Tech Roundup: Yahoo Ails, Time Warner Limits, Free Netbooks, More

(MoneyWatch)  Yahoo almost hits numbers, employees to hit street -- Yahoo'sthird quarter earnings fell just below analyst expectations, but even if they hadn't they would be nothing to write home about. Revenue was up one percent from the same time last year, otherwise known as the third consecutive quarter of falling revenue. Operating income of $70 million was a 53 percent drop from last year's $150 million. However, a good chunk of that, $37 million, went to lawyers, bankers, and other advisors who were trying to help stave off a Microsoft hostile acquisition, handle the proxy battle, and set up a deal with Google that, who know?, the feds might actually allow one day. Even so, the market says that a share of the company is worth $12.56, otherwise known as a whole lot less than the $33 Microsoft had offered. At least ten percent of Yahoo's current employees, more than 1,500, won't have to think about this much more because because they're going to be laid off by the end of the year. Jerry Yang said so in a mass email. Wonder if there was a Happy Holidays e-card attached? [Source: Yahoo Quarterly Earning Release, Financial Times, TechCrunch]

Meter, meter, on the net, we'll be paying more I bet -- Not too long ago word came out that Comcast was considering a 250 GB monthly traffic limit for users. Now Time Warneris looking at limits, but ones so small that they make the Comcast target seem beneficent. The talk is a tiered service test in Texas starting at 5 GB and ending at 40 GB. No YouTube for you. [Source: GigaOM]

IBM has mainframe deal for you -- You might not think of a mainframe as an impulse buy, but IBM is trying 90 day deferred payment terms with no additional interest. Call it an attempt to get buyers into the seasonal spirit and their signatures onto a purchase order. [Source: ComputerWorld]

Free netbooks in India -- Well, technically not free since they require a wireless service contract, but it's a move that could be a big driver for the product category. Giving away hardware isn't new for telecoms, but Reliance Communications, an Indian carrier, as well as Orange Slovekia and Carphone Warehousein the U.K., are all offering netbooks with specific service plans. Ironically, these might cost less than many cell phones and yet offer an interesting market twist. Don't be surprised if other carriers in various parts of the world follow suit. The question is how do you fit them into your pocket? [Source: GigaOM]

Samsung calls off bid for SanDisk -- Samsung blamed the credit crisis and economic outlook for dropping its $5.9 billion bid for memory vendor SanDisk. Of course, the Korean company had also been bargain-hunting for some time and SanDisk had resisted because it was probably being undervalued. But the news has played badly with the latter's investors, possibly because nothing could play all that well with any set of people who own stock these days. It could be that by walking away, Samsung will find that SanDisk's investors will blink. [Source: New York Times, BNET Industry Technology Blog]