Highlights: Last week on Philly Tech News (3/12/2012 to 3/18/2012)

I profiled the launch of Quewey, a Philly-based business oriented Q&A site.

The Allentown Morning Call reported on the demise of Lehigh Valley-based International Battery, a startup with high hopes for making it big with rechargeable lithium-ion cells and batteries. It went through tens of millions of venture capital funding and leaves Pennsylvania on the hook for millions.

A UK publication reported that Exton-based iPipeline was in talks to acquire Assureweb, a financial services quotation portal backed by several large insurers there. When it received $71.4 million in venture funding in January, iPipeline had indicated international expansion could be one use of the funds.

Philadelphia Media Network reduced staff at the Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com by about 40 people through a combination of buyouts and layoffs; guild management for the papers issued a letter ripping the management of Publisher Greg Osberg.

In a presentation at a forum held by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) in Phialdelphia, Comcast SVP of strategic planning Mark Coblitz emphasized the need for cable operators and their suppliers to take energy efficiency into account in the early stages of designing processes and equipment.

The witness list is set for the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee hearings on Verizon Wireless' spectrum/joint marketing agreement with a coalition of cable companies, including Comcast. The hearings are scheduled for this Wednesday afternoon.

SAP AG continued to rollout its HANA product on many fronts, including an announcement scheduled for April 10 on its database software plans. Meanwhile, some industry analysts are becoming increasingly concerned about Oracle's weaknesses. Oracle announces its quarterly earnings tomorrow (the 20th).

Philadelphia-based software firm Ascentive agreed to pay a $9.6 million settlement of a class action lawsuit for its alleged "scareware" tactics, although the company did not admit to wrongdoing.


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