Salvation Army opens Target Media Center in West Philadelphia

Students watching video on Nov. 9 from the International Space Station inside the Salvation Army's new Target Media Center in West Philadelphia.

Somewhere someone once said that technology makes the world smaller.

Yesterday, inside its West Philadelphia Corps Community Center, the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia opened a Target Media Center, a renovated 20- by 30-foot multi-purpose room crafted into a library and youth theater.

One of its most dynamic features is the incorporation of a teleconferencing system designed to connect students with virtual field trips — like faraway zoos, aquariums and, yes, as depicted above, space stations. Students in West Philadelphia, many perhaps with far fewer opportunities than others their age, will be able to teleconference with astronauts.

Read more

Comcast Roundup: The digital transition, rumors of partnership with T-Mobile and More

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup.

My rabbit ears don’t work anymore.

Yes, the federal government spent $2 billion and 13 years to finalize the nation’s transition from analog to crisper digital television transmission, and yes, much to the delight of Philebrity, the FCC said the Philadelphia region was responsible for the fourth most complaint calls to a hotline dedicted to the transition.

The Associated Press reports that Comcast’s new $1.5 billion debt issue received an investment grade rating on from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. The rating was “BBB+,” with a positive outlook for the possibility of further upgrade. It’ll be a two-part sale, according to Reuters. To the markets!

But, look, it ain’t Comcast’s fault. In some coverage areas, the cable giant launched a “rapid response team” to perform same-day installations for those who still needed a digital TV solution. ‘Course that didn’t help resolve the need for the FCC to send its own additional support here to help viewers who still hadn’t made the transition.

I mean, people lost 6ABC and WHYY, for goodness sake.

Maybe that’s why, when Comcast filed comments to the FCC for a proposed national broadband plan, part of their advice was to undergo a massive education program.

After the jump, porn and children’s shows get a buffer, a partnership with T-Mobile, video of Comcast playing nicely with children, among others.

Read more

Technically Not Tech: NPower PA gives IT support to nonprofits in need

Updated: added grant details @ 4:35 p.m.6/16/09

It just might take a miracle to help lead at-risk Philadelphia teens away from the obstacles that have become something of a cliche in the urban education saga.

It will take a miracle or, perhaps, youth organizations that share information with each other through a sophisticated network of information sharing technologies.

That’s what NPower PA does.

The Center City organization fundraises for, organizes, implements and maintains IT for nonprofits that can benefit but don’t have the capital to do so on their own.

In January, this six-year-old group, one of 11 in the national NPower Network, completed perhaps its most ambitious project. After winning the grant in July 2007, NPower PA began integrating a collaborative data collection system in four communities — three in Philly and one in Chester — in the hopes of helping those young people better navigate the pitfalls they face.

Read more

Profit and conscious with new South Philadelphia incubator

They’re going to incubate profitable good works.

That’s much the angle of GoodCompany Ventures, which opened its Philadelphia Naval Yard Business Center offices with a ribbon-cutting ceremony highlighted by appearances from Mayor Michael Nutter and Chuck Lacy, a former president of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, yesterday.

All the startups they take in will be for-profit and looking to make a difference or two.

Yesterday, the incubator was also welcoming its inaugural 2009 class of “social entrepreneurs,” including the following: Cyrus-XP, which focuses on advancing the management and delivery of healthcare; CalendarFly, a single source scheduling solution for families (for a test drive, use “student” for username and password), and VolunteerBIG.com, a philanthropic social network that was gunning for grant money earlier this year.

Read more

Google Earth application maps U.S. military deaths, 16 lost from Philadelphia

Nick Zangara was 21-years-old in 2004 when a makeshift bomb exploded near his convoy in Tikrit, 90 miles northwest of Baghdad and a universe from his home in Northeast Philadelphia.

The George Washington High School graduate is one of at least 16 people from Philadelphia who have been killed in Middle Eastern military conflicts this decade, according to a new Google Earth layer called “Map the Fallen.”

“This Memorial Day I would like to share with you a personal project of mine that uses Google Earth to honor the more than 5,700 American and Coalition servicemen and women that have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan,” writes Sean Askay, the layer’s creator. ”I have created a map for Google Earth that will connect you with each of their stories—you can see photos, learn about how they died, visit memorial Web sites with comments from friends and families, and explore the places they called home and where they died.”

Read more

Technically Not Tech: Tech training and another chance at YouthBuild Philadelphia

YouthBuild Philadelphia Leads a green build at the National Mall in D.C. on March 17, 2009. YouthBuild also has technology courses.

She wasn’t going to pass.

Testing for an ICDL, a license noting she had mastered general computer functions, is the goal of the six-week technology class at the YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, but sometimes there are too many challenges for some students to get there.

This young woman tried, but it sure seemed like she’d be one of the students who miss the mark. Female high school dropouts aren’t often thought as players in technology fields.

But then, she passed. And now, one year later, she’s at the Community College of Philadelphia, reaching even further.

Stephanie Virgo, a YouthBuild technology instructor who had those concerns about that student she liked, now sees that triumph as something of a lesson on how technology can challenge and motivate.

“We have students who have never used a computer before,” Virgo says. “It can be very empowering and help them pursue that post-secondary education. If you’re given a paper to write, that can be hard. If you’re given that paper and you don’t know how to use a computer, it’s a whole ‘nother challenge.”

Read more

Technically Not Tech: G-town Radio, the Sound of Germantown

G-town Radio is programmed from an office space in the Maplewood Mall in Germantown. Photo courtesy of G-town Radio

In February, residents of Germantown lost two community fixtures when the Journal Register Co. declared bankruptcy and published the final issues of the Germantown Courier and Mount Airy Times Express.

It shouldn’t be a surprise for many who have watched the newspaper industry struggle. Small communities are continuing to hemorrhage vital media coverage.

Consider G-town Radio a band-aid.

In the heart of Germantown in an office space in the Maplewood Mall, Owner and Station Manager Jim Bear broadcasts an eclectic mix of programming on the Internet radio station. And he’s throwing in some civic duty for good measure.

Read more

Comcast Cares Day brings out 50,000 across country

We like the good stories, too.

Comcast held its 8th annual Comcast Cares Day on Saturday — sending more than 50,000 employees out for more than 500 service projects to log more than 300,000 volunteer hours in what they bill as perhaps the largest single day of corporate service  in the world, according to a company press release.

The company’s blog puts that total at *poof* more than 60,000, which may or may not be nonsense, but it does a fine job of chronicling some of the good works Comcast has involved itself in this year, like servicing public green space, helping at food pantries and other wholesome goodness that doesn’t cost too much but is sweet.

For all of those who like the redeemable parts of corporate USA, check after the jump.

Read more