Increased Importation of
Foreign Workers Is Topic
Of Conference at UCSD
MusicMatch Inc., a Rancho Bernardo music software company, said it signed an agreement with Sina.com, a Silicon Valley search engine company, to offer its product to those who speak and read Chinese.
While the agreement theoretically gives MusicMatch access to China’s population of 1.3 billion people, the main users of the product initially will come from Chinese Internet users in the United States and developed countries, MusicMatch said.
The software allows Sina users to download, organize and play music files from the Internet.
Sunnyvale-based Sina.com was the most visited Chinese site on the Internet, according to CNNIC, a trade group tracking Chinese Web use. It has about 3.1 million registered users.
MusicMatch claims some 5.5 million users. A recent study by IDC, a Massachusetts research firm, found Internet usage in China last year at less than 4 million, but by 2004 it could rise to 33 million.
Formed in 1997 by former executives of Hewlett-Packard and HNC Software, MusicMatch grew from about 30 employees last year to its current staff of 100.
Company spokesman Gary Brotman said growth has come mainly from the sale of its software to manufacturers of digital music players and PCs, and from software upgrades.
The company’s main product, Jukebox, is provided free to users, but upgrades that allow users to print color jewel cases and record CDs faster can cost $30.
Brotman wouldn’t reveal revenues or financial performance of privately-held MusicMatch. In March, the company said it received $16.6 million in venture capital funding from Redpoint Ventures of Menlo Park.
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Rent A Foreigner: The issue of increased importing of skilled foreign-born workers to San Diego and other high-tech cities is the topic of a two-day conference May 12 and 13, at UCSD.
The conference, International Migration of the Highly Skilled, is sponsored by the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies and will bring together leading U.S., Canadian, German, Indian and Mexican experts to discuss various aspects of the issue. It is free and open to the public.
Wayne Cornelius, director of CCIS, said foreign-born scientists and engineers are a rapidly growing segment of this country’s high-tech labor force, and the increased reliance by many of the industries on these workers has provoked heated debate in Congress.
“Recent estimates of the nationwide shortage of computer scientists, programmers and systems analysts range from 269,000 to 346,000 at a time when the number of U.S.-born students embarking on high-technology related careers is declining,” he said.
Two years ago, Congress raised the number of visas granted to foreign born workers from 65,000 annually to 115,000. Last year that quota was exhausted by mid-March.
There are bills pending in Congress to increase the number to 200,000, or provide an unlimited number of visas subject to various conditions.
The conference is the first for CCIS, which was established last year at UCSD’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. It is the West Coast’s only academic center for the study of worldwide immigration patterns, according to CCIS.
New China Office: Dot Hill, the Carlsbad based provider of computer storage equipment, opened a sales and support office in Beijing last month that will be headed by Jack Chu.
“China is fast becoming an important consumer of computer storage, and we believe Dot Hill’s presence there will greatly contribute to our international efforts,” said Philip Black, Dot Hill’s co-chief executive.
Dot Hill, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as HIL, did about $125 million in sales last year. The company was formed last year by the merger of Carlsbad’s Artecon Inc. and New York based Box Hill Systems Corp. has about 350 employees.
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Trade Mission Price Reduced: A trade mission to Mexico’s second largest city May 22-26 has been amended due to the cancellation of Rep Com 2000, an international trade show that didn’t get enough company participation.
The Department of Commerce, which is organizing the mission, is replacing Rep Com with a series of meetings that would be set up with potential buyers and distributors.
In addition to the meetings, the trade mission would also include a reception with top Mexican officials and executives, a briefing by Department of Commerce officials, and a tour of Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque.
The cost of the mission was reduced from $2,750 to $1,950. It includes round-trip airfare from either Tijuana or Los Angeles, hotel transfers and all transportation to events, and four nights at the Camino Real Hotel. More information can be obtained by contacting the San Diego World Trade Center.
New Version: Bond International Software, with an office in Mission Valley, recently unveiled its latest version of its employee recruitment software.
The British company has offices in United States, Australia and South Africa. Its systems have about 18,000 users in 32 countries.
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Trade Winds: Trade Visions 2000, a trade conference focusing on Mexico, happens May 17 at the La Jolla Hilton. Call the San Diego World Trade Center for details. The Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the 11th annual Mexport 2000 trade show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 15 at the Las Americas Business Park, 9605 Airway Road.
