Category Archives: Technology

Help Wanted: Millions of Cloud-Skilled IT Workers Needed

A study released today by Microsoft and the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that millions of cloud-related IT jobs are sitting open and millions more will open up in the next two years due to a shortage in cloud-certified IT workers.

REDMOND, Wash. – Dec. 19, 2012 – The information technology forecast for the next two years calls for increasing cloudiness – cloud computing job opportunities, that is.

One in four IT positions worldwide is currently unfilled, and 28 percent of those are cloud-related, according to research [1] released today by the International Data Corporation (IDC). The research also shows that an estimated 1.7 million cloud-related IT jobs are open worldwide right now, and there will be as many as 7 million cloud computing jobs available by 2015. (more…)

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CU-Boulder Team Develops Swarm of Pingpong Ball-Sized Robots

University of Colorado Boulder Assistant Professor Nikolaus Correll likes to think in multiples. If one robot can accomplish a singular task, think how much more could be accomplished if you had hundreds of them.

Correll and his computer science research team, including research associate Dustin Reishus and professional research assistant Nick Farrow, have developed a basic robotic building block, which he hopes to reproduce in large quantities to develop increasingly complex systems.

Recently the team created a swarm of 20 robots, each the size of a pingpong ball, which they call “droplets.” When the droplets swarm together, Correll said, they form a “liquid that thinks.” (more…)

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German Manufacturer Reduces Energy Consumption by 80% with IBM Mainframe

ARBURG selects IBM infrastructure to make better use of its data, stay ahead of the competition

Loßburg/Ehningen – 18 Dec 2012: IBM today announced that ARBURG GmbH + Co KG, a leading manufacturer of injection molding machines used to make plastic products, reduced its energy consumption for servers by 80 percent and for storage by 25 percent with its new IBM infrastructure.

ARBURG serves a broad range of customers across the automotive, electronics, packaging, medical equipment, and consumer goods sectors in some 100 countries worldwide. ARBURG’s IT environment grew along with its business, but was too complex and not able to support the manufacturer’s goals. (more…)

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The Teacher’s Apple

A decade ago, electronics and cell phones in the classroom were considered little more than a distraction. Today, new devices such as tablet computers and smartphones are changing this perception. Educators are finding innovative ways to supplement their lectures with the newest technology, and students are beginning to see their devices as essential components of their college experience.

Naturally, major device manufacturers are now battling for dominance in the field. Below, we explore how Apple is winning the battle for education technology and what gives them the edge over the sizable competition in the market. (more…)

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Got Food Allergies? Thanks to UCLA, You Can Test Your Meal on the Spot Using a Cell Phone

Are you allergic to peanuts and worried there might be some in that cookie? Now you can find out using a rather unlikely source: your cell phone.

A team of researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a lightweight device called the iTube, which attaches to a common cell phone to detect allergens in food samples. The iTube attachment uses the cell phone’s built-in camera, along with an accompanying smart-phone application that runs a test with the same high level of sensitivity a laboratory would. (more…)

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Derek Nowrouzezahrai’s CGI Research Used in Walt Disney productions

In 1985, a computer science team at Université de Montréal made animated film history by creating one of the first ever digital characters, named Tony de Peltrie. Their six-minute film, which received a standing ovation by computer graphics designers at a festival in San Francisco, marked a turning point in computer-generated imagery (CGI). The film’s creators were able to produce a human face that, although rudimentary, was able to communicate emotions to the audience in a convincing manner. (more…)

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comScore Releases November 2012 U.S. Search Engine Rankings

RESTON, VA, December 12, 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly comScore qSearch analysis of the U.S. search marketplace. Google Sites led the explicit core search market in November with 67 percent of search queries conducted.

U.S. Explicit Core Search

Google Sites led the U.S. explicit core search market in November with 67 percent market share (up 0.1 percentage points), followed by Microsoft Sites with 16.2 percent (up 0.2 percentage points) and Yahoo! Sites with 12.1 percent. Ask Network accounted for 3 percent of explicit core searches, followed by AOL, Inc. with 1.7 percent. (more…)

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