James Maguire

Comments that U.S. tech employees are overpriced and outclassed by their outsourced alternatives continue to fuel the flames of a controversial topic. How much truth is there in claims that U.S. tech grads are “unemployable,” or in the assertions that offshore outsourcing firms employ workers who are more efficient because they’re more focused on learning […]

Picking the top netbook is a matter of choosing among small differences. After all, most of the bestselling netbooks offer remarkably similar features: the Intel Atom chip, a screen about 10 inches wide, and a low price that makes PC makers sob uncontrollably. The factors that comprise the top netbook–for you–are less-than-huge differences in keyboard […]

Making a Skype video call is not only free but also remarkably easy. If you’ve got an Internet connection and a Webcam, nothing stands in your way. But be warned: this means the age of video calling has arrived. When a phone call means your caller sees you, it’s now rude to be doing 18 […]

Sam Ramji is a busy man. As Microsoft’s senior director of platform strategy, his job is a big one: overseeing the company’s initiatives in Linux and open source. Wait a second – Microsoft’s strategy in open source? Yes, that’s right. The planet’s largest software company, whose relationship with open source has been, at best, hypercompetitive […]

When I noticed that this list of the popular programming languages placed Java in the top position, I picked up the phone to call Robert Dewar. Several months back I interviewed Dewar, a professor emeritus of computer science at New York University, about Java’s role in the college classroom. What he said in that interview […]

The job market for tech workers has rebounded considerably since the dark days of 2000 and 2001, according to a recent report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. John Challenger, the firm’s CEO, tells Datamation that he’s bullish on tech hiring. “It’s a strong job market for IT,” he says. “It’s picked up in […]