Penn researchers say they now can detect Alzheimer’s at earliest stage

Fighting Alzheimer’s may get easier because of research from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine.

Researchers there have announced that they have validated a test capable of confirming the incurable, degenerative disease at its earliest stages, increasing the opportunity to find methods to slow or eventually stop the effects, according to a university press release.

The test measures cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of  amyloid beta42 peptide and tau protein, two of the disease’s trademarks.

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Twitter is getting into lots of trouble: its role in Fumo trial not rare

Vince Fumo was convicted on all 137 counts against him yesterday, despite an attempt by the former Pennsylvania State Senator’s legal team to halt jury deliberations when news broke that a juror had posted messages related to the trial on Twitter.

That move will almost certain be grounds for an appeal.

The first to get the name of the juror – Eric Wuest – was Harrisburg Patriot-News reporter Daniel Victor, an active Twitter user himself.

But, of course, this is just one in a series of recent small scandals surrounding the power and voice that the microblogging site provides previously ordinary folks.

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Technically Not Tech: Swapagift.com

Somebody doesn’t know what to buy you for your birthday, so you get a gift card that you either don’t want, won’t use or will surely lose.

There’s a solution, of course.

From its launch in October 2003 to February, SwapaGift.com had been “the leading online marketplace dedicated solely to buying, selling, and trading gift cards,” said Mike Kelly, who was the early Web adopter who launched the site with his wife Mary Jane out of their Langhorne home.

Last month, a deal was announced in which Swapagift.com was bought by Wolfe.com, the Pittsburgh-based online marketing company and parent of GiftCards.com, which included a drop of their trading option.

That makes the Eagles departure from the NFL playoffs and subsequent Steelers Super Bowl victory the second indignity Pittsburgh has bestowed on our fair metropolis this year.

While their operation has largely moved to Pittsburgh’s GiftCards.com processing facility, the marketing, promotion and business development remain with the Kellys in Langhorne.

Mike Kelly, 45, declined to disclose financial details of the acquisition, but he said business is good and that his company’s ties to Philadelphia won’t falter.

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Sustainability Director Mark Alan Hughes at Go Green Expo: Philly is in an enviable position

The green movement has had a bit of bad luck in recent months. This summer, when gas prices were high and President Obama was campaigning hard on alternative energy sources, the greening of America’s cities was placed in the forefront of American consciousness. Since then, plummeting gas prices as well as an oh-my-freaking-god economic slowdown got many people worrying about other things.

The Go Green Expo occupied only half of the space allotted for it in the Convention Center, and most of the booths were companies offering a more economically friendly take on existing products. There was green patio furniture, green wood, green handbags, green candles and for some unknown reason, an Indian palm reader. SEPTA was a dominant presence, parking one of its hybrid buses in the middle of the convention floor. There was even a section dedicated the the event’s media sponsors which the Inquirer used to promote its online “E-Inq” edition with the slogan “It’s just like the paper. Except without the paper.”

Predictable jabs at newspapers aside, the event was worth a visit for a peek into the local companies that are helping to fuel Philadelphia’s growing green economy. Even in the current economic situation, Philadelphia is poised to take a leap forward in sustainability. At least that was the message from the keynote speaker: the city’s Director of Sustainability, Mark Alan Hughes.

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Friday Q&A: Howard J. Blumenthal of MiND TV

Updated: March 14, 2009 9 p.m.

Maybe you haven’t seen MiND: Media Independence.

Last May, WYBE, the public broadcasting station on channel 35, got a dramatic remodeling. It was part of a campaign by its new CEO Howard J. Blumenthal, somewhat of a legend in TV programming.

Stodgy and struggling WYBE became Web-based and forward-looking MiND, a short-form public access station. Anyone can produce one the channel’s shows, which often run in five-minute blocks and find themselves online, in addition to your TV. The angle was a smarter, crisper YouTube.

Update: Next week, you’ll be able to check out their digs during a free tour and film screen; details below.

Last year, MiND TV was going to revolutionize public broadcasting, now Blumenthal says it’s future is hanging perilously at the will of state funding.

In January, during his budget address, Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposed drastically cutting funding for the state’s public TV, in order to meet a budget gap. As Rendell’s budget makes it’s way through the state legislature, Blumenthal holds his breath.

If that funding blunder is rectified, Blumenthal said, MiND “will become an alternative form of public media, a model that sits beside PBS, but is fresher, faster, more closely connected to individuals and learning in the community, more fun, more accessible, more of-the-people than for-the-people.”

Below, watch Blumenthal describe MiND, and then read our interview with him to see what MiND has done, what it plans to do and why the TV legend who thought up “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” and led the design of MTV ended up in Upper Roxborough.

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Ben Franklin Technology Partners invests $2 million in regional companies

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania announced yesterday plans to invest $2.05 million in 11 companies in and around Philadelphia.

The regional partner of the statewide economic development network bought $750,000 worth of three Philadelphia companies and spent the rest on eight groups in the ‘burbs.

In a struggling economy, that’s good news. Technology companies funded by BFTP boosted the gross state product by an estimated $9.3 billion from 2002 to 2006, according to a study released by the Pennsylvania Economy League last month.

The largest investment was $400,000 for BioNanomatrix, a University City developer of analytic and imaging platforms that aim to reduce the time and cost used to analyze DNA. BioNanomatrix has previously received $250,000 from BFTP.

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Your guide to Philly at SXSWi

So let’s just say you just (hypothetically) graduated from college and moved into new digs in the city. Then, let’s assume that you don’t (hypothetically) have the money to take a five day vacation to Austin, Texas and immerse yourself in the biggest tech conference of the year. Sure, that may be the story told by most of Technically Philly’s (hypothetical) staff, but we’d bet that not every reader is leaving us on a jet plane headed for SXSWi.

No worries. Technically Philly is here to give you the low down on all things Philly at the music/movie/tech festival that is South by Southwest. The “i” component of the festival, meaning “interactive,” is four days of panels, talks, parties and even karaoke. Plop down in your favorite chair, and read along about those with ties to the metro area who will make noise in Austin. It will be like you’re there. Sorta.

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What is the tech employment scene like in Philly now?

It may not yet be as bad as the dot com bust of 2001, but tech industries are facing mounting employment pressure.

Country-wide, unemployment has raced past eight percent and, though in 2001 it reached seven, those unemployed in tech make up more than five percent of the industry, according to the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In the Philadelphia region, the general unemployment number eclipsed seven percent, but within city limits, it is nearing nine.

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Shop Talk: ‘Two Guys’ on cheap video podcast production

Johnny Bilotta and David Martorana produce Two Guys On Beer on the cheap.

It ain’t a bad week to be a beer lover in Philadelphia. For Johnny Bilotta and David Martorana of the Old City-based Two Guys On Beer video podcast, Philly Beer Week is sure to be a busy one.

The show, which demands deliciousness from the brews it tests, is coming up on its 60th episode, which is no small feat for a low-to-no budget production released twice per week. According to the duo, the podcast has grown a steady national viewership of 700 to 2,000 viewers per episode, and they’ve been considering syndication models that could end up planting it on the face of news Web sites anywhere.

Now that we’re half through the city’s week-long hoppy, malty escape from all things mixed-drink, Technically Philly has a confession. Last week during an interview for Shop Talk, when we told the show’s co-host and co-producer Dave Martorona to take it easy on the suds, we didn’t mean a word of it. We’re expecting Two Guys to make it their day job. Fortunately, Martorona proved that the show can afford a break from worrying about the production back-end, when he shared with Technically Philly some tips for aspiring vid-casters.

Read their advice on production and distribution, and check out Two Guys’ shooting rig, which includes a steal of a deal from EBay, after the jump.

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Cricket Communications enters busy mobile phone market

Updated: 3/11/09 at 10:18 p.m.

Your choices for cell phone carrier are about to get busier.

According to a company press release, Cricket Communications has entered the scrum to provide cheap mobile phone plans to Philadelphians, joining a growing battle between Boost Mobile, Metro PCS and others. [Full Disclosure: I have a Boost Mobile plan]

Update: Philadelphia is currently the largest market in the country with the three largest prepaid mobile companies, a Boost spokesman said.

“In our current economic landscape, it’s more important than ever for wireless carriers to show that they respect people’s wallets while ultimately providing value,” said Andy Cook, area general manager for Cricket in Philadelphia. “With the launch of Cricket wireless phone and Internet services in Philadelphia, consumers now have a wireless carrier that understands their financial needs and concerns without sacrificing great service and features.”

Cricket is hosting a week’s full of events to promote its market entry — see more here.

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