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You do realize that there are two types of IT work done in the US: project and maintenance. Ongoing maintenance is easily outsourced and firms are not primed to continuously run IT project after IT project.
IT is basically landscaping but with computers instead of shrubbery. Maybe it's not seasonal but there's no rule saying EVERYONE has to do projects all the time or at the same time.
In fact, with money tightening, most orgs are content to limp through with what applications and systems they have until things turn better.

An anonymous reader writes "Programmers are using accelerometers to give phones and computers a sense of place and a feeling for movement according to this article. While some of the applications are pure fun (e.g. turning a phone into a light saber), more and more are kind of useful. gBoarder from Austria lets your cellphone record the jumps you take on a trip down a ski slope. This video shows a haptic pen designed to let you feel a rough surface. The machines used to rely on us to tell them where they were. Not any more."

http://markstechnologynews.blogspot.com/2008/05/driving-led-emoticon-message-sign.html

http://www.allfun.com/english/index.aspx

File sharing? FILE SHARING? You gotta be joking! Oh, no, let's ignore.. oh I don't know... sexual predators... or, identity theft... and jump straight to the fsck'n FILE SHARING!

That's it! I declare that the world has gone insane. Driven by corporate greed and stupidity!

jbrodkin writes "Cisco is taking numerous measures to tackle the persistent problem of certification exam cheating, which is aided by rampant "braindump" sites, over 300 of which distribute replicas of Cisco (not to mention Microsoft) exams. Cisco tweaks the tests weekly to stay ahead of braindumps, but exact copies of tests can sometimes make it onto the Web within a mere 24 hours. In this article, Cisco officials discuss legal action taken against braindump sites as well as permanent suspensions handed down to individual cheaters."
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/edu/2008/040708ed1.html?nlhtcareer=ts_040908&nladname=040908itcareersandtrainingal

University of Pennsylvania receives grant to study swarming behavior and adapt it to military robots.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9914472-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Is there any end to this ubiquitous computing thing? Plants that send thank you notes, player pianos that follow the dancer's movements, and umbrellas that warn you of upcoming rain are just a few of the uses of embedded computers described in this article from the NY Times. Laptops seem so dull when it's easy to embed chips, install a Linux distro and sew them into your clothes . But do we really need to wear our computers? If they're cheap enough, why not? But why can't the world be happy with a good old desktop? It was good enough for the PC generation.

An anonymous reader writes "Despite oil prices that hover around $100 a barrel, it'll take at least 10 or more years of intensive R&D to cut the cost of solar energy to levels competitive with petroleum. So says Harry Gray, founding director of the Beckman Institute at CalTech and principal investigator at the Caltech Center for Sustainable Energy Research (CCSER). He's delivering that grim assessment today at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society."

An anonymous reader writes "Three researchers working respectively in the United States, Germany, and Canada explain why they are working at building "emotional" applications: http://lucachittaro.nova100.ilsole24ore.com/2008/04/computers-that.html"
http://lucachittaro.nova100.ilsole24ore.com/2008/04/computers-that.html

The NSA's once small National Cryptologic Museum is bigger and better, with new more immersive exhibits like a reconstruction of a listening post from the Vietnam war. (See a new story ) The place seems to be caught between the urge to keep your mouth shut and the pleasure of telling war stories. In time, though, the story notes that the need to tell stories wins out. Has anyone visited lately?

Synthesis writes "Iceland's government has as of today adopted a new policy towards Open and Free software.
This was announced today by the Prime Ministers Office.
A few key points in the policy include:
1. It will be guaranteed that Free and Open source software will be given the same chances when software purchasing decisions are made.
2. Software that abides by Open Standards will be given a higher priority.
3. Public sector institutions should not be too dependent upon a single software manufacturer or a service provider. Usage of Free software is a step in that direction.
4. Students in all high-schools in the country will get an introduction to Free and Open Software."

OrochimaruVoldemort writes "It appears as though the Mythbusters are stepping up their mythbustin' in a way they should have done since the start of the show.They are going to put the moon landing hoax to the test. A link to the article can be found here:
Moon Hoax

Lets just hope
Buster somehow gets blown up, preferably by rockets."
http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/03/11/mythbustin-the-moon-hoax-part-i/

dratcw writes "Imagine 'printing' your own 3-D toys or models. That's the premise of this article that details the technology that could lead to layer-by-layer manufacturing of products with printer-like machines in the home. The article states this could change the current economic model, cutting out the middleman. As an example, an entrepreneur who prints figurines from the World of Warcraft game can't keep up with the tremendous demand."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=16&articleId=9065481

lee1 writes "What many have suspected is now borne out by a study at the University of South Florida College of Public Health: red-light cameras significantly increase crashes. 'The rigorous studies clearly show red-light cameras don't work,' according to the researchers. 'Instead, they increase crashes and injuries as drivers attempt to abruptly stop at camera intersections.' The automobile insurance industry supports the cameras, but the study explains why: insurance company revenues increase when they can charge higher premiums due to the crashes and additional citations."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/100353.php