- The numbers of students choosing to major in computer science have dropped
significantly. The slump in technology has increased the number of graduate students,
however, as many stay in or return to school to avoid the difficult job market.
Computer science departments report enrollment declines of as much as 40% for
undergraduates from two to three years ago. The quality, however, appears to
have increased. Randal Bryant of Carnegie Mellon said current students in computer
science are very enthusiastic about computers and aren't looking to become
millionaires by age 25. Some expressed concern that the low undergraduate numbers
in such programs will become a significant problem when the demand picks up again - http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/technology/circuits/22comp.html

- A new survey from the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)
forecasts the hiring of fewer than 500,000 IT workers over the next year. In 2000,
the IT sector was predicted to add 1.6 million jobs, and in 2002 the number was
1.1 million. Aside from weakness in the high-tech economy, the ongoing shift of
jobs overseas is adding to the slowdown in hiring. The first quarter of 2003 saw a
net increase of 86,000 IT jobs, but this was below the gain of 97,000 in the last
quarter of 2002, which had the slowest growth of the four quarters last year. Harris
N. Miller, president of the ITAA, said, "If the demand for IT workers is an indicator
of business growth, our survey results are not encouraging" -
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2201051

- A new report from research firm IDC paints a fairly rosy picture for web services,
despite the overall slump in technology. According to IDC, about 55% of North
American organizations are working with or are implementing web services. The
IDC study states that "the idea of web services as a solution has touched the large
proportion of North American organizations by the end of 2002, and there may be
an open market for providers of such solutions in 2003." The data show a strong,
positive correlation between the size of business and the use of web services.
Similar data were reported by Forrester, though Laura DiDio of the Yankee
Group estimates that only 12% of businesses are involved with web services noting,
however, that web services standards are maturing and getting closer to being
finalized, which will encourage adoption -
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21482.html

- IT researchers at Stanford are exploring augmenting a dedicated physical meeting
space with "large displays, wireless or multimodal devices, and seamless mobile
appliance integration." It's all aimed at enhancing collaboration. "In an interactive
workspace, physical input devices belong to the space rather than a specific
machine" - http://swig.stanford.edu/pub/publications/iwork-overview-layout.pdf (Requires Adobe Reader)

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