There's more bad news on the Yahoo front. An anonymous tip claims the company has created a list of between 1,500 and 2,500 jobs that could eliminated in the next few weeks. Apparently, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang will make a final decision about the move this week, with a public announcement coming either at or before earnings on Jan. 29. The floundering Web giant should cut at least 1,000 the tech blog believes, if not 2,000. The question is whether Yang, described as "a good guy unwilling to make hard-ass decisions," has the nerve to do …

Facebook is undergoing an investigation in Britain after a former user of the social network was unable to fully delete their profile even after terminating their account. That's right, all that personal information remains on Facebook's servers even after a user deactivates their account. The company claims its policies are "in full compliance with UK data protection law," but the matter will still be investigated by Britain's Information Commissioner's Office. After a user deactivates their Facebook account, that information remains on Facebook's computers, though it's no longer accessible. So why is it being kept there? Because Facebook doesn't …

Widget maker Slide made waves last week after a new investment round inflated the company's valuation to $550 million. The San Francisco-based startup, founded by PayPal alum Max Levchin, creates widgets, or Web-based software applications that can be embedded on user-controlled pages, like social networking profiles. Slide creates some of the most popular widgets on Facebook and MySpace. Fidelity and T. Rowe Price have purchased a 9% stake in the company worth $50 million. Allen & Co., a NY-based Slide investor, helped raise the funds, but did not, conspicuously, add to their investment due to the "crazy" valuation. …

Joost is in hot water. The company last week fired its Chief Technology Officer under mysterious circumstances. Usage of the P2P-powered TV service has underwhelmed, and the content deals have dried up. But all is not lost. A few savvy distribution agreements could save the online video provider. One of the biggest complaints about Joost is its lack of quality content. Hulu, the ad-supported content distribution effort from NBC Universal and News Corp., would make the perfect addition. Competitors like Veoh already use Hulu, and Joost should, too. The company would also do well to devote a channel …

Video games had a monster year in 2007, according to annual sales figures from NPD Group, with retail sales $17.94 billion thanks to high-demand for games like "Halo 3" and next generation consoles like the Nintendo Wii. Video game sales grew 43 percent, up from 12.53 billion in 2006. In December alone, Americans spent $4.82 billion on games, up 28 percent from a year earlier and 83 percent from November. Breaking down the numbers, hardware sales jumped 54 percent to $7.04 billion in 2007, while software sales grew 34 percent to $8.64 billion. "The industry has become much …