Technology Companies

USC's Viterbi School of Engineering is launching an early-stage technology accelerator to help student and alumni entrepreneurs start their fledgling technology companies in the Los Angeles area. The newly created Viterbi Startup Garage is designed to foster an environment where start-ups could flourish in Southern California with financial resources and business expertise provided by the school and its partners, United Talent Agency and the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

USC's Viterbi School of Engineering is launching an early-stage technology accelerator to help student and alumni entrepreneurs start their fledgling technology companies in the Los Angeles area. The newly created Viterbi Startup Garage is designed to foster an environment where start-ups could flourish in Southern California with financial resources and business expertise provided by the school and its partners, United Talent Agency and the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

NEW YORK -- The economy may be improving, but many U.S. companies are still hanging on to record amounts of cash, something they usually do in times of economic turmoil. U.S. companies held $1.45 trillion in cash in 2012, up 10% from the $1.32 trillion they held in 2011 -- which at that time was a record level, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service. Apple is sitting on $137 billion in cash, a fact not lost on investors, who have sued in an effort to get Apple to give some of that cash to shareholders.

NEW YORK -- The economy may be improving, but many U.S. companies are still hanging on to record amounts of cash, something they usually do in times of economic turmoil. U.S. companies held $1.45 trillion in cash in 2012, up 10% from the $1.32 trillion they held in 2011 -- which at that time was a record level, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service. Apple is sitting on $137 billion in cash, a fact not lost on investors, who have sued in an effort to get Apple to give some of that cash to shareholders.

With more than 12.7 million Americans unemployed, companies have no trouble attracting applicants. What's tougher for some firms is finding qualified workers. Just ask California Steel Industries. The Fontana steel maker needs experienced electrical and mechanical technicians to help it make metal pipes and flat-roll sheets used in construction projects. The pay is good. An industrial maintenance mechanic can make $64,000 a year plus health benefits. In good years, company profit-sharing can boost pay by $5,000.

A wristwatch that reads your text messages out loud, a jacket that heats up when you're cold, eyeglasses that display directions as you walk down the street. Gimmicks, or fashion of the future? Although those products may seem like something out of a James Bond movie, the world's largest technology companies and start-ups alike believe "wearable tech" is the next big frontier, and they have been pouring money and research into developing high-tech clothing and accessories.

Smaller yet: Orange County's small technology companies cut their collective work force by 2.2% in January over the same period a year ago, according to a survey by CorpTech, a research firm in Woburn, Mass. The survey of technology firms with fewer than 1,000 employees showed that 115 county firms reduced net employment to 7,976 in January, down 180 from a year ago. Nationally, employment at technology companies dropped 1.4%.

Western Digital Corp., the largest maker of hard-disk drives, said President Steve Milligan will take the role of chief executive after the retirement of John Coyne on Jan. 2. Milligan, 49, will retain the job of president and join Western Digital's board after Coyne steps down, the Irvine company said. Coyne, 63, has spent almost 30 years with the company, the last five as CEO. Milligan rejoined Western Digital this year as part of the company's acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies for more than $4 billion.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension plan, agreed to buy 9.9% of Silver Lake Group, the biggest private-equity firm specializing in technology companies. A CalPERS executive will join Silver Lake's management advisory board. The price wasn't disclosed. The stake is worth about $275 million, valuing Silver Lake at $2.75 billion, according to a New York Times report.

AUSTIN, Texas - A San Francisco start-up that created a tiny motion-sensing device is making a big splash at South by Southwest, overshadowing major tech brands and scores of new apps with its promise of changing how consumers interact with their computers. In its debut appearance at the conference known more as a music and film festival, Leap Motion Inc. wowed attendees with its "Minority Report"-style gesture-recognition controller, which enables users to manipulate what's on their screens with a wave of the hand or lift of a finger.

A wristwatch that reads your text messages out loud, a jacket that heats up when you're cold, eyeglasses that display directions as you walk down the street. Gimmicks, or fashion of the future? Although those products may seem like something out of a James Bond movie, the world's largest technology companies and start-ups alike believe "wearable tech" is the next big frontier, and they have been pouring money and research into developing high-tech clothing and accessories.

Western Digital Corp., the largest maker of hard-disk drives, said President Steve Milligan will take the role of chief executive after the retirement of John Coyne on Jan. 2. Milligan, 49, will retain the job of president and join Western Digital's board after Coyne steps down, the Irvine company said. Coyne, 63, has spent almost 30 years with the company, the last five as CEO. Milligan rejoined Western Digital this year as part of the company's acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies for more than $4 billion.

SEATTLE - Darth Vader is supposed to be menacing. But when Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's deputy counsel of intellectual property and licensing, dressed up as the ominous Star Wars Sith Lord one Halloween? Not so much. "I've never seen a happier Darth Vader," said Gutierrez's boss, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith. In some ways that image captures perceptions of Microsoft in the patent battles now raging among tech companies - and Gutierrez's role in them. Microsoft has signed a number of licensing agreements with - or filed lawsuits against - companies it says infringe on its patents, most notably manufacturers of devices using Google's Android operating system.

Vivendi Chairman Jean Rene-Fourtou acknowledged Thursday that the French company is considering a sale of its stake in game companyActivision Blizzard Inc. Fourtou told a Bloomberg reporter at the Allen & Co. media and technology conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, that selling its majority share in Santa Monica-based Activision, valued at more than $8 billion, was a "possibility. " “We're always looking at opportunities for all of our businesses," Fourtou said. Vivendi has said it is examining various options for reorganizing the company, whose business falls into roughly two categories - entertainment and telecommunications.

With more than 12.7 million Americans unemployed, companies have no trouble attracting applicants. What's tougher for some firms is finding qualified workers. Just ask California Steel Industries. The Fontana steel maker needs experienced electrical and mechanical technicians to help it make metal pipes and flat-roll sheets used in construction projects. The pay is good. An industrial maintenance mechanic can make $64,000 a year plus health benefits. In good years, company profit-sharing can boost pay by $5,000.

RANCHO PALOS VERDES -- William Morris Endeavor Entertainment co-chief executive Ari Emanuel used the platform of the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital Conference to call on Silicon Valley and Hollywood to work together to curb Internet piracy -- in his own provocative style. "I'm going to get a lot of people [angry]," Emanuel said at the onset of his remarks, noting that Southern California's entertainment industry "probably screwed this up" and contributed to an impasse by pressing Congress to adopt the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act. The measure flatlined earlier this year amid fierce opposition from some of the largest Web companies and civil liberties groups.

An activist investor is demanding thatYahoo Inc.fire its new chief executive, Scott Thompson, after the Internet company confirmed that his resume contained misleading information about his education. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company confirmed Thursday that Thompson's credentials, questioned recently by a shareholder, incorrectly stated in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Stonehill College. The company called it an "inadvertent error.