Dawn of the Developers
Despite a tough climb, indie developers are pushing the Capital Region’s gaming industry to the next level
The Capital Region has a couple of homegrown video game success stories, but most growth is taking place in its community of indie developers. As the region seeks to brand itself more as a tech hub, these gamers want to ensure their industry is part of the push.
UC Davis Beta Lab Studies ‘Maker Movement’ in Youth
Research project with mobile lab evaluates how students learn STEM
The Maker Movement is, simply put, an initiative that engages students through projects they like — sewing for fashion, using a 3-D printer — before subsequently integrating traditional academic learning. But Maker Movement is more than a return to the old.
From the Editors: October Business Recap
Comstock’s monthly look at the business news in the Capital Region. Here’s some stuff that happened in October.
Startup of the Month: Alphapura Robotics
To impact the world, local business seeks to turn trash into 3D treasure
The big idea was garbage.
Frederick Janson was in the garage, taking the trash out of his first house in North Natomas. That was when he noticed how full the blue recycle bin was with plastic containers. He realized these recyclables he was paying somebody to take away could be used as building materials.
From the Editors: September Business Recap
Comstock’s monthly look at business news in the Capital Region. Want to know what happened in September? Then read on, my friends.
Lawmakers Missed a ‘Green’ Opportunity; Could Consumers Pay the Price?
Environmentalists are accustomed to notching wins in the California Legislature, where their projects often receive a friendly hearing from a supermajority of Democrats and a governor with a laser focus on climate change.
Taking Charge
New UC Davis Chancellor Dr. Gary May on innovation, strategic planning and student outreach
New UC Davis Chancellor Dr. Gary May arrived at the university with a stellar reputation for innovation, leadership and academic equality for all students. We sat down with him recently to discuss his plans and goals for one of the region’s landmark institutions.
Dr. Robot
On the cusp of the new automation age, health care providers have more high-tech tools than ever before, which may forever change medicine — one robot at a time
From a robot’s perspective, humans probably look like deeply flawed creatures: imprecise, accident-prone, injury-ridden, hazardous — walking glitches waiting to happen.
This view isn’t exactly wrong.
Back and Forward: Dr. Jeffery Wajda on Electronic Health Records
Dr. Jeffery Wajda, chief medical information officer at UC Davis, offers his insight into the future of digital data.
The Long Reach
As smart technology grows more essential to modern ag, farmers languish in digital dead zones
Infrastructure improvements are costly, and with too few customers spread over too great a distance, are usually not worth the return on investment for business.
But some ISPs are finding ways.