Highlights: Last week on Philly Tech News (3/19/2012 to 3/25/2012)

I profiled Exton-based digital signage software firm Scala and the important product announcements it made at a recent industry trade show.

As reports surfaced that Philly-based retailer Five Below is considering an IPO, I took at look back at Josh Kopelman's pre-First Round Capital investment vehicle, Midas Capital, which has Five Below among its portfolio companies. Kopelman also weighed in last week in favor of The JOBS Act, which did pass the House & Senate though the two versions still need to be reconciled. (Update:House Approves Revised Crowdfunding Bill, Sends It to Obama.)

I highlighted some new or expanding facilities for Philly area tech companies, including the giant new Steel ORCA data center being built in Newtown.

The Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee hearing on the proposed Verizon Wireless/Cable spectrum sale and joint marketing agreement was held on the Hill last week, and it was fairly contentious.

West Chester-based QVC announced it was expanding into China in a joint venture with a Chinese company.

After two years of testing, Philly-based Venmo publicly launched its online payment service, as the New York Times reported.

Sqoot, a 2010 Philadelphia DreamIt Ventures graduate now based in New York and Chicago, got into a little trouble over an ill-advised sexist comment it used online in promoting a Boston hackathon it was backing.

Oracle issued a fairly positive earnings report, and as usual Larry Ellison went after SAP, which meanwhile said it had a goal of reaching 100 billion euros in sales in 20 years.

Notable Quotes:

Oracle's Larry Ellison: "When SAP, and, specifically Hasso Plattner, said they're going to build this in-memory database and compete with Oracle, I said, God, get me the name of that pharmacist, they must be on drugs".

Comcast EVP David Cohen: "There is nothing in these agreements to prevent us from trying to beat the brains out of FiOS".

Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.): "It's like you agreed to throw in the towel and stop competing with each other".


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