Modernomics* – Daily Writings on Technology
a site by Erik T. Kaiser, Design Technologist
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Los Angeles regional headquarters of IBM Data Processing Division
In July 1958, two years after the division was established, DPD opened this Western Regional Headquarters facility in Los Angeles, Calif., to serve 12 states, Hawaii and Alaska.
[via IBM Archives: Los Angeles regional headquarters]
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An oped this week in The New York Times, talks about the economic situation, and asks a couple of really intriguing questions. The writers, one a broker, the other a retired Wall Street banker, question the simplified PR campaign of the current Administration that hinges on the mantra “if the mood is right, the capital will flow.”
I agree with the authors that our banking system, and by default – our economy – is far more complex than a PR campaign to increase consumer confidence can fix, but, I disagree with their point that the Obama administration should not be spending time working the party to drum up support of the sweeping changes that are needed. In the end, consumers need to know things are getting better (if they actually are), and there’s no one else better suited for that job than a sitting President.
The storm is not over, not by a long shot. Huge structural flaws remain in the architecture of our financial system, and many of the fixes that the Obama administration has proposed will do little to address them and may make them worse. At another fund-raising event, for Senator Harry Reid, President Obama said: “We didn’t ask for the challenges that we face. But we are determined to answer the call to meet those challenges, to cast aside the old arguments and overcome the stubborn divisions and move forward as one people and one nation …. It will take time but I promise you, I promise you, I’ll always tell you the truth about the challenges we face.”
“Six months ago, nobody believed that our banking system was well designed, functioning smoothly or properly regulated — so why then are we so desperately anxious to restore that model as the status quo?”
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Wow.
The PCI uses a very specific industrial measure to represent the overall strength of the broader U.S. economy: diesel fuel sales at roughly 7,000 truck stops across the country.Economy: These Below-the-Radar Indicators May Signal Growth - BusinessWeek
Ok, I need this: Fuji Instax Mini Instant Camera
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said there is a 70 percent chance Apple will roll out a mobile search engine tailored for its iPhone within the next five years. As the search provider for the iPhone, Google sees what iPhone users are searching for, which can help it tailor software and services for its own mobile smartphones. This competitive advantage has not gone unnoticed by Apple. Building its own iPhone-centric search engine would help Apple shield Google from its App Store data, Munster said in a March 30 research note.Apple May Build a Search Engine to Shield iPhone Data From Google - Search Engines from eWeek
I always wondered what Manhattan would look like if the sea levels rose. Well, here you go.
via DETHJUNKIE*
Amazing workday look via www.thesartorialist.com
Including presales, Apple will sell 600,000 to 700,000 of the new tablet this weekend, according to estimates released by Piper Jaffray Gene Munster, more than twice the senior analyst’s earlier prediction of 200,000 to 300,000 first-weekend sales. More than 730 people in line at Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue store—more than the numbers that showed up for the iPhone or iPhone 3GS launches, he said.Analyst expects 700,000 iPads to sell this weekend | Apple - CNET News
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network plans to stop hiring people who are smokers, saying it hopes to improve the health of its 7,000 employees and reduce health costs. Beginning May 1, all prospective employees will be screened for nicotine and will be ineligible for a job if they test positive. Anyone rejected may take the test again in six months. Current employees will not be affected. Bob Zimmel, senior vice president of human resources, said the policy will be good for business as well as health, since it will reduce health insurance claims.
Bethlehem hospital to stop hiring smokers | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/31/2010
Wow—while I hate smoking and tried to get my staff to stop that did—i’m not sure I would want to work for a company that was this aggressive with testing of new employees. Will this increase productivity and cut costs as it is expected to “be good for business” or will this alienate staff and put the fear of big brother in them? Shouldn’t firms be pro-employee and pro-rights for their employees? At Apple, we believe in “assuming positive intent” and we seem to be doing well for ourselves.
A major shift in the way companies obtain software and computing capacity is under way as more companies tap into Web-based applications.How Cloud Computing Is Changing the World - BusinessWeek
Certainly, it’s not hard to find bad news within the report. For one thing, 162,000 new jobs is not even a drop in the bucket of the more than 8 million jobs lost since the recession began (and don’t forget the number of new jobs that need to be created simply to keep up with new entrants into the labor force). Also, a chunk of the new jobs last month were temporary U.S. Census positions. While temp hiring among private employers often is considered a leading indicator of future permanent jobs, that’s not the case for census work. And, ominously, long-term unemployment got even worse in March. A record 6.5 million people have been out of work for longer than six months.Jobs data has plenty of bad news to mar the good Personal Finance Daily - MarketWatch
