National Science Foundation Seeks Proposals

The National Science Foundation is seeking proposals for Manufacturing Innovation grants. Companies with technologies aimed at increasing the competitive capability of manufacturing firms are encouraged to apply.

Best Practices for Angel Investment Groups

From VC Experts

“Angel investing has long been an important source of financial support and mentoring for new and growing businesses bridging the gap between individual (friends and family) and institutional venture capital rounds of financing. Over the past several years, this sector of the private capital market has been formalizing in response to both growing demands and complexity.

According to research conducted by Jeffrey E. Sohl at the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Venture Research, there were approximately 50 formal business angel groups in the United States five years ago. He now estimates that there may be as many as 170 formal and informal organizations located throughout leading technology and business regions in the US and Canada. These groups have several characteristics: loosely to well-defined legal structures; part-time or full-time management; standardized investment processes; a public face usually with a Web site and public relations activities; and, occasionally a traditionally structured venture capital/angel investing fund.

This week, the Kauffman Foundation reports on best practicesfor Angel Investing groups on topics as diverse as membership and staffing to deal flow and deal terms.”

Why Women Live Longer than Men

why_women_live_longer
Originally uploaded by TigerTigerTiger.

Via Patent Pending – Inventions and Technology Updates

Cost of Twelve Days of Christmas Rises

theme_12days
Originally uploaded by TigerTigerTiger.

The PNC Bank Annual “Christmas Price Index” shows the cost of goods declines while the cost of services rises:

“In 1984, after all the receipts were added up, the cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” would have set you back $12,623– the goods alone accounting for 62 percent of your total bill. Today, the numbers tell a different story. The total cost has climbed to $17,297, a 1.6 percent annualized increase over 20 years, but services now account for 74 percent of the index, indicating a steady rise in the cost of skilled labor while the price of two turtle doves and three French hens may be a little easier on your wallet.

Every year since 1984, PNC Advisors has provided a tongue-in-cheek economic analysis, based on the cost of goods and services purchased by the True Love in the holiday classic, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

The Christmas Price Index has consistently reflected changes in the economy and continues to do so in the 20th anniversary version. The 2.4 percent year-over-year increase in the index closely mirrors that of the government’s Consumer Price Index – a widely used measure of U.S. inflation. Not only is the high cost of fuel reflected in the cost to deliver a pear tree, but this year’s index also underscores the trend to outsource labor.

Skilled labor mentioned in the song, such as wages for the dancing ladies have increased 5.5 percent annualized over 20 years versus the maids-a-milking, which have only seen a 2.2 percent annualized pay raise. In the broader economy, the outsourcing of less skilled labor is helping to keep those wages low…

As part of its annual tradition, PNC Advisors also tabulates the “true cost of Christmas, which is the total cost of all of the items in the famous carol, including the repetitions. The price tag for the 364 items this holiday season is $66,334 up from $65,264 in 2003. The 1.6 percent increase pales in comparison to last year’s 19 percent increase, which may be due to lower consumer confidence this season”

Cost of 12 Days of Christmas Rises

theme_12days
Originally uploaded by TigerTigerTiger.

The PNC Bank Annual “Christmas Price Index” shows the cost of goods declines while the cost of services rises:

“In 1984, after all the receipts were added up, the cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” would have set you back $12,623– the goods alone accounting for 62 percent of your total bill. Today, the numbers tell a different story. The total cost has climbed to $17,297, a 1.6 percent annualized increase over 20 years, but services now account for 74 percent of the index, indicating a steady rise in the cost of skilled labor while the price of two turtle doves and three French hens may be a little easier on your wallet.

Every year since 1984, PNC Advisors has provided a tongue-in-cheek economic analysis, based on the cost of goods and services purchased by the True Love in the holiday classic, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

The Christmas Price Index has consistently reflected changes in the economy and continues to do so in the 20th anniversary version. The 2.4 percent year-over-year increase in the index closely mirrors that of the government’s Consumer Price Index – a widely used measure of U.S. inflation. Not only is the high cost of fuel reflected in the cost to deliver a pear tree, but this year’s index also underscores the trend to outsource labor.

Skilled labor mentioned in the song, such as wages for the dancing ladies have increased 5.5 percent annualized over 20 years versus the maids-a-milking, which have only seen a 2.2 percent annualized pay raise. In the broader economy, the outsourcing of less skilled labor is helping to keep those wages low…

As part of its annual tradition, PNC Advisors also tabulates the “true cost of Christmas,” which is the total cost of all of the items in the famous carol, including the repetitions. The price tag for the 364 items this holiday season is $66,334 up from $65,264 in 2003. The 1.6 percent increase pales in comparison to last year’s 19 percent increase, which may be due to lower consumer confidence this season”

Council Calls for CIO Award Nominations

The Pittsburgh Technology Council is calling for nominations for chief information officers and senior ranking information technology executives in the 13 counties of southwestern Pennsylvania to be considered for honors at its premier technology executive recognition event, the Pittsburgh CIO of the Year Awards.

Co-hosted by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Greater Pittsburgh CIO Group, the CIO of the Year Awards program honors individual technology executives from industry, non-profit, academia and government. Nominees, including chief information officers or those in equivalent positions, are recognized for their innovation and creativity in planning and deploying their enterprise systems, future IT goals, management philosophy and service to the industry and community.

An Interesting Approach to Unsolicited Invention Submissions

From I/P Updates:

“According to the Dial Coporation Partners in Innovation Website,

‘If you are an inventor and have a patented or patent-pending product that you would like The Dial Corporation to review, please follow the carefully established guidelines and process. Dial will only accept your idea if it is covered by an issued patent or if your patented application has been published by the US Patent Office. (Applications are typically published approximately 18 months after the initial filing date.) Our guidelines may be strict, but we want to clearly communicate the expectations from this process. We want you to know where you stand from the start so you can protect your interests.’

The site goes on to describe a simple four-step electronic submission process.”

An Open Source Legal Issues Discussion link

The following are the details on this link from JBoss:

“Recorded event:
Legal Issues Impacting Open Source: Expert Roundtable Discussion

Date of recording:
Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Panelists Info:
Marc Fleury, Paul Arne, Larry Rosen, David Byer, Jim Harvey

Play time:
1 hour, 13 minutes

Description:
Marc Fleury, founder and CEO of JBoss, Inc., moderates a discussion on the major issues impacting open source today. Panelists include Larry Rosen (of Rosenlaw & Einschlag), Paul Arne (of Morris, Manning & Martin), David Byer (of Testa, Horwitz & Thibeault), and Jim Harvey (of Alston & Bird, currently representing AutoZone against SCO).”

The Business of Open-Source Software

Frank Hecker writes:

“Commercial software companies face many challenges in growing their business in today’s fast-moving and competitive industry environment. Recently many people have proposed the use of an open-source development model as one possible way to address those challenges.

This document investigates the business of commercial open-source software, including why a company might adopt an open-source model, how open-source licensing works, what business models might be usable for commercial open-source products, what special considerations apply to commercial products released as open source, and how various objections relating to open source might be answered.

The target audience is commercial software and hardware companies and individual software developers considering some sort of open-source strategy or just curious about how such a strategy might work. “

Videos from Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century conference

Links from the internet archive:

“One-Day Conference Sponsored by Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration
And The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

7 videos or segments in this conference”