Tech Smorgasbord Archives - 12

RF Cafe University"Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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Ph.D.s of the Stars

(who would have guessed?)

Brian May, guitarist for the rock group Queen, just completed a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the Imperial College, London, where he began studies 40 years ago. His thesis: "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud."

John Cleese, of the Monty Python show and films, earned a law degree from Cambridge.

Bill Cosby earned a Ph.D. in education from UMass Amherst.

"The Man from U.N.C.L.E." star Robert Vaughn holds a Ph.D. in communications from USC.

Actor and former senator Fred Thompson hold a law degree from Vanderbilt.

William Sanderson, aka Larry of "Larry, Darryl and Darryl" fame from the Newhart Show, has a law degree from Memphis State.

1-14-2008

 

2007

The Year in Numbers

source: the Enquirer)

(no, not THAT Enquirer

399 Dollars wanted by Amazon.com to buy Kindle e-book reader.
271 The total value of semiconductor revenues in billions of dollars this year, according to iSuppli.
154 Current Intel market capitalization in billions of dollars.
74 Number of days it took Apple to sell one million iPhones.
19.6 Current nVIDIA market capitalization in billions of dollars.
13 Age at which Nick Ciarelli started ThinkSecret site (closed recently following a legal dispute with Apple).
11 Number of companies acquired by Oracle in 2007.
1 Rating of AMD's Hector Ruiz in ranks of best-paid semiconductor bosses.

1-1-2008

Perks Received in 2007

(source: Electronic Design)

Healthcare 67%
401(k) Match 65%
Time Off 39%
Training 23%
Pension 24%
Stock Options 19%
Stock Purchase 17%
Tuition Reimburse 19%
Prof. Org. Dues 16%
Cellphone 13%
Company Car 6%
Health Club 8%
Sabbatical 3%
Daycare 1%

1-8-2008

 

Considering

Changing Jobs in 2008?

(source: Electronic Design)

 Top Reasons for Seeking

 New Opportunities in 2007:

Better pay 69%
Interesting work 58%
Personal fulfillment 33%
Want dynamism 27%
Stock options 26%
Job stability 24%
More responsibility 21%
Personal/family 21%
Poor management 20%
Want to relocate 17%
Less stress 18%
Wrong job 13%
Potential layoff 13%
Join a startup 13%

1-1-2008

 

National R&D Spending

(1953-2004)

(source: National Science Foundation)

(constant 2000 dollars)

12-20-2007

Top States for Federal Procurement Spending

(2005, per capita)

(source: U.S. Census Bureau)

$22,892 District of Columbia
$5,104 Virginia
$3,908 Maryland
$3,637 Alaska
$3,324 New Mexico
$2,675 Connecticut
$1,881 Alabama
$1,824 Hawaii
$1,807 Arizona
$1,621 Massachusetts

12-11-2007

 

Top Patent Producing

States for 2006

(source: USPTO)

Total Patents Awarded
25,039 California
6,716 Texas
6,406 New York
4,368 Massachusetts
4,178 Michigan
4,053 Illinois
3,627 New Jersey
3,620 Washington
3,291 Ohio
3,268 Minnesota
3,261 Florida
3,186 Pennsylvania
2,536 Oregon
2,349 Colorado
2,232 North Carolina

12-2-2007

GPS-Enabled

Cellphones Now Required Equipment

Waaaay back in the mid 1980s, colleges started requiring students to buy a PC - usually a model dictated by the school (for compatibility - we did not always have Windows). This caused quite a concern for many who did not want to spend $2k or more for something a $5 slide rule and a $1 pen could do. My alma matter, UVM, mandated an ATT 6300 and an IBM dot matrix printer (cannot recall the model). Total bill - $3,500. Yup, in 1987 dollars. Today, computers are issued at birth and most kids cannot use a pen, never mind a slide rule.
Someday, people will look back and have the same memories of this announcement in today's news about Montclair State University (NJ) requiring all students to carry GPS-enabled cellphones. The cost: $420 a year for a base plan, which is bundled into the tuition bill.

11-27-2007