Technology Talk

A Duke University study reports that Americans are becoming less social. The study compared face-to-face interviews with 1467 people in 2004 with a similar number of interviews conducted in 1985.

In 1985, people had on average about 3 confidants they could talk about important matters with. By 2004, that number dropped to about 2. And almost 1 in 4 people say they don’t have anyone to discuss important matters - up 10% from 1985. Read the rest

According to Adjunct Professor Vivek Wadhwa of Duke University, India and China aren’t so far ahead of the US in churning out computer science and IT degrees. In 2004, they calculate that there were 137,437 engineering grads from 4-year schools in the US compared with 112,000 for India and 351,537 for China. Those numbers are considerably lower than the 352,000 from India and 600,000 from China. He claims the higher numbers include graduates of 2 and 3 year programs. Read the rest

Tech companies are scrambling to come up with PCs that are affordable to the world’s poorest. In a saturated market where those that can afford PCs already have ones - and companies like Intel boast 60% profit margins - the race is on to reach those in China, India, Latin America, and Russia.

The stats show a huge market. More than two thirds of the world’s population doesn’t own a computer. Only 15% of the world’s population now has internet access. And technology prices have dropped significantly. “Forty-one years ago, a transistor cost $5 to manufacture,” [ntel CEO Paul Otellini] said. “Today, that cost is one-millionth of $1. It’s now cheaper to produce a transistor than to grow a single grain of rice.” Read the rest

It probably surprises no one that since online commerce has increased significantly over the last few years, the government now wants it’s share. Recently, there have been a couple of great articles over at CNET News.com on what’s going on with the latest tax laws. Read the rest