On the beat: Silicon Valley’s youth movement

Humanity has yet to find the fountain of youth. But several tech giants may have discovered the business equivalent.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Airbnb and others are employing summer interns – from high school.

“For the companies, it’s all about keeping up with Silicon Valley’s youth-oriented culture, especially as the young and technically inclined are sometimes encouraged to create their own startups instead of joining large organizations,” Bloomberg reported.

Companies are treating these talent searches as a priority: In many cases, there’s additional paperwork to complete. California law requires permits for workers that aren’t 18.

As for pay, well, living on ramen noodles isn’t necessary.

In February, job search website Glassdoor listed the top 25 companies paying the most for their interns. Based on the top 10 companies – of which nine represent the tech industry – the average monthly base pay is $6,314.

“That compares with the $4,280 average monthly income for US households in 2012, according to the US Census Bureau,” the story notes.

Can you say “learn and earn”?

Here are four more stories found on the beat:

Couch pay-tato

This one’s for the UK readership: If you’re searching for your dream job (and ORC International’s fifth annual Perspectives survey suggests that may be the case), you may be in luck.

Netflix needs a “UK/Ireland Tagger.” The job requires watching TV shows and movies not yet streaming via the online service, and labeling those programs with descriptive tags. Combined with an algorithm, the tags help to “generate highly personalized suggestions” for Netflix subscribers.

What will it take to land the gig? According to Digital Spy:

“Applicants will be tested by being shown groups of five different titles at a time – they then need to pick one word that (summarizes) the lot of them. Netflix has something in mind, and success depends on how close you get to it.”

Positive prediction for PCs

Global PC shipments are still in decline. But Gartner predicts a 2.9% drop in 2014, which won’t be nearly as precipitous as last year (9.5%). Those figures represent desktop, notebook and premium ultra-mobile devices.

The rise of smartphones and tablets certainly contributed to the drop-off in past PC shipments. And the “lackluster appeal of Windows 8 failed to give consumers much of a reason to rush out and buy a new computer,” CNET said.

What makes 2014 different?

“Business upgrades from Windows XP and the general business replacement cycle will lessen the downward trend, especially in Western Europe,” Gartner research director Ranjit Atwal said. “This year, we anticipate nearly 60 million professional PC replacements in mature markets.”

Ransomware revisited

It’s baaaack! Then again, as CNN Money reported, “Cryptolocker” never really went away.

In May, the FBI led an effort to eliminate the major virus, which locked computer files until victims paid a ransom. The network of hijacked computers – a.k.a. “botnet” – reportedly swiped files of 400,000 people. Cybercriminals pocketed more than $4 million.

The operation included seizing the compromised servers. However:

“… all that accomplished was to stop Cryptolocker’s virus delivery system. Cryptolocker lives on, and its criminal masters just need to find a new botnet to start delivering viruses to new computers once again.”

Equally alarming is what’s needed to revive the virus. All it takes is a tweak to the code and a new set of servers.

How can you protect your systems? Colleague Doug Barney delivered the goods.

Hits and misses

It’s no secret that tech startups need funding. These days, super-rich celebrities are willing to open their wallets.

Yahoo Tech listed nine superstars-turned-tech investors. Some hit, others missed.

(Slight spoiler: Right now, it seems Justin Timberlake kissed his cash “Bye, Bye, Bye.”)