Sometimes the virtual keyboard on your iPad isn't as useful as it might be. Hooking up a real keyboard (even a wireless one) can be cumbersome.

A company called M.I.C Store (no, the missing period after the C is not a typo) and evidently located in China sells a keyboard that essentially turns an iPad into a Mac Air-like laptop. It's good for people who don't like manipulating the on-screen keyboard and might need to type something that needs maximal screen real estate -- a long paper or report, for instance.

While the IPO window is slowly creaking open, biopharma start-ups and their investors are likely to get a better deal from an acquisition, as the country’s large drug companies are under increasing pressure to fill their pipelines with products.

Drug makers – many of which are about to see reams of patents expire – may be willing to pay more for a company than the public markets would deem them worth, as they are racing to keep their distribution networks stocked.

This is according to a study by Silicon Valley Bank, a major lender to and sometime-investor in privately held companies. It counts more than 50% of the country’s health-care start-ups as clients.

Updated. Wednesday, UBS sent a research note that increases its forecast for the number of tablets sold this year, while simultaneously knocking down its expectations for the PC industry’s growth. The opposite trajectories of PC and tablets indicate consumers are, in certain cases choosing to opt for a tablet instead of a new laptop. And that’s not great news for PC makers, since right now not many are buying their tablets either.

Update: For the tablet forecast, UBS says it was driven to update that number based on Apple’s rather stunning revelation last week that it sold more than 20 million 9 million iPads between April and June this year. The research group also manages to sneak in a little “I-told-you-so” regarding the overall growth of the tablet market while it’s at it:

We are raising our 2011 tablet forecast to 60 million from 55 million and 2012 to 90 million from 80 million. The vast majority of our forecast change is a result of our upward revision to our Apple iPad forecast (37.9 million from 32.3 million in 2011 & 53 million from 46.9 million in 2012), implying ~63% share of the market. We believe consensus is near our once-controversial 55mn forecast but is likely to rise.

The venture capital business itself is going through an even more fundamental change than just the entry of a new category at the earliest stage. The industry is shrinking back to a mid-90?s level in terms of both dollars and numbers of firms.

The doubling of the industry size was caused by the euphoria of the dot-com bubble and since funds take 10 years or more to dissolve the bursting of the funding bubble has taken its time. We all know the result of the over-funding of the asset class – poor returns in aggregate for the industry. The best firms have still delivered results, though.

So what’s happening now is the elimination of funds that probably should never existed as well as the questioned relevance of some older firms that failed to find good succession strategies or remain relevant.

Celia Harper-Guerra, Allscripts‘ (NASDAQ:MDRX) senior vice president for talent acquisition, explains that while the electronic health records provider is an IT company, its employees routinely interact with healthcare professionals. More than good software chops, the company looks for job candidates with “soft skills,” what Harper-Guerra describes as the ability to communicate and work with colleagues and clients. And because those clients are almost exclusively doctors, the company also puts a premium on job candidates who have some background in healthcare.

“When we go into doctors’ offices, we have to have that knowledge,” she said.

Harper-Guerra spoke as a panelist for the North Carolina Technology Association‘s “Emerging Technologies + Trends” series. This installment was held Wednesday in Durham, North Carolina. Joining Harper-Guerra on the panel were L.J. Brock, senior director of global talent acquisition at software firm Red Hat (NYSE:RHT); Simon Sawyer, IT site manager for financial services firm Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS); and Donald Thompson, president and CEO of IT company I-Cubed.

When Tianhai Electric North America won a $300,000 incentive from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority to establish a world headquarters in Orion Township this past May, it was the latest example of a Chinese automotive company choosing to locate operations in Southeast Michigan—and part of a growing trend that has the Detroit area playing an increasingly prominent role in the Chinese auto industry.

According to the Detroit Regional Chamber, at least 50 Chinese companies serving the auto industry have established new ventures in metro Detroit during the past decade—up from 5 in 2000. (See the list on the next page for some prominent players.) The companies range in size from a handful of employees to several hundred, but all are united in a common goal: to make better cars.

As we saw in the venture activity surveys that came in last week, the capital deployed by VC firms in startups developing innovative technologies has been returning to pre-recession levels in key technology hubs throughout the United States.

In San Diego, however, venture funding has taken a decided turn for the life sciences. Of the 29 startups that got a total of $198.2 million in San Diego during the second quarter, all but five of the deals were life sciences deals, according to the MoneyTree Report. At least $193.1 million, or more than 97 percent, went into San Diego life sciences deals during the recent quarter. But it’s not that the life sciences startups have been claiming more than their share of VC dollars—it’s that they account for a proportionally larger slice of an ever-shrinking pie. Even a moving average that smooths quarter-to-quarter fluctuations reveals that overall venture funding levels in San Diego have plunged by roughly half over the past three years.

The Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) has made 9 new investments, 1 in June and 8 in July 2011.

• Cineflow Inc. of Kitchener, a provider of digital image, data and workflow solutions for the Motion Picture industry.
• Cytochroma Inc. of Markham, a developer of products to treat and prevent vitamin D insufficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism associated with chronic kidney disease.
• Gridcentric of Toronto, a developer of next-generation virtualization technology for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and cloud.
• Karos Health Incorporated of Waterloo, a provider of health information collaboration and sharing solutions.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 27, 2011) - Over 350 scientists, engineers and students at the University of Toronto will receive support for research programs and advanced training, thanks to an investment by the Government of Canada. The announcement was made by the Honourable Steven Fletcher, Minister of State (Transport), on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), while speaking at the university.

"Our government is investing in the people and ideas that will produce tomorrow's breakthroughs in order to keep Canada's economy growing and create new jobs," said Minister of State Fletcher. "This research will improve the quality of life of Canadians, while helping universities develop, attract and retain leading scientists and engineers."

Out of the $42 million provided to the University of Toronto, Dr. Milos Popovic is receiving $420,000 under the Discovery Grants and Discovery Accelerator Supplements programs to do research on spinal cord injuries. His goal is to develop a prosthetic device that would enable individuals with neurologic impairments to stand.

The Michigan Strategic Fund has announced grants totaling $25 million to eight organizations that will support entrepreneurs in launching and growing starts around the state.

The funds will come from the state’s 21st Century Jobs fund, a 10-year initiative started in 2005 to accelerate the growth and diversification of Michigan’s economy. The fund is administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

“Early-stage companies require seed capital and access to a strong network of public and private resources,” said Michael Finney, MEDC president and CEO, in a release.

Running a business should earn you an honorary graduate or even doctoral degree given all you will learn. For those just starting out, here are the CliffNotes, the mistakes you should hear now and avoid.

Hiring in advance of revenue.

There is a common expression: “Don’t count your money until it is in the bank.” There is great wisdom in this. Many times in business, we receive contracts or the promise of revenue. However, there is a major difference between having revenue and almost having it. Until revenue actually hits the bank account, you don’t have it, and you must overcome the tendency to be optimistic and hire too many people before the revenue is real. This one principle or mistake could be its own manifesto.

UNECA had adapted and tested a national innovation assessment tool to help African countries make informed policy decisions to support development of appropriate measures. It is intended to specifically assess the policy environment and its ability to support innovation through simple questions that can easily be graded. The results generated could be used to develop new or appropriate science, technology and innovation (STI) policies to meet their specific development aspirations, opportunities and needs.

Download the PDF

According to recent coverage by journalist Mark Clayton for the Christian Science Monitor, the “detailed statistics” provided by the Brookings Institution and the Battelle Technology Partnership are paving the way for more in-depth examination of the United States’s burgeoning green industries, including not only numerical analysis of the country’s growth in terms of jobs but also on the sector level, as well.

Today, Clayton reports, the information provided by the Brookings Institution and the Battelle Technoloy Partnership indicates that the number of green jobs held by Americans now outweighs the number of gas and oil-related jobs in those industries.  The “clean-economy sector” possesses a total of 2.7 million jobs in comparison to the 2.4 million jobs in the industries that provide a majority of the energy used by Americans today.

WICHITA, Kan. -- A group of economic advisers assembled by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will operate as a board of directors for economic development in the state, the Republican said during a news conference Wednesday.

Brownback signed an executive order in Wichita establishing the council, which he will chair.

"The economic future of Kansas depends on the growth of existing businesses and the development of new industries," Brownback said. "Economic competitiveness requires a detailed understanding of regional, national and international conditions and trends."

The governor said the group will work closely with him to assure strategy integration, coordination and accountability across all of the state's economic development entities and agencies. Those would include the ones for commerce, agriculture, transportation, revenue, labor and the Bioscience Authority, he said.

At the University of Chicago's new library, 70 students have summer jobs filling a chilly subterranean bunker 50 feet beneath the main reading room. Their mission: Load a million volumes into a machine-dominated warehouse that most library patrons will never see.

"You feel like you're feeding this giant robot," says Victoria Lee, an anthropology major who earns $11.15 an hour stuffing bound journals into steel bins. Ms. Lee's insatiable robot is a computer system that directs mechanical cranes to store those bins in giant stacks and retrieve them when patrons request their contents.

You’ve probably all heard the cliches about European startups and investors: venture money in Europe is more conservative, entrepreneurs are afraid of risk, the businesses are less ambitious and there are fewer blockbuster successes. These are trotted out all the time to explain why it’s better to start up or invest in America.

Is it true? A new report suggests that the opposite may actually be the case — and that Europe’s venture capital industry may, in fact, be dramatically more successful than its American counterpart.

Babson College is conducting unique residential learning experiences in entrepreneurship for high school students in Ghana and Rwanda this summer.

The Babson Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy brings 100 selected students in each country together for a one-week intensive experience.

The effort is offered outside of major cities -- in Sekondi, Ghana and in Byimana, Rwanda -- in order to reach populations that seldom have such opportunities.

Classroom topics are varied and may include Am I An Entrepreneur? Modeling Leadership Recognizing Opportunity Inspiring A Shared Vision Creating Value For Customers Challenging The Process Identifying And Tracking Resources Enabling Others To Act Putting Your Plan Into Action, and Encourage The Heart.

PitchBook has published its 3Q 2011 Private Equity Breakdown and Presentation Deck. This report and deck were compiled from the PitchBook Platform and cover trends in private equity investment, exits and fundraising, with a focus on activity and trends emerging during the second quarter of 2011.

Click Here to Download the PE Breakdown - 2.9MB (PDF)

Click Here to Download the PE Presentation Deck - 4.7MB (PPT)

The Rockefeller Foundation today announced the launch of its annual Innovation Forum, an unprecedented new program aimed at identifying the root causes of problems impacting the world's poor and vulnerable and putting resources in place to research and implement the appropriate solutions to these challenges.

The Innovation Forum convenes some of the most creative and inventive minds from the worlds of business, government, the non-profit sector and journalism to bring innovation to bear on urgent challenges facing poor and vulnerable people around the world. Through a series of interactions, panel discussions and breakout sessions, participants will analyze compelling scenarios of crises in water security, urban economic security and food security. They will be asked to identify the primary causes of these pressing global challenges that must be solved for the benefit of future generations. In exchange for their contributions, the Rockefeller Foundation will commit to leveraging its deep expertise, expansive network and thoughtful grant making process to further explore and address ideas that surface over the coming year as a result of the Forum. The results will then be reviewed at each annual Innovation Forum.

Shama Kabani launched a web marketing firm at the age of 24 and grew her business from a one woman operation to a global company with 27 employees in two short years. Kabani’s headfirst dive into the world of business as a young entrepreneur taught her valuable lessons that she has now shared with Forbes.

A sampling to get started:

1. A written vision of what you want your company to look like in 3 years is important.

The pen (or keyboard!) has power. It isn’t enough to envision your goals in your mind. You must have a blueprint on paper. Every decision you make, ask yourself: does this help me get closer to my vision?