TNT: “The Carrier” gives comics the iPhone treatment

A quick read of Ben Franklin’s bio will tell you that Philadelphia is home to many American firsts. Now you can add another: the first iPhone-exclusive comic.

According to the publisher, StopWatch Media, “The Carrier” is the first comic available only on the iPhone. That is, it was not also published in print or online. [iTunes link: paid, free]

“The Carrier” is a story about a man who awakes in Thailand to find a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist and must figure out the origins of the briefcase while he regains his memory.

“If you are a fan of the Borne movies, you’ll love it,” says writer Evan Young, who lives near South Street.

The story takes full advantage of all the features available in a programmable, GPS-enabled device. The story’s 35 chapters unfold in real-time. If chapter two takes place 45 minutes after chapter one, it will be available on your phone exactly 45 minutes after you view the last panel of chapter one.

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Technically Not Tech: South Street’s J1Studios to release first video game

In junior high school most students doodle or play hangman when not paying attention. Jason Richardson, on the other hand, wrote code.

“All during school I just wouldn’t pay attention to the teacher. It looked like I was taking notes but I was just writing code on graph paper,” he says. “I have a thing for creating.”

The 31-year-old founder of South Street-based J1 Studios spent his youth making board games, card games and video games and hasn’t let up since. Richardson is taking the hobbies of his youth and slowly building a geek media empire complete with anime-style comics, podcasts and video game development and will have a booth at the upcoming GameX expo.

But, if you ask Richardson, he’ll tell you it all started with an Apple II and a Zelda instruction manual.

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Philly Startup Leaders to throw BBQ

Update: Corrected the date Jennelle moved to the city.

Philly Startup Leaders has come a long way from eight guys talking shop over beers in September 2007.

“I knew right away it was not going to be a one-time thing,” co-founder Blake Jennelle says.

Jennelle had been living in the city for two years before deciding to start his own company in 2007. As he attended various events, he met those in similar situations, each thinking they were alone. After speaking with one entrepreneur after another, he encouraged them to all come out and talk business.

Since that fateful first meeting, PSL has blossomed into the largest and most active community of startup entrepreneurs in the region.

“You wouldn’t have recognized the city two years ago,” says Jennelle pointing to explosion of technology and startup organizations in 2007, including his own.

Since 2007, PSL has added roughly 400 members and is preparing for what they consider their third major event — a BBQ offering a chance for startup companies to mingle and network with one another.

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Philly police to begin Segway patrols, please take them seriously

If you hang out on Main Street in Manayunk, you should begin seeing the Segway police patrols.

Officers on South Street, in University City, Center City and Southwest Philadelphia also begin using the new toys this week.

Try not to cringe at how ridiculous the two-wheeled, self-balancing, battery-powered vehicles may seem, because its role in law enforcement has been growing for years and doesn’t appear it will stop. More than 1,000 municipalities are using them for patrolling, according to the company.

Now, after a 10-day trial in April 2008, the Philadelphia Police Department is joining in.

The department announced yesterday that it received a donation of more than $60,000 toward the purchase of ten Segway PTs, according to a press release [PDF]. The funds came from the Philadelphia Police Foundation, a nonprofit that raises funds to purchase technology and other police equipment that are deemed outside the city’s budget. Yes, our police department takes charity.

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