Sony

Sony has just released the BRX-A320, a hard-disc drive DVR with an impressive 320 GB storage capacity. It comes integrated with a digital tuner to capture OTA digital broadcasts. With that much storage, the BRX-A320 can record up to 27 hours of HD TV, 55 hours of standard-def TV, or up to 249 in a long-playing standard-def, lower-quality mode.

Sony has always seemed a fortress in the electronics world - unshakable, until recently.  Sony is expected to post a loss of about $1.1 billion for 2007 and 2008 -- the first loss posted by the corporation in 14 years. Ouch.  What some more hurt? That loss could be doubled if inventory doesn't improve in this current quarter.

  Yikes. Tough times even for the giants of industry. Sony just announced plans to lay off 8,000 full-time employees worldwide. Ouch. An additional 8,000 contract and temp employees will also be getting the ax. With a global workforce of 160,000, that's a 10% cut, if I'm doing the math correctly.