technology executives

The new year began harshly for Adobe Systems. Shares of the maker of Photoshop, Flash, and other widely used software have dropped almost 8 percent in 2010, after big gains last year, amid speculation that Adobe's Flash Web-video software will be eclipsed by a competing technology backed by Apple and Google.

Dell Inc. said Thursday its net income fell 5 percent in the last quarter despite early signs that businesses may be starting to buy new computers again.

Consumers snapped up low-cost laptops and smaller netbooks over the holidays, pushing Dell's PC shipments up 29 percent. Those products are less lucrative, though, and Dell's revenue and profit in the consumer PC division grew much more slowly. Dell's profit margin was below expectations, and its shares fell 7 percent in Friday trading.

As recession forces many tech companies to cut jobs, pockets of the industry are adding workers en masse. Consider Platinum Solutions, a provider of software and IT services to the government. In the past 12 months, Platinum has boosted its workforce by more than half, to about 130 employees, after receiving large multiyear contracts from government agencies, including the Food & Drug Administration. As of mid-August, the company had more than 50 job openings.

On the campaign trail and in the White House, President Barack Obama has embraced the idea of providing high-speed Internet access to every community in America. But the plans for universal broadband have gotten off to a rocky start. Some technology executives complain that the $7.2 billion allocated in the federal stimulus plan isn't half the amount needed to do the job.