January 2 - 12:05pm EST   MPC Corp has quietly revealed that it plans to shut down its operations permanently. The long-time PC maker says an attempt to save itself during Chapter 11 bankruptcy has failed and that it will drop 147 jobs immediately. The firm likewise plans to keep a core of just 51 staffers for an unspecified number of months until it can completely wind down its operations. A tough economic climate gives the company no other choice, an official claims. [full story]

August 18 - 11:10am EDT   MPC this morning hopes to extend the reach of Intel's Classmate PC to a wider audience with the TXTbook, the first North American version available for individuals. The design is largely unchanged from the second-generation model and is small enough with its 8.9-inch screen to be used comfortably by smaller children but durable enough to handle most common drops. The system boasts a speed improvement over the original by switching to a 1.6GHz Atom that also gives the small notebook up to five hours of battery runtime on an expanded capacity battery. [full story]