Washington Tech Industry Plans Software Apprenticeship Program
Xconomy | Benjamin Romano | Sept. 10
http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2015/09/10/washington-tech-industry-plans-software-apprenticeship-program/

“Washington state’s tech industry is undertaking another novel effort to grow its local talent pipeline with an apprenticeship program for would-be software developers. The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) says a $3.5 million federal grant will help it create what it calls a first-of-its-kind registered apprenticeship program that aims to train 600 people over the next five years. Participants would pay tuition for three to four months of pre-apprenticeship training and then be placed with an employer such as Microsoft, Accenture, F5 Networks, or Impinj for a paid apprenticeship lasting 12 to 18 months.“

 

Boeing CEO Muilenburg to Take Stage at Huge Seattle Aerospace Engineers’ Gathering
Seattle Business Journal | Steve Wilhelm | Sept. 10
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2015/09/10/boeing-ceo-muilenburg-to-take-stage-at-huge.html

“Nearly 2,000 aerospace engineers will descend on Seattle Sept. 22-24 for the SAE AeroTech 2015 conference, a biannual event that sets standards for the aerospace industry. The event will bring new Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to Seattle as keynote speaker, for what will likely be his first major local appearance since he ascended to the cockpit of Boeing two months ago. Muilenburg is expected to talk about technologies and technical trends in commercial aerospace.”

 

Investments Surge 93% in Washington State Health Info-Tech Startups
Puget Sound Business Journal | Annie Zak | Sept. 10
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/health-care-inc/2015/09/investments-surge-93-in-washington-state-health.html

“Digital health and health IT haven’t always been the biggest draws for investors looking to pour money into health care. Investors have preferred to focus much of their attention on companies developing cancer breakthroughs. But now, digital health startups seem to be on the rise in Washington state. Venture capital investments in digital health and health IT in Washington state have increased to $68 million as of Sept. 7, from about $35 million in 2013 . That’s an increase of about 93 percent in just two years, according to data compiled by the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association.”

 

Optimism Around Housing Falls in Seattle and Other Tech Hubs as Bubble Fears Loom Larger
GeekWire | James Risley | Sept. 10
http://www.geekwire.com/2015/optimism-around-housing-falls-in-seattle-and-other-tech-hubs-as-fears-of-bubble-loom-larger/

“A new report from Zillow found that people are less optimistic about the housing market in some of the country’s largest tech hubs. Residents of Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and San Jose think now is a worse time to buy a house in their city than just six month ago. Seattle is the most confident tech hub, with just over 50 percent of Seattleites optimistic about the housing market. But that’s down 6 points since January, when 57 percent thought it was a good time to buy a home, according to Zillow’s Housing Confidence Index.”

 

Google Follows Amazon Web Services Into On-Demand Supercomputing
New York Times | Quentin Hardy | Sept. 9
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/google-follows-amazon-web-services-into-on-demand-supercomputing/?ref=technology

“Google is chasing Amazon Web Services in a new area –- providing access to ‘on-demand’ supercomputing resources. On Wednesday, Google announced the general availability of something called pre-emptible virtual machines, which amount to computing resources you can rent for very little. The service, first announced in May, enables people to buy computer processing that Google isn’t using at a steep discount, provided the customer is willing to yield the resources on short notice.”

 

Report: China President to Meet With Top U.S. Tech Execs in Seattle at Event Co-Hosted by Microsoft
GeekWire | Taylor Soper | Sept. 8
http://www.geekwire.com/2015/report-china-president-to-meet-with-top-u-s-tech-execs-in-seattle-at-event-co-hosted-by-microsoft/

“Some of the world’s most prominent technology executives are planning to meet with China President Xi Jinping later this month in Seattle. The New York Times reported today that the Chinese government is co-hosting a forum with Microsoft in Seattle on Sept. 23 with a guest list that includes execs from U.S. companies like Apple, Facebook, Uber, and Google, in addition to Chinese giants like Baidu and Alibaba. Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to attend, as is Lu Wei, known as ‘China’s Web Doorkeeper.’”