Despite the stepped-up activity, some art dealers still bemoan what they call the indifference of the tech world and write off tech billionaires as glorified engineering nerds who skipped art history to play with their computers.

WSJ: Art's New High-Tech Patrons

At schools like P-Tech in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York Public Schools, the City University of New York, and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate degree in computers or engineering.

FORBES: Full Text: President Obama's 2013 State Of The Union Address

Now at schools like P-Tech in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York Public Schools and City University of New York and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate's degree in computers or engineering.

WHITEHOUSE: State of the Union 2013

Now at schools like P-Tech in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York Public Schools and City University of New York and IBM, students will graduate with a high-school diploma and an associate's degree in computers or engineering.

BBC: State of the Union: Obama pledges to reignite economy

While its engineering is admirable, Hitachi has struggled to keep pace with quarterly updates demanded by markets for microchips, personal computers and consumer gizmos.

ECONOMIST: Hitachi��s snail-like progress