"Tags - for some, one of the best ideas on the web, for others, merely a visual distraction. Yes, we’re talking about those loosely defined categories which are usually organized into cute little clouds. Looking for tag-related resources can be tough, so we’ve dug up 30 tools and resources that every seasoned tagger should check out."
A group of experts including Google engineering manager and founding member of ACM's professions and education boards Kevin Scott identify a dozen technology skills that are in high demand among companies. These skills include knowledge of machine learning applications, which Scott says is increasing the need for data mining, data structure, and statistical modeling skills; application mobilization, which is growing in importance as mobile devices gain value as business tools; wireless networking, which raises issues of security and integration, says CompTIA's Neill Hopkins;human-computer interaction or user interface design; "true" project management driven by bias against overbudget or failed projects; and basic networking. Network convergence technicians and open-source programmers are also becoming increasingly desirable, and enthusiasm for the first group is building because of companies' decision to deploy voice over IP, Hopkins says. Traction is gaining for business intelligence skills and a familiarity with BI technologies, says Sean Ebner of Spherion Pacific Enterprises. People who combine skills with languages such as C#, C++, Java, and .Net with the ability to lead a team or coordinate projects are in demand, as are people skilled in the installation and integration of
digital home technology products. Information Systems Security Association President Howard Schmidt calls attention to a growing emphasis on security skills and certification among all kinds of employers. "Everything I see in Silicon Valley is completely contrary to the assumption that programmers are a dying breed and being offshored," Scott says. "From big companies to startups, companies are hiring as aggressively as possible."
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South African conservation scientist Louis Liebenberg and former University of Cape Town computer scientist Justin Steventon have developed software that turns a handheld device into a digital wildlife tracker. Liebenberg saw a need for combining technology with the traditional methods of the Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert and Botswana when he learned tracking from the bushmen. Liebenberg knew their skills and knowledge of conservation was undervalued by protection authorities, partially because the Bushmen cannot read or write. The solution was CyberTracker, software that can be downloaded to PDAs. The screen displays a variety of symbols that represent more than 40 animal species, subspecies, and plants, as well as activities such as drinking, feeding, running, fighting, mating, and sleeping. When the Bushmen observe an animal or encounter anything of significance, they can enter the information using the pictures, with each screen recording increasingly detailed information. Using CyberTracker, a single tracker can record up to 300 observations a day. The handheld computers are connected to a satellite navigational system, and automatically record details including time, date, and exact location. All data collection can be done on a PDA and processed on a personal computer. The free software has been downloaded more than 25,000 times inmore than 50 countries. After Liebenberg received a Rolex Award for Enterprise for his work on CyberTracker, the European Union provided funding that allowed him to set up a non-governmental organization to develop and distribute the software, and there are now hundreds of certified trackers.
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Canada is quickly becoming the next place to develop software thanks to the absence of a H-1B visa cap, an immigration system that favors tech workers, an exchange rate that puts the Canadian dollar almost even with the American dollar, and an endorsement from Microsoft. Microsoft recently announced it will open a software development center in Vancouver, evidence that Canada's efforts to expand its economy are working. The Canadian
government has specific programs designed to attract high-tech workers with
certain skills. The process can take between two to eight weeks, according to immigration attorney Evan Green. Green says if a company needs a worker with specific skills, education, and work experience, and will be paid a salary equal to what a Canadian would earn, a foreigner can get a work permit. Unlike the United State's H-1B visa program, there is no numerical limit on the number of foreign workers entering Canada. Microsoft says it decided to open the Vancouver facility partially to "recruit and retain
highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S." Canadian consultant John O'Grady says notes that Canadian high-tech workers can be paid as much as 20 percent less than what U.S. workers are paid. Paul Swinwood, president of the Information and Communications Technology Council in Ottawa, estimates that there are about 620,000 high-tech workers in Canada. He says the number of available jobs is expected to increase by about 100,000 over the next few years, but Canadian schools will produce only about 15,000 students with the necessary skills. Swinwood says an employee brought into the country on a temporary bases can usually get
permanent residency.
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Bruce Blumberg, senior scientist at Blue Fang Games in Waltham, Mass., and
former professor at MIT's Media Lab, says game developers are doing some of
the most interesting work in artificial intelligence. "You have really
bright kids who are dealing with problems they don't realize are insoluble.
They're very motivated," Blumberg says. Today's video game developers are
working to create more intelligent and realistic characters by mimicking
human intelligence. Meanwhile, online sites such as Second Life and
"massively multiplayer games" such as World of Warcraft have created
incredibly intelligent characters because they are controlled by other
humans. Players in these games create their own character, and then spend
the majority of their time interacting with other peoples' characters. "In
some ways, all of these massively multiplayer games have shone a light on
the deficiencies of artificially intelligent characters in games to this
point," says Blue Fang CEO Hank Howie. One possible approach that could
create more human-like artificial intelligence is to have humans "train"
the AI software, which is what MIT Media Lab grad student Jeff Orkin is
doing. Orkin has developed The Restaurant Game, which has players assume
the role of a restaurant's wait staff. Orkin's objective is to capture
their behavior and dialog to build more realistic software-driven
characters, much like motion capture cameras are used to record and
replicate human movement. "Ideally, AI systems in the future will observe
as designers directly control characters, and learn to play roles and even
converse," Orkin says.
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"Under protocol in place since 2002, a first backup storage device is kept at a temporary work site for a state office along with the computer system that holds all the employee information, and a second backup device is given to employees on a rotating basis to take home for safekeeping, officials said."
"In the Ohio case, Dawn Rice, an employee in the state Senate clerk's office, wasn't that bothered that sensitive information was being transported in cars on inexpensive equipment.
"I think it's not that big of a deal," she said. "The person who stole it would really have to know what he's doing."
