California County Sues Deloitte For Fraud In SAP ERP Project (Channel Web)

Behind the scenes with SAP Chairman Hasso Plattner (ZDNet Blogs)

Will Comcast’s ‘Empire Building’ Be Its Downfall? (NewTeeVee)

Bentley Forges GIS Tools to Build 3D Cities (Cadalyst)

Aria Systems Introduces SubscriptionsPlus for PayPal (eWeek)

The Big Shift: Moving to LTE From WiMAX (GigaOM)

Philly Tech People News 5/31/2010

MEDecision Appoints Eric Demers Senior Vice President of Life Sciences
Career Healthcare Executive Will Direct Company’s Growth Into New Markets (Business Wire)

Lockheed Martin creates new leadership position for Delaware Valley (Philadelphia Business Journal)

ITechLaw Announces New Officers and Board of Directors
Sandra A. Jeskie Elected President (Business Wire)


ProtonMedia Adds IBM’s Cindy Skirvin to Executive Advisory Board (Business Wire)

ISA Consulting Appoints Bill Hicks as a Director in Mid-Atlantic Region (Business Wire)

Dollar Financial Corp Bolsters Global Management Team with Hiring of New Chief Information Officer (Business Wire)

Gannett announces executive appointments in U.S. Community Publishing (Business Wire)
New executive editor named for the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill.

Journal Register Company Appoints New Sales and Content Executives
New Positions Reflect Company's Digital First Strategy (Marketwire)

Finalists for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 Awards in New Jersey Announced (PR Newswire)

Vertex HR Professional Named Delaware Valley HR Person of the Year
Mindy Geib honored for outstanding dedication to establishing employee programs (Business Wire)

Site Intelligence appoints three industry veterans to Board. (MMD Newswire)

Of megamergers and edifice complexes
Commentary: Comcast chief looks for a home in the Big Apple (MarketWatch)

Daily Links 5/28/2010: Environmental Tectonics posts sales gain, profit

Quality Systems Reports Fiscal 2010 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results (Business Wire)
Quality Systems' business is primarily composed of Horsham-based NextGen Healthcare Information Systems.

Senate antitrust leader fears Comcast will kneecap Hulu (Ars Technica)

The next Apple TV revealed: cloud storage and iPhone OS on tap... and a $99 price tag (Engadget)

Icahn's stake in Lawson means likely push for sale (IDG via Bloomberg
Business Week)

Environmental Tectonics Corporation Announces Fiscal 2010 Results (PR Newswire)

Brook Lenfest growing Net Carrier (Philadelphia Business Journal: Technology Blog)

SES Will Be Bird-Watching Over Memorial Day Weekend
Intelsat's ‘Zombie' Satellite to Pass Near Operator's AMC-11 on May 31 (Multichannel News)




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Daily Links 5/27/2010: InfoLogix to review "Strategic Alternatives"

InfoLogix Announces Independent Committee Formed to Review Strategic Alternatives (PR Newswire)

Icahn may see Lawson as a takeover target (MarketWatch)

Angelakis: More Regulation Could Equal Less Investment
Says Strict Title II Could Impact Cable's Investment "Appetite" (Multichannel News)

Invidi Adds Experian As Investor, Partner (MediaPost: Media Daily News)

TiVo By the Numbers: 800,000 Subscribers Lost in 18 Months (NewTeeVee)

Sprint HTC Evo 4G is fast, but battery life is short (USA Today)

Willow Garage gets robots into researchers' hands (CNET News)
Penn gets one of them.

Viddler preps for expansion after receiving Ben Franklin funding (Keystone Edge)


Timberland Names GSI Commerce Strategic Global E-Commerce Partner (Business Wire)

John Perzel, 8 GOP staffers going to trial on Bonusgate charges (Harrisburg Patriot-News)




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More changes at GSI Commerce

While King of Prussia E-commerce company GSI Commerce has recently brought on board some new top executives, others are leaving.
Telecom equipment vendor Avaya annnounced the appointment of Stephen J. Gold as Chief Information Officer. He had been Executive Vice President, CIO and Corporate Chief Technology Officer at GSI.
And TRAFFIQ, a New York-based digital media platform, appointed Nick Pahade as CEO. Pahade had been President of TrueAction, GSI's interactive agency (formerly known as GSI Interactive).

Daily Links 5/26/2010: Kohl Wants Hulu Divestiture as Part of Any Comcast/NBCU Deal

Council committee gives OK for city to buy wi-fi network (Philadelphia Daily News)

Ex-reps. to aid Comcast takeover bid (Politico)

FCC is digging deep as it reviews Comcast-NBC Universal deal (LA Times: Company Town)

Kohl Wants Hulu Divestiture as Part of Any Comcast/NBCU Deal
Chair Of Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Calls For Raft Of Strong Conditions (Multichannel News)

Comcast Insider Reiterates That Comcast Tier Changes Loom
12/2, 20/4, 50/10, 100/15 will be Xfinity standard (Broadband Reports)

Innova Dynamics Raises $5.5 Million Series A Financing (Business Wire)

For pharmas, online video, ad exchanges are the future (for everybody else, they're the present) (Medical Marketing & Media)

Oracle acquires mobile billing tech; response to SAP-Sybase? (Computerworld)

Rodale Announces New Content Partnership
Rodale to Launch New Online Health and Wellness Destination This Fall Through Alliance With MSN
(Business Wire)

INetU Managed Hosting Acquires Facilities to Continue Expansion (PR Newswire)




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Daily Links 5/25/2010: StarCite teams up with iMeet

IBM makes first acquisition play in five-year plan
Commentary: $20 billion burning a hole in its pocket (MarketWatch)

Sybase CEO Chen Held Out for SAP Offer He ‘Couldn’t Turn Down’ (Bloomberg Business Week)


Icahn Discloses Stake in Lawson Software (DailyFinance)


QlikTech Launches QlikView Labs
Creativity Center Helps Transform Innovative Ideas into Solutions (PR Newswire)

StarCite Announces Online Community Powered by i-Meet (Business Wire)

Farewell to prime time (The Deal)

TiVo Starts Thinking Outside the Box (Light Reading Cable)

Three Give Comcast/NBCU Gubernatorial Thumbs Up
Schwarzenegger, Rendel, Paterson Offer Homestate Support For Union (Multichannel News)

Bloomberg Announces Funding, Calls For Startups in NYC (Read Write Web)

Wi-Fi may be Coming to Phila. Government Operations (KYW Newsradio)

Spyware Installed on Student Laptops Has More Security Problems (Wired: Threat Level)




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Daily Links 5/24/2010: Comcast's Plaxo introduces Tunerfish (sort of)

FCC Seeks More Information From Comcast Over NBCU Union
Commission Wants Data On Internet Video, TV Everywhere, In Demand, FanCast Xfinity (Multichannel News)

Comcast’s Tunerfish Jumps Out Of The Water At #TCDisrupt (TechCrunch)
Comcast Unveils ‘Tunerfish’ Social TV App (Wired Blogs: Epicenter)

U.S. Congress to Consider Updating Communications Law
(Bloomberg Business Week)

Razorfish: Local, In-Game, Digital Out-of-Home To Gain In 2010 (MediaPost: Online Media Daily)

SAP quiet on its plans for Sybase (Computerworld)

Can SAP Deliver IT Simplicity?
Apps vendor talks real-time; customers hear "removing IT infrastructure." (Information
Week)

Seven Life Sciences Start-ups Receive More than $700,000 in KIZ Tax Credits (Business Wire)

Pace Was World's Top Set-Top Supplier In 2009: Report
Vendor Displaces Motorola, Technicolor, According to IMS Research (Multichannel News)




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Philly Tech Tidbits

Novell, the company best known as a pioneer in local area networks that is now taking bids for a buyout or acquisition, was originally backed by Wayne's Safeguard Scientifics, though reportedly they almost shut the company down when it wasn't doing well back in the early '80s.
O' Reilly's RailsConf 2010 (for the Ruby on Rails community) will be held June 7-10 down the road at the Baltimore Convention Center.
SAP plans to have 12,000 of its 14,000 engineers using agile development methods by the end of the year, according to an article by Bloomberg Business Week.
Ryzing, a yet to launch Philly-based "social gaming" startup, has funding from Conshohocken's SeventySix Capital (formerly ETF Ventures).
Philadelphia's MentorTech Ventures led a $1.1 million Series A funding round for SeniorHomes.com, a Seattle-based online directory and resource for finding senior care or senior housing.
An inaugural Philadelphia meetup for Alfresco, an open source Content Management System (CMS), will be held June 3 at 6:30 at the offices of Zivtech in Philadelphia.

Google/Invite Media rumors heat up again

Peter Kafka of All Things Digital (Wall Street Journal) reports that Google may be close to a deal for Philly/New York-based demand side advertising platform (DSP) Invite Media, which is backed by First Round Capital and Comcast Interactive Capital among others. There had been rumors about this a few months back. Invite Media CEO Nat Turner,who cofounded the company while an undergraduate at Penn, told Kafka by email that "we have not entered into any agreement with any company" which may seem a little short of a complete denial that something might be happening.
Turner tweeted on Friday, "Haven't gotten anything done today, just been playing Pakman on Google's homepage", which was presumably meant as a tongue in cheek response to speculation.

Customers' revenge: Cable providers to play nice (Associated Press
via Google News)

Portfolio Night matches ad execs with the talented (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Philly Tech People News 5/23/2010

Lockheed Martin Realigns Commercial Space Systems Structure (PR Newswire)
Joseph M. Rickers named president for Newtown-based Commercial Space Systems.

Scott J. Sprague to Head Integrated Global Sales Force of SES WORLD SKIES (Business Wire)

SaaS CRM expert Ami Assayag Joins SeventySix Capital as Entrepreneur in Residence (Press Release)

Wolters Kluwer Health Announces the Appointment of Susan Driscoll as President & CEO of its Professional & Education Business Unit (PR Newswire)

Razorfish Health adds Alfred O'Neil and Rob Ulliman to executive team (Philly Ad Club News)

Google: FTC clears AdMob deal

Google announced today that the FTC has cleared its $750 million acquistion of AdMob, the mobile advertising network. As previously reported here, AdMob was founded by Omar Hamoui when he was a first year MBA student at the Wharton School, though it is now based in California.
(See Business Week's recent profile of Hamoui.)

Daily Links 5/21/2010: PA AG Corbett drops Twitter subpoena

Corbett assailed over Twitter subpoena (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Update: Pennsylvania AG Dropping Twitter Subpoena (Wired Blogs)

Guide to Google TV’s Ecosystem [Video] (TechCrunch)

FCC Seeks Lots More Data From NBCU
Agency Issues 'Information and Discovery' Request (Multichannel News)


Salesforce.com net slips, even as sales rise 24%
Company's shares tumble more than 7% in late trading (MarketWatch)

Salesforce.com's Benioff likens Microsoft to patent 'alley thug' (ZDNet
Blogs)

SAP Co-CEOs Chart a Bold New Course (Bloomberg Business Week)

QlikView Capitalizes on Mobility and Flaunts Mobile Access to SAP (Ventana Research)

A Second (and Third) Helping of Success (Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs)

Q&A: Mary Pat Donnellon, Mission Research (Keystone Edge)

InterDigital sees 2Q revenue above analyst views (Associated Press via Bloomberg Business Week)

Voxware Reports Third Quarter Results for Fiscal 2010
Revenue Stable, Cost Control Plan Continues to Have Effect (Business Wire)




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Daily Links 5/20/2010: Inquirer to try 3D publishing

Lawmakers rebuff calls to delay Comcast-NBC merger timeline (The Hill)

Comcast To Bring i-Guide To Cisco Boxes
Operator to Extend the IPG to Cisco Markets Starting In June (Multichannel News)


Google’s “smart TV” Platform to Debut Tomorrow
(VentureBeat via New York Times)

Google TV turns on at I/O (Engadget)

Google Moves to TVs With Help From Intel and Sony (New York Times)

PHD Virtual Technologies Announces Citrix Investment
PHD Virtual Announces Joint Investment by Citrix and Insight Venture Partners (PR Web)

May 2010 Business Outlook Survey (Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia)

Philly Inky to do 3-D (Reuters Blogs: MediaFile)
I guess this was Brian Tierney's secret plan to save the company.

QVC Expands Mobile-Commerce Portfolio
Multimedia Retailer to Launch Apps for Android and BlackBerry, Enhanced QVC iPhone App
(PR Newswire)

NBC To Sell Stake In ShopNBC
Shopping Chanel To Drop NBC Name (Multichannel News)

Nuclear energy leader Westinghouse selects GenSight for Project Portfolio Management (Business Wire)




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Daily Links 5/19/2010: FCC brings in satellite exec to lead Comcast review

Attorney General Tom Corbett Subpoenaes Twitter To Identify Anonymous Critics (TechCrunch)
Corbett won the GOP gubernatorial primary yesterday.

US FCC taps satellite exec to manage Comcast review (Reuters)

CSC again wins $500M TSA infrastructure contract (Washington Technology)
Contract award was reevaluated after protest by previous holder Unisys.


Marketing and Mobile Technology – Event Recap (Mobile Mid-Atlantic)

Microsoft files rare patent lawsuit against Salesforce.com (Ars Technica)

Dow Electronic Materials Strengthens Presence in Korea (Business Wire)

Economics of WiFi-based Metropolitan Internet Service Providers
MuniWireless)

Viddler Business profile: Gamervision (The Viddler Blog)

Cloud Computing Entrepreneurs (ScribeMedia.org)

InterDigital and Capital Semiconductor Enter into 3G Technology Transfer Agreement (Business Wire)

Heartland Payment Systems® and MasterCard Agree to $41.4 Million Intrusion Settlement
Company has now reached breach-related settlements with three major card brands (Business Wire)

Digital Signage support the center’s role as an incubator (Digital
Signage Expert)




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Wrapping up: SAPPHIRE 2010

SAP Adds Virtualization To Its Cloud Agenda
Application vendor partners with Cisco, EMC and VMware; plans more services-based apps and a July reintroduction of Business ByDesign. (Information Week)

SAP plots in-memory database pilots, analytics appliance with HP (ZDNet Blogs)

SAP Announces In-Memory Analysis Technology
Business Analytic Engine promises business-user-accessible analysis of real-time information. (Information Week)

SAPPHIRE 2010: the wrap (ZDNet Blogs)

SAP Sapphire 2010: Observations, News and Tweets (Network World)

Sybase Announces Sybase Mobility Platform (eWeek)




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Daily Links 5/18/2010: Fiberlink of Blue Bell wins CODiE award

FiOSTV Tops ACSI Consumer Satisfaction Index
Cable companies see small gains in satisfaction... (Broadband Reports)

IP Gateways Are Gaining Steam (Multichannel News)

Bentley Publishes May 2010 Annual Report (PR Newswire)

CODiE Awards Names Fiberlink® Best Mobile Enterprise Solution (Business Wire)


Xybion Completes Acquisition of Stelex and Vital-Path, Leaders in Business Process Software and Consulting Services for Regulated Industries, from GE Healthcare (PR Web)

Interactive Data Teams with InvestEdge to Provide Wealth Managers with Customized Financial Data (Business Wire)

SEI Enhances Private Equity Reporting Platform To Deliver Portfolio Company Level Transparency (PR Newswire)

NASDAQ OMX and SunGard to Deliver Risk Analytics for NASDAQ OMX Indexes (Globe Newswire via MarketWatch)

Berliner Communications Announces Financial Results for Fiscal First Quarter 2010 (PR Newswire)

Garber invests in Healthy Humans (Philadelphia Business Journal)

Lonza Group Completes MODA Technology Purchase (PE Hub)

SAP SAPPHIRE News: 5/18/2010

SAP Co-Ceo: Business ByDesign 'Is Not a Fantasy' (IDG via New
York Times)

SAP's Business ByDesign: Finally Real, But a Tough Sell? (CIO.com)

How Will Larry Ellison Counter SAP's Mobile Offensive? (Information Week: Global CIO)

SAP: Experimenting And That's a Good Thing (Read Write Enterprise)


Sapphire: Users like SAP's push on mobile, on-demand and in-memory, but aren't ready (SearchSAP.com)

Sybase Shareholder Sues to Bar $5.8 Billion SAP Bid (Bloomberg Business Week)

Microsoft Seeks To Infiltrate SAP as Sapphire Begins (Redmond Channel Partner)

SAP Customers Get A User-Group Champion
At SAP's SAPPHIRE conference, ASUG's CEO promises strong advocacy as the user group tackles software-support and BusinessObjects integration woes. (Information Week)

Princeton's SES World Skies plans orbital maneuver to minimize Cable TV disruptions

Princeton-based satellite operator SES World Skies is planning an "orbital maneuver" later this month that will hopefully minimize the probability of major cable TV reception problems, the company said in a press release today.
The maneuver is aimed at steering SES' AMC-11 satellite and its customers clear of interference from Intelsat’s troubled Galaxy 15 spacecraft, the so-called "Zombie" satellite. SES also plans to reposition its new SES-1 satellite to serve as a backup to enable some customers to "leapfrog" their broadcasts over interference. The company says the risk of interference should end by June 7.
One can only imagine how much processing power SES chewed up in calculating this solution.

Daily Links 5/17/2010: DuPont develops new OLED printing process

New Inks Could Mean Cheaper OLED Screens
DuPont has developed a printing process to bring down the cost of high-performance displays. (MIT Technology Review)

update CRM Inc. Brings a Revolution in Cloud-based CRM Solutions to North America (Business Wire)
Another area player in the Life Sciences CRM market.

PhillyDeals: Poker games as trader's test for making quick decisions (Philly.com: Philly Deals)

Four Programmers To Shove Off With Canoe's Interactive Ads
Comcast Networks, Discovery, NBCU, Rainbow To Debut RFI Applications (Multichannel News)

TV Apps to Bring in $1.9B by 2015 (NewTeeVee)

hhgregg Announces the Grand Opening of Twelve New Stores Serving Residents in Philadelphia and Greater Delaware Valley Area (Business Wire)

Neuxpower Expands Software To Cut 'File Bloat' In Large Files (Channel Web)

SAP SAPPHIRE News: 5/17/2010

SAP rolls out latest BusinessByDesign release (ZDNet Blogs)

SAP Readying In-memory Database Appliances (PC World)

SAP Co-CEO Defends Price of Sybase Deal (PC World)

SAP's SaaS strategy: On demand add ons, Business ByDesign starter packs (ZDNet Blogs)

SAP's "Third" CEO: Vishal Sikka
Early on at Sapphire 2010, CTO Vishal Sikka took on a somewhat starring and surprising role, even with his co-CEOs on stage. (CIO.com)

The other reason SAP bought Sybase (InfoWorld)

Spring Wireless Secures $12 Million in Growth Equity Led by SAP Ventures (PR Newswire)



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NHL Eyes New Rights Deals As Ratings Climb: Collins
NHL COO Says Renewal Discussions With Versus, NBC To Take Place In Late Fall (Multichannel
News)

Philly Tech People News 5/17/2010

Apollo Health Street Names Karen Ferrell as President and CEO (Business Wire)


BioNanomatrix Names Genomics Industry Leader Dr. David L. Barker to Its Board of Directors (PR Newswire)

Ron Oscher Named Vice President and General Manager Materials Analysis Division (PR Newswire)


Member Solutions Appoints Lakshmi Venkataswamy As Chief Information Officer (PR Web)

The SAPPHIRE of Second Chances: SAP and the Road to Redemption (Enterprise Irregulars)

SAP Launches Virtual Platform for SAPPHIRE(R) NOW (PR Newswire)

Daily Links 5/14/2010: Bernanke visits Philly

Analyst makes case for HP to top SAP's Sybase bid (San Jose Business Journal)

SAP pays dearly with $5.8 billion Sybase purchase (Reuters)

Americas’ SAP Users’ Group Announces Impact Award Winners (Business Wire)
Comcast wins in "Large Enterprise" category.

Ben Bernanke’s Field Trip to Philly (New York Times: Economix)

TiVo: Lazard Downgrades On Court Decision; Stock Off 40% (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

Comcast's 4G Market Primer
(Light Reading)
Interview with Comcast's Cathy Avgiris (Video).

Gannett Folds Ripple6 Into Pointroll (paidContent)
PointRoll is headquartered in Conshohocken.

Pa. cuts scarring Ben Franklin (Philadelphia Business Journal)

Alteva joins Cloud Communications Alliance, partners with Microsoft and BroadSoft for hosted Unified Communications solution

When I wrote about Philadelphia-based hosted VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services provider Alteva a few months ago, I highlighted two important strategic issues the company faced. First, it had to determine how to begin moving beyond a primarily regional footprint as the industry inevitably begins to consolidate. Secondly, Alteva needed to define its strategy in the growing market for "unified communications services".
In recent weeks, Alteva took significant steps on both fronts.

In April at the Cloud Computing Expo in New York, Alteva was announced as a founding member of the Cloud Communications Alliance along with seven other companies. The network will offer nationwide peering with interconnected switches and gateways across the country to provide greater network efficiences and more HD voice connections, a common infrastructure to provide nationwide customer support, closer integration of mobile and fixed platforms, formation of a Cloud Communications Alliance 'Sandbox' which will allow the rapid rollout and customer adoption of new apps, joint product development, and other shared services. The combined companies represent more than $100 million of revenue and 100,000 customers.

On the second front, Alteva announced it was partnering with Microsoft and BroadSoft to deliver a hosted Unified Communications (UC) solution to small businesses. Alteva says it interconnects its hosted voice and messaging services with the Microsoft Communication Services product suite, including Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and Office Communications Server (OCS). In part to reflect the emphasis on this offering, Alteva is rebranding itself as a hosted unified communications solution provider, according to Chief Sales Officer Louis Hayner. (This is reflected in their redesigned website). In addition, Alteva now has a web store where organizations with less than 25 users can evaluate and select applications.

Also, Alteva was recently awarded Unified Communications Magazine's "Product of the Year" award for 2009 for its new voice application, Alteva Vision.




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Online system streamlines mortgage modification (Philadelphia Inquirer)

SCVNGR, a Google Ventures-Backed, Location-Based Mobile Gaming Company, Launches Into the Consumer Market (Marketwire)
SCVNGR was founded at Princeton and is a graduate of the DreamIt Ventures incubator, though it is now based in Massachusetts.
A New Entry Into the World of Location-Based Games (New York Times: Bits)

FBI Gets Evidence in Student Webcam Scandal (Wired Blogs: Threat Level)

MedQuist cost cuts lift profit 7 percent (Associated Press via the Courier-Post)

Astea Reports First Quarter 2010 Results (PR Newswire)

News from The Cable Show: 5/13/2010

Why Comcast’s ‘Xfinity Remote’ Could Be More Than Just Another App (paidContent)

FCC Chairman Looks to Reassure Cable Industry (Wall Street Journal: Digits)

Operators Eye 25 Million EBIF Homes This Year
But Panelists Say It's Still Early Days For the Interactive Spec (Multichannel News)

Comcast CTO Doesn't See Shift To FTTH
'I spend no time awake at night on this' (Broadband Reports)

Next-Gen Set-Tops: Triple the Horsepower
(Multichannel News)

RCN ships TiVo DVR; Comcast, DirecTV delay theirs (Washington Post: Faster Forward)




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Views on the SAP-Sybase deal

SAP to Buy Sybase, Ally in Software (New York Times)

SAP Buys Sybase, and History is Re-Written (Enterprise Irregulars)

SAP to acquire again?
(ZDNet Blogs)

Short-term memory gain
Will a takeover and new technology revive the German software giant? (The Economist)

SAP Advances Innovation Strategy With Sybase Acquisition (Forrester Blogs)

Of SAP, Sybase, the Mets and the Yankees (Information Week: Intelligent Enterprise Blog)




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SAP agrees to buy Sybase for $5.8 billion

SAP agrees to buy Sybase for $5.8 billion (MarketWatch)

SAP TO ACQUIRE SYBASE, INC. (SAP Press Release)
Company cites Sybase's mobile platform, integration of SAP in-memory technology with Sybase
analytics.

Daily Links 5/12/2010: Clearwire: LTE Won't Happen Before 2012

SAP Said to Be Close to Buying Sybase for $6 Billion (Bloomberg Business Week)
We will see.

Philly.com app debuts (Philadelphia Daily News)

Graham’s ICG Commerce investment proves wise
(Philadelphia Business Journal: Technology Blog)

Lonza agrees to acquire MODA, a global leader in paperless quality control (Company Press Release)

Boomi Receives CODiE Award for Best Application Integration Solution (Marketwire)

Clearwire: LTE Won't Happen Before 2012
Though CEO suggests they'll be ready to make the shift (Broadband Reports)

SAP on lookout for large acquisitions (FT.com via Yahoo Finance)

SAP Sapphire 2010: New Look, New Execs...A New SAP? (CIO.com)

Dynasil Announces Financing Commitment Letter with Sovereign/Santander Bank to Strengthen Capital Structure (Business Wire)

News from The Cable Show: 5/12/2010

Brian Roberts’ Regret: Didn’t Go For Content Early Enough (paidContent)

Comcast ready for its close-up
Media conglomerate is looking better all the time (Variety)

ESPN lands new 3-D channel on Comcast cable systems (LA Times: Company Town)

Most of Pa. delegation signals support for Comcast-NBC merger
(The Hill)
Rep. Sestak's signature not on letter, though.

Comcast Demos Prototype iPad App For Controlling Your Cable Box (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

Verizon FiOS To Launch 'TV Everywhere' With Time Warner Inc.
Telco Also Working on Video Services With Fox News, CBS, MTVN, Others (Multichannel News)




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News from The Cable Show: 5/11/2010

Cable worries about Web video as fee disputes grow (Reuters)


Canoe Floats VOD, Interactive Demos (Multichannel News)

Comcast Expands On-Demand Movie Offerings (New York Times: Media Decoder)

Live-Blogging Comcast CEO Roberts on Cable TV’s Future (Wall Street Journal: Digits)

Itaas Spiffs Comcast's Cisco Boxes for EBIF (Light Reading Cable)

Cable Show 2010: Motorola Unboxes Digital-Only Multiroom DVR (Multichannel News)




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Daily Links 5/11/2010: Heartland Payment Systems Plans to Hire 1,198 Sales Professionals

The Genius of QVC
How the shopping network became one of the most effective retailing machines ever invented
(The Atlantic)

FCC's 'Third Way' Criticized for Over-Regulation (PC Magazine)
FCC's Clyburn criticizes corporations for misinformation on broadband reclassification (Washington Post: Post Tech)


Heartland breach expenses pegged at $140M -- so far (Computerworld)
Heartland Payment Systems® Plans to Hire 1,198 Sales Professionals in the Next 18 Months (Business Wire)
Why 1,198? Why not 1,195 or 1,199?

WorldGate Introduces ‘Ojo Vision’ Video Phone (Business Wire)

Oracle Unveils Oracle's Primavera Inspire for SAP 7.0 (Marketwire)

SAP's Vertical Future (Forbes)

Bridgeline Digital Acquires TMX Interactive (Globe Newswire via MarketWatch)

Better government through code
Code for America founder Jennifer Pahlka wants to empower developers to become civic coders
(O'Reilly Radar)
Philadelphia one of 5 initial cities chosen to participate.

First SaaS CRM Application Network for Life Sciences Industry Launched By Veeva Systems at Customer Summit (Business Wire)

Citizens Bank of Pa. parent hiring 180, spending $500M on technology (Philadelphia Business Journal)

Universal Display Team Awarded $4 Million Contract from the U.S. Department of Energy to Support Establishment of an OLED Lighting Pilot Manufacturing Facility in the U.S. (Business Wire)



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GSI Commerce acquires VendorNet

The Wall Street Journal reported last night (subscription required) that GSI Commerce has acquired VendorNet, a Boynton Beach, Florida provider of supply chain management software and services for retailers. VendorNet offers a service that enables retailers to drop-ship items customers order online from nearby retail outlets. The company says it has about 100 customers and 32 employees. Deal terms have not been disclosed.


GSI Commerce Press Release

Daily Links 5/10/2010: Top themes at The Cable Show

SAP Accelerates Corporate Overhaul, FT Deutschland Reports (Bloomberg)
Not a lot of detail yet on what this may mean.
But here is a version of the interview from Financial Times Deutschland with SAP Co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Hagemann Snabe, as translated through "Google Translate". (A little patchy in spots.)


Cable: Bernstein Pulls The Plug; Downgrades CMCSA, TWC, CVC (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

Cable Show 2010: The Hot List (Light Reading Cable)

Clock Re-Starting June 3 On Comcast/NBCU
FCC Will Pick Up Clock With 151 Days Remaining On Merger Review Deadline (Multichannel News)

Liberty Interactive: Merrill Downgrades; QVC Results Disappoint (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

Court gives preliminary OK to $4M consumer settlement in Heartland case (Computerworld)

The Agenda Behind Electronic Health Records (New York Times: Bits)

Ben Franklin group announces $2M in early-stage funding (Philadelphia Business Journal)

DreamIt Ventures Kickoff Weekend – 2009 cohort panel on lessons learned (Robert Shedd)

There are east coast (below Boston) hackers--draw us out... (Gabriel Weinberg's Blog)

Universal Display Corporation Announces First Quarter 2010 Financial Results (Business Wire)




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Upcoming trade shows highlight area tech companies

Three big trade shows with connections to major area tech companies kick off over the next week.
The Cable Show, the most important show in the Cable industry, will highlight many new developments from Comcast and its various entities, and from others such as Motorola's Home unit and QVC. It starts Tuesday in Los Angeles and runs through the 13th.

SAPPHIRE NOW, SAP AG's biggest annual event, will begin next Monday, the 17th, in Orlando and runs concurrently with ASUG's (the Americas' SAP Users' Group) annual conference. This year, SAP is also holding a separate European version of SAPPHIRE NOW in Frankfurt at the same time. This SAPPHIRE will be interesting to watch because it will be the first with new Co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe at the helm; also worth following will be Chairman of the Supervisory Board Hasso Plattner's address.

And CAD/CAM software firm Bentley Systems of Exton will hold its "Be Together: The Be Communities ‘Live'" conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from May 17-20.

Philly Tech People News 5/9/2010

Science Center Promotes Dr. Christopher Laing to Vice President, Science & Technology (Business Wire)

Dan Hayes Joins J.G. Wentworth as Chief Technology Officer (Business Wire)

Microsoft’s Sam Batterman Joins ProtonMedia’s Executive Advisory Board (Business Wire)

BioLeap, Inc. Announces the Addition of Dr. Gene Cordes to Its Board of Directors (Business Wire)

Laurel Edelman, SDI Vice President, Clinical, Honored as Industry “Rising Star” by Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association
(Business Wire)

Willis Appoints George Haitsch Head of Willis Risk Solutions
Former SAP Risk Manager to Oversee Willis Unit Serving Large Corporate Clients (Business Wire)

Comcast: FCC opening Net neutrality door 'scary' (CNET News)

Pa. newspapers' layoff notice called 'procedural' (Associated Press via Google News)

A few tidbits

"Morgantown is the next Exton, Malvern, and King of Prussia", says Glenn Porter, a manager at software services provider LMC Software Solutions, according to the Inquirer. LMC recently received VC funding and moved from Chester County to Morgantown. Where in the heck is Morgantown, you ask? (Actually, its in Berks County).
Philly-based Urban Outfitters reported a same store year-to-year sales increase of 11%, which is rather remarkable though admittedly coming off a bit of a down year. Urban Outfitter's direct-to-consumer channel (its eCommerce business) grew 42% and is now running at $86 million a quarter.
The reported problems and shutdown of J&J's McNeil Lab's Fort Washington plant may have a human origin, but could it also raise question about the production and quality control software systems used there, I wonder?
Chester-based sales comp software vendor Synygy has announced it is opening new sales offices in the UK (to serve the EMEA market) and Singapore (to serve Asia).
Retailer Wireless Giant has opened a new store at Philadelphia International Airport featuring BlackBerry devices, software and services.

Daily Links 5/7/2010: QVC revenue up 11%

ICG Announces First Quarter 2010 Financial Results
ICG Reports Core Consolidated Revenue Growth of 24% (Business Wire)

FCC Declares War on Broadband (Light Reading Cable)

Comcast May Now Regret Suing the FCC Over Net Neutrality (PC World)

Liberty Media Reports First Quarter 2010 Financial Results
(PR Newswire)
QVC revenue up 11%.

Entercom Communications Corp. Reports First Quarter Results
Free Cash Flow Increased 135% (Business Wire)

Azavea puts Philadelphia on the map (Philly.com: Philly Inc)

Battery manufacturer to expand (Allentown Morning
Call)

Samsung, Motorola tops in U.S. mobile subscribers (CNET News)




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Internet Capital Group ups stake in ICG Commerce

Internet Capital Group has increased its stake in ICG Commerce of King of Prussia from 64% to 76% by spending $35.3 million to acquire shares from another investor. ICG intends to acquire the additional 5% of the company owned by non-management investors. The deal would appear to value ICG Commerce at around $300 million.
ICG Commerce specializes in procurement outsourcing, helping large clients manage their "spend function". The company reported revenue growth of 28% in 2009.

Press Release

Daily Links 5/6/2010: FCC decides on "third way" to regulate broadband; Comcast "disappointed".

How the FCC Plans to Regulate Internet Lines (Wall Street Journal: Digits)

FCC statement on 'third way' for broadband (CNET News)

Comcast “Disappointed” With FCC Move To Reclassify Broadband
(Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

Clearwire May Dump WiMAX (GigaOM)

Clearwire Reports Strong First Quarter 2010 Results (Business Wire)

SunGard Announces First Quarter 2010 Results (Business Wire)

Safeguard Scientifics Announces First Quarter 2010 Financial Results (Business Wire)

Heartland Payment Systems Reports First Quarter Results (Business Wire)

Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. Reports Results for its Second Fiscal Quarter 2010 (Business Wire)
CEO Scott Kulicke cites "current, unprecedented demand for semiconductor assembly capacity".

International Battery Closes Series C Financing Round (Business Wire)

Hasso on Hasso (ZDNet Blogs)
Interesting, amusing "self-interview" by SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner in advance of SAPPHIRE presentation.

Kaplan EduNeering and ProtonMedia Announce Alliance
Partnership to combine Kaplan’s online compliance and knowledge solutions with ProtonMedia’s leading 3-D virtual environment, ProtoSphere, to help life sciences companies speed collaborative decision-making while meeting regulatory requirements (Business Wire)


DreamIt Ventures Kicks Off 2010 Program on May 7 (Business Wire)

Introducing Motorola Medios, Part One (Motorola Blog: Media Experieces 2 Go)

Dockers Holds Pitch but Awards Digital Creative to None of the Contenders
Levi Strauss Brand Shifts Digital Buying From Razorfish to OMD (Ad Age)
GSI Commerce's agency to play a role.

DormNoise rounds up $500k Series A funding (Mass High Tech)
DormNoise was founded by 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania junior Jay Rodrigues, though the company is now based in Cranston, RI.




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FCC to reclassify portions of broadband to assert authority over Internet access

Genachowski to reclassify portions of broadband to assert FCC authority over Internet access (Washington Post: Post Tech)
Seems like a quick turnabout from a few days ago, but not quite sure what it means or whether the FCC will have the legal power to enforce it.

Daily Links 5/5/2010: IBM and NetSuite connect with Cast Iron

Google Ups Its TV Bet, Invests In Invidi (All Things Digital: MediaMemo)
Invidi was headquartered in Princeton and still has significant operations there, although the official headquarters has apparently been moved to New York.
Inside Google's Invidi TV Advertising Deal (MediaPost: Around the Net in Online Media)

Five Cities Get Free Civic Apps Through Code for America (Mashable)
Philadelphia is one of the five.

IBM and NetSuite connect with Cast Iron (ZDNet Blogs)
Important read.

SAP delays local ByDesign cloud offering launch (The Australian)

Sysco Has Selected SAP to Help Transform Its Business (PR Newswire)

Vishay Reports Results for First Quarter 2010 (Business Wire)
Vishay Shares Slip As Q1 Revs Miss; Says Spin-Off On Track (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

BioClinica Announces First Quarter 2010 Financial Results (Business Wire)

USA Technologies, Inc. Commences $3 Million Public Offering (Business Wire)

Cable Show 2010: Motorola Touts 'Medios' Software, VOD Servers
Vendor to Showcase Media-Delivery Platform, On-Demand Servers (Multichanel News)

More 4G in More Places, Says Clearwire (GigaOM)


Comcast: Reports Confirm Benefits Of NBCU Deal
Company says merger would have lack of adverse impact on online video distribution (Broadcasting & Cable)

Cable Gets Its Wrist Slapped For Pretending To Offer Fiber
Better Business Bureau says Cox, Time Warner Cable ads mislead consumers (Broadband Reports)




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Daily Links 5/4/2010: Report blames IT staff for school Webcam 'spying'

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2010 Results (Business Wire)

FCC likely to hire outsider to oversee NBC-Comcast review (The Hill: Hillicon Valley)

Report blames IT staff for school Webcam 'spying' mess (Computerworld)

SunGard Launches Cliq, a SaaS Solution for Derivatives Post-Trade Processing (PR Web)

Commentary on IBM WebSphere – Cast Iron Deal (The Boomi Blog)

LMC Software Solutions Awarded Ben Franklin Technology Partners Funding (PR Newswire)

Startup Wants to Be R Alternative to IBM, SAS
(IDG via New York Times)

Comcast Does 3G In Beantown, With WiMax In The Wings
MSO's High-Speed 2go Initially Available Only via Sprint's 3G Wireless Network (Multichannel News)

Kenexa Announces Financial Results for First Quarter 2010 (Business Wire)

New Kenexa 2xTM Platform Drives Business Transformation (Marketwire)

Intelligroup® Q1 Revenue Increased 8.7% to $33.5 Million, Net Income Rose 159% to $2.0 Million and EPS Rose 165% to $0.05
(Business Wire)

Ulticom says 1Q sales lower than expected (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Technitrol shares dive after 1Q loss
(Associated Press via Forbes)




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Daily Links 5/3/2010: FCC Chairman Genachowski leaning towards leaving broadband services deregulated

Philadelphia competes for tech expertise (WHYY)

FCC Chairman Genachowski expected to leave broadband services deregulated (Washington Post)

e-Dialog Acquires Database Marketing Solutions Provider MBS (Business Wire)
e-Dialog is a division of GSI Commerce.

IBM Advances Cloud Initiatives With Acquisition of Cast Iron Systems (PR Newswire)
One of Cast Iron's major competitors is Boomi of Berwyn, which I imagine has a few suitors of its own.
IBM to build out hub for cloud of clouds with Cast Iron acquisition (ZDNet Blogs)
With a few words from Boomi.


SAP, Waste Management Settle Lawsuit (PC World)


Verizon Mum On How They Determine A City's Worthy Of FiOS
Baltimore holds hearing to (unsuccessfully) find out why they were overlooked (Broadband Reports)

SPRINT, CLEAR SERVICE NOW AVAILABLE IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA (Going WiMax)

USA Technologies, Inc. Announces Third Quarter Fiscal 2010 Financial Results (Business Wire)

Apriva Challenges USA Technologies in Cashless-Vending Market (Digital Transactions)

Germany's Software AG says 1Q net profit up 9 pct (Associated Press via MSnbc)

Technitrol Reports Q110 Results; Dividend Declared (Business Wire)




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Philly Tech People News 5/2/2010

Veeva Systems Expands Leadership Team
Addition of Vice President of Europe and Chief Financial Officer Marks Important Expansion Milestone (Business Wire)
Though based in California, Veeva handles much of its sales & marketing out of the Philadelphia
area.

ICG Commerce Appoints Joseph Waterman Chief Financial Officer (Globe Newswire via MarketWatch)
Perhaps another sign that ICG Commerce may consider an IPO, as previously mentioned here.

Lockheed Martin Unit to Honor Superlative Employees in New Jersey and Georgia (Marketwire)

Report from Health Information Technology in Massachusetts
(O'Reilly Radar)

A glimpse of coming air-traffic technology (Philadelphia Inquirer)