Reports reached The Register earlier this week that the final score in the DEC carnage in La Belle France amounted to 1,400 jobs. The jobs that went were mainly Digital jobs, we are given to understand, but the pattern does vary across Europe. For example, all sorts of people we used to know at Compaq UK seem to have disappeared off our radar. Just before Christmas, we reported here that Compaq had secretly snuffed out 3,000 additional jobs worldwide. Compaq US would not comment on speculation, but Compaq Europe confirmed to us at the time that the company was in talks with works councils in both France and Germany. During the Christmas week, all sorts of jobs disappeared across the world, as a token of a happy Yule. ® NB Because our server has decided to go hitch-hiking today and tomorrow across middle England, you may be experiencing some difficulties. We'll add in the references to the previous stories when the adolescent server needs to come home for a cup of tea.