TACC gets $300,000 from Microsoft
The Texas
Advanced Computing Center has received $300,000 from Microsoft Corp. to
fund joint research with nine similar centers around the
world.
The University of Texas-based center will work with
institutions in the United States, China, Japan, Russia and Germany to
explore how high-performance computing technology can aid scientific
endeavors.
In the first year of the multi-year grant, the UT
center will receive $300,000. Funding for the rest of the grant will be
determined on a year-to-year basis.
TACC said the center will
evaluate database technologies for different types of scientific
data.
S1 company sold to InterVoice
Dallas-based InterVoice Inc. will buy Atlanta-based S1 Corp.
subsidiary Edify Corp. for $33.5 million, the companies
reported.
InterVoice said the deal will strengthen its position in
the voice automation market and help it accelerate the development and
delivery of multi-channel, automated information technology for
enterprise and network customers.
S1 provides software to banks,
credit unions, investment firms and insurance
companies.
Freescale unveils next-generation chip
Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has manufactured a
24-megabit memory chip based on silicon nanocrystals.
Nanocrystal
chips require less power to design and are more scalable than flash
memory chips. Freescale said the silicon nanocrystal memory chip is
faster, denser and cheaper than traditional flash memory
technology.
The silicon nanocrystal chip could be used by
automotive, wireless and consumer markets to make devices smaller and
faster.
Freescale says it first pioneered the use of nanocrystals
in memory devices in March 2003.
IT worker confidence up
in November
Confidence in the employment market among IT
workers rose marginally in November, as the sector's Hudson Employment
Index inched up 2.2 points to 101.1. Renewed confidence in personal
finances and heightened job satisfaction contributed to the slight
increase. Technology workers were about as optimistic as workers
overall; the composite Index held steady in November, slipping just .04
points to 100.1.
Nearly half (48 percent) of the workers in the IT
sector reported that their financial situations were improving in
November, up from 38 percent the previous month. There was a
six-percentage point drop to 35 percent in the number reporting that
their finances were getting worse. Job satisfaction rose five points to
76 percent in November.
Technology Business Accelerator
launching in Austin
The Technology Business Accelerator,
which was created to help Mexican companies grow their business in the
U.S., opened recently.
The TechBA program is a joint venture
between the Mexico Ministry of Economy, the U.S.-Mexico Foundation of
Science, and the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas.
TechBA
is an incubator that will take on 16 Mexican high-tech companies that
are interested in expanding their markets to the U.S. TechBA will help
these companies form their business plans for the U.S. market, aid with
development of their organizations and help in fostering partnerships,
customers and investors.
Luis Medina heads the new incubator as
general director. Patricio Alexander is director, and David Gerhardt is
business development manager.
Pennsylvania OKs Hart
e-voting system
Austin-based Hart InterCivic Inc.'s eSlate
electronic voting system has been certified for use in Pennsylvania
elections.
The Pennsylvania Secretary of State's office certified
the eSlate for elections there after the system met the state's
certification requirements.
Hart InterCivic's eSlate system
combines voting equipment with election management software used to
create ballots, tabulate and report votes, and manage equipment
inventory and data.
The eSlate system uses the Precision Ballot
Navigation System interface, which ensures the most accurate recording
of a voter's intent and avoids problems often encountered by touch
screen voting systems, according to the
company.
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