Laticia Middleton perches in front of a computer at the Greater Sacramento Urban League’s job center, scanning employment ads. At 30, with two children, a high school diploma and a job at a call center, Middleton is the kind of student Gov. Jerry Brown has in mind as he pushes for a new online community college.

The world’s biggest chipmakers and software companies, including Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., are coming to grips with a vulnerability that leaves vast numbers of computers and smartphones susceptible to hacking and performance slowdowns.

Today’s world of free enterprise has never been more robust. Yet startup activity in the U.S. is at a 40-year low, according to statistics derived from U.S. Census Bureau data. More businesses are dying off than being launched daily, indicative of a broken innovative economy.

In the wildest dreams of wireless engineers, the mobile network of the future controls our cars, lets our refrigerators talk to the grocery store to order more milk, and provides fast, reliable broadband connections to our homes so we can sever ties with cable companies.

Intelligence might be built into our DNA, but what about creativity and problem-solving? Not so, experts say. So, if it can be taught, how can we learn? We ask some local brainiacs for their tips for inspiring outside-the-box thinking.

People are genetically engineering their own cells in their kitchens, injecting modified viruses into their bodies and surgically implanting homemade sensors under their skin. The “do-it-yourself” mentality has entered the realm of medicine. And, surprisingly, the FBI supports it.

Alona Jennings, founder of Operation Innovate in Sacramento offers her insight into the psychology of innovation.

Virtual reality used to be financially out-of-reach for many firms. Now, builders and architects alike are finding that implementing technology upfront prevents mistakes, and saves money, down the road. 

Hitesh Dewan, operations technology manager of Milpitas-based XL Construction in Sacramento, and Laura Knauss, principal of Lionakis, offer their insight into tech adoption in the construction industry.

Tech transfer at publically-funded universities isn’t just about generating revenue from IP — it’s about the public good. But is the UC’s strategy for negotiating licenses making this double-barrelled mission even more complex?