UW Maxed out on Computer-science Space

The Seattle Times | Katherine Long | Nov. 9

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024992431_uwcomputerscixml.html

At a moment in history when the computer is at center stage, and in a city where technology companies are driving a boom in the local economy, it’s no surprise that programming and technology majors are some of the most sought-after degrees on campus. But as a result, just 11 years after the UW’s Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering opened, the building is maxed out, and there’s not much space to move any more projects elsewhere. Now, the UW is looking to build a new computer-science building on the Seattle campus. To do so, it expects to raise as much as $60 million privately, and will seek another $40 million from the Legislature. The university is “guardedly optimistic” that legislators will support the request, computer-science chair Hank Levy said in an email, because lawmakers have been very supportive of the UW’s desire to educate more Washington students in the hot, lucrative field.

 

Obama Asks F.C.C. to Adopt Tough Net Neutrality Rules

The New York Times | Edward Wyatt | Nov. 10

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/technology/obama-net-neutrality-fcc.html?_r=0

In his most direct effort yet to influence the debate about the Internet’s future, President Obama said on Monday that a free and open Internet was as critical to Americans’ lives as electricity and telephone service and should be regulated like those utilities to protect consumers. The Federal Communications Commission, Mr. Obama said, needs to adopt the strictest rules possible to prevent broadband companies from blocking or intentionally slowing down legal content and from allowing content providers to pay for a fast lane to reach consumers. That approach, he said, demands thinking about both wired and wireless broadband service as a public utility.

 

Hired.com Lets Companies Bid for Potential Employees, Launches in Seattle

GeekWire | Taylor Soper | Nov. 12

http://www.geekwire.com/2014/hired-launches-seattle/

Hired CEO Matt Mickiewicz told GeekWire that Seattle was a logical place to expand given its tech talent. “Over the past two years, we’ve had thousands of software engineers, designers, and product managers from Seattle signing up on Hired — but we haven’t been able to serve them until now,” he noted. Hired is working with companies like Amazon, Expedia, Redfin, Moz, Zulily, and Zillow, among others. Early data shows that JavaScript is the most in-demand skill set in Seattle, followed by Java, C++, and Python. In a three months of beta testing, Hired has connected “hundreds” of engineers with nearly 100 Seattle companies.

 

Big Fish Sale Spells Good News for Other Seattle Gaming Companies

Puget Sound Business Journal | Rachel Lerman | Nov. 13

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2014/11/big-fish-sale-spells-good-news-for-other-seattle.html?ana=e_tf&s=newsletter&ed=2014-11-13&u=ls5d+7OJRUaWfkIJW6OjBA0fe38366&t=1415917425

It may seem odd that a company best known for horse racing would acquire a Seattle gaming company. But Churchill Downs’ $885 million acquisition of Big Fish Games is actually a good strategic move for the company. It’s also part of a larger trend.” The real money gambling business has certainly got an eye on what’s happening in social casino,” said Derrick Morton, CEO of FlowPlay, a Seattle casual gaming company. Social gaming makes a lot of money, but the companies are tough to start because of the high costs and risks of marketing and acquiring customers. It makes sense for the larger firms that are already involved in gambling such as Churchill Downs, to buy social gaming businesses that are already up and running.

 

Could Immigration Cause Another Government Shutdown?

CNN | Deirdre Walsh | Nov. 13

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/13/politics/republicans-immigration-shutdown/index.html?sr=fb1113immigrationshowdown630pVODtopLink

Congressional Republicans are vowing to fight President Barack Obama’s plan to make immigration changes through executive action, but they are struggling with how to do that without triggering another government shutdown. The House and Senate need to pass a measure during the lame duck session to fund federal agencies, which will run out of money in mid-December. House conservatives are pressing Speaker John Boehner to attach language to the spending bill that would block any money for federal agencies to give out any new visas or green cards…Obama, who is traveling in Asia this week, has said he remains committed to using his executive authority to address immigration by the end of the year but the precise timing isn’t clear. White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters in Myanmar that Obama is “nearing a final decision.”

 

Farm Groups, Ag Tech Companies Agree on Data Privacy Standards

Reuters | Karl Plume | Nov. 13

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/13/us-usa-agriculture-data-idUSKCN0IX2NU20141113

A consortium of farmer organizations and agriculture data technology providers on Thursday published a set of data privacy and security principles aimed at reassuring farmers that data they share with Big Data services providers will not be misused. The non-binding principles are also meant to provide companies that collect, store and analyze farmer data some guidelines when crafting their service contracts and marketing tools that use farm data to boost crop yields or reduce costs for farmers. The principles were developed after a pair of meetings organized by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) with industry groups including the American Soybean Association and National Corn Growers Association as well as tech providers like John Deere, DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto’s Climate Corporation.

 

L-1 Visas: H-1B’s Quiet, Powerful Cousin

InformationWeek | Shane O’Neill | Nov. 14

http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/team-building-and-staffing/l-1-visas–h-1bs-quiet-powerful-cousin/d/d-id/1317459

You’re probably familiar with H-1B visas and the annual cap on them. Their lesser-discussed cousin, the L-1, has no such yearly limit. American workers may be encouraged by a slowly dipping unemployment rate, but in the IT field, both novices and veterans voice continued frustration about competing for jobs with foreign workers holding H-1B or L1 visas. Advances in technology and globalization, as well as work-visa laws, during the past decade have made it posssible for companies to hire foreign IT workers and pay them less than they would an American worker. Now, pundits and lobbyists calling for work visa reform worry that President Obama, faced with a Republican Congress, will expand visa programs as he considers taking executive action on immigration laws.

 

The Three Things Holding Back BC’s Tech Industry

IT World Canada | Danny Bradbury | Nov. 14

http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/the-three-things-holding-back-bcs-tech-industry/99400#ixzz3J4fzis5e

British Columbia’s technology industry is outperforming most of the province’s other sectors still lags behind tech sectors in other provinces, according to a report by professional services firm KPMG. The British Columbia Technology Report Card 2014 Edition highlights three big challenges for the province’s promising high-tech industry. One of the biggest problems for BC is the lack of venture capital funding, warned Bill Tam, head of the British Columbia Technology Industry Association (BCTIA), who wrote the foreword for the report. “That’s the most concerning area,” he explained. “We’ve seen a reduction in the number of funds that provide the first round of institutional capital for these startups.”

 

GOP Debates its Immigration Strategy as Obama Prepares Executive Action

Washington Post | Robert Costa and Ed O’Keffe | Nov. 14

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-debates-its-immigration-strategy-as-obama-prepares-executive-action/2014/11/13/88c02c98-6b7d-11e4-a31c-77759fc1eacc_story.html

Obama has pledged to use his executive powers to alter the immigration system before the end of the year, though it remains unclear exactly when he will act. He has asked senior aides and Cabinet secretaries to present him with options but has not formally huddled with them to make a final decision, according to administration officials. Among the options under consideration are proposals that could potentially shield as many as 6 million undocumented immigrants from deportation, according to several people familiar with Obama’s plans. To clarify his administration’s deportation policy, Obama is said to be considering instructions that would make it clear that immigration agencies should focus on deporting criminals and repeat immigration offenders. New steps to stiffen security operations along the U.S.-Mexico border are also expected.