Around the Web 12.5.08: Gadget slowdown, Kevin Rose’s geek gifts, Microsoft Web chief

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

-- Facebook wanted to let its employees cash in by selling some of their pre-IPO stock, but the unusual plan was scrapped because of the financial meltdown. Valleywag

-- A top 10 list of geek gifts, including the Flip Mino HD, from the co-founder of Digg. Kevin Rose Blogg

-- Now we know how the little laptops known as netbooks get so little: They’re missing a lot. Washington Post

-- A mysterious technical problem has been hurting the quality of video streams to the Xbox 360 and Roku’s Netflix Player. CNet

-- Not long ago, the consumer electronics industry said its products were mostly immune to economic slowdowns. TVs and cellphones are a necessity! Now, not so much. NYT

-- A persistent Google critic charges the Internet giant with using more than its fair share of the Internet’s bandwidth. Google says he’s carrying water for the telecom industry and rails against his ‘payola punditry.’ CNet

-- Carl Icahn needs Yahoo’s stock to more than double to turn a profit on his $1.78-billion investment. AP via Washington Post

-- Microsoft hasn’t been able to buy Yahoo or its search business. But the software giant tapped one of Yahoo’s former top engineers, Qi Lu, to run its online business. BoomTown

-- Could Yahoo’s new CEO be the guy Lu beat out, Brian McAndrews? The irony would be delicious. PaidContent.org

-- The long-awaited high-def YouTube videos appear to have arrived. TechCrunch

-- Chris Gaither