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SPORTS: Venue menu could be as limitless as the sky above it

Of this, that and the other while pondering the fact that the Indianapolis Colts have not yet been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs: So I’m sitting in Lucas Oil Stadium before that seasonopening loss to the Bears and my mind wanders, not to the present, but to the future. Yes, the stadium already is home to the Colts as well as upcoming NCAA basketball, including a men’s regional next spring, the men’s Final Four in 2010, and the Women’s Final…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Browser wars: Should you go for Chrome?

There’s a war being waged all around you, and I’ll bet you haven’t even noticed. Oh, you may have noticed a year or two back, when the media reported on it, but after a while even wars get dull and the press wanders off to report on Jamie Lynn Spears’ baby. There used to be two combatants in the war. One was a behemoth, one of the world’s largest, while the other was an upstart, but gaining ground over time….

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Software firm finds niche catering to chambers: WebLink will expand thanks to $3.5 million investment

These are tough times for chambers of commerce. It’s always been difficult to show dues-paying members they’re getting a return on their investment. And now online social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook are rapidly encroaching on chamber business. But chambers won’t cede their turf without a fight. That’s why D.J. Muller, 42, has been able to build a fast-growing company replicating locally what the Internet giants do best. His Avon-based IT firm WebLink International Inc. provides management software…

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Earthwave tracking down customers: Broad Ripple firm sees growing demand for high-tech fleet-management system

When thieves made off with a piece of construction equipment from a west-side job site last month, they were in for a surprise. Little did they know that it contained a GPS tracking device developed by Earthwave Technologies in Broad Ripple. The system traced the skid-steer loader’s exact route to a rural Bedford residence, enabling police to recover it within days of the heist. “I called the sheriff’s department down there and, sure enough, it was right in the barn,”…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Laptop hell: Air travel can bounce, bungle data

Travel may broaden the mind, but it’s hell on laptops. If your laptop suffers some kind of death-dealing blow, it’ll probably be on the road. Air travel is the worst. You’re required during security screening to pull your laptop out of its snug little protective cover and submit it to the tender mercies of the Transportation Security Administration’s conveyors, X-ray machines and employees. Then there’s the jostling scramble to put it back in on the far side of the screening…

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VIEWPOINT: Advancing manufacturing is key to future

We’ve all heard it: Our economy is creeping to a crawl. Skyhigh oil prices, a weak housing market and the struggling U.S. dollar are discouraging consumers and business owners alike. Fears about our nation’s fiscal health are shaking broader confidence in the banking industry, the system of global trade, and even our public image abroad. In the face of such adversity, it’s helpful to remember that Americans have faced daunting challenges in the past. In tougher times, such as the…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: China, higher education and our economic future

In mid-September, I’ll be traveling to China’s Liaoning province as part of a delegation led by Indiana State University, hosted by Liaoning University. We’ll arrive in the country too late for the Olympics, but we’ll be there to talk about another form of global competition-economic development. It’s appropriate that the two universities are co-hosting a conference on economic development issues, given the importance of human capital in our economy. It’s especially appropriate for China, where higher education has become a…

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Busted for copying software

Author Solutions, the Bloomington company that helps people publish their own books, has admitted to using
copies of software from Adobe, Microsoft and Symantec.

The penalty? $50,000.

Author Solutions says the violations began under prior ownership and that it cooperated…

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Indiana auto insurance rates show uptick, report says: Despite rise, state still among cheapest in nation

Auto insurance rates are climbing nationally, led by increases in Indiana that topped all other states, according to a report released last month by Insurance.com. The online auto insurance agency said the lowest car insurance quotes, on average, jumped 3.4 percent, to $1,893 per year, from the first quarter to the second. Rate increases in Indiana nearly doubled the national average, rising 6.7 percent, or $94, to $1,501. Arkansas and Rhode Island followed, with 6.1-percent and 5-percent spikes, respectively. Sam…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Can you still do business while unconnected? Amid the legions of the digital fanatics are the professionals who just say no to gizmos and gadgets

I’m not big on those classification schemes that put people into categories. You know what I mean, schemes such as, “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who classify others, and those who don’t.” I’m not sold on Myers-Briggs, for example. I consider it a parlor game with no significant predictive value. All classification schemes leak around the edges, so I avoid them for the most part. However, there is one categorization to which I now subscribe:…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why the resurgence of railroads will help drive state

I have two friends who are train fanatics of the worst kind. These guys aren’t just dazzled by the sight of a large train; they furtively seek them out. One friend has made it his life’s ambition to ride every rail line in Great Britain. The other scours eBay for rail schedules from the 19th century. Both of these wonderful men have exceptionally tolerant wives. I am a bit concerned my 4-year-old is turning into one of these creatures. He…

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EDITORIAL: Privatizing MAC worth exploring: Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal

Privatizing MAC worth exploring Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal The bad news: The Mayor’s Action Center-city government’s primary vehicle for responding to citizen complaints-is vastly ineffective. When nearly half the residents who call the center hang up the phone in frustration before reporting their problems, you know something isn’t working right. The good news: Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard recognizes there is a big problem with the MAC and says he wants to fix it. In late July, he issued…

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EDITORIAL: Privatizing MAC worth exploring: Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal

Privatizing MAC worth exploring Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal The bad news: The Mayor’s Action Center-city government’s primary vehicle for responding to citizen complaints-is vastly ineffective. When nearly half the residents who call the center hang up the phone in frustration before reporting their problems, you know something isn’t working right. The good news: Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard recognizes there is a big problem with the MAC and says he wants to fix it. In late July, he issued…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why the resurgence of railroads will help drive state

I have two friends who are train fanatics of the worst kind. These guys aren’t just dazzled by the sight of a large train; they furtively seek them out. One friend has made it his life’s ambition to ride every rail line in Great Britain. The other scours eBay for rail schedules from the 19th century. Both of these wonderful men have exceptionally tolerant wives. I am a bit concerned my 4-year-old is turning into one of these creatures. He…

Read More

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Can you still do business while unconnected? Amid the legions of the digital fanatics are the professionals who just say no to gizmos and gadgets

I’m not big on those classification schemes that put people into categories. You know what I mean, schemes such as, “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who classify others, and those who don’t.” I’m not sold on Myers-Briggs, for example. I consider it a parlor game with no significant predictive value. All classification schemes leak around the edges, so I avoid them for the most part. However, there is one categorization to which I now subscribe:…

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Lawsuits stem from hiring of sales reps: Big device makers battle to protect trade secrets

A spate of lawsuits involving the state’s largest medical-device makers underscores the fiercely competitive nature of the life sciences sector, particularly when the billion-dollar companies need to protect trade secrets. Warsaw orthopedics manufacturer Biomet Inc., Indiana’s fourth-largest private company, is at the center of much of the messy litigation, which stems from a former sales representative’s move to rival Zimmer Holdings Inc., also based in Warsaw. In two unrelated lawsuits, Biomet sued in July 2007 the Kentucky sales rep and…

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Study costs, public support mount for commuter rail: Key vote on northeast corridor could come next month

Worsening gas prices and congestion have some commuters demanding faster progress on launching a rapid transit line. They can quibble about slowness in getting it done, but lack of study hasn’t been an issue. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Organization spent $4 million since 2002 on a rapid transit study that concluded earlier this year, according to records provided by the agency. Most, or 80 percent, of the funds paid to eight consulting firms came from federal transportation funds, with 20…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Software maker off target with timing for $86M IPO

When it came to timing its initial public offering, ExactTarget Inc. didn’t exactly hit a bull’s-eye. The Indianapolis-based maker of e-mail marketing software filed to go public in mid-December, well into the market swoon that began before Halloween. Since then, the market’s only gotten spookier. The S&P 500 has shed another 13 percent, leaving the bellwether index 18 percent off its October high. Not surprisingly, ExactTarget is stuck at the starting gate. It hasn’t moved forward with launching its $86…

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Startup NICO reassembles Suros’ management team: Medical-device maker aims to launch product soon

Medical-device maker Suros Surgical Systems was one of the fastest-growing companies in Indianapolis history. Just six years after forming it in 2000, founders sold it for $248 million. Is it any wonder they want to work together again? In late July, former Suros Chairman Jim Baumgardt and former Vice President of Sales Jeff Hanthorn joined locally based NICO Corp., the startup launched early this year by former Suros CEO Jim Pearson and Joseph Mark, one of Suros’ founders. The mission…

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