Bio

Patrick Thibodeau is a senior editor at Computerworld covering the intersection of public policy and globalization and its impact on IT careers. He also writes about high performance computing, data centers including cloud, and enterprise management. In a distant life, he was a weather observer in the Navy, a daily newspaper reporter, and author of a book about the history of New Britain, Conn.  

I live and work in Washington DC and sometimes write about federal policy, among other things, hence my Twitter: DCgov

Latest Posts by Patrick
Cover Oracle Magazine

Did you see Ironman this weekend? Did you notice the Oracle Exadata server in the van?

No spoiler alert needed. I’m not giving anything away about the movie. It’s a decent popcorn crunching film. But what left me in awe wasn’t the film, but what may be the most outrageous product placement ever by an IT company.

The movie makes several references to Oracle databases as our hero, Tony Stark, battles the latest evil-doer.

May 06, 2013 11:59 AM EDT

Creative people are inventive throughout their life. For them, the creative process is about continuing advancement. But in high-tech there is a tendency to believe that creativity is the domain of youth, something that may be true at Facebook.

Norm Matloff, a professor of computer science at the University of California at Davis, makes the argument, in his most recent newsletter, that Facebook favors the young in hiring.

April 08, 2013 11:48 AM EDT

Within weeks of getting a Chromebook Samsung Series 5 550, I was checking eBay to see what it could fetch.

You may like the Chrome browser and Google Docs on a full featured machine, but moving to a Chromebook is like stepping from the simulator into the cockpit.    

Absolutely everything in a browser? No note pad? No delete key? No native apps?

April 01, 2013 5:06 PM EDT

If the White House is a big supporter of telecommuting why, then, isn't Yahoo?

February 26, 2013 1:22 PM EST

The spouse of a military vet writes about challenges facing vets, which include for-profit colleges and H-1B visa workers.

February 22, 2013 11:43 AM EST

The effort in the U.S. Senate to increase the H-1B visa cap may begin to deliver benefits immediately to Indian IT outsourcing firms, well before the bill sees final action.

February 08, 2013 5:43 PM EST
The Lynden Tribune, 1920, Washington State

Data caps are the clearest sign that America is in decline. We either come up with a strategy for removing data caps, or surrender the future.

 

February 04, 2013 5:15 PM EST

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is considered as someone who will help shape immigration policy for the Republicans. But what will Rubio do about tech immigration?

January 17, 2013 1:21 PM EST

Elevators once had attendants. When elevator operators were replaced by buttons, did shoppers start using stairs in protest?  I don’t think so, but going to the human cashier at my local Safeway or Giant feels like an act of resistance.

January 07, 2013 4:06 PM EST

The problem with unions is they can’t protect jobs. They can’t stop a company from moving jobs overseas, closing offices, and replacing workers with automation.

I grew up in Connecticut, a heavily unionized state. In the post-war period, the state’s industries made typewriters, appliances, bearings, locks, tools.  None of them survived.

December 13, 2012 1:59 PM EST
Previous Page