Around the Web 12.9.08: Sony slashes jobs, Atari buys Cryptic and rumors of DRM-free iTunes

-- Atari-Infogrames snags Cryptic Studios, developer of City of Heroes, for $27.6 million. PaidContent.org

-- Apple rumored to announce DRM-free iTunes. AppleInsider

-- Friendster scores a compatibility patent. CNet

-- Sony cuts 8,000 jobs, closes two plants to cope with bad economy. Sony

-- Google crosses item off its to-do list by adding a task list feature for Gmail. TechCrunch

-- Clerk Dogs website ranks movies based on reviews by video store workers. NYT

-- GoodReads and Reading Trails make recommendations for digital bookworms. Freakonomics

-- Apple removes GPS from its iPhone for Egypt to comply with the country's anti-terrorism laws. Telegraph

-- Alex Pham

Photo: Image of City of Heroes game by NCSoft