@AC 01:31 GMT
Well, I am sure that HP will be very grateful for the massive number of orders that you will make between 29th December and 2nd January and I'll bet Cisco will by sat at home crying into their eggnog at missing out!
I'm not sure why this is such big news at all. In my experience most people that work in offices with the exception of critical staff take that period off voluntarialy anyway. On the occasions when I have worked over the holiday period there is nothing to do as no-one is ordering anything (apart from the time I was working at a wine company).
All Cisco are doing as far as I can see is saying 'Almost no-one will be at work and those that will won't be doing anything, so we might as well shut the offices and save ourselves some cash'. It seems like common sense given the current climate. Surely investors should be more concerned about companies that are happy to waste cash and energy than those that are looking at ways to save them?