Daily Links 8/15/2011: Breinigsville, PA-based Cyoptics files for $100 million IPO

CyOptics files papers for $100 million IPO (MarketWatch)
CyOptics, which makes optical components for broadband applications, is based in Breinigsville, PA; Radnor's TL Ventures holds a 5% stake. Obviously, the rocky market conditions may impact timing.

The inside story of DreamIt Ventures’ first New York City accelerator (The Next Web)


New Jersey looks to nurture tech startups (NorthJersey.com)
Looks to DreamIt Ventures as a model.

DDC Secures Seed Funding from Robin Hood Ventures (PR Web)

TicketLeap Launches World's First Socially Integrated Mobile Ticketing Platform (PR Web)

Time Warner Cable To Purchase Insight For $3 Billion In Cash
No. 2 MSO Bolsters Mideastern Presence (Multichannel News)

How Comcast SportsNet Plays The Social Media Game (Information Week)

Urban Outfitters Jumps After Earnings Beat (Barron's Blogs)

Roku grabs $8M, weeks after releasing Roku 2 (VentureBeat)



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Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion

Google announced today it has agreed to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, a 63% premium over Friday's closing price. See Larry
Page's post on Google's blog.

The deal has direct implications for the Philly area:

-Google is buying Motorola Mobility (many say) primarily for its trove of wireless patents. This sounds like a bypass of King of Prussia-based InterDigital, which had been reported to be in serious discussions with Google. That doesn't rule out someone such as Samsung acquiring them; it just takes one huge bidder off the table.

-What does this mean for Motorola Mobility's Horsham-based Home business, which provides equipment to the cable industry? While Google has made some so far unsuccessful forays into parts of this market (Google TV), it is not clear what their strategy would be for this unit, though Larry Page said in his statement that Google is "excited" to work with it as it transitions to IP.

Motorola split into two separately traded companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions, at the beginning of this year.

Motorola’s home division reported a profit of $62 million on revenue of $907 million in the 2nd quarter of 2011.

Update: InterDigital is down 290% so far today.

TechCrunch live blogged Google's conference call discussing the deal.



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Time Warner Cable Said Near $3B Purchase of Insight

Time Warner Cable Said Near $3B Purchase of Insight (Bloomberg)

Philly Tech People News 8/14/2011

Stoke names Dave Williams new chief technology officer (San Jose Business Journal)
Comes from Comcast, where he was senior vice president of wireless technology.

Boingo Wireless Adds Chuck Davis to Board of Directors (Business Wire)
Until recently executive vice president of Comcast Interactive Media.

SAP APPOINTS SUSAN BOR TO LEAD GLOBAL RECRUITING (SAP Press Release)

Steve Winter is new managing director of SAP UK and Ireland (Works Management)

Clairmail Appoints New Vice President of Engineering (Marketwire)
Former SAP exec Kaj van de Loo.

Dudnyk President Powers named to coveted industry list, PharmaVOICE 100 (Philly Ad Club News)

BIGSMACK opens New York City Office; adds Andrew Kobliska (Philly Ad Club News)

NCO Group Announces Jack Jones as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (PR Newswire)

Genomind Adds Scott A. Storrer, Michael Koffler, Daniel Giacomelli, and Bryce Kasuba to Executive Team (PR Web)



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A look at Knight Ridder's futuristic tablet from 1994

All Things Digital has a video this morning from a Knight Ridder development lab in 1994 showing the demo of a tablet device which it calls the future of newspapers. At the time, Knight Ridder owned the Philadelphia Inquire and Daily News. Prescient in some ways, off in some others, but definitely worth the time to view.

Sybase has same strut with quieter stick (Contra Costa Times via San Jose Mercury News)
One year since acquisition by SAP AG.

CWA, Verizon Accuse Each Other Of Not Bargaining In Good Faith
Telco Claims Another 20 Acts of Network Sabotage With Strike Set to Enter Second Week (Multichannel News)

AT&T Sues in Federal Court to Stop Merger-Blocking Arbitration Effort (All Things Digital)

Comcast's Roberts is area's best-paid CEO (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Daily Links 8/12/2011: Pharma restrictions on Facebook go into effect on Monday

Can the cable industry succeed at wireless? (FierceWireless)

Clearwire Jumps 12% On Speculation Of Sprint Funding (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

Verizon: FiOS Won't Be as Profitable as Copper
In Part Because They Can't Charge $8 For Call Waiting (Broadband Reports)

AT&T Seeks to Bolster T-Mobile Case as Doubts Rise in Poll (Bloomberg)

Phila. hires N.J. official to fix information tech (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Adel Ebeid, currently chief information and technology officer for the State of New Jersey, will start work for Philadelphia on Aug. 22.

SAP Business ByDesign and BusinessOne on a collision course? (Dennis Howlett/ZDNet Blogs)

Meet SAP Line of Business OnDemand’s New Leader: Kevin Nix (ASUG News)

SAP ByDesign unveiled in Australia after delays (The Austalian)

ORCL, CRM, VMW: Goldman Cuts Numbers Across Software (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

10 Key Things I Learned From Working at a Search Startup (Search Engine
Watch)
By Alex Cohen, former Director of Marketing for ClickEquations (now part of Channel Intelligence).

Facebook prescribes comments for pharma pages (NewsWorks)

EHS Technologies wins Navy contracts (Philadelphia Business Journal)



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Checkpoint Systems to MMI Investments: We plan to remain independent

Tom Paine


Checkpoint Systems in a letter to MMI Investments, L.P., dated yesterday (included in an SEC filing): Checkpoint did "conduct a thorough internal review of the company’s strategic alternatives over the course of June and July of this year", and concluded "that it is currently in the best interests of Checkpoint’s shareholders for the company to remain independent and to continue to pursue its strategic plan". While Checkpoint indicates it is still willing to talk to MMI, this is a more specific rebuff than its public press release of August 10.

MMI, which holds a 4.9% stake in Philly-based Checkpoint, sent a letter to management dated August 10, in part saying: "We have recommended that Checkpoint hire an investment banker to explore strategic alternatives, which the board summarily dismissed. We have attempted to connect Checkpoint with those who are highly qualified and potentially interested in buying the company, to no avail". Now Checkpoint is saying it has already gone through an exploration of strategic alternatives.

Checkpoint makes systems that help retailers reduce the amount of inventory shrink (usually caused by theft) that they experience.



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Daily Links 8/11/2011: Verizon strike in 5th day; LCB panel opposed wine kiosks in 2008

Silicon Valley’s Undertaker: ‘We’re Anticipating a Major Fallout’ (PE Hub)

Accelerators & Incubators: Dreamit Ventures Dreams Big (Portfolio.com)

A Simple PC For Seniors Is Complicated By Its Flaws (All Things Digital)
Walt Mossberg reviews the Telikin, a PC designed with seniors in mind from Chalfont-based Venture 3 Systems LLC.

Cisco's Chambers: 'We Are Very Much Committed' To Set-Tops
CEO Says Scientific Atlanta Group Revenue Up 11% for Fiscal Year 2011 (Multichannel News)


Would-Be Hulu Buyers Will Have Their Checkbooks Ready Next Week (All Things Digital)

Comcast Seeks Safeguards From Failed Blockbuster Disc Rental Venture (Home Media Magazine)


Disney to put its shows behind a pay wall online, too (Gigaom)

Verizon Cites 90-Plus Acts Of Sabotage On Fifth Day Of Strike
Telco Claims 91% of Customer-Service Calls Were Answered Wednesday (Multichannel News)

Verizon sees FiOS less profitable than copper (Reuters)

Pa. Liquor Control Board was warned on wine kiosks
Employees were told to discard copies of committee's concerns (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)


Eisai Inc. Selects Cloud-Based Veeva CRM to Replace Multiple On-Premise Sales Support Systems (Business Wire)
Based in California, Veeva has much of its US customer-oriented operations located in the Philadelphia area.

RentTheCloud.com Debuts to Help CIOs Quickly and Safely Adopt Cloud Computing (PR Newswire)

MondoNet: Rutgers Academics Try to Built a New, Censorship-Proof Internet (Read Write Web)



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Dow off 4.6% today; a look at Philly Tech Stocks

A look at Philly Tech stocks today, after the Dow fell 519.83 points, or 4.6 percent, to 10,719.94. (Another day, a few less dollars.)

Daily Links 8/10/2011: Bensalem-based mortgage tech company ISGN raises $30 million

Bensalem-based ISGN Raises $30 Million from Investors (PR Newswire)

Checkpoint Systems under pressure to seek sale
* MMI Investments sends letter seeking strategic review
* Earlier recommendations rebuffed by board (Reuters)
Checkpoint's response: Its all just a misunderstanding.

DirecTV Defeats Comcast Bid for Court Order Blocking Ads for NFL Programs (Bloomberg)

NBC Sports Group Agrees to Multi-Year Partnership With Major League Soccer
NBC, NBC Sports Net to air 49 games per season (Broadcasting & Cable)

U.S. subscribers hang up on cable, satellite; economy, streaming to blame (Globe and Mail via CTV News)

Cablevision and Viacom make peace in iPad dispute (LA Times: Company Town)

Clearwire names CEO and asks him to raise $900M (Gigaom)

Here Are The 13 Startups Presenting At NYC Dreamit Demo Day Today (Silicon Alley Insider)


Verizon goes to court over workers' strike in East
(AP via CNBC)


SAP Will Launch New Smart Grid Software
SAP Smart Meter Analytics is going to handle a whole lot more than meter data and do it faster. (Greentech Media)

Mistras Group, Inc. Delivers Strong Revenue and Earnings Growth as FY 2011 Revenue Increases 24%, Adjusted EBITDA Up 33%
(GlobeNewswire)
Mistras Group is based in Princeton.

FCC announces plan to update 911 to receive texts, video
(The Hill)
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski made announcement at the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International Conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Orbitz and StarCite Launch Orbitz for Business Meetings (PR Newswire)



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