Sony expects $3.2bn loss

Sony is expecting an annual loss of $3.2 billion, reversing its earlier projection of a return to profit, as the electronics giant struggles with production disruptions from Japan's tsunami and a hacker attack on its online gaming service, writes the Associated Press.

The Japanese maker of PlayStation 3 video game machines and Bravia flat-panel TVs said on Monday that the projection of a 260 billion yen ($3.2 billion) net loss for the fiscal year ended March 2011 was largely due to writing off of 360 billion yen ($4.4 billion) related to a tax credit booked in a previous quarter.

Sony announced the loss ahead of its official earnings announcement on Thursday under Tokyo Stock Exchange guidelines. The company had earlier projected a 70 billion yen ($860 million) profit.

Yahoo has taken the “beta” tag off its Yahoo Mail, according to Cnet.

The Web giant, which introduced the beta offering of its online e-mail service in October, began rolling out the latest version of Yahoo Mail to its 284 million users worldwide yesterday.

The service is available in 43 markets and 26 languages around the world. Yahoo has baked in some new social networking features, including the ability to respond to Facebook friends from right inside an e-mail rather than jumping to Facebook. Users can also view slideshows and video from links directly inside their e-mail.

Twitter's decision to open a UK office could leave it more vulnerable to prosecution over what its users write, according to the BBC.

Lawyers who spoke to the BBC agreed that the move meant the company may no longer be able to claim to be solely US-based and immune to English law.

The micro-blogging site is the subject of a High Court legal challenge in relation to the naming of a footballer who had obtained a privacy injunction.

The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) has given its full backing to the European Commission's (EC) public consultation on cloud computing, says Computing.co.uk.

The CIF, a body that aims to establish a code of practice for cloud adoption, says the consultation should be a priority for governments across the EU.

“It is now clear that interest in the cloud computing model is reaching the very highest levels of awareness among our lawmakers, both here in the UK and across Europe,” said Andy Burton, chair of the CIF.