the company.

Forty-five percent of respondents to ChangeWave’s November survey of corporate IT spending expect their companies to spend less money or nothing at all on IT during the next 90 days.

And given the tech sector’s continued desanguination, who can blame them? If your stock’s trading at a 12- or 13-year low, you’re probably not thinking a lot about future IT purchases. “U.S. corporate IT spending is in the midst of a huge nose-dive, the likes of which hasn’t been seen before in a ChangeWave survey dating back to 2001,” said ChangeWave research director Paul Carton. “In short, the current ChangeWave survey findings virtually guarantee that we’ll be seeing the technology sector get hammered with pre-announcements before the January earnings season gets underway.”

Wonderful. Something to look forward to.

One last point worth noting here: According to ChangeWave, Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone is now the No. 2 smartphone in enterprise. And while RIM’s (RIMM) BlackBerry continues to be the focus of planned corporate smartphone purchases, the iPhone is gaining traction. Twenty-two percent of future enterprise smartphone buyers say they plan to iPhones; 78 percent say they plan to buy BlackBerrys.

If you haven’t stopped tracking them already, that is.

This morning, the SIA released its annual forecast of global semiconductor sales and it is a dismal one. So dismal, in fact, that the Association expects global chip sales to decline in 2009–something not seen since 2001. According to SIA, chip sales will fall next year to $246.7 billion, down 5.6 percent from 2008.

As I said, dismal.

“The current global economic turmoil is clearly having a significant impact on semiconductor sales,” said SIA President George Scalise. Indications are that both consumer and corporate spending on technology will decline in 2009. Visibility is very limited, and much will depend on how quickly public policy makers can act to restore consumer confidence.”

“Mr. Papermaster’s employment by Apple is a violation of his agreement with IBM against working for a competitor should he leave IBM,” said Fred McNeese, director of IBM’s corporate media relations group. “We will vigorously pursue this case in court.”

And for good reason. As a member of the IBM (IBM) elite Integration and Values Team, Papermaster had broad access to the company’s intellectual property, trade secrets, and more. From the complaint:

The I&VT is charged with addressing the most difficult and important issues facing IBM, such as developing corporate strategy and driving innovation and growth and I&VT team members work with the most sensitive strategic information the Company possesses.

In his capacity as a member of the I&VT, Mr. Papermaster has gained access to confidential information concerning the Company’s strategic plans, marketing plans and long-term business opportunities, including the development of specific IBM products.

… Mr. Papermaster is IBM’s top expert in ‘Power’ architecture and technology, and he is privy to a whole host of trade secrets and confidences belonging to IBM that the company uses to design, develop and manufacture its products.”

Sounds like IBM has a lot to lose in Papermaster. Certainly, it’s worrisome that someone with his processor design expertise and deep knowledge of IBM research and innovation could end up at Apple, a company that’s made quite a name for itself recognizing the potential of innovations others have left fallow.

In a Tuesday interview with Reuters, Ballmer said it’s reasonable to assume that the ongoing financial crisis will affect Microsoft (MSFT). “Financial issues are going to affect both business spending and consumer spending, and particularly … spending by the financial services industry,” Ballmer said. “We have a lot of business with the corporate sector as well as with the consumer sector and whatever happens economically will certainly affect Microsoft. I think one has to anticipate that no company is immune to these issues.”