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Tech Smorgasbord Archives - 12 |
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Ph.D.s of the
Stars(who would have guessed?)
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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.
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1-14-2008
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2007The Year in Numberssource:
the Enquirer)(no, not THAT Enquirer
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399 Dollars wanted by Amazon.com to buy Kindle e-book reader. |
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271 The total value of semiconductor revenues in billions of dollars this year, according to iSuppli. |
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154 Current Intel market capitalization in billions of dollars. |
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74 Number of days it took Apple to sell one million iPhones. |
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19.6 Current nVIDIA market capitalization in billions of dollars. |
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13 Age at which Nick Ciarelli started ThinkSecret site (closed recently following a legal dispute
with Apple). |
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11 Number of companies acquired by Oracle in 2007. |
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1 Rating of AMD's Hector Ruiz in ranks of best-paid semiconductor bosses. |
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1-1-2008
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Perks Received in 2007
(source: Electronic Design)
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Healthcare |
67% |
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401(k) Match |
65% |
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Time Off |
39% |
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Training |
23% |
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Pension |
24% |
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Stock Options |
19% |
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Stock Purchase |
17% |
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Tuition Reimburse |
19% |
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Prof. Org. Dues |
16% |
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Cellphone |
13% |
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Company Car |
6% |
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Health Club |
8% |
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Sabbatical |
3% |
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Daycare |
1% |
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1-8-2008
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ConsideringChanging Jobs in 2008? (source: Electronic Design)
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Top Reasons for Seeking New Opportunities in 2007:
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Better pay |
69% |
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Interesting work |
58% |
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Personal fulfillment |
33% |
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Want dynamism |
27% |
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Stock options |
26% |
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Job stability |
24% |
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More responsibility |
21% |
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Personal/family |
21% |
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Poor management |
20% |
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Want to relocate |
17% |
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Less stress |
18% |
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Wrong job |
13% |
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Potential layoff |
13% |
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Join a startup |
13% |
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1-1-2008
12-20-2007
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Top States for Federal Procurement Spending
(2005, per capita)(source: U.S. Census Bureau)
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$22,892 |
District of Columbia |
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$5,104 |
Virginia |
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$3,908 |
Maryland |
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$3,637 |
Alaska |
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$3,324 |
New Mexico |
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$2,675 |
Connecticut |
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$1,881 |
Alabama |
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$1,824 |
Hawaii |
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$1,807 |
Arizona |
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$1,621 |
Massachusetts |
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12-11-2007
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Top Patent ProducingStates for 2006 (source: USPTO)
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Total Patents Awarded |
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25,039 |
California |
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6,716 |
Texas |
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6,406 |
New York |
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4,368 |
Massachusetts |
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4,178 |
Michigan |
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4,053 |
Illinois |
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3,627 |
New Jersey |
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3,620 |
Washington |
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3,291 |
Ohio |
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3,268 |
Minnesota |
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3,261 |
Florida |
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3,186 |
Pennsylvania |
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2,536 |
Oregon |
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2,349 |
Colorado |
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2,232 |
North Carolina |
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12-2-2007
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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. |
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11-27-2007
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