The new Cyberstates report from the American Electronics Association came out Wednesday and it paints an interesting picture about the health of Idaho’s high technology industry.
About the only category that Idaho leads in, when compared to other states, is the difference between high tech wages and the average [...]
Well I wonder when Areva will be breaking ground on its new nuclear fuel plant in eastern Idaho?
Gov. Butch Otter signed the two Areva incentive bills into law this week.
The package is the most significant piece of economic incentive legislation to come out of this session.
The French company charged [...]
After more than a year, Aaron Stanton unveiled his project that got him a meeting with Google in February 2007.
His talks with Google are still ongoing, but on Monday he unveiled the idea to the world Monday by launching a Web site called BookLamp.org.
His BookLamp software program [...]
It seems that Mike Reynoldson, Micron’s government affairs director, took issue with some of the recent comments about Micron losing favor with Idaho Legislators.
He didn’t name me specifically, but I’m assuming he’s referring to my blog last week about new incentives for the French company Areva where I made [...]
Monday’s big news was that Micron Technology has finally decided that Boise is worthy of a new fabrication plant.
It was welcome news and something I hope become a reality.
And as I expected, the news was greeted as a positive for the economy by state and local leaders and a sign [...]
My boss pointed out to me recently that we haven’t done a very good job of covering business legislation during this year’s legislative session.
I can’t argue with him, but when you only have two business reporters and lots of breaking business news it’s hard to make it to the temporary [...]
Dangle a $2 billion uranium enrichment plant in from of their faces and Idaho legislators suddenly think incentives aren’t that bad.
The Idaho Falls Post Register had a story last week about a company called Areva. The company, which is controlled by the French government, has made Idaho one [...]
It looks like Boise is again heading for the top five again in the annual Forbes magazine “Best Place for Business and Careers” list.
The list hasn’t been published yet, but a reporter from Forbes has been in Boise this week talking to some of the local tech companies.
He interviewed Shane [...]
One of my biggest frustrations is that we don’t have the resources to cover high tech companies outside of Boise.
But I know they’re out there and every once I a while I run across a fascinating company that I had never heard of.
Today while I was doing my morning Google [...]
Based on the tone of Micron’s analyst conference in Salt Lake City Thursday, it was hard to imagine that this is a company that has lost more than a half billion dollars over the last year.
Micron CEO Steve Appleton in no way acted like he was preparing to step down [...]
It has been a year since Aaron Stanton of Boise started his quest to get an audience with someone at Google.
Last February, he launched the Web site CanGoogleHearMe.com. His goal was to meet with someone at Google to pitch his idea.
He tried going to the company’s mammoth [...]
I wasn’t surprised by Jim Ellick's request to take leave from the Commerce Department.
I’m not privy to the reason, but there has been talk that it could be health-related and of course there is no shortage of speculation that he may have been regretting his decision to take the position.
Will [...]
Since it was first introduced, Pleo the robotic dinosaur has received almost universal acclaim.
But last week, Pleo didn’t exactly charm a New York Times reviewer. David Pogue summed the toy up as a “novelty” that wears off quickly.
Having met Caleb Chung, who invented Pleo with a team of [...]
It would be nice if the state would finally unveil an aggressive economic development campaign to encourage the growth of tech companies in Idaho.
But after reading an article in the Twin Falls Times News on Sunday, I’m still waiting.
The article highlights the Idaho Department of Commerce’s new “Recreational [...]
Now that the Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council is no more, I thought it might be a good time to suggest some key areas that Gov. Butch Otter could focus on to help grow Idaho’s tech industry.
I’m not sure what will replace the council, but I doubt it will [...]
In today’s paper you’ll find the Idaho Statesman’s sixth annual look at the health of Idaho’s high tech industry.
Accept for my brief departure to state government in 2005, I have been involved in this effort for five out of the last six years.
My former colleague Julie Howard, who is now [...]
Since I moved to Idaho from Montana in 1999, I’ve been either writing about or personally involved in Idaho’s economic development efforts.
But I haven’t been able to get a good handle on how the outside perception of Idaho affects economic development efforts especially when it relates to high tech.
I have [...]
A Nintendo DS, iTunes gift cards, Wii Games, Guitar Hero III, DVD sets and digital photo frames.
These are just a few of the high tech items on my family’s Christmas wish list this year.
This is the time of year we load up on the high tech gifts. It’s been [...]
I’ve been taking quite a beating today about my Micron story pointing out the concerns of analysts that pricing for Micron’s memory products aren’t expected to improve in the near future.
One reader — a long-time Micron employee — even addressed me as Mr. Grinch in a e-mail saying [...]
My editor asked me to pull up my crystal ball and write a little something for our annual legislative preview about what technology issues might come before the Idaho Legislature this year.
I’m really not sure what the issues will be, but I have to say I’m not expecting a lot [...]
If you’ve been following my coverage of Micron Technology, you might notice the company doesn’t talk to me.
It all stems from a story I did back in August of 2006 about how Micron CEO Steve Appleton’s injuries from crashing his stunt plane in 2004 were worse then the company initially [...]
The proposal to build a trade association that would represent Idaho’s small and medium companies involved in technology and innovation took another step forward last Friday at the group’s first meeting of its advisory group.
Idaho’s tech industry has long needed a voice especially in the state legislature. But this group [...]
If you were Boise six years ago, the big news swirling around the tech industry in November and December of 2001 were discussions between Micron Technology and Hynix Semiconductor about a potential merger.
The two companies were reported to be ???aggressively??? negotiating on a merger that would make the world???s largest [...]
It has been another tough week for Micron’s stock.
Shares have dipped below $8 and analysts haven’t had much nice to say about the Boise-based company.
But on Wednesday, Micron executives will try for a little more positive press by hosting a media and analyst reception in San Francisco.
The company is offering [...]
It’s that time of year again when I try to figure out what the biggest challenges for the tech industry will be in 2008.
For the last five years, the Idaho Statesman has published its annual guide to Idaho’s high tech industries. This January, we will publish the sixth edition.
The guide [...]
I have to give Jason Crawforth credit.
The founder and chairman of Boise-based Treetop Technologies has long been one of the loudest voices speaking out about the state’s reluctance to support the tech industry.
Over the last few years, Jason has kept talking even though it appeared few were listening.
On Tuesday, he [...]
I’m betting the latest announcement from Congressman Bill Sali’s office won’t make former Micron executive and Democratic challenger Larry Grant happy.
Grant lost to Sali in 2006, but plans to challenge him again. Grant hoped that his high tech background would give him the edge over Sali, but it didn't.
This week, [...]
On Sunday, I was checking out the advertisements in the newspaper and came across Target’s toy catalog. As I was looking through it I came across a familiar face. There staring back at me with his goofy smile was Pleo the robotic dinosaur.
If you haven’t heard of Pleo, you owe [...]
Is it 400 or 1,100?
After Micron Technology filed its annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday, I hoped that I might get a better idea of how many people the Boise chipmaker had actually laid off this summer.
The report didn’t say the exact number of layoffs, but [...]
If you’ve been to Vegas or Reno, I’m sure you’ve been tempted to turn around your losses by just gambling a little bit more.
I did it on a Reno trip a few years back. It was late at night and I wasn’t doing well at the slots. I convinced myself [...]
CEO’s don’t like to talk about a company’s stock price especially when it has been performing like Micron’s stock.
But you can bet that when Micron CEO Steve Appleton faces his shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in a few months, the company’s stock performance will likely come up.
I’ve been watching [...]
The Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council was scheduled to meet this week in Boise.
That meeting isn’t going to happen.
I’m told the meeting has been cancelled because of an ongoing discussion with the Governor’s office about revamping the council.
That’s not a surprise. Gov. Butch Otter has had a somewhat rocky [...]
The latest word from Micron’s beleaguered employees is that more than 300 of the company’s IT workers will be in the unemployment line by next August.
The company is apparently in the process of outsourcing the majority of the IT department. The plan, according to the employees still on the inside, [...]
Over the last few years, we’ve heard the constant chorus that our children need more math and science in school.
Last week, state school’s superintendent Tom Luna unveiled his nearly $1.5 billion 2009 education budget, which included a $4 million math initiative to help improve the math test scores of Idaho [...]
There’s no arguing that Idaho’s tech industry needs to gain a few more yards in the Idaho Legislature.
But I’m still left wondering who is going to lead the team. Tech needs a quarterback who can convince our state leaders that the era of tech playing second fiddle to agriculture is [...]
