RF Cascade Workbook for Excel
RF & Electronics Symbols for Visio
RF & Electronics Symbols for Office
RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio
RF Workbench
T-Shirts, Mugs, Cups, Ball Caps, Mouse Pads
Espresso Engineering Workbook™
Smith Chart™ for Excel
|
 |
Tech Smorgasbord Archives - 12 |
|
Ph.D.s of the
Stars(who would have guessed?)
|
|
Brian May,
guitarist for the rock group Queen, just completed a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the Imperial College, London, where he began studies 40 years
ago. His thesis: "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud."
John Cleese,
of the Monty Python show and films, earned a law degree from Cambridge. Bill Cosby earned a Ph.D. in education from UMass Amherst. "The Man from
U.N.C.L.E." star Robert Vaughn holds a Ph.D. in
communications from USC. Actor and former senator Fred Thompson hold a law degree from Vanderbilt.
William Sanderson, aka Larry of "Larry,
Darryl and Darryl" fame from the Newhart Show, has a law degree from Memphis State.
|
|
1-14-2008
|
2007The Year in Numberssource:
the Enquirer)(no, not THAT Enquirer
|
|
399 Dollars wanted by Amazon.com to buy Kindle e-book reader. |
|
271 The total value of semiconductor revenues in billions of dollars this year, according to iSuppli. |
|
154 Current Intel market capitalization in billions of dollars. |
|
74 Number of days it took Apple to sell one million iPhones. |
|
19.6 Current nVIDIA market capitalization in billions of dollars. |
|
13 Age at which Nick Ciarelli started ThinkSecret site (closed recently following a legal dispute
with Apple). |
|
11 Number of companies acquired by Oracle in 2007. |
|
1 Rating of AMD's Hector Ruiz in ranks of best-paid semiconductor bosses. |
|
|
1-1-2008
|
Perks Received in 2007
(source: Electronic Design)
|
|
Healthcare |
67% |
|
401(k) Match |
65% |
|
Time Off |
39% |
|
Training |
23% |
|
Pension |
24% |
|
Stock Options |
19% |
|
Stock Purchase |
17% |
|
Tuition Reimburse |
19% |
|
Prof. Org. Dues |
16% |
|
Cellphone |
13% |
|
Company Car |
6% |
|
Health Club |
8% |
|
Sabbatical |
3% |
|
Daycare |
1% |
|
|
1-8-2008
|
ConsideringChanging Jobs in 2008? (source: Electronic Design)
|
|
Top Reasons for Seeking New Opportunities in 2007:
|
Better pay |
69% |
|
Interesting work |
58% |
|
Personal fulfillment |
33% |
|
Want dynamism |
27% |
|
Stock options |
26% |
|
Job stability |
24% |
|
More responsibility |
21% |
|
Personal/family |
21% |
|
Poor management |
20% |
|
Want to relocate |
17% |
|
Less stress |
18% |
|
Wrong job |
13% |
|
Potential layoff |
13% |
|
Join a startup |
13% |
|
|
1-1-2008
12-20-2007
|
Top States for Federal Procurement Spending
(2005, per capita)(source: U.S. Census Bureau)
|
|
$22,892 |
District of Columbia |
|
$5,104 |
Virginia |
|
$3,908 |
Maryland |
|
$3,637 |
Alaska |
|
$3,324 |
New Mexico |
|
$2,675 |
Connecticut |
|
$1,881 |
Alabama |
|
$1,824 |
Hawaii |
|
$1,807 |
Arizona |
|
$1,621 |
Massachusetts |
|
|
12-11-2007
|
Top Patent ProducingStates for 2006 (source: USPTO)
|
|
Total Patents Awarded |
|
25,039 |
California |
|
6,716 |
Texas |
|
6,406 |
New York |
|
4,368 |
Massachusetts |
|
4,178 |
Michigan |
|
4,053 |
Illinois |
|
3,627 |
New Jersey |
|
3,620 |
Washington |
|
3,291 |
Ohio |
|
3,268 |
Minnesota |
|
3,261 |
Florida |
|
3,186 |
Pennsylvania |
|
2,536 |
Oregon |
|
2,349 |
Colorado |
|
2,232 |
North Carolina |
|
|
12-2-2007
|
GPS-Enabled Cellphones Now Required Equipment |
Waaaay back in the mid 1980s, colleges started requiring students to buy a PC - usually a model dictated by the school
(for compatibility - we did not always have Windows). This caused quite a concern for many who did not want to spend $2k or more
for something a $5 slide rule and a $1 pen could do. My alma matter, UVM, mandated an ATT 6300
and an IBM dot matrix printer (cannot recall the model). Total bill - $3,500. Yup, in 1987 dollars. Today, computers are issued at birth and
most kids cannot use a pen, never mind a slide rule.
Someday, people will look back and
have the same memories of this announcement in today's news about Montclair State University (NJ) requiring all students to carry GPS-enabled cellphones. The cost: $420 a year for a base
plan, which is bundled into the tuition bill. |
|
11-27-2007
|
|
|
|
 |
"
