Features

• Immigration reform may spur software robotics

  The Senate immigration bill's H-1B restrictions have clearly upset Indian firms. But sometimes being in a tough spot can prompt new ways of approaching problems. One firm is implementing software robots.

• An H-1B jobs database the tech industry may hate

  The intent of the comprehensive immigration bill's H-1B database is to improve the odds that a U.S. worker will be hired over a foreign one. But its effectiveness may depend on fuzzy terms such as "good faith" hiring, and enforcement. This is where the real legislative battle may be fought.

• Supply chain 2013: Stop playing whack-a-mole with security threats

  IT can never take all the risk out of a supply chain, but it can help organizations minimize their vulnerability in a world of new threats.

• H-1B demand this year will be fast, furious

  The U.S. begins accepting new H-1B visa petitions on Monday, April 1, and fast demand is expected. This is going to be followed by much fury.

• In online sales tax debate, $1M business is 'mom and pop'

  As Congress considers a law requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes nationally, debate is heating up over the revenue threshold for triggering collections.

• Who ratted out Microsoft on browser ballot absence?

  No Microsoft browser rival would comment on, much less confirm, that it reported the omission of the browser ballot to European antitrust regulators -- an omission that led to a $732 million fine this week against Microsoft.

• The sequester will hurt tech nationally

  The federal government's automatic budget cuts, due to begin Friday, may accelerate cost savings measures already in place. But there will be damage to IT spending, and a period of uncertainty as the government reacts to the cuts.

• Top users of H-1B visas are offshore outsourcers, Computerworld study finds

  The biggest users of H-1B visas are offshore outsourcers, many based in India, or U.S.-based companies whose employees are mostly located overseas, according to government data obtained and analyzed by Computerworld.

• Opinion: Looking forward to a future Internet

  Going into last month the future of the Internet, to borrow a phrase from the great film noir movie "A Touch of Evil," looked like it may have been all used up. The feeling of the traditional telephone folk and controlling governments was that the Internet had done just about enough of this changing the future stuff -- thanks very much -- now it was time for a bit of control. But the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai did not turn out quite the way that those who would control the Internet wanted. Nor, did the WCIT turn out quite the way that those of us who wanted a more hands-off future would have liked.

• FTC gives Google slap on wrist instead of face

  After a nearly two-year antitrust investigation, Google escaped with more of a slap on the wrist than a slap in the face, say industry analysts.

• Google's antitrust settlement means few changes

  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's antitrust settlement with Google will create few changes in the way the company operates, both critics and fans of the deal said.

• SOPA blowback, and other tech predictions for 2013

  The most controversial tech issue taken up by the outgoing Congress was, by far, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Here's the outlook for legislation for the next Congress.

• Fiscal cliff or not, it's already rough for federal IT vendors

  If Congress doesn't avert the fiscal impasse, automatic budget cuts could reduce federal IT spending by $66 billion in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, according to an analysis by the industry group CompTIA.

• What Obama's re-election may mean for technology

  The US presidential election result leaves President Barack Obama in the White House and maintains the balance of power in Congress. In many longstanding technology debates, policy experts see little movement forward, although lawmakers may look for compromises on a handful of issues.

• Tech issues don't make much of an appearance in US presidential campaign

  With the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday, it's fair to say that technology policy hasn't risen to the top of the agenda in the debate between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.