Next generation iPhone set to debut
(6abc.com)




Permalink


Dow Chemical to Acquire Rohm & Haas for $18.8 Billion (Bloomberg)

Buffet, Kuwait fund Dow's $15B/$78-share bid for Rohm & Haas (Philly.com: Philly Deals)

Dow buys Rohm and Haas for $15.3 billion (EE Times)
A little more about the deal, specifically in the advanced materials area and why it actually might be good for Philadelphia.

Ness Technologies Sells SAP Sales and Distribution Division in Israel to SAP
(MarketWatch)

Bloomberg Restructures Amidst Merrill Stake Sale Talks; Text Separates From Multimedia Division (paidContent)
A substantial portion of Bloomberg's operations are in Princeton.

Sales set to start on new iPhone (Metro Philadelphia)

Getting an Early Look at the App Store (Business Week: Tech Beat)

Navteq Acquisition completed by Nokia
(Associated Press via Forbes)
Navteq owns Traffic.com of Wayne.

Japan firms,govt to team up on OLED panels -Nikkei (Reuters)


InterDigital - Thoughts on the ITC staff report (Wireless Industry Analyst)

Kenexa Hires Human Resources Thought Leader to Direct Product Strategy (Marketwire via CNN Money)

VoiceVerified Inc. Wins Patent Approval for Voice Authentication System (PR.com)

Low Power RF Developer - CenTrak-Video (Texas Instruments E2E Community)

A Primer on Smart Cards (New York Times: Personal Tech-free subscription)

FeedRoom Adds Another $12 Million In Funding (Silicon Alley Insider)
FeedRoom is based in New York. The funding round was led by NewSpring Capital, which has been very busy lately.


Health Plan Signs Tech Software Deal (The Bulletin)

Drexel School of Public Health Uses NetReach's cmScribe Advanced Content Management System (CMS) Software for First National Diversity Preparedness Clearinghouse
(PRNewswire)

WorldGate Introduces the Ojo Pro Video Phone for the Business Market (BusinessWire)
Not quite the buzz of the iPhone introduction.



Permalink


Siemens to reduce SG&A costs – 12,600 jobs to be cut worldwide (Siemens Press Release)

NextG Launches Major Philadelphia DAS Network (BusinessWire)
I haven't heard of this before, so I'm not sure how it might compare to other kinds of wireless service. I'll find out more.


SAP, Oracle go vertical in ERP applications fight
(SearchSAP.com)
Many more acquisitions to come.

Update: SAP module reorganization? (SearchSAP.com: SAP Watch)

Sandra Long to lead newspapers' consolidation efforts (Philadelphia Daily News)

Comcast, Vonage Partner on Network Management
(PC Magazine)

Comcast suddenly respects FCC authority over throttling (ars technica)

Is Cable Voice Getting a Sore Throat? (GigaOM)

FiOS TV Adding Big Ten Network (Broadcasting & Cable)

RFID Industry Reaction to Checkpoint-OAT Deal, Part 2
(RFID Update)

Bentley and Autodesk target interoperability (Extranet Evolution)

Kenexa Names Tim Beaumont as Vice President of Sales (Marketwire via CNN Money)

NewSpring Capital helps fund buyout of Thermacore (Philadelphia Business Journal)

CenTrak Acquires Important Patent for Dual Infrared/Radio Frequency (IR/RF) Technology; IR/RF Approach Enables 100% Room-Level Location Accuracy (CenTrak Press Release)

Herley Industries, Inc. Added to Russell 3000 Index (PRNewswire)

Flex and the Swiz Framework by Chris Scott on 07/10/08 (Philadelphia FlashPlatform AUG)



Permalink


RFID Industry Reaction to Checkpoint-OAT Deal, Part 1 (RFID Update)


Checkpoint Systems Deems OAT Acquisition Strategic
(RFID Journal)

One thing that surprised me about this acquisition was that the price was as low as it was ( $37 million). A recent article in Xconomy,
a Boston tech business blog, put the VC investment in OATSystems at $25 million. If that's correct, it means the return on that
investment was probably close to zero (after taking out whatever stake the principals had left), and really a loss considering the time value
of money.
I thought it would be worth more, not so much because of its financial fundamentals, but for the value of its technology to
a strategic buyer like Checkpoint. But obviously, it wasn't.



Permalink


When I was putting together this little Google Map of Apple
Store locations in the area, I noticed with amazement that while Center City still does not have its own store, Atlantic City does! Somehow, I've never thought of people who spend a lot of time in Atlantic City as being Apple's target market. There have been rumors and photographs of storefronts that were supposedly being rennovated into Apple Stores in Philly, but none have ever materialized.
Couldn't Ed Rendell get on the phone to his old friend Al Gore, who is on Apple's Board (he probably invented the iPhone also), and say, "hey Al, we need an Apple Store in Philadelphia"? I'm sure the Governor could also steer $1 or$ 2 million in state economic development funds Apple's way to cover startup costs, since he seems to have an unlimited supply of that.



Permalink


Bullish on Philadelphia
New mayor wants to reverse population outflow, attract more businesses
(MarketWatch)

Platform for high throughput gene data
analysis
(Laboratorytalk)
Philadelphia-based Integromics partners with Applied Biosystems.and Novartis.

New Nanowire-based Memory Could Beef up Information Storage (DailyTech)
Research at Penn.

Rohm and Haas Announces Enhanced Version of VaporStation Central Delivery System (nanowerk)

Tethered Molecules Act As Light-driven Reversible Nanoswitches (Science Daily)

Three Startups To Solve SaaS Integration Problems (Information Week)

In the Ether (Circumference of a Moose)
On CenTrak and RFID in hospitals.

Big Four accounting firms edge back into consulting biz (Philadelphia Business Journal)

Movers and Shakers Interview with Cathy Avgiris, Sr. VP and GM Voice Services, Comcast (Hellenic News of America)

Philadelphia papers reach pension settlement
with union
(Associated Press via Forbes)

Friends, Romans, Country(people), Lend Us Your Fail (dangerously awesome)


Permalink


Expanded "Young Companies to Watch"



My list of "Young Companies to Watch" is not particularly scientific, and certainly not perfect. It represents the companies I have found to have shown the greatest potential, either in terms of achieved benchmarks in the marketplace or proprietary intellectual capital and strategy. I know there are a few on this list that haven't found their niche yet, but overall I think it would make a fairly good portfolio.
But there are literally hundreds of interesting young IT startups in the Philadelphia region, and I'd like to be a little more inclusive in providing information and details about them. So here is the beginning of a more expanded database, to which I will add to over time selectively.

Others to watch

Ringside Networks of Marlton is probably getting the most hype right now. It provides an open source social application server that can be used to build applications and integrate them into different social networks. Bob Bickel (formerly of Bluestone and JBoss) has done a remarkable job of evangelizing the company. Its still a little early to measure the actual traction Ringside is gaining in the market, as they only officially launched about three months ago, but a lot of people are building applications on it. Initial funding came from Matrix Partners; another round is expected soon.
Redlasso is also getting a great deal of publicity, but not all good. Its going to have to develop a more legally acceptable business model to survive. Originally funded by Pat Croce, among others, Redlasso is seeking another round but is going to have difficulty doing so given their legal issues. Others particularly intruiging are Integromics, GenSight, Commerce360, CenTrak, and FlyTunes. Intregromics and GenSight are actually based in Europe, but have their US headquarters here.
The focus here is on younger, mostly early stage startups. Companies that are entirely or majority owned subsidiaries of larger corporations are not included.


Cover Story: Inside Comcast’s Downingtown (Multichannel News)



Permalink