6. : Cisco Systems will shut down operations in U.S. and Canada from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2 for the first time in its history to save money. The cost-cutting move exempts business-critical teams such as technical assistance services and channel partner and customer product ordering.

7. : Asustek will unveil its laptop made of a bamboo casing on Saturday at the IT Month exhibit in Taiwan. The laptop is part of Asus' initiative to make products of renewable materials that are environmentally friendly. Anyone who has ever contended with trying to keep bamboo under control knows that it grows extremely quickly. It's also widely available. And quite tasty to pandas.

8. : Apple, Dell, Motorola, Microsoft, Nintendo and Samsung are laggards when it comes to getting serious about climate change and the impact their products have on the environment, Greenpeace said. "They haven't demonstrated any real commitment to cutting their own CO2 emissions, or to lobbying politicians to get a good deal post-Kyoto," said Mel Francis, international climate and energy campaigner for the environmental watchdog group as it released its Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics.

9. : Mark Papermaster was ordered by a federal judge to stop working for IBM just five days after the former Apple executive started his new job, according to court documents unsealed this week. Papermaster's work at Apple could cause "irreparable harm" to IBM because he knows "highly confidential IBM trade secrets," U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Karas ruled. He granted IBM's request for a preliminary injunction to keep Papermaster from working for Apple, where he got a job heading iPod and iPhone hardware development. IBM contends that Papermaster signed a noncompete agreement in 2006 that bars him from taking a job with a competitor for a year after leaving IBM.

10. : If you know a geek who loves vintage gear, this InfoWorld gift guide is for you (and the vintage geek in your life).