silicon

LinkedIn is so 2011.

In the red-hot market for skilled software engineers, companies looking to make great hires are discovering that relying on traditional services that showcase candidates' work histories -- but not their actual work -- is a great way to miss out on the best available talent.

These days, there's a new game in town -- GitHub, a place where hiring managers and recruiters alike are increasingly turning to find not just the potential employees who look best on paper, but the ones that actively (and publicly) demonstrate their capabilities.

Last month, Andreessen Horowitz, one of the … Read more

Silicon Valley believes in neither inhibition, nor prohibition.

Openness is encouraged, drunkenness is often cast upon blind eyes.

And yet some still frown on the idea that alcohol is anything other than an evil liquid, sent by the forces of darkness to make man incoherent.

I have scientific evidence that this might not be the case.

The Economist, its writers perhaps a little tipsy on the weekend, today offers an inebriating piece entitled: "The sad demise of the three-martini lunch."

It explains how America's battle with its puritan posture has meant an increased frowning on the presence … Read more

Silicon Valley has pushed the world's citizens to consistently reveal more of themselves.

Yet one of the slight ironies is that Silicon Valley's own potentates have proved to be remarkably keen on privacy.

Now, along comes Bravo TV, its arm tucked, in sisterly fashion, under that of executive producer Randi Zuckerberg, with a reality show about making it in the world of virtual money. Um, I mean tech.

And, as the New York Times tells me, the Valley is turning up its nose.

Personally, I was as excited as the first time I inhaled a supermodel's perfume … Read more

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is coming to Silicon Valley in hopes of fostering more efficient patent applications in the tech world.

The office announced that it is opening three more satellite offices throughout the country, including one in heart of California's tech hub. The PTO is already set to open a satellite office in Detroit on July 13 as a part of recent patent reform legislation, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.

Silicon Valley leaders have been lobbying for a satellite office for three years, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The area accounted for almost one … Read more

When it comes to storage, you definitely don't want to risk getting stuck with a lemon. That's because, unlike other commodities like a car or a TV, when a storage device breaks down, chances are you lose a lot more than just the drive itself. It's a painful experience to see your invaluable data vanish. Take my word for it on this.

But you likely don't want to spend too much, either, and want your storage device to be easily accessible, especially on the go since there's not much use for your data if it always has to stay at home.

Bearing that in mind, compact and portable external hard drives are arguably the most popular form of storage. They have room to hold lots of data, often more than your laptop or ultrabook can, without being big or heavy. Following is the list of the top five portable USB 3.0-based drives that are the best among their peers, offering great performance, large storage space, compact design, and sometimes even the kind of toughness that will withstand drops and submersion in water. Most importantly, you can easily find them for less than $100. Have more to spend? You can get larger capacities that cost more.

Note that these drives also work with USB 2.0 (MacBook Air owners, you're included here) and they are all bus-powered, so you don't need a separate power adapter to use them.… Read more

NEW YORK--There are no tech companies from the Big Apple that compares with Apple.

New York has yet to produce anything on par with Google, Netflix, Intel, eBay, or Facebook. All those companies were either founded or are based in Silicon Valley. But civic and business leaders in New York want to change that. They say that recently, the nation's largest metropolis has become much more attractive to the tech community and more start-ups are here than ever.

At a panel discussion Tuesday in the city's Chelsea District that included venture capitalists, and representatives from the city as … Read more

Apple will need a huge number of LTPS, or low-temperature poly-silicon, screens to maintain the Retina Display resolution on its next iPhone, a move that could make life tough for its rivals, according to DigiTimes.

Citing the usual "Taiwan-based supply chain makers," DigiTimes said the next iPhone will will require the use of LTPS technology to offer a resolution of 326 pixels per inch. LTPS displays can achieve higher resolutions than those possible with regular active-matrix LCD screens.

But production of such screens will be in short supply. Manufacturers LG Display, Japan Display, and Sharp combined can produce … Read more

It was 6 a.m. when Eric Simons was jolted awake by the yelling.

After working until 4 a.m, the 19-year-old entrepreneur had finally passed out. A few hours of sleep would help with the day ahead.

But unlike most people working at AOL's Palo Alto, Calif., campus who were surely still hours from showing up at the sprawling complex, Simons was already there. He'd been living there for two months, hiding out at night on couches, eating the company's food, and exercising and showering in its gym. And now, with an angry security guard bellowing … Read more

President Barack Obama will be the special guest at a dinner tonight in Silicon Valley that will cost attendees a sizable sum to brush shoulders with the commander in chief.

Details on the dinner party and how much it will cost attendees have been mixed. However, the event is scheduled to take place at the Atherton, Calif., home of Lisa and Doug Goldman, well-known Bay Area philanthropists. According to reports, attendees will pay $35,800 for a ticket to the event. The Mercury News reported earlier this month that President Obama's campaign will receive $5,000 of that contribution, … Read more