FAA Grants Amazon License to Test Its Latest Drone Designs

TechCrunch | Frederic Lardinois | Apr. 10

http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/10/faa-grants-amazon-license-to-test-its-latest-drone-designs/

“Amazon can now test its current drone designs, the FAA told the company in a letter this week. The FAA had previously cleared Amazon’s petition from July 2014 to test its drones last month. Between Amazon asking for this petition and the FAA clearing it, but Amazon’s design had changed quite a bit since it first logged its application, as the company’s VP of global public policy Paul Misener told a Senate committee last month. Now, Amazon is free to test this new design in the U.S. as well.”

 

The Best Employers in the U.S. Tech Sector

Forbes | Niall McCarthy | Apr. 9

http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/04/09/the-best-employers-in-the-u-s-tech-sector-infographic/

“Forbes and Statista asked over 20,000 American workers at large U.S. companies, nonprofit institutions, government agencies, and U.S. divisions of multinationals this question: how likely would they be to recommend their employer to someone else on a scale of 0-10? Their answers helped formulate America’s Best Employers 2015.”

To see the top 10 tech employers in America infographic, click here

 

Seattle Wages Rise Even as IT, Biotech Pay Slows

Puget Sound Business Journal | Emily Parkhurst | Apr. 9

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/04/seattle-wages-rise-even-as-tech-biotech-pay-slows.html

“Good news, Seattle workers: Wages in this area are growing faster than most other parts of the country. Now for the bad news: over the past nine months or so, wage growth has slowed for some of the region’s hottest jobs, including technology, manufacturing and biotechnology. That’s according to data from Seattle compensation software company PayScale. Seattle wages grew 2.3 percent between the first quarter of 2014 and the same period this year. That’s 0.5 percent faster than in the rest of the country.”

 

U.S. Agencies Block Technology Exports for Supercomputer in China

Wall Street Journal | Don Clark | Apr. 9

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-agencies-block-technology-exports-for-supercomputer-in-china-1428561987

“U.S. officials are blocking technology exports to facilities in China associated with the world’s fastest supercomputer, a blow to Intel Corp. and other hardware suppliers that adds to the list of tech tensions between the two countries. Four technical centers in China associated with the massive computer known as Tianhe-2 have been placed on a U.S. government list of entities determined to be acting contrary to U.S. national security or foreign-policy interests.”

 

Preparing Students to Compete in a High-Tech Job Market

Seattle Times | Seattle Times Editorial Board| Apr. 7

http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/preparing-students-to-compete-in-high-tech-job-market/

“Starting next fall, 10 high schools and three middle schools in Seattle will offer computer-science courses ranging from exploratory to Advanced Placement classes. The courses will begin to address a growing problem: Washington businesses are creating jobs in science, technology, engineering and math fields, but the state is failing at preparing its students to seize those opportunities. To close that gap, the state must invest more money and resources in expanding efforts already under way and look for smarter, long-term solutions to better prepare students entering the job market.”