Microsoft 'Scratches' the Surface: Tech Weekly

On the earnings call, Red Hat provided second-quarter guidance slightly weaker than Wall Street was looking for. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company said it expects to earn 28 cents to 29 cents a share on $320 million to $322 million in revenue. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Red Hat to earn 29 cents per share on $330.83 million in revenue.

CEO Jim Whitehurst spoke to TheStreet following the earnings report, explaining why the open source specialist can thrive in a tough economy.

Shares of Red Hat fell 2.62% this week to close at $55.01.

Research In Motion(RIMM) has begun laying off staff, according to media reports, as the company continues to lose market share and relevancy against Apple and Google(GOOG) .

The struggling BlackBerry-maker has been laying off at least 10 employees at a time over the past several weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal, as it seeks to cut $1 billion in operating expenses by the end of fiscal 2013.

Shares of RIM slumped 9.5% this week to finish at $9.85.

Following in the footsteps of Research In Motion, beleaguered phone maker Nokia(RHT) also announced major restructuring plans, as it seeks to stave off bankruptcy.

Nokia announced plans to shake up senior leadership, cut 10,000 jobs by 2013, close three factories, improve its Lumia smartphone, and sell its Vertu luxury mobile phone business.

Shares of Nokia lost 4.03% this week to wind up at $2.38.

RIM will be in the news again next week, reporting its first-quarter results after market close on Thursday.

Interested in more on Nokia? See TheStreet Ratings' report card for this stock.

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-- Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York