Tech Companies Eye Holiday Shutdowns

By Geoff Duncan November 26, 2008

You know economic times are tough when the high-tech firms of Silicon Valley are encouraging—and, in some cases, even requiring—employees to stay at home over the end-of-year holidays.

Technology giant Cisco announced yesterday that it will close most of its U.S. and Canadian offices for four days over the holidays as part of a cost-cutting move, and that announcement follows Hewlett-Packard’s recent decision to extend its normal one-week holiday shutdown to two weeks. Software maker Adobe Systems has also encouraged its employees to take a little extra downtime around the end of the year, and even Apple has asked some employees to take time off.

All the firms say business-critical operations and technical support services would remain operational during the breaks.

Many Silicon Valley firms go through relatively formal close-downs during the period between Christmas and New Years’ when many employees are on vacation. In Cisco’s case, the shutdown will run from December 29 through January 2, and marks the company’s first mandatory close-down in more than ten years.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

This Dell 15-inch Windows laptop is in the sale bin for $300

Someone using the Dell Inspiron 15 on their lap.

If you need a new laptop but you don't need an overly powerful machine, you should check out Dell's offer for the Dell Inspiron 15. From an already affordable original price of $380, it's currently even cheaper at just $300 following an $80 discount. There's always a lot of demand for laptop deals featuring dependable devices like this one, so you shouldn't take too much time thinking about it. Proceed with the purchase immediately if you want to pocket the savings.

Why you should buy the Dell Inspiron 15
Dell is one of the best laptop brands, because its machines are excellent choices for work or school -- and that extends to its budget offerings like the Dell Inspiron 15. With the 12th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, integrated Intel UHD Graphics, and 8GB of RAM, it's not going to challenge the best laptops in terms of performance, but it's more than enough for basic tasks. Activities like doing online research, building presentations, browsing social media, and watching streaming content won't be a problem with the Dell Inspiron 15, though you may consider upgrading to 16GB of RAM if you need a boost in processing power for your apps, as recommended by our guide on how much RAM do you need.

Computing

This Dell 2-in-1 laptop is over $1,100 off right now (seriously)

Dell Latitude 9330 tent view showing display and hinge.

If you're looking at 2-in-1 laptop deals because you like the versatility of these devices, you're going to love this opportunity to get the Dell Latitude 7430 2-in-1 laptop with a discount of $1,118. It's currently available from Dell for $1,009, for savings of $1,018 on its original price of $2,027, but you'll get an extra $100 off with the code SAVE100, which pulls its price down even further to $909. That's an absolute steal for this machine, so you better hurry with your purchase because we're not sure when the bargain will disappear.

Why you should buy the Dell Latitude 7430 2-in-1 laptop
The Dell Latitude 7430 falls under the convertible category of 2-in-1 laptops, according to our laptop buying guide. That means you can quickly and easily switch from laptop mode to tablet mode by folding its 14-inch touchscreen with Full HD resolution all the way back to below its keyboard. Not only is the device portable, but it's also capable of matching your needs at any given moment. You'll be able to use the keyboard for typing documents in laptop mode, and maximize the touchscreen for using apps in tablet mode, for example.

Computing

Usually $995, this Dell work-from-home laptop is $449 today

Dell Latitude 3420 on a desk hooked up to a monitor.

One of the best laptop deals comes courtesy of Dell and is perfect for anyone on a budget. Currently, you can buy the Dell Latitude 3420 laptop for $449 saving you $545 off the regular price of $995. It's currently on the Dell website for $499 but if you use the code SAVE50, you save an additional $50 bringing it down to its excellent new price. If you're in the market for a cheap laptop, take a look at what it offers below.

Why you should buy the Dell Latitude 3420
With Dell being one of the best laptop brands, you can be safe in the knowledge you get good value for money with the Dell Latitude 3420. It has an 11th-generation Intel Core i3 processor along with 8GB of memory and 256GB of SSD storage. Alongside that is a better screen than you'd normally get at this price. It has a 14-inch full HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 250 nits of brightness.