Poker Academy donates software for AI research
Minneapolis-based Poker Academy, a developer of poker software products,
has donated $13,000 in software to Lehigh University for students in
computer science and engineering to use in artificial intelligence (AI)
research projects.
The donated software will be used in Artificial Intelligence: Game
Programming, a course offered last fall for the first time that will be
taught again next fall.
The goal of the students using the donated software in the new class
will be to make better, more challenging computer games that adapt to a
player‚s behavior, style and level of skill.
Survey: CIOs see security as job one
Technology executives now see enhancing network security as job one, a
new survey shows.
Thirty-five percent of chief information officers (CIOs) polled by Menlo
Park, Calif.-based Robert Half Technology said improvements to network
security are their highest priority. Operating-system upgrades were the
second-most frequent response, cited by 16 percent of executives.
The national poll includes responses from more than 1,400 CIOs from a
stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees.
Among Minneapolis-area executives, network security was cited as the
highest priority by 29 percent, followed by database upgrades and
wireless communications (both 19 percent) and OS upgrades (14 percent).
Stellent gains city contract
Eden Prairie-based Stellent Inc., which makes content-management
products, said the city of Aurora, Colo., is using Stellent's Universal
Content Management across its enterprise to power a variety of image,
records, document and Web content management initiatives across its 17
departments, including the management of public Web site and intranet
content.
The Stellent system is to provide Aurora with a visual display of its
large volume of records, such as permits, licenses, forms, tax
information, building plans and applications.
Inetium moves to Bloomington
Inetium Inc, recently moved its headquarters from Chanhassen to
Bloomington. The company's new address is 3600 American Boulevard, Suite
100, Bloomington, MN 55431.
Inetium's growth has been driven by the expansion of its infrastructure,
application development, IT planning, CRM and portal offerings, as well
as its recent acquisition of the Accounting Solutions group of St.
Cloud-based Marco.
Tech companies anticipate ownership changes
As competition continues to increase and companies battle to win new
customers, executives of technology companies are not ruling out a
possible change of ownership in the next decade, reports a survey
conducted by Chicago-based Grant Thornton LLP, the accounting, tax and
business advisory firm.
According to the Grant Thornton Survey of U.S. Business Leaders, 42
percent of technology respondents expect a change in company ownership
in the next 10 years, while only 30 percent of all companies nationally
feel the same. Among those who expect this change, 39 percent believe a
merger is most likely, while 30 percent anticipate a trade sale.
Additional findings from the survey include:
-- Three-quarters (73 percent) report they are optimistic about the
economy's growth in the next six months.
-- Almost all (95 percent) say they are optimistic about the growth of
their own business.
-- Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents also plan to increase
their headcount over the next six months; and
-- Eighty-nine percent are on pace to meet or exceed their sales targets
(22 percent exceed and 67 percent on target).
Kinetic teams with SecureInfo
St. Paul-based Kinetic Data Inc., which makes service industry software
solutions for users of Remedy solutions from BMC Software, said
SecureInfo Corp. of San Antonio, Texas, has purchased Kinetic Survey for
use in its customer service department.
SecureInfo makes enterprise information security solutions.
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