IT worker confidence down
Confidence
among IT workers plunged over 12 points from 109.9 to 97.5 in August.
This is only the second time in its history that it fell below the base
of 100. Sector employees rating their finances as excellent or good fell
dramatically from 62 percent the previous month to 47 percent in August.
In addition, only 70 percent stated they were happy in their
current jobs, compared to 75 percent in July. U.S. worker confidence
fell 5.5 points, taking it to the lowest level on record as the national
Hudson Employment Index dropped below the base of 100, also for only the
second time ever, to 98.2.
After holding steady near 31 percent
for nine consecutive months, the number of workers expecting hiring
slipped to 30 percent. At the same time, the percent anticipating job
cuts rose from 16 percent in July to 18 percent, which shows the same
pattern from one year ago. Job security concerns also climbed a point to
21 percent this month, as the percent reporting job satisfaction slipped
from 74 percent to 72 percent.
SMC debuts wireless bridge
Irvine-based SMC Networks released the Elite Connect 2.4GHz
dual-radio 802.11g Wireless Bridge (SMC2585W-G).
The SMC2585W-G
can serve as a wireless bridge to connect two LANs and provide wireless
client access simultaneously with full 54Mbps bandwidth for all links.
The EliteConnect is designed to connect difficult-to-wire
locations: branch offices, school or corporate campus environments,
frequently changing workplaces, temporary LANs, hospitals and
warehouses, while providing mobile user access at the same time.
Coaxsys named to broadband list
Coaxsys Inc. was
recently honored as one of Broadband Properties' Top 100, a list of
companies that are shaping the future of broadband deployments.
Coaxsysâ Ethernet-over-coax networking products are deployed
throughout the United States by operators, service providers, and
installers interested in providing in-home IPTV and Ethernet device
networking.
iRiver debuts flash players
Milpitas-based iRiver released its T family of PlaysForSure-verified
flash-memory music devices. The players support Windows Media Digital
Rights Management (DRM) 10, making them the first flash devices to
support portable subscription-based music services, such as Rhapsody To
Go, Napster To Go, and Yahoo! Music Unlimited.
The T family
includes the T10 and T30 series in 512MB and 1GB capacities.
In
addition to playing multiple music formats, the T family features
built-in voice recording and line-in encoding allowing customers to
record MP3s on the fly from any source including home audio systems and
handheld CD players.
StompSoft releases migration
product
Irvine-based StompSoft Inc., which makes backup,
system utility, and online security
rivacy software, released Easy PC
Transfer, a product designed to let users migrate application data,
settings, and more from one PC to another.
Easy PC Transfer
allows direct connection of the old and new PCs via supplied Ethernet
cable as virtually all PC's have an Ethernet port, and provides simple
wizard based application for selecting application data, application
settings, email accounts, email messages, address books, calendars,
templates, themes, printers, and network settings (including wireless
networks).
Reino debuts parking meter technology
Thanks to an Irvine company, the City of Las Vegas is one of the
first cities in the country to let drivers pay for on-street parking
with their credit card and cell phones, instead of searching for loose
change. Las Vegas has replaced old parking meters with 15 new meters,
covering 150 parking spots, in the city's downtown business
district.
The latest technology meters are from Reino Enforcement
Technology. The cell phone payments are processed by Peppercoin, a
payments technology company that enables profitable new business models
for low-priced digital content and physical goods.
Drivers can
enroll for free in Reino's mPark service. The service can help Las Vegas
drivers avoid parking tickets by sending a reminder SMS text message to
a subscriber's phone approximately 10 minutes before their meter time
expires. Drivers can then purchase more time by simply making a cell
phone call.
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