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The latest Labor Department numbers indicate an uptick in the number of people applying for unemployment benefits, but the data may not be telling the whole story.

An additional 34,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, the biggest jump since April 2011. However, the government is taking a closer look at the figures in order to properly take into account seasonal work. For example, automakers shut down production during the summer last year. This year, they’ve not executed the usual shutdown in order to meet demand.

Some experts say it will take a few weeks before the picture becomes clear. The four-week unemployment numbers actually dropped by 1,500 workers to 375,500.

In other words, the economic recovery is sputtering, but there are still small signs of life. On a related note, IBM announced their earnings yesterday and they’re looking for new staffers. Dust off your resume! The company says it will be hiring up to 300 salespeople per month for the rest of the year to get the word out about their software products.

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by Sheree Gaines

A few weeks ago, I was at a Tribeca bar having drinks with a friend. A man that she’d been dating for a couple of weeks later joined us. How do I describe what happened next? Trust me, it wasn’t anything so fascinating but it was interesting because it played out like it’s played out so many times. “Chris” was an investment banker (I’m sure his title is much more complicated but that’s a simple way of describing) on Wall Street. When he greeted me, he did so without so much as a grin. He put out his hand, took a seat across from me and next to the woman he’s been courting and continued to act too cool to smile or to even let his guard down.

I’ve encountered his type before – many, many times. It was the case of the IBM: Ivy League (or Intelligent) Black Man. The term is thrown around loosely to describe the successful black man who exudes a particular air of arrogance – an attitude that defies warmth, openness and humility.

We all know that arrogance is not exclusive to Black men of course but considering that I’m a Black woman amongst a peer group where success, this is an area I’m familiar with.
Why does success seem to correlate with arrogance? When you really think about it, what’s the whole attack on humbleness. Our deeper societal values praise humility, yet popular culture and media promote the attraction of arrogance.

As I was sitting across from Chris, I couldn’t help but think he’s doing himself a disservice by putting up such a façade. The arrogant attitude serves nobody. Maybe, in his mind, this is what he’s supposed to act like. But in reality, the idea that “I’m better than you” is not only a obstacle to his own enrichment but also an obstacle for the community as a whole. Whether we admit or not, there is a lot of prejudice in the Black community. One of my other African-American friends subconsciously avoids attending events like Black professional mixers because she’s scarred by the whole IBM attitude. (And yes, we know females possess a version of it too).

As a Black man who’s “made it,” an IBM has the special feeling of being a rare commodity. From the dating perspective, he’s attractive for his success and the the uniqueness of his position as one of the few men of color in the upper echelons. Some may say “who can blame ‘em” when it comes to their arrogance of the IBM. But I think it’s time to drop the airs.

I’ve seen Chris a few more times since that initial meeting and I have to say that I’ve warmed up to him, because essentially he let down his guard. Since I wasn’t reflecting any attitude and was my more usual open and warm self, he felt a bit more comfortable around me. My friend noticed the same thing about him as well. He was so busy posturing and making sure he conveyed his pride at the beginning, she wasn’t sure it was going to go anywhere. But as time passed, he realized that she was a real person who didn’t function like a character out of a script who was only interested in his pedigree. Hopefully, he’ll remember to not hold back his best self when encountering new people because that would be a darn shame.

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by Cynthia Wright

New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo has made it known that the International Business Machines Corp. and Intel Corp. plan to invest $4.4 billion over a course of five years in order to create a hub for the next-generation computer chip technology.

After the official announcement, the New York Stock Exchange reported that IBM shares rose to $4.84 (2.8%) to $179.35. Prior to the announcement, the shares were up by 19% this year. At the NASDAQ Stock Market, Santa Clara based, Intel rose 60 cents (2.7%) to $22.84 in trading.

IBM is believed to be contributing $3.6 billion to develop computer chips using 22-nanometer and 14-nanometer process technology. In layman’s terms, a nanometer is one billionth of a meter and measures the size of transistors in a chip. The lower numbers are thought to be an indicator of a more advanced technology.

On the other side of the financial equation are Intel Corp., IBM, Globalfoundries Inc., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., and Samsung Electronics Co., which will focus on transforming a 300-millimeter water technology into 450-millimeter technology, with the end result of producing twice the amount of chips.

During a press conference in Albany, senior vice president and director of research at Armonk, John Kelly stated this recent conglomeration is about the “computing systems IBM and others will construct using advanced technologies.” He continued, “This will create computers that will help doctors diagnose advanced disease.”

To prepare New York with the abilities for taking on such a monumental project, the state plans to invest $400 million into the State University of New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The university is located in Albany, a city in the northern part of the state.

Although, the $4.4 billion investment is a substantial amount of change given today’s economy, this project is believed to have created an estimated 6,900 jobs in the state, with 2,500 in the technology sector.

“This unprecedented investment in New York’s economy will create thousands of jobs and make the state the epicenter for the next generation of computer chip technology,” Cuomo said in a recent statement. Money will also be invested into the research and development facilities located in Canandaigua, Utica, Yorktown Heights and Fishkill.

Cynthia Wright is an avid lover of all things geeky. When she isn’t freelancing, she can be found on her blog BGA Life and on Twitter at @cynisright.

(Fins) — Rodney C. Adkins oversees 50,000 employees and is responsible for $18 billion in revenue as senior vice president and group executive for systems and technology at IBM, one of the world’s largest and most durable technology companies. Adkins, 52, also is one of the most powerful African-Americans in high tech.  Until Adkins succeeded his boss, Robert Moffat, after his arrestin relation to the 2009 Galleon insider trading case, most people had never heard of him. The IBM-lifer got the job on an interim basis, with the promotion made permanent less than two weeks later. Adkins is considered one of three candidates to succeed Chief Executive Samuel J. Palmisano, 60, when he retires.

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(Read Write Web) — IBM is buying Sterling Commerce for $1.4 billion. It is IBM’s largest acquisition since purchasing Cognos in 1987 for $922 million. The acquisition of the AT&T company is intended to complement IBM’s middleware portfolio and help customers develop more intelligent business networks. Gartner believes the acquisition is a complement to IBM’s acquisition of Cast Iron Systems a few weeks ago. The transaction environment is undergoing rapid change as customers increasingly make purchases online and through electronic systems via any number of indirect channels. IBM’s expectation is that Sterling Commerce will simplify the way organizations connect and communicate with partners, customers and suppliers through an on-premise infrastructure or cloud delivery model.

Read  More…

By Sonya Kimble-Ellis

It’s no secret that Silicon Valley lacks diversity. Caucasian males constitute many of the engineers, venture capitalists and start-up founders  in this technological hot-bed of innovation.  According to a recent report by Mercury News, Hispanics and blacks compose a smaller share of the valley’s computer workers in 2008 than they did in 2000. Despite the statistics, however, there are still a handful of African-Americans making their mark in the techie capital of the world. Here, we highlight the contributions of four such innovators.

Dr. Mark E. Dean
Dr. Mark E. Dean is heralded as one of the most influential engineers and inventors in America. His contribution to the development and enhancement to personal computers won him an induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. An IBM Fellow, Dean has worked at the company since 1980 and holds three of their nine PC patents. “I’m crazy about technology,” he said. “I have a vivid imagination. To me, anything you can imagine is possible. I’m not afraid to try.”

He is currently the VP of IBM’s Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California as well as their Senior Location Executive for Silicon Valley, his track record speaks for itself. While at the company, Dean led the team that built a gigahertz chip, which did a billion calculations per second. His other developments enabled computers to communicate with external devices like printers, disc drives, keyboards, modems and speakers.

The innovations are known as the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). As chief engineer, he spearheaded a project that allowed computers to be compatible with high-performance software. Dean also worked on IBM’s ground-breaking E-Tablet, a hand-held device with the same capabilities as a desktop. He presently oversees more than 400 IBM engineers and scientists.