Yahoo's Bartz departs (week in review)
Carol Bartz is fired from her post as Yahoo CEO but doesn't leave quietly. Also, Sprint files suit against AT&T's merger with T-Mobile and the iPhone 5 remains very elusive.
Carol Bartz was fired this week from her job as Yahoo CEO, but she didn't leave quietly.
In a note sent to Yahoo employees Tuesday, Bartz said the company's board had fired her. "I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's chairman of the board," Bartz wrote. "It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward."
In her first interview after the firing, however, she was a little less diplomatic. "These people fucked me over," Bartz told Fortune.
Bartz, who in the interim has been replaced by Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse, will receive a severance package topping $10 million, according to regulatory filings. When she took over the CEO role from co-founder Jerry Yang in January 2009, the company was struggling to become more competitive and profitable. One of her first tasks as CEO was a reorganization of Yahoo in an attempt to make the Internet pioneer faster, simpler, and more responsive to those who use its services. But under her leadership Yahoo has continued to founder, never regaining the ground it lost to Web leader Google.
Some, however, believe that the board of directors is to blame for the Bartz flameout and other company failures, and that Bartz was set up to fail. One major Yahoo shareholder wants to see a whole new board of directors at the company.
Others add that, with Bartz out, the time to start selling the company, in pieces or in total, is now.
• Yahoo, Bartz part ways (roundup)
More headlines
Sprint files suit to block AT&T's T-Mobile merger
Opposition is building against the acquisition deal that Sprint and other critics say would create a wireless "duopoly" and spell bad news for consumers.
• Sprint offers most data bang for the buck
• Deutsche Telekom: We are entitled to a breakup fee
SF police launch probe into iPhone search
The San Francisco Police Department is looking into how officers assisted Apple in searching for an iPhone prototype• iPhone 5 rumor roundup
Does Google want to own or organize info?
The deal to acquire restaurant and hotel reviewer Zagat raises questions about Google playing favorites with the information it owns over rival sites.
How 9/11 attacks reshaped U.S. privacy debate
The attacks a decade ago may have given us the Patriot Act, Homeland Security, and "don't touch my junk," but there are signs that privacy is poised to make a comeback.
Amazon and California lawmakers cut sales tax deal
The online retail giant agrees to call off its referendum to repeal a
new law in exchange for a one-year grace period from having to collect
state sales taxes.
Solyndra bankruptcy was disaster waiting to happen
Solyndra received a big loan even though it couldn't keep up with the falling solar costs, but the loan guarantee program is still vital for scaling up new solar technologies.
Nintendo confirms right thumbstick coming to 3DS
Company tells CNET that a right thumbstick add-on will be released, though details about the attachment itself are currently undisclosed.HP TouchPad screen can now support Android
The team at TouchDroid has succeeded in developing drivers for the HP TouchPad that allow it to run Android 2.3.5, with full touch-screen capability.Was brief Google Docs outage a tremor or a tsunami?
The world of work is moving to the cloud. But the local computing model still has a lot to offer.Samsung to show off Windows 8 tablet, report says
Samsung is reportedly working with Microsoft on a Windows 8 tablet that could pop up at a Microsoft developers conference next week.The Net must fight back to regain our trust
A new flavor of attack means that even those Web sites you trust might not be trustworthy--and we all pay the priceHTC sues Apple using Google patents, report says
HTC launches another legal strike against Apple, but this time it's packing patents it obtained from Google last week.Also of note
• Ice Cream Sandwich to debut in Oct. or Nov.
• Anonymous group releases new Twitter tool