Emerging Technology : In The News

Bloomberg is reporting that Comcast is close to announcing its management team as it acquires 51 percent of NBC Universal.

Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's former programming chief, will oversee NBC entertainment, said the people, who declined to be identified because the decisions aren't public. Jeff Gaspin, current chairman of entertainment, has been offered a lesser role and hasn't decided whether to stay, they said.

Comcast Chief Operating Officer Stephen Burke, who will become NBC Universal's chief executive officer, is putting his imprint on the entertainment company as the new owner prepares to take over from General Electric Co. In September, he told NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker he would be out of a job when deal with Philadelphia-based Comcast is completed. Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, plans to combine its pay-TV channels with NBC, which also owns broadcast networks, a movie studio and theme parks. The company's purchase of NBC is awaiting regulatory approval.

Original source: Bloomberg
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Drexel University's Plasma Institute, the nation's larges such research center, is moving its laboratories to Camden's Waterfront Technology Center, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"We don't think of the [Pennsylvania-New Jersey] border as significant," said Mark Greenberg, Drexel's provost. "We're a region here."

By all accounts, New Jersey has welcomed Drexel's interest. For example, the Plasma Institute's labs on the entire fifth floor of the Waterfront Technology Center were built at no cost to Drexel, with $3.5 million coming from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and $1.5 million from the federal Economic Development Administration. The institute also received $158,355 toward its 10-year lease from the $175 million fund that came with the 2002 state takeover of Camden.

The institute was crowded out of its space at 34th Street and Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, according to its director, Alexander Fridman. But it also was attracted to working in the same building as the Applied Communications and Information Networking (ACIN) program, a business incubator Drexel started in Camden several years ago to develop technologies and products for military use.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Philadelphia designer and printmaker Jack Zylkin, a regular in the Hive76 community of makers and crafters, has created and made available a USB Typewriter that Geek With Laptop just loves.

The USB Typewriter describes itself as a "groundbreaking innovation in the field of obsolescence", and frankly, I couldn't have put it better myself. To be serious for a minute though, some people do still prefer the touch and feel of a manual typewriter over a computer keyboard, and many people have old models that they are still very attached to.

In true open source tradition, Jack Zylkin, the man behind this project, even provides instructions to people who want to build their own USB Typewriter from scratch. So that makes a total of three different options available; making one from scratch yourself, buying a DIY kit to install yourself, and buying a completed typewriter from the website. Oh, I almost forgot, you can also send in your existing typewriter for Jack to convert.

The USBTypewriter is based on Arduino, and works with three main components. There is a sensor board made from metal contacts, a USB interface board with a Atemega Arduino chip, and Reed switches to detect any keys that don't strike the crossbar. Amazingly, the entire project only needs 11 wires to operate, nine of which lie underneath the chassis.

Original source: Geek With Laptop
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Fairmount-based Facebook app developer Stuzo was acquired by Dachis Group, an Austin, Texas social business consultancy, reports Technically Philly.

We're looking to bring on board more technical, project management, and account talent," said Pfau.

Stuzo started in 2005 as a platform for college students to trade textbooks and other goods at Temple University before pivoting to become one of the first developers on the Facebook Application platform.

The company began building apps like MyHeritage before focusing more on promotions for other brands like Coca-Cola and Proctor and Gamble, quickly becoming one of the largest Facebook development shops in the country.

Original source: Technically Philly
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Richard Woodward, currently working on University City Science Center startup Vascular Magnetics, Inc., and a veteran of 16 other startups, has been named Rowan University's VenturePreneur in Residence, reports the Courier-Post.

Bringing in mentors with hands-on experience makes education more meaningful, says Niranjan Pati, dean of the Rohrer College of Business at Rowan.

"His (Woodward's) interaction will immensely benefit our students in terms of gaining practical insights to make great business plans even better."

Woodward holds a Ph.D. in molecular cell biology. His father worked for the phone company and his mother studied nursing while yearning to be a flight attendant.

Original source: The Courier-Post
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Sixteen year-old Azeem Hill, part of the after-school team that beat out top competitors for the Automotive X-Prize by building a sporty hybrid car that can get 100 mpg in the city, is profiled by Treehugger at annual big-idea conference Poptech.

They entered the car in the Automotive X-Prize, and beat out numerous top competitors--MIT and multimillion dollar tech firms among them. Hill and Hauger brought the car to this year's Poptech, and I caught up with them to get the story.

And yes, he and his classmates had to learn everything that goes into making a hybrid car--from the relevant physics to the design applications to the under-the-hood mechanics. How else could they build this. Azeem's instructor, Simon Hauger, created the after-school hands-on hybrid car program 13 years ago, and decided a couple years ago to aim for the X Prize.

Original source: Treehugger
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Philadelphia-based rapper/producer Dice Raw, a member of The Roots, has launched a new music company called R&S Music Group, reports All Hip Hop.

"We are all about the preservation of good music and culture while also trying to be innovative with technology and the web," Dice Raw told AllHipHop.com. "We want to open the doors to up and coming artists and provide a credible platform of digital distribution without them having to sell their life to a record company."

R&S is currently working with local producers Khari Mateen and Rick Friedrich, who have produced tracks for a variety of local artists, including The Roots and Jill Scott.

Dice Raw will be performing new material next weekend near the campus of the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, when he hits the Mojo On Main for an exclusive performance on Thursday (October 28th).

Original source: All Hip Hop
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Our sister publication Keystone Edge writes about Malvern biopharmacetucial startup Recro Pharma, among the new breed of companies presenting at the annual Biotech 2010 conference in Philadelphia.

There's no denying that the down economy has been rough for the life sciences sector. When industry news website FiercePharma listed the 10 companies that laid off the most workers in 2009, seven firms on the list had a presence in the Keystone State. But Chris Molineaux, president of the statewide advocacy group Pennsylvania Bio that is hosting its annual Biotech 2010 event next week, says the upheaval of Big Pharma represents a new model for the industry.

No longer will huge companies try to do every task under one corporate banner, Molineaux says. Already, it's increasingly common to outsource tasks like information technology, financing and the administrative aspects of clinical drug trials. Researchers remain in-house or come to a company through an acquisition.

"It's going to be more of a patchwork. We're not going to have 15 large pharmaceutical companies," Molineaux says. "We'll probably have 50 medium-sized pharmaceutical companies and dozens of these smaller contractors."

Original source: Keystone Edge
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Havertown-based military history publisher Casemate expects its first mobile applications, courtesy of Philadelphia firm Ebooq, to be available in both the Apple App Store and Google's Android Market, reports Publisher's Weekly.

The creation of its own apps is an outgrowth of Casemate's digital strategy, which it began implementing at the beginning of 2010. Farnsworth said that when he decided to enter the e-book market, he wanted Casemate to do its own e-books, and he put together an in-house staff. During the recruiting process, Farnsworth heard about a Philadelphia startup (Casemate is based in nearby Havertown, Pa.) and, after doing his due diligence, decided not only to give his app business to the company but also to make an investment in the firm, called Ebooq. The first 10 apps will be low priced--probably $2.99  and will be a straight conversion of text, but Farnsworth said he expects to develop more sophisticated apps later in 2011.

While Farnsworth is exploring the best ways Casemate can grow its digital business, he has also started using one of publishing's oldest marketing techniques to sell its 4,000 print books--a mail-order catalog. The first edition of "The Warrior" went to 50,000 customers in May, and the second is planned for around Thanksgiving. Farnsworth said response to the first mailing was "not bad," but added he is hoping for improvement from the next one.

Original source: Publisher's Weekly
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Nurses at Thomas Jefferson University hospitals in Philadelphia will be able to solve practice problems, promote quality improvement and conduct research projects through a new evidence-based practice model, reports Nurse.com.

Jefferson's Evidence-Based Practice and Research Staff Nurse Leadership Committee is overseeing the model's implementation.

"By using evidence-based practice, staff nurses can develop important skills to design and implement clinical projects that improve nurse-sensitive and patient outcome indicators," Meg Bourbonniere, RN, PhD, Jefferson's vice president for nursing research, said in a news release.

Original source: Nurse.com
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The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has found new hope for babies and toddlers suffering from neuroblastoma, a rare but deadly cancer, in a pair of studies, reports USA Today.

Both therapies offer better, safer treatments for the disease, and belong to the emerging field of "personalized" cancer therapy, with medications tailored to the specific genetic profiles of a patient's tumor, says co-author John Maris of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

A study of 226 children focused on an experimental, man-made antibody, called ch14.18, given as a cocktail with other immune stimulants. Doctors randomly assigned half of children to get standard care and half to receive the new antibody, according to the study in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

Original source: USA Today
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Wildly successful entrepreneur Jassi Chadha has brought his expertise to TiE-NJ/Philadelphia, a newer chapter of the global entrepreneurship organization, reports SiliconIndia.

TiE NJ-Philly is an offshoot of TiE Tristate. New Jersey and Philadephia had quite a lot of entrepreneurs who would often find it difficult to make it to New York for various events of the Tristate. Hence the need for a chapter in this geographic area became a necessity. Today under the leadership of Chadha, the TiE-NJ-Philly Chapter is helping the budding entrepreneurs in this geography to realize their goals and dreams by conducting various events, providing mentoring, and networking opportunities.

"There are aspects of entrepreneurship like optimism, excitement, energy, and a sense of adventure that is inspiring to read and get excited. It also drives people to do more and pursue big dreams. However, the path of entrepreneurship is often lonely, hard, and the journey hectic with challenges of different sorts. That's why entrepreneurs need to be supported and find the right support in programs that TiE offers," says Chadha.

Original source: SiliconIndia.
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Technically Philly's profile of Human Network Labs takes us inside the startup developing technology that merges information about the physical world, users and their surroundings.

The company was established in 2007 in response to the huge growth in social networking. However, CEO Carlos Garcia wanted consumers to have the ability to use social networking in the real world, instead of just on the Internet.

The technology allows users to localize persons or objects indoors or outdoors without the use of the Internet on their cell phones.

"Having Internet should not be a prerequisite of social networking," said Garcia. Based in a city that faces the inequalities of a digital divide, Human Network Labs aims to produce a technology that would be available to everyone.

Original source: Technically Philly
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on two online news publications that have launched recently, including yours truly.

As the market for news fragments, new models for journalism are emerging. Two of those experiments, Flying Kite and Patch, launched in Philadelphia last month.

"This is a fresh way to get fresh content about all the innovative things happening in our city," said Danielle Cohn, (Philadelphia Convention and Visitors) bureau spokeswoman.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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An engineer and physicist have teamed up to form superfluid, a social twork that helps creative talent collaborate, reports Technically Philly.

It's a novel idea based on a growing number of localized currency systems, like Ithaca Hours in New York. With these local systems, currency is kept within a community, be it Ithica or superfluid.

Currently, Solomon and Vasilic are working on the gig full-time, along with three others who are half-time. The team is preparing to announce a "well known" partner in the virtual currency before the end of September. They've also recently launched a contest to promote the new virtual currency with the Corzo Center for the Creative Economy.

Original source: Technically Philly
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