What The Tech?

What the

December 2016

Down Three Paths Marketing Technology How to market technology

Technology business experience pg 14

pg 8

Future Electrical Engineers

No More Buffer

Preparing to become an engineer pg 20

Google Fiber in Austin pg 24

4

TABLE OF Letter from the Editor An open letter from our Editor

6

Biographies

Some information about the contributors

8

Marketing Technology

Thinking through your long term strategy

Top Ten Engineering Colleges

The best engineering colleges broken down

14 02 What the Tech?

Down Three Paths

12

Three different jobs of technology

CONTENTS Behind the Phone

The jobs behind making a phone

20

The Future of Engineering Preparing for an engineering job

Engineering Options

A comparison of four fields of engineering

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No More Buffer Is Google fiber worth it?

Best Internet Provider?

The top internet providers side-by-side

26 What the Tech? 03

Letter From The

Editor

By Emily Yue

Photo by Priya Malhotra

04 What the Tech?

“The magazine was totally worth all the hours we spent on it. The parties and laughs were pretty good too!�

W

elcome to our magazine. I sincerely wish you learn something from reading this issue of What the Tech?

A little bit about our magazine. It is a technology magazine based around the kind of technology that people use everyday. The manufacturing, advertising and selling of technology. In other word, the business side of technology.

I love technology. I love using technology, and finding out just what makes the little devices we use everyday work. The intricacy of each part working amazes me and the way technology seems to change the world around us is something I love to see happen. The way people change technology, and technology change people is something that is happening everyday. It is evident in the number of phones each household has now compared to 20 years ago or the number of business and jobs that are technology based. This magazine is here to tell you all about how.

I think technology is so important, and this magazine can inform you in some of the things I found so interesting. The magazine is fun, and interesting and there are actual things you can gain from reading our articles. Our magazine is made so that you’ll learn as much as possible Many hours was used in making the magazine the best it can be. From each one of the creators of this magazine running around helping each other, to the loud brainstorm sessions we had, this magazine was not easily made. But we did it and this is the result. Everyone in our group worked so hard. I think this is one of the best group ever. I am so grateful with everyone who helped us with this. I really hope you learn something from this that will help you in life.

What the Tech? 05

The Contributor’s Page Ben Fern is a new student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He grew up and was born in Austin, Texas. He is a rower at Austin Rowing Club, and loves spending his time there. He researched his article about Google fiber downtown at the fiber center. The people there were very nice and even gave him a t-shirt! He worked very hard on his article and hopes you enjoy reading it.

06 What the Tech?

Priya Malhotra is a freshman student in the Liberal arts and Science Academy. She lives in Austin, Texas, which is one of the most tech savvy cities in the world. This vibrant city that she lives in has inspired her to investigate technology further. Her findings are now published in this magazine with her own personal insight into her topic: marketing technology. She felt that making a product was very important, but when you can’t market a product properly, then all the hard work put into the product, would be for nothing. She focused on the proper techniques of marketing technology to specific audiences. She hopes that everyone will enjoy reading her article as she did exploring and, later, writing about the depths of marketing technology!

Conor Jones is a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He was born in Chicago but has grown up here in Austin, Texas. He is interested in all sorts of sciences and loves learning about the many different fields of science. He hopes you will enjoy his article about engineering.

What the Tech? 07

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08 What The Tech?

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What The Tech? 09

T

echnology is the glue that holds the modern world together. It is impossible to imagine a world without it. But technology companies have the challenging task of developing products that continue to appeal to their customers while attracting new customers.

High tech marketing has evolved tremendously and become very organized. No longer is it making a product and people will buy it.

Companies think through their long-term strategy, make products after careful consideration and feedback from their potential customers, and leverage all channels of distribution to the fullest extent. They also continue to think about how to remain competitive in a fast-changing world.

Even industries outside of mainstream technology use technology to become more competitive.

A very basic way of thinking about marketing technology is through 4 different aspects, which are commonly known as the 4 Ps of marketing. These are Price, Place, Promotion and Product. Price is selfexplanatory. Price is determined by the value it brings to customers, and also to ensure the company and its investors continue to make a profit while keeping the product affordable to buy.

Promotion means advertising and all other activities that make a company’s

product known to potential customers. Place means where to sell a product, such as on a website, through their own sales force (ex: a store), through their partners, or through a retail chain such as Walmart. The product is the item one is selling and what features come with it.

“All Ps must balance and support each other for your company to be successful” says Manoj Malhotra, a product consultant at Dell Technologies. There are some people who also

able to without such methods.

“This not only helps us save development costs and reduce drug prices, but we can now more quickly bring drugs to market thus saving perhaps thousands of live in some cases,” says Srini Sripada, a director of technology and promotion for Pfizer Inc.

Distribution Channels are another critical part of marketing. A distribution channel is a business, which could be considered as a ‘middleman’, through which a product is sold through to reach the customer. Companies leverage all channels of distribution when they sell their products.

Main distribution channels that companies use are websites, carrier stores, retail chains, and partner websites. Of course, companies can use different distribution channels to sell their products. They do not focus on “the best place” to sell their products and services, but on how to leverage each and every distribution channel to bring the most value to their customers. When they leverage the distribution channels, they examine them carefully to see how they can provide everything necessary for the customer. Every distribution channel has its own challenges.

Customers who go to retail stores and chains want the salesperson to explain the products to them.

Customers who go to websites want to do product investigation on their own.

Companies think through their long-term strategy, make products after careful consideration and feedback from their potential customers, and leverage all channels of distribution to the fullest extent.

10 What The Tech?

refer to a fifth P, which is positioning which refers to how customers perceive a company’s product.

For example, Volvo brand implies safety, while the BMW brand implies thrill of driving.

The product side of marketing can be shown in a drug company. Medicine can use Artificial Intelligence and high-speed processing to their advantage. In medicine, artificial intelligence and processing power help to speed up the drug development process. Artificial intelligence enables analysis of decades of data from past clinical trials and finding crossconnection which we would have never been

Art Credit: Priya Malhotra

“We have to equip each distribution channel with the specific needs of the type of customers who visit that distribution channel,” says Anoop Bhargava, a technology consultant at AT&T. This is because every customer wants something unique and personal. To appeal to every customer’s needs, they have to focus on all of their distribution channels, instead of just one in particular.

Having loyal customers are fundamental to any business. Every business has to be centered around customers since customer feedback is very important before, during and after the development of a product.

“I meet with a lot of customers all the time” says Malhotra, “I meet with [certain] customers and ask them what they need or don’t need in the future. I essentially ask them the challenges they are still facing so I can then also draw my own conclusions as to what features to add to our products.”

The representatives also meet with certain customers of their competitors and ask customers why they have not bought their products. This gives a company insights into what products potential customers will like.

Malhotra felt so strongly about this, he commented, “Every time I speak with customers I learn something new.”

Although, for the customer, the product is as important, as the price.

The customer is not focused on just the initial price they pay at time of delivery, they focus on the Total Cost of Ownership, also known as TCO, when they buy something.

They would rather pay more at the beginning if their long term maintenance cost is lower than that from a company’s competitors.

Often, companies will give their software free of charge, when consumers buy their hardware.

“Bottom line is that we focus on our overall revenue and profit with customers, not on what each individual part of the sales deal is,” says Malhotra, “We focus on what value, benefits and cost savings we bring to our customers – and then we decide how to price the whole deal in its entirety.”

Companies need to know how to appeal to different people from different cultures and different aspects of the world. For a company to be successful in the future, they have to go global and also make unique, new products (or sometimes enhance or alter their products) for different regions.

Bhargava, who works at AT&T, elaborated on how their company focuses on different regions in the world, “With huge growth still expected in mobile and internet worldwide, we will focus even more on developing regions.

We expect to have a more global workforce as we grow, so

Manoj Malhotra, with the CEO and founder of Dell Technologies, Michael Dell. we will truly have to have an understanding of cultural nuances. We will also become very nimble in creating products for different regions so we can fulfill the specific needs of our customers in different regions and countries.”

Srini Sripada, from Pfizer Inc., explained how medical plans being different in every country causes a struggle for global medicine companies, “Payment methods are different in every country.

America has multipayer systems with several insurances companies, whereas Canada is a single payer (government is the payee). Companies have to take all this into account, especially affordability, when they sell products.” Policies and regulations for companies can vary vastly by country.

They may need to negotiate different deals in different countries multiple times for the same product, because of different medical plans.

Sripada elaborated on this topic, “Pfizer is a very global company. However, drug approval processes are different in different countries. For example, only Ibuprofen dosages of 200 mg/tablet can be sold in the United States, but up to 600 milligrams/tablet in Hungary. This sounds trivial but is very complex to manage, especially when you sell in more than a 100 countries.”

All these factors combined make the in depth experience of marketing technology, which is a very complex topic. Just making a product and hoping people will buy it is not enough. Companies plan for years in advance and for different parts of the world. The customer and the products are the most important parts in marketing technology. Every activity must revolve around the customer.

Remaining competitive in this fast changing world is vital for every company.

They do not focus on “the best place” to sell their products and services, but on how to leverage each and every distribution channel to bring the most value to their customers.

What The Tech? 11

#3; University of

California Berkeley; The tuition is $26,322 for yearly full time students; 1,973 students enrolled; $90 application fee

#2; Stanford University; The tuition is $48,720 for yearly full time students; 3,601 #8; University of Illinois students enrolled; Urbana Champaign; The $125 application fee

tuition is $31,626 for yearly full time students; 3,195 students enrolled; $50 application fee

#4; California Institute of Technology; The tuition is $43,710 for yearly full time students; 545 students enrolled; $100 application fee

By Priya Malhotra

THE TOP 10 ENGINEERING COLLEGES

Take an in depth look at the Top Ten Engineering Colleges in America, by reading about statistics such as their tuition for yearly full time students (for texas students who pay taxes), the amount of students enrolled in their engineering program, and the application fee.

12 What The Tech?

#6; University of Michigan Ann Harbor; The tuition is $44,216 for yearly full time students; 3,005 students enrolled; $75 application fee

#9; Purdue University West Lafayette; The tuition is $10,330 for yearly full time students; 2,787 students enrolled; $60 application fee

#10; University of Texas Austin; The tuition is $9,564 for yearly full time students; 1,996 students enrolled; $65 application fee

#1; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; The tuition is $46,400 for yearly full time students; 3,123 students enrolled; $75 application fee

#5; Carnegie Mellon University; The tuition is $42,000 for yearly full time students; 3,288 students enrolled; $65 application fee

#7; Georgia Institute of Technology; The tuition is $27,872 for yearly full time students; 3,889 students enrolled; $75 application fee

What The Tech? 13

Down Three Paths Three Distinct Jobs

By Emily Yue

M

achines zip around above somebody, gliding smoothly as they carry big boxes of expensive wafer disks. People scurry by, checking machines or muttering to their colleagues about the state of this machine or that machine. Meanwhile, in another company, across town, somebody else is on their computer frantically trying to complete to latest job you have been assigned to do, the clock ticks by as the seconds drain out of your day. In the last place, people are looking at a cylinder glass case. A bright glowing purple blaze is jutting in the case as people check various gauges and record various numbers. Each of these jobs have different environments, tasks, and challenges. The is a common thread: technology.

There are different variation the field technology you can enter. Three of them, each different but also have similarities, are process engineer, plasma diagnostics, and software designer. Within these three jobs, there are many responsibilities that go with each job.

In the field of process engineer, everyone has their own specialties, One specialties is called diffusion. Diffusion is where you do help make the integrated circuits that go into smartphones, computers and other electronic devices, and it takes a good bit of experience getting a hang of this job according to Guozhen Yue, a process engineer who specializes in Diffusion at Samsung Austin Semiconductor . Another job, is plasma diagnostics. In this job, you analyze plasma and make semiconductor equipment, mainly designing the plasma source. Another job is being a software designer that works for a pharmaceutical company that does clinical trials for drugs. This job can be fast pace and might require you work some late nights.

Being a process engineer can be really tricky. The job “Diffusion” is part of a thousands steps in making the integrated circuit. A major part of being a process engineer is working on the diffusion step. Diffusion is a big step and if you mess up, that will affect everything down the line.

Photo by Guozhen Yue

The front of the Samsung Semiconductor company in Austin.

14 What the Tech?

Photo by Emily Yue

Guozhen Yue, a processor engineer at Samsung

“You should fit with other people’s personalities. If you always complain about other people of course you won’t get along with them.”

“Actually, to me, the job you are doing you never learn from your classes. In class you just learn the way of thinking.

For the exact information you need a job, you need to learn from work,” says, Guozhen Yue. Diffusion can be very hard and the people there need to try to find new ways to improve manufacturing everyday. Diffusion is mainly manufacturing and selling products, so they need to make sure the delivery is on time and the product is high quality. Many challenges that don’t appear in Research and Development, or R&D, appear in manufacturing. You have to make enough to sell and make a profit and it is critical that they don’t mess up. They have to work with each other also, because since the job diffusion is connected to a lot more steps. You have to work well with others and be flexible with whoever you are working with. “You should fit with other people’s personalities. If you always complain about other people of course you won’t get along with them.” Yue says on the subject. Sometimes you don’t get a choice with who you get to work with, but it is still critical to work as a team. Along with teamwork, you need to think logically. Sometimes a problem will appear in the process and when that happens you need to think logically to solve the problem.

“Actually the logical thinking is from school.” Yue said. “You see we do a lot of math problems. We have the

“If I don’t have a computer I can survive but if a patient doesn’t have the drug, they may suffer. So it’s very important there. I think for those hi-tech company if they don’t do it, it’s okay, people can still live on without it.”

science experiments. All benefits from school.” The job won’t always include the same thing every day. Many problems will come up and you need to discuss with your team members to resolve it. In you can help produce smartphones, computers, and other electronics that so many people use every day.

If you become a software engineer it might be a little different. If you decide to go into the computer science field, there are different job options you can choice. A specific one being a software designer for a pharmaceutical company. This company tests drugs for other pharmaceutical companies. When they get the information about whether the drug worked or not from their trails of the drug, they input it into the computer.

That’s where the software designer comes in. Unlike other computer science jobs that might be only centered around technology, a biology degree is very beneficial for being more efficient in their job. Though they’re not doing any of the actually testing, working with the other team members becomes much easier knowing the biology behind the experiments. It can help you understand what the people who are doing the experiments need to better the experiments and therefore more easily program the products to fit the experiment. You also know many of the terminology and can more easily program the product to fit all the criteria they want them to program. For this reason this job can be very hard. Unlike other jobs, an extra degree in an entirely different field is need. The work can also be very stressful.

Everything the company does is based off of whatever the contractor wants. The team has a goal that is set, and the team that is working on the specific project to need to reach that goal in time for the contractor or the company loses money. Because of this, this job can be extremely stressful and will keep you at work a lot of the time.

“So it’s pretty hard for my family because we don’t really have enough time to help the kids,” HaiYing Li says software designer for Pharmaceutical Product Designer. Despite the disadvantages, there are still great reason to go into this job field.

“If the drug works it can help many, many people.” HaiYing Li replied when asked about her reason for doing this job. Helping people can be really rewarding, but also can make the job even more stressful. You have to be very careful and try not to make any mistakes.

“Because it’s a human being’s life. HaiYing says.

“So it’s very important to be honest.” This job can be very intense and when starting any new job, it can very difficult, this can be even more difficult, because of the strict timelines they set. “So it wasn’t overwhelming but it was hard.” HaiYing Li says. Many times the programmers face challenges that aren’t easy to overcome and they need to think creatively to solve the problem. “I think as a programmer when you try to debug a program sometimes you get stuck and sometimes in several minutes you can figure it out. HaiYing Li says. “Sometimes a whole day.”

It’s like puzzle that depending on your skill and the difficulty of the problem, can take a long or short time to figure out. “Sometimes I just have to put it aside and do something else. Actually in a few minutes you may have a better idea to do it.” Li says.

Despite the challenges and the risks and the responsibility needed. The many people that benefits from people doing this job, can be very rewarding to people who go into this job.

“If the drug works it can help many, many people.”

Photo by HaiYing Li

HaiYing Li working on her computer

What the Tech? 15

“ If I don’t have a computer I can survive but if a patient doesn’t have the drug, they may die or suffer. So it’s very important there. I think for those hi-tech company if they don’t do it, it’s okay, people can still live on without it.” Li said. The drugs that they help get approved by the FDA can get into stores and save people’s lives.

Plasma diagnostics is a little less stressful, but can affect people’s lives just as much. People who have this job analyze plasma that goes in smartphone chips and other machines that help produce technology, and determine if the plasma is capable for use. They also manufacture the machine that produces plasma. The job is not very difficult if you can learn all the information that helps determine if the plasma is usable.

“The beginning was maybe a little difficult, but you can learn the research little by little, it is easy to learn such a skill,” says Zhiyin Chen, a scientist who works at Tokyo Electron America, who does plasma diagnostics.

Working at a company like Tokyo Electron American means the people there work more on manufacturing and selling. “Here you can contribute your ideas, you can make more connections to the real product” Zhiyin Chen says. Because it’s more manufacturing, and you get to work with the real product more the job can be harder.

Teamwork and a friendly environment are important to make sure the product are able to sell. “In the university we also work on the small part but here everybody needs to make effort on their own part then builds everything together” Zhiyin Chen says.

Like being a process engineer, being efficient at this job takes experience and an ability to learn. “I think now the work is mostly based on experience but the knowledge learned in school help us to learn by ourselves,” Chen says. The work can be learned quickly, if you focus and work hard. If you have a family it might hard to get a promotion. “For me it is a little bit different because I need to take care of kids. If the kids need me to pick them up from somewhere, I need to come back from work.

So sometimes I ask for the leave, so it’s not very easy to be promoted. If I focus more on work, I think I could get promotion.

But currently I still keep the same position. “ Zhiyin Chen says. If you don’t mind working a little harder in the beginning, you can learn some very interesting things and have great place to work.

These three jobs are very different and suited to different people. Making sure the job fits you, is very important. The three jobs mentioned are so different, all three with different responsibilities, challenges, goals and experiences. Regardless of the differences though, three jobs do try to do the same thing.

Trying to help make people’s lives easier by using technology.

“I think now the work is mostly based on experience but the knowledge learned in school help us to learn by ourselves,” 16 What The Tech?

“For me it is a little bit different because I need to take care of kids. If the kids need me to pick them up from somewhere, I need to come back from work. So sometimes I ask for the leave, so it’s not very easy to be promoted. If I focus more on work, I think I could get promotion. But currently I still keep the same position. “

By Zhiyin Chen

Plasma Source, with the pink colored plasma

By Zhiyin Chen

Zhiyin working in the “fab”, handling plasma

Photo by Emily Yue

Zhiyin working on her computer. Computer shows slides of plasma and plasma chambers

Photo by Emily Yue

Zhiyin working on her computer. Computer shows an essay she is working on.

What The Tech? 17

Behind The Phone Take pictures

Image Sensors

Image processor $99,844$102,824 per year

Digital signal and Image Processing

Browsing internet, sharing files, playing music and call.

Wafer Chips

Process engineer $71,169 per year

Engineering Degree, Chemical Degree, Manufacturing Degree

By Emily Yue

Your phone is something you use everyday. But what actually allows the phone to do so many of the things that makes your life easier? Here you can learn the major parts of the phone and learn what makes your phone so great . You can also learn the many jobs that are included in the process of manufacturing phones.

Find out the information you’ll need if you think you want to join any of these great job fields.

18 What the Tech?

Middleware

Enable smartphone applications Middleware Developer/ Middle Programmer

Computer Science computer engineer

Around $85,893 per year

Kernel

Manages software and hardware Linux Systems Programmer

Around $140,000 per year

User Interface Framework

Computer Science computer engineer

Responsible for the graphics

User Interfaces designer or User Interface engineer (UI)

Around $64,000 per year

Digital or graphic design, Human-computer interaction, Interactive media

What the Tech? 19

Future Electrical Engineers Preparing to become an engineer

E

By Conor Jones

lectrical engineering. One of the most dynamic and successful industries of this age, and one that is very sought after by students of today.

But how does one become a successful electrical engineer?

The first, and most important, part of becoming an engineer is, of course, your education. Most of your high school courses won’t matter too much, but taking advanced sciences course in fields that interest you will save you money and hours spent in college classes. For your college courses, the requirements for all engineers are several math and science classes, specifically calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra, as well as physics 1 and 2, which will cover mechanics and electricity, and one course of chemistry. These are taken during years one and two of college.

After that, you move on to what you want to specialize in.

“So in my college there was pre-engineering, first two years, and then what they call professional engineering, where you focus on your actual field of study,” Firas Abughazale, an engineer at NXP, says. In these classes, everybody has to take electricity 1, thermodynamics, statics and strength of material, and many more advanced math classes. After all those classes, you finally get to specialize and narrow down your courses. You will take whatever else is required for your field, and then receive your bachelor’s degree. If you plan to become an engineer who works

20 What The Tech?

only in the industry, then most likely you want to get your master’s degree. You will take courses like circuit design for microchips, and modern control theory, which, as Mr. Firas describes it, “allows you to understand and analyze control systems that control multiple things at the same time.” This applies to various situations, such as the autonomous car.

Another subject you will study is random variables and systems. This helps analyze one of the most important variables in electrical engineering: noise.

“Noise also affects computing systems, microprocessors. When you have hundreds of signals next to each other, and each one of them is flipping 1, 0, 1, 0, well every time one signal flips from 0 to 1, it will make electromagnetic interference to the signals next to it, so it will jolt them on the right or on the left.” Firas says. Noise interferes with the circuits and causes jumps and shakes in the frequency of the chip.

The next step after receiving your master’s degree is to decide

“Not all companies

are equal, and not all companies are equally creative.”

whether or not to get a PhD, or go into the industry. If you decide to go to the doctorate level as Sergio Ajuria did, your first few years will consist mainly of rigorous academics, followed by a very challenging test. If you pass, you start collaborating with a professor.

“You have to do what’s called original research,” Mr. Ajuria says, “You link up with a professor, and all of these professors at a university are doing research, and by definition research is original work.”

In order to receive doctorate, students must contribute new information to the knowledge base of their field. Students put together all that they’ve learned, and with guidance from their professor, and apply it to an actual problem that hasn’t been solved.

However, it isn’t always the best step, especially if you want to pursue a career in the industry. You will spend a lot of time in academic research for concepts much farther into the future than the research being done in the industry, and you won’t get an advantage in the job market. However, if you are thinking of working in the industry for a while, then retiring and possibly going into academia, then a PhD is definitely for you.

Once you’ve graduated with a master’s degree, the next step is to decide where you want to apply.

“Not all companies are equal, and not all companies are equally creative. So there are companies that are specialized in creating new things like Qualcomm The background is a picture of a

and Apple, and there are companies that just like to mass produce.” Firas says.

While working in a creative and innovative company has its perks, such as high demand and competition, it also has a very high chance of failure.

Companies cannot predict what will be successful and a good investment, and when research and development fails, the company loses money. It is very difficult to predict what kinds of products will succeed.

“What you’re gonna

want to choose is not what’s hot today, but what’s gonna be hot 10 years later.”

“What you’re gonna want to choose is not what’s hot today, but what’s gonna be hot ten years later,” Firas says. “For example, when I started working in the early 90s, what was hot was PCs. Everybody was going into the internet, web designs, opening up websites, stuff like that. Ten years ago it was the iPhone, but today, ten years later, Apple sales isn’t doing as well because everybody has a cellphone in his pocket. That market has saturated.”

What does it take to survive in your job in an ever changing industry?

One thing that will keep you employed is a large amount of technical skill.

That, combined with good teamwork and communication, will make you well sought after. Unfortunately, excellence isn’t always enough.

“If you have the stomach to be there, and you have the technical skill to be there, you’ll be able to survive the downturns. But even the best technical people will be laid off,” Firas says. “It’s strictly business.” Despite your skill in your field, it is almost microchip board. Photo by: Tech’12

“In your lifetime, you’re gonna get knocked

down, and then it’s your choice to get back up, to face the challenges ahead and make the most of it, because life is that way.” certain you will change companies at least once throughout your career. This unfortunate event is inevitable in such a competitive industry. The best thing you can do in times like those is just to move on to the next part of your life. It requires a lot of emotional resilience to be able to get back on your feet and get working again, but it’s the only way.

“In your lifetime, you’re gonna get knocked down, and then it’s your choice to get back up, to face the challenges ahead and make the most of it, because life is that way.” Mr. Ajuria says. It is also important to be active in your profession. Sergio lost his job as a manager when NXP acquired the company. After only two weeks, the company that took his job hired him.

“In our market economy, you have to be active in order to make decisions for yourself. You have to seek and head for your own goals,” Mr. Ajuria says. “You can be passive and you can wait for things to happen, or you can be active and you can be one of the people who shape what that market economy

looks like. So, if you’re an aggressive engineer, you’re coming up with the latest and greatest things that people are excited about, and then you’ll succeed.”

Finally, you have to predict what the next “hot field” will be when you are an engineer. You need to have a good idea about whether what you study will pay off in the long run and be interesting to you, but still profitable in the future. Firas says you must make an educated guess based on the current trends of today.

“Nobody can predict what will happen in 4 years or 8 years, but you will have that amount of time to decide what field you want to study, and at least 4 years after that before you get your first paycheck. That’s 8-12 years already,” Firas says.

“If you have the stomach to be there, and you

have the technical skill to be there, you’ll be able to survive the downturns. But even the best technical people will be laid off. It’s strictly business.”

What The Tech? 21

Engineering Options

By Conor Jones One of the largest branches in engineering, it can range from designing wiring in buildings and vehicles to making the microchips that power your phone. This is a good choice for those who want to be on the cutting edge of the latest technology, designing the products of the future.

22 What The Tech?

A good fit for those interested in chemistry and physics, chemical engineers design chemical processes that fulfill many roles for many industries.

This can be anything from making a paint that dries quicker to creating a chemical reaction that will affect proteins in the human body to help patients with damaged organs.

With so many different branches and degrees in the �ield of engineering, aspiring engineers may �ind it dif�icult to pick the right kind of engineering for them. I have prepared some information on the biggest and most important engineering branches to help you make your choice.

A very advanced and specific type of engineering, but is important enough to have its own branch. Aerospace engineering is the design of planes, jets, rockets, satellites, and anything associated with flight or air travel. Heavily involved work with all sorts of with physics, and different branches. engineers from bright engineers Good fit for very at mathematical who are excellent physic and problem solving.

A very large field, with many different subsets within it. Focuses on physics and external design of machines, and uses many different kinds of engineering knowledge to do so. Good for those who want to work in more traditional engineering and who want to know how most things work.

What The Tech? 23

How Google fiber is changing the way you use the internet

By Ben Fern

T

he era of waiting for a Youtube video to stop buffering so that you can see yesterday’s Shark Tank might be over. Companies like Google, AT&T and Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable) offer a new internet experience. These companies use a new fiber optic cable with lightning speeds up to 1000 mbps, averaging 10 times faster than last year.

Google first announced its internet service, fiber, in December 2012 in Kansas City. Five months later it expanded the service to Provo, Utah and Austin, Texas. In Austin, it took 18 months

Lillia said. And it appears to be true. Today, for $80 per month, AT&T offers 75 mbps internet with TV service. TWC, which just merged with Spectrum, offers 100 mbps internet with phone service for only $60 per month. However, speeds promised by the competition may not be achievable, Lillia warns, she says instead of using fiber optic cables for the entire line, the competition uses a mixture of fiber and copper line. This slows down speed and can result in speeds slower than promised.

The price plays a key role in people’s decision making.

before installations began.

The Google fiber installation across Austin, however, was neither fast nor easy.

Because the company had to install a new network of entirely fiber optic lines, it was like installing a complete new utility.

Google laid down thousands of miles of cable and connected it to people’s houses.

“We’re building a new infrastructure in the city,” said Lilia, a sales representative at the Google fiber space in Austin. “We’re putting in our own cable. The difference is that we’re not putting in partial copper and fiber cables, we’re using just fiber optics.

We’re also using a dedicated fiber optic line to each house, so people don’t share speed.”

And that has meant some bumps along the way. According to Austin 311, two and a half times more complaints were filed about Google installations than their competitors, combined.

Also, Google pierced a sewer line in Barton Hills causing more than $6000 in damage. Later, the Austin water utility conceded the line might not have been marked. Google and the utility split the cost of repair.

One customer, Amanda Ward of Barton Hills, said she found Google contractors on her property without her knowledge.

“One day I came home and they were in my backyard,” Ward said.

When she approached them, they said, “Oh, well no one was here so we jumped the fence.”

Despite the rough start, people continue to sign up. The 2013 rollout started in Dove Springs in South Austin, and expanded to Montopolis, East Riverside, Barton Hills and Onion Creek. If you live in an area where Google fiber is available, the options are $50 per month for 100 megabits per second (mbps), $70 per month for 1000 mbps and $130 per month for 1000 mbps with TV service.

You can also add Google phone to any plan for an extra $10 per month.

Google claims their prices are driving down those of the competition. “We create better pricing and better competition,”

Brittani Sonnenberg just bought a condominium in south Austin. When she was shopping for an internet provider, she noticed her new house was already equipped for fiber. When she looked into it, she found the prices compared well with what she had been paying at her last apartment. “[Fiber] is slightly cheaper,” Sonnenberg said. “It’s $50 a month, and I was paying like $58 [for Spectrum.]”

Both Sonnenberg and Ward said getting fiber installed took much longer than expected. In Ward’s case, the wait was excessive. “Well, they [a nearby neighbor] got their’s a half a year late, and then we got ours a year later,” Ward’s son, Ash, said. “It was pretty badly done,” added Ward. In fact, Ward thought she would be charged a service fee for the installation and then receive free internet at a reduced speed. Instead, the charge was never made and she eventually had to pay a monthly fee for her service.

The rough installation did leave a bitter taste in Ward’s mouth.

When asked whether the wait was worthwhile, Ward said, “I probably wouldn’t have switched, I definitely wouldn’t have switched.”

Google’s customer service could be a reason why people who switch to fiber remain with fiber. Sonnenberg found the customer service much better than she hoped. “There’s a common complaint that with service providers, that companies are inefficient and frustrating, and you can never get out of them.” she said.

“With Google, I found that everyone tries to be very helpful with customer service, and the personality felt kinder or more engaging than with Spectrum.”

Now that the fiber is in place, both customers found the speeds as fast as promised. Ward said she’s never had a problem

24 What The Tech?

No More Buffer I probably wouldn’t “ have switched, I

with slow speeds and the service has been consistent. Ward’s download speed is 935 mbps and she is on the 1000 mbps plan.

Sonnenberg’s download speed is 99 mbps and she is on the 100 mbps plan. So despite the rough start, the fiber is delivering.

Because the fiber lines are laid down and providing such fast data delivery speeds, Lilia said the major reason for slow speeds is no longer the cable, but the device itself. A 4K TV hooked up to the latest Mac mini demonstrates how easy it is to watch 4K videos with fiber. A video of skydivers parachuting off a building jumps off the screen because of its intense clarity and detail.

There are so many pixels that the video looks three dimensional, although it is displayed on a flat screen. Not only that,

de�initely wouldn’t have switched

”

- Ward

other cities for the time being. Still, in Austin, prices are down and competition is up. And once customers have fiber, they are satisfied enough not to change. As people buy higher-end equipment, like 4K TVs, the advantages of fiber will become more apparent. A future of Mark Cuban fighting with Kevin O’Leary to invest in the next million dollar business in stunning 4K is not that far away.

the Mac mini is only capable of displaying 2K pixels, not 4K. “Yes, so imagine when you have 4K how looks,” Lillia

good it said.

Like other providers, fiber requires a number of hardware boxes to provide its service. There is one box that is the wifi receiver, one for the DVR, and a third for the TV receiver, if a customer signs up for that service. The boxes are much less clunky looking that the boxes provided by Spectrum, looking much more like the sleek lines of an Apple product. This modern style is a characteristic of the Google brand, which has strived to be synonymous with innovation and the future.

The television interface provided by Google fiber is exceptionally intuitive and customizable. Instead of scrolling through the guide, like on the Spectrum system, the user can create a personalized guide profile that shows all your favorite channels right next to each other. Each member of household can have a profile as well. This solves the problem of having to remember which channel number CBS is, when you want to watch the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

While the Google fiber installation hasn’t caused a revolution in Austin, it is slowly making positive changes to internet delivery. While the roll out wasn’t easy, it is moving forward in Austin.

However, Google recently announced that it will not expand to any

Photo By Ben Fern

The three different fiber boxes that are installed when buying the fiber 1000 + TV plan. Going from left to right the different boxes are: Network box, TV box, and phone box.

“

One day I came home and they were in my backyard

”

- Ward

What The Tech? 25

Best Internet Provider?

DIRECTV + Internet - Up to 6 Mbps internet speed with unlimited data + DIRECTV SELECT Package all for $80/mo **PRICES IS FOR THE FIRST 24 MONTHS W/ 24 MONTHS OF TV**

By Ben Fern

Introduction The top internet providers have confusing pricing for different internet packages.

Here’s a quick and easy way to glance over the best value internet package.

Internet + DIRECTV + AT&T Phone - Up to 6 Mbps internet speed with unlimited data, DIRECTV SELECT Package, and Digital Home Phone all for $90/mo **PRICES IS FOR THE FIRST 24 MONTHS W/ 24 MONTHS OF TV**

TV Select and Spectrum Internet - Up to 100 Mbps with unlimited data for $30/mo + TV with over 125 channels for $60/mo **PRICE IS ONLY FOR THE FIRST YEAR**

26 What The Tech?

Internet - Up to 6 Mbps internet speed with 1TB of data/mo for $30.00/mo **PRICE IS FOR THE FIRST 12 MONTHS**

Fiber 100 - Up to 100 Mbps with unlimited data for $50/mo

Fiber 1000 - Up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) with unlimited data for $70/mo

Fiber 1000 + TV - Up to 1000 Mbps with unlimited data + TV with over 220 channels all for $130/mo

Fiber AT&T Spectrum

Triple Play Gold - Up to 100 Mbps with unlimited data, TV with over 200 channels, and unlimited home phone calling all for $70/mo **PRICE IS ONLY FOR THE FIRST YEAR**

Spectrum Internet - Up to 100 Mbps with unlimited data for $40/mo **PRICE IS ONLY FOR THE FIRST YEAR**

Best Value: Fiber What The Tech? 27