Careers: Sometimes accepting one job does not necessarily mean abandoning another. Such is the case of one Advice Line reader who architected what Bob Lewis calls “a first-class transition” because the reader’s role was evaporating. “I think you should suggest to your boss that he hire you as a contractor rather than keep you on as a part-time employee,” Lewis suggests in A smooth transition from one employer to another. “Base your rates on local contracting rates rather than on your old salary, but fiddle and adjust with your old salary in mind. You want to avoid creating sticker shock.” From the feature well: It is, perhaps, the most emotionally contested topic in IT today. Immigration reform’s high-tech impact. There’s no question that H-1B is in flux, and Senate Bill 1348, according to some, would flood the job market and harm Americans; others, though, contend that an insufficient number of H-1B visas is provided in the bill. To that end, Congress is considering two merit-based point systems for immigrants. “The atmosphere around immigration reform will assuredly remain charged,” Ephraim Schwartz explains. “And as we get closer to the primaries, politicians will likely drum up more rhetoric while looking to forego putting themselves on record with substantive votes.”Green IT: Ted Samson tackles a question that’s been on my mind, and probably those of countless readers as well, Do you really need a receipt with that? “Paper waste clearly abounds in the business world … and the costs really can add up,” he writes. And, in so doing, joins the chorus of folks chiming that it’s okay for retailers to trim office supply by not churning out receipts for everything. “Sure, some people will still need those pesky slips of paper, whether for legitimate proof-of-purchase reasons, such as travel expense reports, or to indeed demonstrate that they are the rightful owner of that half-eaten bear claw.” The news beat: The head of Microsoft search denies rumors of a new project that suggest the company has a team working on cutting-edge technology to replace its existing search engine. Google’s CIO discusses its efforts to identify all the malicious Web pages on the Internet and how Web 2.0 changes security, in this interview. And Sun launches the first blade server from its pact with Intel. Careers