EMC Head Count Soars Past 50,000: EMC of Hopkinton hit an employee head count of 50,000 worldwide amid healthy sales of its data-storage computers and software. The company's s most recent official employee tally, disclosed in its annual report, stood at 48,500 on Dec. 31, but the company has added hundreds of jobs since then. Note, however, that much of EMC’s recent growth has come on the West Coast, where its majority-owned VMware business is booming, accounting for about 14 percent of sales and about 19 percent of profits. Boston Herald Clean Tech Incubator Launches: A group of entrepreneurs have created a hands-on workshop to bring their clean-energy ideas to life. Greentown Labs held its official opening last week, bringing entrepreneurs, city officials and investors looking to plug into the clean-energy technology scene. About 40 people from 10 fledgling companies have moved into a former baker and confectioner's supply warehouse in South Boston. CNET More Training for Green Jobs: Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit education and workforce development organization, will expand green job training for workers in Boston and other cities. The project — the GreenWays Initiative — will focus on skills training for green jobs in auto technology, construction, manufacturing and utilities. The initiative is funded by an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. PR Newswire Verizon Is Boston's Fastest Cell Network: PC Magazine says Verizon 4G is the fastest wireless network in Boston, with average download speeds higher than 8Mbps and peak speeds approaching 16Mbps. The network was also solid and consistent from Charlestown to Jamaica Plain. No other network fared as well. PC Magazine Blue Fang Is Laying Off Development Staff: Waltham-based Blue Fang Games is letting go all of its development staff. The website Gamasutra cited “a source close to the studio” who said the company is laying off “the entirety of its development staff.” Blue Fang is best known for its Zoo Tycoon franchise of games, and also developed Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and The Oregon Trail for Facebook. Recently the company made a strong push into social online games for Facebook and mobile devices. Mass High Tech Boston Hosts Two Hot Startups: Yottaa and SiteSpect have similar goals: to make websites run faster. Though the companies are at different stages and have different challenges, they compete in the realm of Web performance optimization — software that recodes webpage content to streamline it for browsers. Although different companies have been providing such technology for years, there hasn’t yet been one winning formula for the ultimate web optimization. With bandwidth demands increasing, the need for such solutions has never been greater. Xconomy Bay State and Israel Join Forces for R&D: Massachusetts and Israel said they will commit $2 million to collaborate on innovation and entrepreneurship in technology, life sciences and clean energy. Also, Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray announced a strategic R&D agreement on advanced tissue engineering between UMass Dartmouth and universities in Finland and Northern Ireland. Both deals were announced at the annual BIO convention in Washington, D.C. The Israeli collaboration will be known as the Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership (MIIP). Mass High Tech Boston Pulse: EMC Grows, Green Incubator Launches
EMC Head Count Soars Past 50,000: EMC of Hopkinton hit an employee head count of 50,000 worldwide amid healthy sales of its data-storage computers and software. The company's s most recent official employee tally, disclosed in its annual report, stood at 48,500 on Dec. 31, but the company has added hundreds of jobs since then. Note, however, that much of EMC’s recent growth has come on the West Coast, where its majority-owned VMware business is booming, accounting for about 14 percent of sales and about 19 percent of profits. Boston Herald Clean Tech Incubator Launches: A group of entrepreneurs have created a hands-on workshop to bring their clean-energy ideas to life. Greentown Labs held its official opening last week, bringing entrepreneurs, city officials and investors looking to plug into the clean-energy technology scene. About 40 people from 10 fledgling companies have moved into a former baker and confectioner's supply warehouse in South Boston. CNET More Training for Green Jobs: Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit education and workforce development organization, will expand green job training for workers in Boston and other cities. The project — the GreenWays Initiative — will focus on skills training for green jobs in auto technology, construction, manufacturing and utilities. The initiative is funded by an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. PR Newswire Verizon Is Boston's Fastest Cell Network: PC Magazine says Verizon 4G is the fastest wireless network in Boston, with average download speeds higher than 8Mbps and peak speeds approaching 16Mbps. The network was also solid and consistent from Charlestown to Jamaica Plain. No other network fared as well. PC Magazine Blue Fang Is Laying Off Development Staff: Waltham-based Blue Fang Games is letting go all of its development staff. The website Gamasutra cited “a source close to the studio” who said the company is laying off “the entirety of its development staff.” Blue Fang is best known for its Zoo Tycoon franchise of games, and also developed Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and The Oregon Trail for Facebook. Recently the company made a strong push into social online games for Facebook and mobile devices. Mass High Tech Boston Hosts Two Hot Startups: Yottaa and SiteSpect have similar goals: to make websites run faster. Though the companies are at different stages and have different challenges, they compete in the realm of Web performance optimization — software that recodes webpage content to streamline it for browsers. Although different companies have been providing such technology for years, there hasn’t yet been one winning formula for the ultimate web optimization. With bandwidth demands increasing, the need for such solutions has never been greater. Xconomy Bay State and Israel Join Forces for R&D: Massachusetts and Israel said they will commit $2 million to collaborate on innovation and entrepreneurship in technology, life sciences and clean energy. Also, Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray announced a strategic R&D agreement on advanced tissue engineering between UMass Dartmouth and universities in Finland and Northern Ireland. Both deals were announced at the annual BIO convention in Washington, D.C. The Israeli collaboration will be known as the Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership (MIIP). Mass High Tech 