Microsoft Announces Its Own Stimulus Plan
Last week, at the National Governors Association conference in Washington D.C., Microsoft publicized details of a new initiative, Elevate America, designed to teach computer skills to two million people over the next three years. The program offers two primary plans, one available immediately from Microsoft, and one to be offered in conjunction with local and state governments.
The governments, a list that began with Florida, New York and Washington, and expanded to include California, Colorado, Delaware, Minnesota and Virginia, will distribute a million vouchers to be used for Microsoft eLearning courses and select certification exams. Available immediately at the organization's Web site are courses providing not only basic help, such as starting an e-mail account and creating a resume, but also information about certification exams and internship opportunities.
In an effort to provide help during the current economic crisis, Microsoft hopes to give people access to the technical skills required in the modern workforce. Washington governor Christine Gregoire praises homegrown Microsoft's efforts, which come at what the company describes as a "significant cost."
The struggling economy is making life difficult for many Americans, and now a lack of updated technology is making it worse for the jobless. How's that, you ask? Because the soaring amount of unemployment claims across the country has crashed e-mail sites and turned phone lines into virtual traffic jams, making it harder for people to get aid.
In case you've been waiting for it, the second Internet bubble might be on the verge of bursting. Banks and mortgages aren't the only things collapsing in the now official recession -- Web 2.0 startups are starting to drop like flies.
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