TECH NOTES

Dangers Loom for Late Emerging Tech Adopters
Click title for source at CIOInsight.com…

By Brian P. Watson
August 20, 2007

As Marriott International’s Steve Wolf watched a recent documentary on the setbacks in development of the world’s first jet fighter, he saw some striking parallels to modern-day corporate innovation and competition.

The Messerschmitt ME 262, the German jet aircraft that might have given the Nazis aerial superiority in World War II, stalled in development as government officials withheld funding, betting—incorrectly—that their existing air fleet would win the skies. That decision, says Wolf, the hotel operator’s chief enterprise architect, resembles the difficulties today’s businesses face in deciding how quickly to invest in emerging technologies.

Becoming an early adopter of new technologies requires companies to take significant risks—grappling with unproven tools and vendors that may not survive, for instance—in the hopes of getting an edge on the competition. But stalling those investments based on fear, uncertainty or confidence in existing technologies, or worse, doing nothing at all, can destroy a company’s ability to compete. “Some organizations will be successful and some won’t,” Wolf says, “but they wouldn’t be successful if they just watched it go by.”
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H-1B Increase Dealt Death Blow
Click title for source at EWeek.com…

By Deborah Perelman
June 28, 2007

The U.S. Senate voted June 28 against advancing a controversial immigration reform bill, effectively killing the closely watched legislation and dashing the hopes of IT employers who’d hoped for an increase in the number of H-1B work visas this year.

The bill, which President Bush called his top domestic priority for 2007, was effectively blocked when the Senate failed to invoke cloture and limit debate on the bill (S-1639) in a 46-53 vote.

This was the second time in June that backers of the legislation were unable to muster the 60 votes needed to surmount conservative Republican and mixed-liberal opposition to the legislation. President Bush, scrambling to salvage the imperiled bill, had called Senators early in the morning to rally support before the crucial test vote.
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Senate H-1B bill seeks to give U.S. workers a better shot at tech job openings
Click title for source at ComputerWorld.com…

Patrick Thibodeau
April 03, 2007

Two U.S. senators have proposed legislation that would toughen the H-1B visa program — especially its enforcement provisions — while also attempting to give U.S. workers first crack at technology job openings.

The bill, called the H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007, was introduced in Congress last Thursday by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who announced the filing on Monday. As part of the announcement, the two lawmakers said the measure would authorize the U.S. Department of Labor to hire 200 additional employees “to administer, oversee, investigate and enforce the H-1B program.”

It also would enable the DOL to conduct random audits of employers that use H-1B visas and give the agency more power to investigate H-1B applications. Currently, the DOL can investigate applications only for “completeness and obvious inaccuracies.” Durbin and Grassley said their legislation would give the DOL authority to check applications for “clear indicators of fraud or misrepresentation of material fact” and double the review period from seven days to 14.
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Study: There Is No Shortage of U.S. Engineers
Click title for source at ZDNet.com…

By Deborah Perelman
April 4, 2007

A commonly heard defense in the arguments that surround U.S. companies that offshore high-tech and engineering jobs is that the U.S. math and science education system is not producing a sufficient number of engineers to fill a corporation’s needs.

However, a new study from Duke University calls this argument bunk, stating that there is no shortage of engineers in the United States, and that offshoring is all about cost savings.

This report, entitled “Issues in Science and Technology” and published in the latest National Academy of Sciences magazine further explores the topic of engineering graduation rates of India, China and the United States, the subject of a 2005 Duke study.
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“Logistics” has always been the kingpin of the battlefield. If you can’t move your troops and supplies properly than you simply cannot win an engagement; its that simple…

American companies love to pride themselves on their infrastructures which are directly related to the command-and-control hierarchies that were developed and became common to American units during World War II.

Many American companies also adhere to the “Positioning” theory of strategic thinking which is the primary doctrine incorporated by western companies when it comes to decision making. This form of management is directly based upon the treatises found in Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” and Helmut von Moltke’s 1860 theory on lightening warfare or “Blitzkrieg”.

Given this you would think that such military minded management cadres would take into consideration battlefield logistics which determines that the longer one’s supply line, the more difficult it is to maintain.
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The idea that Bill Gates wants to open the “flood gates” to skilled foreigners as the title below suggests is a rather blatant statement of gross stupidity. However, considering the source, CIO Insight Magazine, the illogical view towards Gates’ suggestions makes quite a bit of sense.

The United States was in part built by the influx of determined peoples to make better lives for themselves as much as it was by making sure many more in more recent times were kept in poverty to be exploited. It seems the latter these days is taking precedence considering that most management of large American corporations can’t turn a profit without squeezing the life out of their companies. Making true profits is simply too much work for these people so they turn to outsourcing which Bill Gates recognizes in his own way as a scourge on the American competitive landscape.

One of the grotesque results of this process has been to completely discourage American college students from entering the sciences and technical career fields. Once the envy of the entire world, American technical and scientific competitiveness is being quickly overtaken by cultures that historically placed a high degree of value on education.

All Bill Gates is saying in his testimony to Congress is that if we have already destroyed our internal base of young technical and scientific talent than we should take advantage of the talent coming from other countries to study here while rebuilding our educational infrastructures. Of course to the average American citizen this makes a whole lot of sense. But to our illustrious business leaders, this is a recipe for disaster. Where would they get the cheap labor that can do the real “heavy lifting” for American imperialism if we can’t send these poor souls back to their low-wage countries where they can be hired for a fraction of American wages?

Fear not! American business leaders are working hard to make our technical capabilities the same shining example as they did for our health-care systems…

Steve Naidamast
Black Falcon Software, Inc.

Gates: Open U.S. Floodgates to Skilled Foreigners
Click title for source at CIOInsight.com…

March 7, 2007
By Kevin Drawbaugh, Reuters, eWEEK and Rachelle Younglai, Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday he feels “deep anxiety” about the state of U.S. competitiveness and called for education, immigration and research funding reforms.
“When I reflect on the state of American competitiveness today, my immediate feeling is not only one of pride, but also of deep anxiety. Too often we as a society are sacrificing the long-term good of our country in the interest of short-term gain,” Gates told a Senate committee.

He said government needs to invest more money in education and training, especially in high school math and science, as well as in job training programs.
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