Daily Links 11/14/2011: Philly papers moving to former Strawbridge's building






SAP open to acquisitions in Asia, to hire more in China, India (Reuters)

SAP Sapphire: New Paradigm Needed? (eWeek Europe)

SAP: Cloud success inhibited by legal matters (BusinessCloud9)

10 ways to beat SAP at the bargaining table (Computerworld)

Inquirer, Daily News moving to former Strawbridge’s building (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Trading in 525,000 square feet for 125,000.


Buffett builds $10.7 billion stake in IBM (Reuters)

Quepasa Corporation Announces Third Quarter 2011 Results (Marketwire)
First earnings report since completion of merger with myYearbook. Combined company is headquartered in New Hope.

Kenexa Announces Acquisition of Batrus Hollweg (Marketwire)

What's Cookin' at Cable-Tec Expo? (Light Reading Cable)
The 2011 Cable-Tec Expo takes place Nov. 15-17 in Atlanta. It is presented by the Exton-based Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE).

Decision Simulation Extends Licensing Agreement with University of Pittsburgh for Virtual Patient Platform
Updated version from University of Pittsburgh to be made commercially available by Decision Simulation in 2012
(Business Wire)



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SAP optimistic for 4Q, forecasts growth in 2012 (MarketWatch)

What next for net neutrality? (Fortune Tech)


Fun Fact of The Week: Time from Inbox to Investment (Redeye VC)


Daily Links 11/10/2011: Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis: "We have no desire to own a wireless network".

Is SAP finally getting its money's worth from Sybase? (Computer Weekly Development Network)

Cisco's Chambers: 'We Got Very Lucky That Motorola Got Purchased By Google'
CEO Reiterates Commitment to Cable Set-Top Market
(Multichannel News)

Senate Declines To Vote On Net Neutrality-Blocking Maneuver (Multichannel News)

Comcast CFO: No plans to go outside footprint with video (SNL Blog)
There is no way the major cable companies would ever invade each other's footprint, at least not in the forseeable future, in my view.
CFO Michael Angelakis also said, "We have no desire to own a wireless network."

Adaptly, A 23-Year-Old's Fast Growing Startup, Hires A Googler To Take On Europe (Silicon Alley Insider)
Adaptly, now based in New York, was in DreamIt Ventures' 2010 Philadelphia class, and raised $2.7 million in VC funding led by First Round Capital. Paul Turner, former Head of EMEA for Invite Media (backed by First Round and acquired by Google), has joined Adaptly in the same role.

Quepasa and myYearbook Announce Completion of Merger (Marketwire)

WVT Communications Group Reports Third Quarter 2011 Financial Results (Marketwire)
First earnings report reflecting inclusion of Alteva results for part of quarter.

SunGard Availability Services and University of Texas at Austin Partner to Create Cloud Computing Research Center (PR Newswire)

PayChoice Moves to a Private Cloud Infrastructure That Delivers Performance, Advanced Business Continuity Capabilities, and Anytime, Anywhere Accessibility (Business Wire)


Ben Franklin (Northeastern Pennsylvania) announces investments in area companies (Allentown Morning Call)

Rx For Growth: Havas Forms Strategic Alliance With China's MedMed (MediaPost: Media Daily News)

Google teams up with Startup Weekend, provides trainings on Google technology (VentureBeat)
Google planning Bootcamps, but none scheduled for Philly yet.

The time for healthcare tech startups is now (Gigaom)



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Daily Links 11/9/2011: Comcast begins rollout of IPv6 network

SAP Pumps up Its In-memory, Mobile and Cloud Strategies (PC World)

Universal Display posts Q3 profit, shares rise (Reuters)

Comcast begins rollout of IPv6 production network (Network World)
Comcast Blog Post.

Comcast and the Multiscreen Play (Pipeline Magazine)

Lazarus: NBC Sports Network Changes Will Be 'Done Well, Not Fast'
NBC Sports Group Chairman Says Network Will Look To Build Trust With Viewers, Advertisers, Distributors
(Multichannel News)

The children are our future, and they’re not paying for TV (Gigaom)

Senate Debates Net Neutrality Regs
Sens. Hutchison and Rockefeller square off on joint resolution to nullify rules
(Broadcasting & Cable)

U.S. web sales grow 16% for QVC in Q3 (Internet Retailer)

Fan (Richmond) tech firm expands in NoVa, Philly (Richmond BizSense)

Unisys Strengthens Enterprise-Class Cloud Offerings with New Version of Secure Private Cloud Solution (PR Newswire)

SunGard Availability Services Announces Managed Recovery Program to Deliver Expert Management of Recovery Lifecycle (PR Newswire)

A more grown-up CRM for BusinessOne users (SAP Watch)

The Lawmakers Sponsoring a Very Facebook-Friendly Bill (The Atlantic Wire)
Toomey, Carper cite Wawa, W. L. Gore as possible beneficiaries.

Hey, Siri, send Jenn $5 (VentureBeat)
Venmo's app for Siri.

BioClinica Announces Third Quarter 2011 Financial Results (Business Wire)



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ElectNext announces launch, partnership (Press Release)

Historic Partnership to Revolutionize Voting in America


November 8, 2011 - Philadelphia, PA - It's morning for American voters. Today, millions will enter a voting booth without a clue. It doesn't have to be that way. ElectNext, described as eHarmony for voters, launches today with a simple message: Vote well. The National Constitution Center announces today a partnership with ElectNext to provide the startup with non-partisan content and expertise on current election issues rooted in the Constitution.


ElectNext, a DreamIt Ventures backed startup, launched in beta just two months ago, and today unveils a relaunch based on user feedback. "Every change in the redesign was a direct response to seeing people use the site and responding to feedback," says co-founder Keya Dannenbaum, who speaks today at this year's TEDxPhilly, and tonight, hosts the ElectNext public relaunch party.


Dannenbaum and ElectNext partner Paul Jungwirth met while in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. The pair consulted with national political experts, including professors from Harvard, Princeton and Penn, to create easy-to-follow questions that may deliver surprising results. Going forward, input from experts at the National Constitution Center will offer an even stronger framework for understanding all sides of issues.


With ElectNext, the aisle dividing American political parties disappears. Because politics is the art of disagreeing well, ElectNext offers a Debate Engine to encourage public discourse. Starting with a focus on the 2012 presidential election, ElectNext has plans in coming months to go granular, adding local races as well.


Already garnering praise from TechCrunch, Daily Kos, Huffington Post, and other national forums, ElectNext gives voters a new sense of civic engagement. From national presidential elections to future local races, ElectNext, a DreamIt Ventures funded company, empowers voters to discover the right candidates and make informed choices.


To find out more, visit www.electnext.com.



About the National Constitution Center
Located on Independence Mall in Historic Philadelphia, the National Constitution Center is America’s first and only nonprofit, nonpartisan institution devoted to the U.S. Constitution. As a cutting-edge museum, national town hall and educational facility, the Center illuminates constitutional ideals and inspires acts of citizenship through must-see multimedia exhibitions, live performances, timely public programs and dynamic educational resources. The museum dramatically tells the story of “We the People” through more than 100 interactive exhibits, films, photographs and rare artifacts; the stirring theatrical performance Freedom Rising; and the iconic attraction Signers’ Hall, featuring 42 life-sized bronze statues of the Founding Fathers. As America’s town hall for constitutional dialogue, the Center regularly engages political leaders, scholars, pundits and journalists of diverse viewpoints. The Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, which serves as the hub for national constitutional education and provides exceptional civic learning resources both onsite and online. For more information, call 215.409.6700 or visit www.constitutioncenter.org. For smart conversation about the Constitution, visit the Center’s blog, Constitution Daily, at blog.constitutioncenter.org.


Daily Links 11/8/2011: Bentley Systems makes two acquisitions

Bentley Acquires FormSys to Expand SACS Offerings for Floating Structures (Business Wire)

Bentley Makes Point Clouds Valuable Across Full Infrastructure Lifecycle Through Acquisition of Pointools Ltd (Business Wire)

Liberty Interactive Reports Third Quarter 2011 Financial Results (Business Wire)
QVC revenue grows 6%; parent Liberty increases stake in HSN slightly to 34%, buys back shares.


Exclusive: HP weighing sale of webOS unit (Reuters via Fox Business)
Oracle mentioned as one possible buyer.

PHD Virtual Technologies Announces Additional Investment (PR Web)
Insight Venture Partners and Citrix Systems invest again in Philly-based provider of virtualization monitoring solutions.


Getting your staff on board with superior customer service (Washington Post)
By Gary Jackson, chief executive of Philly-based Shunra Software.

Siemens/MobileMD To Play In Accountable Care Arena
The technology giant positions itself for emerging reimbursement environment with purchase of health information exchange vendor MobileMD
(Information Week)


Tyco CEO Breen to resign from Comcast board (MarketWatch)

Don't Pull the Plug on Cablevision (Barron's)

Dish Network CEO Ergen: 'We're just not getting our fair share yet' (Fierce Cable)

Sneak peak at Comcast’s Skype on Xfinity service (Gigaom)


Gary Flake names all-star cast of investors in Clipboard’s $1.4M round (Geekwire)
First Round Capital is one of them.

PANL: Gabelli, Avian Doubt Skeptical View Of Patent Hearing (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)
Wondering who Universal Display's IP attorneys are.

Universal Display Corporation Announces Third Quarter 2011 Financial Results (Business Wire)

USA Technologies, Inc. Reports Results for First Quarter of Fiscal 2012
License and Transaction Fee Revenues Up 62%, Total Revenue Up 51% Compared to a Quarter a Year Ago
(Business Wire)

CardioNet, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2011 Financial Results (Business Wire)

Plosser says Fed should target inflation, not jobs (Reuters)



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Highlights: Last week on Philly Tech News (10/31-11/6 2011)

Tom Paine


I reported on Comcast's 3rd quarter earnings release last week; a mixed bags perhaps, but don't worry about them. Comcast is making plenty of money, though its NBC Broadcast Networks don't appear to be making much of it.

Meanwhile, the city of Longmont, Colorado took a step, in theory, towards competing with Comcast, passing a referendum that would allow it to utilize a largely dark fiber network that runs through town to offer competing telecom services. However, no business plan or financing is in place.

I wrote about Publicis' decision to merge its Philly-based digital health agencies, Digitas Health and Razorfish Health, into its New York-based Publicis Healthcare Communications Group.

And I spoke with co-founder Aksel Güngör of Philly startup Ridaroo about his firm's efforts to develop the market for applications that help bring Carpoolers together in the US.

In other big stories last week, Malvern's Siemens Healthcare made a move into the Healthcare Information Exchange market by acquiring MobileMD of Yardley, SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott say SAP's Cloud strategy will be unveiled early next year, and Monetate said its 3rd quarter revenue increased by 387%.

And Ewing, NJ-based OLED technology firm Universal Display (NASDAQ:PANL) has been bouncing up and dowm on an almost daily basis buffeted by differing analyst reports, rumors, questions on whether Apple would incorporate its technology, and a possible European patent ruling, among other things.



Best Buy expands in IT services by acquiring mindSHIFT, which has significant Philly presence

Tom Paine

Best Buy geared up its efforts to provide IT services to small and medium sized enterprises by acquiring Waltham, Massachusetts-based mindSHIFT Technologies for $167 million, it announced today. mindSHIFT, which has 500 employees, provides cloud services, data center services and professional services mostly on the East coast, including Philadelphia.

mindSHIFT expanded into the Philly market by acquiring Dynamic Digital Services of Levittown in 2005, and in 2007 through the acquisition of Network Alternatives, Inc. of Langhorne, a provider of full-service technology solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises in the legal and professional services markets. mindSHIFT had over 60 employees at its Langhorne facility, it said in a press release early this year. The Philadelphia Business Journal rank it as #24 on their list of Top Technology Providers and #12 on their list of Largest Systems Integrators for 2011.

The deal reflects an effort by Best Buy to reduce its reliance on Big Box electronic retailing, and increase its base of commercial customers.



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SAP seeks to speed up, facilitate HANA deployments (SAP Watch)

DuPont's AMOLED HDTV tech licensed by... someone, will likely be used to build HDTVs (Engadget)

Universal Display Not Likely To Get Apple OLED License Deal (Forbes: Tech Musings)

PANL: Key Patent Claims Denied In German Hearing, Says Watchdog Group (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)
Story needs more interpretation/confirmation.

Dish Advances as Dividend Calms Concerns Over Network Spending (Bloomberg)

Time Warner Cable gets hit with 'large' outage (CNET News)
Update: Probably caused by outage at Level 3.

An “eHarmony For Voters” (TechCrunch)
On Philly startup ElectNext.

Google Ventures Takes A Sip Of Milk, Invests In Kevin Rose’s New Startup
(TechCrunch)
First Round Capital is also an investor.