supply chain

In what could be the first of some bad reports from technology giants, Intel on Wednesday announced preliminary fourth-quarter financial data. Revenue was about $8.2 billion, down 20 percent sequentially and 23 percent year over year. That's even lower than Intel predicted on Nov. 12.

Intel blamed weak demand and inventory reductions in the global PC supply chain. Intel's preliminary estimate of gross margin for the fourth quarter is at the bottom of the previous expectation of 55 percent, plus or minus a couple of points.

Two top executives are saying goodbye to Dell as part of the company's restructuring and realigning of business segments. Michael Cannon, president of global operations, and Mark Jarvis, chief marketing officer, will leave the company.

The Internet revolutionized the distribution of software -- perhaps a bit too much. The Web brought a new, cheaper method for getting software into the hands of users, but in doing so may have killed one of the best models in Silicon Valley history.