Deb Perelman

Coming Soon: Microsoft Job TV. And Penguins.

Intrepid Australian Microsoft-watcher Long Zheng, in stumbling upon what he called “a cr*pload of patent applications from Microsoft” learned June 22 that Microsoft is laying early plans to launch an interactive job channel. According to the U.S. patent application, Microsoft has plans for technology that would allow a viewer with a television-based client device to […]

Immigrants Fuel Tech Boom

It has long been recognized that immigrants with technology and engineering skills have played a critical role in the emergence of some of the best-known U.S. entrepreneurial companies. Less is known about the educational backgrounds of these immigrations and what drove them to leave their homes. A report released June 11 by the Ewing Marion […]

Survey: CIOs Must Show They Mean Business

CIOs are becoming agents of business, not just facilitators, but according to a recent study this transition is still not enough to bridge the gap between business and technology. The survey, conducted by IBM of 170 CIOs and released June 19, found most in the CIO role—84 percent—said their job has evolved beyond technology infrastructure […]

31 Days Lost Each Year Putting Out IT Fires

Business managers in the United Kingdom lose 31 working days—more than 10 percent of the year—putting out fires that result from bad management of IT systems, according to a study released June 4 by Partners in IT, a U.K.-based service management company. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of non-IT business managers surveyed said they spent, on […]

Luring the Other 68% Through the IT Door

Could women be the answer to ITs dwindling work force? Penn State researchers argue the fairer sex is under-represented in the industry, and taking steps to increase their numbers would serve to swell the ranks of the overall work force and promote diversity. While women accounted for almost 60 percent of the U.S. labor force […]

Outsourcer Stiffs H-1B Temp Workers for Millions

Patni Computer Systems, an Indian outsourcing firm, will pay more than 600 H-1B visa holders over $2.4 million in back wages, the U.S Department of Labor announced June 7. An investigation by the DOLs Wage and Hour Division found that the company, headquartered in Mumbai and one of the largest users of H-1B temporary worker […]

The Cantwell-Cornyn Answer to Tech Employers Prayers

Technology employers and their advocates, who have minced no words about the immigration reform bill pending in Congress, are finding a glimmer of hope in the Cantwell-Cornyn amendment. Scheduled to be voted upon in the Senate on June 5, the high-skilled immigration amendment (S.1249) to the immigration reform bill (S.1348) was sponsored Mar. 24 by […]

Tech Employers: Immigration Bill Is Not the Answer

U.S. technology employers have lobbied legislators for years for an increase in the cap on H-1B temporary worker visas. Yet, just when it seems their wishes were finally answered, they are anything but thrilled. So what gives? The immigration bill being hammered out right now in the Senate includes a provision to raise the yearly […]

Report: Security Certifications Boost Pay

Though the pay value of the vast majority of IT certifications has been on the decline for more than two years, pay premiums for IT security, project management and database administration certifications have soared, finds a new report. Compensation for certified IT security professionals increased nearly 2 percent over the past six months, according to […]

Gartner: The 40-Hour Workweek Era Is Ending

By 2015, there will be more workers who interact with technology, but theyll be working a whole lot less hours each week, finds a Gartner research report released on May 30. Gartner argues that three of the four traditional pillars of work—the living wage, long-term relationships with loyal employers, and government- or company-provided pensions—have already […]