The recession hits Harvard…with interesting changes – more money to undergrads, less to books

Harvard isn’t belt-tightening everywhere. Since 2007, its investment in financial aid to undergraduates has risen by more than 78%, which Harvard said is “significantly outpacing increases in tuition.” Undergraduate tuition for the 2012-13 year climbed 3.5% to $54,496. *** As it looks to economize, Harvard has turned some of its attention toward the more than …

Meet the ‘bots’ of Wikipedia

ClueBot NG, as the bot is known, resides on a computer from which it sallies forth into the vast encyclopaedia to detect and clean up vandalism almost as soon as it occurs. It is one of several hundred bots patrolling Wikipedia at any given time. Its role in repairing the Supreme Court article illustrates how …

Ikea adds smartphone apps and augmented reality to its newest catalog

Ikea prints 211 million copies of its product catalog every year. That’s more than 20 times the population of Sweden, the home of the build-it-yourself furniture empire. These are impressive numbers for a print catalog in a digital world, but Ikea is now changing with the times with a head-first dive into augmented reality. “A …

Apple Campus II – 3,600 jobs and the big push into Austin, Texas

Pushing ahead with plans to invest $304 million in Austin, Texas, Apple has secured a deal for three large patches of land adjacent to its existing campus, which — when developed — will expand its presence in the area and result in the creation of more than 3,600 jobs. The State of Texas offered Apple …

Foxconn to build a $1 billion factory in Indonesia – create 1 million jobs

The chinese are offshoring their work to find cheaper labor…   The market leading computer manufacturer Foxconn is planning a new $1 billion facility in Indonesia. The new manufacturing plant will create around 1 million jobs in the region. Foxconn is currently discussing its plans with the Indonesian Ministry of Industry. Foxconn already operates several …

United Kingdom unemployment matches ours – and they use funny terms to describe it

Read this for news on the world economy, or just enjoy the interesting words the Brits use to describe their unemployment: Jobseekers Allowance (unemployment benefits), shadow work (?)…   UK unemployment total falls to 2.58m The unemployment rate fell to 8.1% in the period, down from 8.3% in the previous quarter. The ONS figures showed that the …

Learn more about the Affordable Care Act – summary of Medicaid expansion and costs

Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the United States.  Presently, Medicaid provides health and long-term care coverage to 59 million individuals. Under the PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), Medicaid is set to expand its eligibility for coverage to include persons with income levels at or below 133 percent of the federal …

Facebook’s first public earnings release, Q2 – July 26

Facebook will give investors and the world their first official look at its post-IPO earning for Q2 2012 at 2pm PST on July 26th, according to a brief note posted to its investor relations page just now. The company’s share price closed at $31.095 today, down $0.265 or 0.85%, but still closer to the $38 …

White House creates – U.S. Ignite program – to make internet 90% cheaper and start building gigabit networks

The President is set to sign an executive order today (June 13, 2012) that aims to cut the cost of broadband construction across federal roadways and properties by up to 90 percent. The White House is also is looking to improve “next-generation applications and (the) digital experience,” running on networks that are a heady 100 …

The Orange County Register sold to – 2100 Trust LLC – a Massachusetts-based venture

The owner of The Orange County Register announced today that the paper has been bought by 2100 Trust LLC, a privately-held company led by a Massachusetts investor who previously planned to buy The Boston Globe. *** Today’s announcement is the latest in a major sea change in U.S. newspaper ownership as the industry struggles to …