No free tea or coffee for staff at IBM offices from May 1

June 23rd, 2009 MySpace to cut 300 international positionsLOS ANGELES — Social-networking site MySpace said Tuesday that it will cut 300 international positions and close at least four offices outside the U.S. as it looks to cut costs and narrow its territory coverage.

September 6th, 2009 LONDON - Employees at PC World and Currys used Facebook to abuse their customers. Many past and present staff members hurled abuses to their customers on discussion boards.

September 11th, 2009 LONDON - Bosses in Britian have decided to impose a new rule in the workplace which will allow employees a 'Facebook break' of 10 minutes a day. The decision has been taken after a research suggested that Britain's economy is suffering thanks to workers surfing social networking sites, reports The Telegraph.iles Ridgeway, a leading consultant at Employment Law Advisory Services (ELAS) says Facebook is a "curse." "They feel some staff are failing to do the job they're paid for because they're spending too much time on such websites," he said.

January 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A senior executive with Satyam Computer Services has told the government that the fraud-hit company needs at least Rs.150 crore (Rs.1.5 billion or $30 million) to take care of the health insurance liabilities of employees in the US. Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla said that the request was made in a mail from Ram Mynampati, who is in the US to speak with the clients of Satyam Computer Services and reinstate their confidence after the Rs.70 billion ($1.43 billion) scam admitted by its founders.

June 23rd, 2009 MySpace to cut 300 intl positions, close offices LOS ANGELES — Social-networking site MySpace said Tuesday it plans to cut 300 jobs, or two-thirds of its overseas work force, in an effort to rein in costs and focus on countries where it has many users and better business opportunities. The move comes a week after the News Corp.

June 11th, 2009 MUMBAI - Between 7,000 to 10,000 Satyam employees have been put in a virtual pool, continuing their association with the company but with reduced pay, the IT firm said in a regulatory statement Thursday. The virtual pool programme is an innovative way of retaining the excellent human assets of Satyam despite the difficult economic situation, chairman Kiran Karnik said in the statement.

March 24th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Bangalore-based software giant Infosys will pick up most of IBM Global Services' multi-million dollar applications support contract with Australian software giant Telstra, after the latter's deal with the former was scrapped following TELCO reducing its outsourcing partners from four to two. According to The Australian, the decision to shift from IBM to Infosys could result in hundreds of job losses locally and in Bangalore, where IBM operates outsourcing centres.

August 6th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A petition for installing Internet filtering software on public library computers has been taken out in an Australian town after staff had to continue throwing out men for lewd behaviour while accessing internet pornography. According to the Couriermail, Dr Paul Sheldon presented a petition with 3222 signatures to Queensland's Sunshine Coast Regional Council on August 5.

July 22nd, 2009 Software AG 2Q net profit up 7 percentFRANKFURT — Germany's Software AG said Wednesday that its second quarter net profit rose 7 percent on a strong improvement in revenue from licenses and maintenance. The Darmstadt-based company reported a net profit of euro29 million ($41 million) in the April-June period, compared with euro27 million a year earlier.

April 30th, 2009 LONDON - They changed the lexicon for the word - search. Now the phrase 'I'll just Google it' has helped make the internet search giant become world's first $100 billion brand beating other household names like Microsoft, and Coca Cola to McDonald's.

September 2nd, 2009 BANGALORE - In the tough economic conditions during the past few months, most IT/software outsourcing companies have shown flat or negative growth in their revenues. Companies have been looking at opportunities in new geographies and industries to get growth.

September 20th, 2009 LONDON - British intelligence agency MI5 has hired many teenage hackers for its new secret operation to combat cyber terrorism. At least 50 new computer-savvy hackers, including many teenagers, have been roped in the newly formed Cyber Operations Command, and they had to sign the Official Secrets Act, the Sunday Express reports.

March 27th, 2009 TORONTO - IBM Canada, which has 19,600 employees on its rolls, announced Thursday that it is axing a number of jobs to contain costs. The US software giant, which is reportedly in the process of laying off 5,000 staff in America and transferring a lot of them to India, said the Canadian cuts will affect the staff from customer care positions to executives.

August 28th, 2009 State govs saying 'No thanks' to mystery laptopsCHARLESTON, W.Va. — Even during tight budgetary times, a growing handful of state governors are proving too wary to accept laptop computers that have shown up at their offices this month, unsolicited.

March 16th, 2009 LONDON - A former Tesco employee has become Britain's first eBay millionaire. Mark Radcliffe has made the fortune by selling electrical gadgets like iPod holders and remote control toys for less than 15 pounds.