Programming skills can be a ticket to upward mobility.
If you are looking for a sure route to a job, learn to code, says Codeacademy co-founder Zach Sims.
Continue reading… “Computer programming holds the key, says Zach Sims, Codeacademy CEO”
The problems with credit and debit cards are bigger than we thought
The Target hack shows our payment systems are in big trouble.
The problems with debit and credit cards are no longer about high-tech skimmers at gas stations and restaurants. Things have gotten worse, not better. According to a December 19 update on the Target problem by security reporter Brian Krebs, as many as “40 million credit and debit card accounts may have been impacted between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013.” After first claiming that ATM PINs weren’t involved, Target later conceded they were stolen, too.
Continue reading… “The problems with credit and debit cards are bigger than we thought”
Do we have a retirement savings crisis in America?
Is there a retirement saving crisis in the U.S.? A study recently released by the National Institute on Retirement Security shows we are in bad shape. Retirement saving is dangerously low especially for people without retirement accounts. Let’s take a look at the data.
Continue reading… “Do we have a retirement savings crisis in America?”
Top 5 tech products that will be dead in 5 years
The entire demise of Blu-rays and DVDs are due to one company.
Innovation in the tech industry is moving fast. We can’t know all of the different technologies that will fill our lives in five years. We can however, predict what tech products won’t last. It’s clear the technology landscape will look dramatically different in the near future.
Continue reading… “Top 5 tech products that will be dead in 5 years”
Where to Start in Learning How to Code
Computer science is a booming industry in the US — and it pays extremely well. There’s always demand for sharp, talented engineers, which is why learning how to code can seem like an attractive option.
But, as is the case with any new skill, it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are a few steps you should take early on and programming languages that are best-suited for beginners.
Continue reading… “Where to Start in Learning How to Code”
The Venture of Agriculture
Venture capitalists invested a record amount in agriculture and food startups in the third quarter this year, totaling $269 million across 41 deals. Conservis, for example, raised $10 million to offer farmers a real-time view of operations. FarmLogs raised $4 million to deliver apps that help farmers increase their productivity and profitability by identifying the crops most likely to sell. In November, Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors and Flextronics Lab IX launched Farm2050, a collective to support “ag-tech” startups whose solutions boost global food production.
Continue reading… “The Venture of Agriculture”
The Sorry State of Higher Education
It’s dismaying how easy it is to screw up college.
I don’t know exactly when, why, or how it happened, but important things are breaking down in the US higher education system. Whether or not this system is in danger of collapsing it feels like it’s losing its way, and failing in its mission of developing the citizens and workers we need in the 21st century.
This mission clearly includes getting students to graduate, yet only a bit more than half of all US students enrolled in four-year colleges and universities complete their degrees within six years, and only 29% who start two year degrees finish them within three years. America is last in graduation rate among 18 countries assessed in 2010 by the OECD. Things used to be better; in the late 1960s, nearly half of all college students got done in four years.
Continue reading… “The Sorry State of Higher Education”
Top 8 stories in exponential technology in 2013
Advanced robots and automation are taking jobs from humans.
2013 has been a fast moving year. We thought we would revisit some of the year’s most notable stories in exponential technology before we dive headlong into 2014. Just keep in min this list is by no means all-inclusive.
Continue reading… “Top 8 stories in exponential technology in 2013”
Exploring the Future of Jobs and Education
On November 7, 2014, I attended the “Idea Jam – Innovating for the Future” session put on by the Pacific Center for Workforce Innovation in San Diego. The purpose of the session was to identify the major challenges to the San Diego workforce in the coming years and to generate audience participation in visioning exercises to explore new and innovative workforce development ideas. The event was held at Colman University, and major sponsors were SDG&E, Qualcomm, the Eastridge Group, Point Loma Nazarene College, and Cal State University, San Marcos.
To get our creative juices flowing, Master of Ceremonies Susan Taylor, San Diego’s TV news icon, introduced futurist speaker, Thomas Frey, of the DaVinci Institute as the keynote speaker. It is difficult to do justice to his very visual presentation of images of break-through technologies, but his statements alone created much food for thought about the future. He stated, “We are a backward-looking society…the future gets created in the mind. The future creates the present…Visions of the future affect the way people act today.” He rhetorically asked, “What are the big things that need to be accomplished today?
Continue reading… “Exploring the Future of Jobs and Education”
Nissan’s New Electric Car has Range
For many more people than realize it, electric cars are already adequate for their needs and better than a gasmobile for their bank account and quality of life. However, it often isn’t good enough for disruptive technology to be better than the incumbents. It has to be much better. The target for electric cars, in order to meet that challenge, is a very long-range and affordable electric car. That would bring electric car convenience to another level, and leave gasmobiles with not a single actual advantage over electric cars, compared to nearly 10 for electric cars.
Continue reading… “Nissan’s New Electric Car has Range”
A third of women in the U.S. use Pinterest: Study
Pinterest has experienced strong growth among women in particular.
According to a new Pew Research study, Pinterest’s popularity in the United States has surged in the last year, particularly among women. Pinterest is now used by more than one-fifth (21%) of American adults, up from 15% a year earlier, according to a survey of U.S. social networking habits from Pew Research. That puts the social bookmarking service slightly ahead of Twitter and Instagram, though all three are well behind Facebook.
Continue reading… “A third of women in the U.S. use Pinterest: Study”
Why Denver needs to be on your tech radar next year
Denver, Colorado
Denver will become one of the few American cities that allows its residents to purchase and recreationally consume marijuana starting in January. It’s a move that is expected to create jobs and generate tax revenue. Denver is roughly 1,200 miles away from the heart of Silicon Valley, where San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is pushing for restrictions that will shutter many of the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries.
Continue reading… “Why Denver needs to be on your tech radar next year”
