Webwire: O2 suffers second outage; FTC chiefs seek Google probe

Customers of UK cellco O2 suffered service outages Friday, as a result of an unidentified technical problem. All the carrier would say is the problem wasn’t a repeat of an outage in the summer that affected millions of subscribers.
BBC 
 
Top brass at the US Federal Trade Commission are pushing for a full antitrust case against Google, over claims the firm is exploiting its dominance of the search market to harm its rivals.
 
PC processor manufacturer AMD is gearing up to slash its workforce by just under 2,500, to cut expenditure. The job cuts are expected early this week, as falling PC sales take their toll on the firm.
 
Apple is tipped to launch a slimmed down version of its iPad within a fortnight. The October 23 date mooted is just two days before rival Microsoft unveils its flagship Windows 8 software.
 
Hacktivist group Anonymous is cutting ties with whistle blowing website Wikileaks, because it is focusing too heavily on founder Julian Assange’s fight against extradition on sex crime charges.
 
PayPal, the online payment portal of commerce site eBay, is preparing to lay off around 400 employees – roughly 3% of its total staff – as part of ongoing cost cutting.
 
Japanese comms giant Softbank is close to acquiring a 70% stake in struggling US carrier Sprint Nextel. The move follows the merger of T-Mobile USA with MetroPCS.