City of Philadelphia managing $472M with outdated software from 1996, says City Controller

City Controller Alan Butkovitz reports on outdated technology. Photo by Rikard Larma/Metro

From the City Controller’s office:

City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released the FY08-09 Procurement Department audit [PDF] that found the Department is using a 15-year old database software application to account for the City’s $472 million equipment inventory.

Since 1996, the software has undergone four major revisions but the Department never obtained the upgraded versions.  The software is no longer supported by the Microsoft developer.

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The software is called the C-400 Inventory Control System, says Brian Dries, a Controller office spokesman.

Teach For America looks to technology community for education innovation workshops

Teach For America wants input from Philadelphia’s technology community to help shape the future of education.

The organization is gearing up for Greater Philadelphia: Innovation in Education, a series of workshops through 2012 to allow leaders across industries to come together to discuss education innovation.

“We’re looking for people from the tech sector that have an interest in, but maybe not background in education. We want to put them in an environment where they might still have a revolutionary idea,” says Director of Alumni Affairs Adamah Cole, the program organizer.

More notably, the organization wants output.

Culminating from the series of events, TFA organizers hope that participants will create actionable, launchable ventures with business plans in hand.

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SignatureDecals: LTL Prints spins off new site, co-founders named to Empact100 top U.S. young entrepreneurs list

Oversized, high-quality wall decals can be more than kitsch, they can also be part of home decor.

So goes the logic in the new launch of SignatureDecals.com, a spinoff of popular Old City vinyl decal purveyor LTLprints.com that will focus on peddling inspirational message-focused decal options for all the rooms of your home.

Soon after LTL co-founders Kendall Schoenrock and Carsten Petzold were hobnobbing at the White House having been named to the Empact100 list of the country’s top young entrepreneurs (as depicted below and joined on the list regionally by myYearbook’s Catherine Cook), the pair launched the spinoff with a clear target audience.

“[People who] are focused on creating a positive, clean and welcoming environment at home,” Schoenrock said.

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Black employees in Chicago accuse Comcast of discrimination [Roundup]

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an email subscription for our weekly Comcast roundup or other news updates.

• Comcast Tangled in Discrimination Suit [BET] — “Several of the company’s black employees in Chicago say that they were required to install defective and insect-infested equipment in customers’ homes. ” More from the Chicago Tribune here. Officially, the company denies the allegations.
• Key NBC executive Marc Graboff to leave the network [Company Town: LA Times] — “Marc Graboff, president of NBC’s West Coast business operations and the TV network’s longtime consigliere, is leaving the company” after diminishing role, following Comcast’s takeover.
• Q&A: How Comcast is adjusting to our changing TV habits [GeekWire] — “Interview with Tom Blaxland, senior director of product management for Comcast Interactive Media” says Philly Tech News
• Comcast gives CFO Angelakis new contract, title [Philadelphia Business Journal] — “Michael J. Angelakis that promotes him from executive vice president and chief financial officer to vice chairman and CFO.”

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