September 22, 2008
Competitive Edge
IT World Canada
Dr. Chevalier writes why the IT industry needs to become more “fun and exciting.”
“The subject of gap. Don’t believe for a minute those who tell you there is no IT gap…Post secondary IT admissions are down, in some schools by a factor of 10. While we increase immigration of skilled people to fill jobs, we also need to look at the jobs that are going to need filling in the short to medium future and we need to be enabling those future role leaders today. And that means we have to make IT fun and exciting.”
Oracle profits up 28 per cent – – take that, Wall Street
Valleywag
Owen Thomas reveal’s Oracle’s positive profit results despite the recent economic crisis with Wall Street.
“Larry Ellison’s database peddler saw profits in the most recent quarter jump to $1.08 billion, up 28 percent from the same period last year. As recently as 2006, Oracle got 12 percent of its revenues from banks, brokers, and insurers. Some of its best customers are bankrupt, while others are merging, a move which usually leads to cuts in tech spending. And yet so far Oracle seems unscathed by Wall Street’s debt-driven crisis.”
Seagate: Put 500GB of “enjoyment” in your pocket
Network World
Keith Shaw writes about the latest FreeAgent external hard drive products from Seagate.
“FreeAgent Go measures only 12.5 mm, but still includes shock and vibration protection, so if the drive accidentally drops to the floor your data should still be safe. Seagate also announced new colors to the line, offering drives in black, silver, red and blue (surprisingly, the red color choice, a deeper, wine-like red, was the most popular option, according to Seagate). The drive costs $119.99 for 250GB; $149.99 for 320GB and $239.99 for the 500GB model.”