Roundup: Layoffs hit Flickr, Apple’s 3D desktop, and more

Here’s the latest action:

Yahoo troubles hit Flickr — George Oates, one of the Yahoo-owned photo site’s early employees, is among the latest layoffs.

Apple to build 3D desktop? — It’s exploring the possibility, according to patent filings published by MacRumors.

Palm may unveil new operating system at Consumer Electronics Show – The mobile device company isn’t commenting, but at least one analyst thinks this is likely.

Former chairman says Intel should power carsAndrew Grove is urging chief executive Paul Otellini to get into battery production as way to diversify the business, as well as fill a growing need as auto manufacturers shift to plug-in electric cars.

Something rotten in the state of Denmark’s IT Factory — Business software company IT Factory’s chief executive Stein Bagger turned himself in to California police after disappearing in Dubai. Now Bagger tells the Danish press that he’s sorry for making up $170 million worth of revenue.

Energy secretary candidate is a big fan of efficiency and tech
Berkeley physicist Steven Chu, along with President-elect Barack Obama’s appointments to the Environmental Protection Agency, is expected to create big changes from Bush Administration policies.

DivX lays off 21That’s less than 10 percent of the video codec supplier’s workforce. DivX’s stock is trading at less than a third of what it was a year ago.

Online ads grow in China
— In fact, some of the country’s online ad companies are hoping to benfit from the economic slowdown by offering more cost-effective advertising.

Seagate says its quarter is slow — The hard-disk drive maker is now predicting this quarter’s revenue will come in between $2.3 billion and $2.6 billion, down from previous estimates of $2.85 billion to $3.05 billion.

RadioShack introduces $99 netbook with built-in 3G
— It sounds pretty sweet, but the downside is a costly data plan.

Reorganization and layoffs at CNET
— There aren’t many details available about the online news organization’s layoffs, but here’s the company memo describing the new structure.

NFL offers games on-demand with no commercials The “Games Rewind” videos will be in high-definition, too.

Tim Draper starts a blog — The well-known venture capitalist has been blogging since late November, and the entries include an eyebrow-raising video where Draper takes off an article of clothing for each portfolio company backed by a woman. Ah, empowerment — at least he keeps his pants on.

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About the Author, Anthony Ha

Anthony Ha writes about enterprise technology, cloud computing, tech policy, and random cool startups. Before joining VentureBeat in January 2008, he worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. Anthony attended Stanford University from 2001 to 2006, and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com.