emerging technology : In The News

iPads await Lower Merion kindergarteners this fall

Tablet Times Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Five year-olds in 14 of Lower Merion School District's kindergarten classes will have access to iPads for reading and math instruction, reports Tablet Times.

After a pilot project in one kindergarten class at Belmont Hills Elementary School last semester, George Frazier, director of information systems, and Jenn Goldberg, education technology specialist, were encouraged enough to recommend that the district expand the program.

Original source: Tablet Times

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SnipSnap clipping away: 123,000 downloads and $555,000 seed round

Friday, May 25, 2012

Gigaom reports on Philadelphia-based Snip-Snap's continued rise, including a recent seed round of $550,000.

The app, which launched last month, allows people to scan coupons they find in a mailer or newspaper. It reformats the information in the app and makes it easy for people to present the barcode at the point of sale for redemption. Users can get set alerts to warn them before a coupon is about to expire or remind them when they enter a store where they’ve saved a coupon. The app also offers the ability to share coupons online through Facebook, Twitter and email.

Original source: Gigaom

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Why Philly's water plan is a breakthrough

National League of Cities Monday, May 21, 2012

The National League of Cities gives Philadelphia major kudos for its groundbreaking water conservation plan.

To stem its discharges, Philadelphia is intent on filtering out, block by block, the fast, storm-induced runoff of pollutants -- litter, oil, antifreeze, pesticides, bacteria from pet waste -- that accumulate on concrete and asphalt surfaces, then wash into and pollute streams and rivers.

All this matters in dollars. Federal Clean Water Act rules could have obligated Philadelphia to spend as much as $10 billion for a system of massive tanks and tunnels to hold overflows -- the "big engineering" solution many cities are following. By contrast, the cost of Philadelphia's new water-conserving, storm-mitigating green infrastructure may be as little as $2 billion.

Original source: National League of Cities

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Blogger/entrepreneur who founded Philly-based Anikto writing book on digital outcasts

Austin American-Statesman Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Kel Smith, who is speaking today at St. Edwards's University on disability technology, is profiled by the Austin American-Statesman for the work he has done for his company, Anikto, and his upcoming book digital outliers.

The idea that designers should think about accessibility because it's in their own best interests in addition to being altruistic makes a lot of sense.

For companies selling products online, for instance, "You have to understand that people who have a disability that prevents them from leaving the home will be shopping from home. You don't want to have barriers for that purchasing decision," he said.

Source: Austin American-Statesman

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Main Line-based Cleaversoft's PuppyWars draws 8,000 iOS users

International Business Times Tuesday, May 15, 2012

It was only last month when we followed up on Rich Siegel of Main Line Delivery and his latest app venture, Cleaversoft, and now International Business Times checks in on how they're "raising the bar on cuteness."

Siegel said he was partially inspired by the addictive gameplay of his first game "BeardWars," but he also noticed that there was no "great" app centered around man's best friend.

"We saw other dog apps out there and wanted to blow them out of the water," Siegel said. "I think we have the best app for dog lovers on the App Store now."

Original source: International Business Times

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Philly based Curalate launches in a big way, caters to brands who want image analytics

TechCrunch Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Philadelphia-based Curalate, a service for brands to search and track images across social networks, officially launched today with $750,000 in seed funding from NEA, First Round Capital and University of Pennsylvania-focused MentorTech, reports TechCrunch.

Although the site is only officially launching today, in its beta format it has already managed to pick up more than 150 brands as customers, its co-founder and CEO, Apu Gupta, tells me. That speaks to how, up to now, there hasn’t been an analytics service available quite like the one that Curalate is offering.

Gupta notes that while there have been a number of companies that have jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon and started to offer analytics to measure how brands are resonating on the social network, Curalate is the first to look not just at what a brand is posting on the site, but it can also track what regular people are posting. In other words, not just the sweater as J.Crew pins it, but as you or I might pin it, too.

Original source: TechCrunch

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DailyWorth founder and CEO raised millions

Forbes Thursday, May 03, 2012

Philadelphia's Amanda Steinberg is profiled by Forbes as she shares five lessons from an unconventional entrepreneur.

Launched in January 2009, the 14-employee site–which sends out free emails on finance in a model similar to DailyCandy’s–has raised $3 million in equity capital from investors such as Dave McClure‘s 500 Startups and Google executive chair Eric Schmidt‘s Tomorrow Ventures. While $3 million is not a record-breaking figure, plenty of entrepreneurs would be happy with that amount of cash to grow their business.

Original source: Forbes

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Philly duo among entrepreneurs buying online businesses

Entrepreneur Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Entrepreneur writes about Randall and Matt Caldwell's purchase of PitchingMachinesNow.com in a story about investors who buy existing online businesses.

Similarly, the entrepreneurial father-and-son duo, Randall and Matt Caldwell from Philadelphia used Flippa to find PitchingMachinesNow.com, a site that fit the pair's criteria -- which included cash flow, price-to-earnings ratios, profit margins, search rank and scalability. In 2011, they spent $149,000 on the online baseball equipment retailer, which had almost 10,000 unique visitors each month.

Original source: Entrepreneur

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Addressing satellite dishes that make Philly look like 'Area 51'

Wall Street Journal Tuesday, May 01, 2012

The Wall Street Journal digs into the "epidemic" of satellite dishes overwhelming the residential landscape in many cities.

Along some streets in East Boston, satellite dishes protrude from nearly every house, with some multifamily structures decked with as many as eight. Other cities are reporting a similar outbreak. "We have blocks that look like NASA or Area 51," said William Carter, a chief staffer for the Philadelphia City Council.

Original source: Wall Street Journal

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Inside Viridity Energy's microgrid moves

GreenTech Tuesday, May 01, 2012

GreenTech revisits Philadelphia-based Viridity Energy's cutting-edge projects that aim to put a value on energy saved from SEPTA's regenerative braking system.

Viridity is already bidding battery-backed power into frequency regulation markets with partner and battery supplier Axion Power, which has installed Viridity’s system at its New Castle, Pa. manufacturing plant.

Original source: GreenTech

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Fast Company ponders Philly as America's next big tech town

Fast Company Monday, April 30, 2012

Fast Company talks to Technically Philly's Sean Blanda and DuckDuckGo's Gabriel Weinberg, among others, about Philadelphia's bustling technology sector.

"Like many cities, Philly has seen a significant increase in all aspects of the startup lifecycle--start, growth, exit," says DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg. "I think we're riding the global trend here, but also we've had great community leaders as well." He continues: "Our community is very tight-knit, which means it is very easy to connect with the top people in the scene."

Original source: Fast Company

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Science Leadership Academy's Lehmann weighs in on on tech in education

Slate Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Slate's report on the Education Innovation Summit in Arizona includes some time with Science Leadership Academy principal Chris Lehmann.

Lehmann expressed concern that too many in the burgeoning education sector hope to replace teachers with tech. "Before we rush to embrace the idea that the market might do education better than educators," he says, he wants to see a lengthy conversation about the “worst consequences of our best idea."

Original source: Slate

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Why Philadelphia police are embracing Twitter

Governing Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Governing talks with Philadelphia Police Department communications director Karima Zedan about its officers use of Twitter to fight crime.

Our driving philosophy has been: Why not try to pave the way and use [Twitter] as a great tool to connect to people and put a face to the men and women who serve in the department. That's really what Twitter allows us to do. We've been on Twitter (@phillypolice) since September of 2009. It's been a great way to respond to people's questions, to give information to highlight programs that the police department is doing [and] to highlight the good works of people.

Original source: Governing

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Inside NovaThermal Energy's bold move to warm a building with heat from sewage

Forbes Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Forbes dives into NovaThermal Energy's first project to warm a building using heat from sewage.

The building, the Southeast Water Pollution Control Facility in Philadelphia, will house the 1 million BTU/hour unit in its basement, where it will directly access and transfer heat from an adjacent sewage channel.

Original source: Forbes

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Philly's green brand works despite shortfalls

Triple Pundit Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Triple Pundit assesses Philadelphia's green initiatives and resulting brand.

Just as private companies are using green branding to build business, Philadelphia has been using the sustainability model to improve its economic outlook. Last year, the city’s Navy Yard was tapped as a sustainable energy innovation hub by the U.S. Department of Energy, which is already paying off in new green jobs.

Original source: Triple Pundit

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