PC World - Chinese officials have closed 1,250 Web sites and arrested 41 people as part of the country's ongoing campaign against Internet pornography, and plan to extend the crackdown to content for mobile phones, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said Thursday.

AFP - Up to 60,000 jobs could be lost in the Philippines' key electronics sector after Intel Corp. shut a facility and Texas Instruments announced a number of lay-offs, an official said Thursday.

CNET - Forget the important task of opening up government. Never mind a recession that seems to be trying hard to be promoted to a full-scale depression. In geekish circles, the question of the week has been: Will President Obama manage to hang on to his BlackBerry?

PC World - India's largest mobile services provider, Bharti Airtel, on Thursday reported strong growth in revenue and profits, as the country's mobile market remains unaffected by the economic downturn.

Macworld.com - The Mac’s first foray into portability wasn’t auspicious. At just under 16 pounds, 1989’s Macintosh Portable was only about half a pound lighter than the original all-in-one Macs. The only direction to go was up—and, thankfully, Apple went there quickly with only a few missteps. Today it offers a range of laptops, from the MacBook Air to the burly 17-inch MacBook Pro—and the future looks both bright and light.

Reuters - South Korean prosecutors indicted a blogger on Thursday who had warned of financial doom for the country with critics saying he was targeted because his gloomy forecasts upset the government battling an economic downturn.

AFP - Japanese companies on Thursday unveiled a security robot that can be operated remotely by cellphone and launch a net to capture an intruder.

AP - The French trader at the center of Societe Generale's multi-billion-dollar banking scandal says he lost his sense of reality while gambling with millions as if it was a video game, a newspaper said Thursday in what it called an interview.

AP - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is expected to post more losses for the fourth quarter as the slumping chip maker undergoes a wrenching restructuring.

PC World - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip maker, said the deepening global economic recession hurt its fourth-quarter results. It predicted its sales in the first quarter could be cut in half.

PC Magazine - Intel said Wednesday that it plans to close an older semiconductor manufacturing facility, as well as a pair of assembly sites as well.

Reuters - Nokia (NOK1V.HE) is looking to challenge Blackberry-maker Research in Motion's (RIM) dominance in mobile email as corporates cut spending amid economic slowdown and the market focus shifts toward retail consumers.

AP - After a decade of mostly feel-good stories, Internet search leader Google Inc. is expected to join in the economy's tale of woe with its fourth-quarter earnings report and commentary about the state of the online ad market.

AP - Nokia Corp., the world's top mobile phone maker, said Thursday its profits fell 69 percent in the fourth quarter as the world economic downturn slowed handset sales.

AP - Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, is set to report fiscal second-quarter results after the closing bell Thursday.

PC World - Steve Jobs denied that Apple is prepping an iPhone Nano and Apple Netbook. Then yesterday Apple's COO Tim Cook reiterated the company's unwillingness to produce such devices. So I'm making a plea to all those Apple fanboys and 'analysts' out there to please stop the rumor-mongering and find something better to do.

CNET - Correction at 6:33 a.m. PST: Microsoft's year-over-year revenue rose 2 percent.

AFP - US software giant Microsoft announced on Thursday it was cutting up to 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months including 1,400 immediately due to a slowing economy and weak spending on technology.

Reuters - A hit Bollywood thriller about a man with short-term amnesia has inspired India's first 3D videogame, in a country where the animation and gaming industry has been slow to grow but could touch $1.3 billion this year.

Reuters - Top technology firms Microsoft, Nokia and Sony warned on Thursday of plummeting demand and pain to come as consumers rein in spending amid a brutal global economic downturn.

PC World - Barack Obama was determined to take his Blackberry into the White House and it appears he's done it. On Monday, a government agency added a 'super-encryption package' to a standard Blackberry, according to reports.   It has yet to be confirmed whether the device is in fact for Obama or if he even has it yet.   Bureaucrats were reluctant to approve the device for the new President, because of numerous security concerns including information leaks and the ability to get a lock on the President's location. It seems those problems may have been solved.

CNET - From: Steve Ballmer Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 6:07 AM Subject: Realigning Resources and Reducing Costs

AFP - Nokia, the world's leading mobile phone maker, reported Thursday a near 69 percent slump in fourth-quarter earnings on falling handset prices and sales, leading it to cut its industry outlook.

Macworld.com - Intego, makers of VirusBarrier and other security software for the Macintosh, issued a security alert for Mac users on Thursday, advising them about the existence of a new Trojan Horse, which they’ve named OSX.Trojan.iServices.A. This new Trojan Horse can be found in pirated copies of Apple’s iWork ‘09 application suite, which has been downloaded over 20,000 times, according to Intego’s numbers.

AFP - Two top executives at Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of hugely popular Blackberry smartphones, face record fines for their roles in a stock option accounting controversy, local media reported Thursday.

Macworld.com - Tic A Tac Poker

PC Magazine - Know anyone who uses vKontakte instead of Facebook? It turns out that those are the two most visited social networks on cell phones for Opera Mini users, according to Opera's State of the Mobile Web report published Thursday.

AFP - Video testimony of nearly 600 survivors of Nazi forced labour programmes were posted online Thursday for historians and students to better understand their ordeal, organisers said Thursday.

InfoWorld - Windows Vista has been trouble for Microsoft perhaps since the operating system's beginning. And this last quarter was certainly no exception. Despite a dip in client software revenue, however, one analyst says the workforce reduction Microsoft detailed on Thursday is healthy -- at least from enterprise IT shops' perspective.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, who worried after winning office that he would have to part with his BlackBerry because of security concerns, will get to keep the addictive email device after all.

AP - Some useful terms to know when shopping for a high-definition TV set:

AFP - Barack Obama has pulled off the first political triumph of his presidency -- he will get to keep his beloved BlackBerry.

AP - President Barack Obama is keeping his cherished BlackBerry for personal use, becoming the first sitting president to use e-mail.

AP - If you haven't yet sprung for a high-definition TV set, the week before the Super Bowl is a good time to make the upgrade. Sports look great in HD, and football in particular is easier to follow on a big, sharp screen.

Reuters - A key House committee approved about $3 billion in grants to expand Internet service on Thursday, including a provision opposed by mobile phone companies that calls for increased Internet openness.

Macworld.com - Onset Computer on Thursday announced the availability of a trial version of HOBOware Pro, the software that accompanies its HOBO data logger devices. The Mac and PC-compatible software is available for download from Onset’s Web site.

AFP - A 'Spore' computer game that lets people play God by designing life forms is evolving to offer versions tailored for children, space hunters, and fans of Nintendo Wii consoles.

Macworld.com - We’ve come an incredibly long way from the initial System and Finder, but a Mac user plucked from 1984 and plopped down in front of a modern Mac wouldn’t find it that foreign.

AFP - Two top executives at Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of hugely popular Blackberry smartphones, face record fines for their roles in a stock option accounting controversy, local media reported Thursday.

PC World - President Barack Obama may be getting a souped-up, super secure version of the BlackBerry called the Sectera Edge, recent speculation suggests. The NSA-certified device could allow Obama to fulfill his wish of staying connected, some suspect, while also addressing the numerous security concerns that come with the territory.

AFP - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said Thursday that the US software giant remains interested in a search business partnership with Yahoo! and welcomed the appointment of new CEO Carol Bartz.

Reuters - Enabling videogame players to help make games as well as play them is becoming more than just a fad due to Electronic Arts' 'Spore' and Sony Computer Entertainment's 'LittleBigPlanet.'

Reuters - PC chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices posted a wider-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter as worldwide demand for PCs continued to shrink.

AP - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. cut its fourth-quarter loss, but not as sharply as Wall Street had hoped, as the chip maker absorbed a big charge for the falling value of an acquisition.

NewsFactor - Nokia on Thursday reported a 69 percent drop in profit for the fourth quarter and said it will cut 1,000 jobs. The Helsinki, Finland-based mobile-phone maker blamed the plummeting profit on a lack of demand for its mobile handsets.

AP - Canadian regulators are seeking a record penalty that could be as high as US$80 million from the two top executives of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion for their role in a stock option-granting controversy, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported Thursday.

Macworld.com - Spore, Maxis’s ambitious evolution simulator, is getting its first major expansion pack. Like its predecessor, Spore: Galactic Adventures is coming to the Mac and PC, and it'll be released on the same disc.

Macworld.com - I don’t know about you, but in my daily travels, I come across a lot of people who merit a savage dressing-down. Most of the time, I’m up to the task, believe you me. But on occasion, the wit well runs a bit dry. And nothing’s more embarrassing than facing down someone in need of a well-crafted insult with nothing more than an “Oh, yeah?” or a “Same to you, buddy” in your arsenal.

PC Magazine - White House press secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed at Thursday's press briefing that Obama has held on to his beloved smart phone.

AP - Google Inc.'s profit slipped for the first time in the fourth quarter, but the Internet search leader is still weathering the economic storm better than analysts anticipated.

AP - Yahoo Inc.'s employees will forgo their usual pay raises this year as the slumping Internet company struggles to boost its profits in a brutal recession.

AP - Microsoft Corp. officials say the company's Fargo campus is taking a small hit from the software giant's plan to cut more than 5,000 jobs in the next 18 months.

Reuters - International Business Machines Corp unveiled a consulting tool on Thursday that allows companies to reduce both costs and carbon dioxide emissions in their supply chains.

Reuters - U.S. chip maker Advanced Micro Devices posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and warned of dwindling revenue as worldwide demand for PCs continued to crumble, sending its shares 3.5 percent lower.

PC World - Advanced Micro Devices reported a steep loss and declining revenue for its fourth quarter as the chipmaker continued to suffer amid the faltering economy.

PC World - President Barack Obama will keep his beloved BlackBerry, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Thursday.

Reuters - The House Energy and Commerce Committee backed including about $3 billion in grants to expand Internet service as part of a larger economic stimulus bill, including a provision requiring 'open access' in wireless service and on the Internet.

CNET - Salaries of tech professionals managed to spike up an average of 4.6 percent last year to $78,035, according to survey results released Thursday by tech career site Dice.com.

AP - LG Electronics Inc., a major manufacturer of mobile phones and flat screen televisions, swung to its first net loss in seven quarters, hit by falling prices for TVs and a hefty price-fixing fine slapped on its affiliate LG Display.

PC World - Though Google, IBM and Apple offered scraps of good news this week, for the most part earnings reports from companies including Nokia, Sony, AMD and Ericsson were grim, illustrating the extent of the global economic downturn and its impact on technology sales.

AP - China said Friday that it has closed down 1,250 Web sites in a crackdown on pornography and vulgar content online.