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At age 2, Future Fund still work in progress: So far, 7 startups have received investments from BioCrossroads

For two years now, the $73 million Indiana Future Fund has been at work in the Indiana life sciences market. BioCrossroads, Indiana’s public-private life sciences economic development initiative, is pleased with the results so far. “When we put the Indiana Future Fund together and surveyed the landscape, there were only two or three [local venture capital] firms that really identified themselves as in [the life sciences] area,” said BioCrossroads President David Johnson. “Now we see much more traffic than we…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Protecting company data not always worth the effort

Like monkeys in cages, data seems to want to be free, and will connive ways to break out of restraints. Many times it takes advantage of human carelessness, as it did in Iraq recently. Two reporters were wandering through one of the Iraqi bazaars that have sprung up outside U.S. bases, and which feature items discarded by Americans, such as old boots and broken tools. The reporters saw a number of what the media has been calling “computer drives.” These…

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NASCAR a big deal for IRST: Role as security products provider could be worth $100M

Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies has been named NASCAR’s first official provider of security products, a deal that could mean substantial growth for the company’s Carmel headquarters and an Indianapolis manufacturing plant, which together already employ 900. IRST is a division of Bermuda-based behemoth Ingersoll-Rand Co., which is better known for agricultural, construction and transportation equipment sold under names such as Bobcat and Thermo King. The link with the racing circuit is expected to drive home the point that Ingersoll-Rand is…

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Gamer cashes in on hobby: Arcade cabinets combine old titles, new technology

Rick Barretto started filling his basement with arcade games soon after graduating from Indiana University. An avid gamer since his youth, he loved to play, but to get the games he wanted, he had to buy fullsized arcade cabinets-12 of them. His basement was only so big, and his wife’s tolerance only so high. “My wife was saying, ‘There’s got to be a better way,'” said Barretto, 39. So he put his college computer-science classes to work and spent more…

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Ivy Tech to focus more on results, not just growth: Student success and broader ties with employers among goals of community college system’s five-year plan

After growing its enrollment 75 percent the last decade, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana is shifting its focus to student retention. A top administrator also wants to expand the number of training courses offered at businesses, as a way to supplement the system’s $253 million annual budget. Some who’ve studied the state’s educational system have recommended that Ivy Tech spend more to hire additional full-time faculty to strengthen its effectiveness. The school’s five-year student retention plan calls for doubling…

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Tech acquisitions are bittersweet: Investors win, but state loses headquarters

In the past two weeks, central Indiana’s two fastest-growing high-tech companies have announced their sales to larger out-of-state firms. Local leaders are of two minds about it. On the one hand, there’s the enormous payday for investors. Massachusetts-based Hologic Inc. is buying Indianapolis-based medical-device maker Suros Surgical Systems Inc. for at least $240 million. And St. Louis-based TALX Corp. scooped up Carmelbased Internet testing firm Performance Assessment Network Inc. for $75 million. Optimists hope to see much of that money…

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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE WTH: Firm mapping out its own success Owner shifts focus from old-school engineering to GIS

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE WTH Firm mapping out its own success Owner shifts focus from old-school engineering to GIS Rex Jones wants to show off his company’s work, so the lights go down, a computer comes on and a map of Starke County appears on a screen. The map is a maze of green lines representing county and local roads, red for state/interstate highways, blue for water. Jones zooms in further, picking a random street in the rural county. Up pops…

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VIDEO GAME with a message: Local game designer Gabriel Entertainment mixes health education with virtual fun

VIDE GAME with a message Local game designer Gabriel Entertainment mixes health education with virtual fun Few teen-agers would thrill at the prospect of an anti-smoking lecture. But if the same message were embedded in a video game, they might perk up and take notice. Indianapolis-based Gabriel Entertainment is counting on it. The company is just a few weeks away from completing the prototype of its new title, “Ocean Secret.” Aimed at pre-teen and teenage girls, the game is a…

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PAN deal lucrative for owners: Small number of investors share $75 million bounty from Carmel IT firm’s sale

It’s the scenario entrepreneurs dream about. After just over five years in business, the founders of Carmel-based Performance Assessment Network Inc. have sold their company to a publicly traded St. Louis firm for $75 million in cash. Since PAN had only a handful of investors, its backers’ profits are enormous. What’s more, they can enjoy their payday with a clear conscience. Although PAN’s acquirer is headquartered outside state lines, TALX Corp. plans to keep growing the operation here. PAN’s executives…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Diversifying economy requires new mind-set

The microwave oven has been a staple in most American kitchens for so long that there is now a generation of young adults who’ve never lived without them. And for that same generation, the doughy, limp texture of foods like pizza quick-cooked in a microwave, in contrast to the crisped, browned texture produced over a longer time by conventional heat, is associated with the food, not the technology. If you’ve grown up eating from a microwave, that’s the way food’s…

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INVESTING: Don’t fret over inflation-debt’s a bigger concern

If you have yourself in a lather about rising inflation, maybe I can offer a little relief. You can work your rosary beads over a lot of things, but runaway inflation is not one of them. There’s a little twist here, though. And it’s one that will add a challenge to your long-term strategy. According to our federal government, inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, has not been much of a problem. Excluding food and energy, prices are…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: At home with that old computer? Prepare to be frustrated

Microsoft is yanking our chains again, and it’s your fault. Oh, perhaps it’s not your fault personally, but you’ve contributed-as has almost every businessperson in the world. We all buy Windows machines, then use Windows software on them. In return, Microsoft treats us to heaping piles of frustration, like when the company recently said that, contrary to prior announcements (and mine a few weeks ago in this space), some versions of the new Windows Vista operating system won’t be available…

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Experts: Businesses should prep for bird flu: Vast majority of U.S. companies have not budgeted for possible pandemic, despite warnings from health officials

The much-hyped Y2K computer bug came and went without so much as a whimper from a whirring hard drive. But unlike the threat of malfunctioning computers, health experts warn that the potential danger of an avian flu pandemic is far greater. In the event of a widespread outbreak in the United States, companies large and small need to be prepared in order to keep interruptions to a minimum, they say. “I am an evangelist for having a contingency plan,” said…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: We don’t communicate as well as we think we do

Somebody once said computers permit you to make terrible mistakes faster than any other invention in history, with the possible exception of handguns and tequila. Those among us who have lost friends, clients or jobs as a result of misunderstood e-mails would probably vote for computers. At least handguns and tequila look a little menacing, and there’s no way to mistake their purposes. E-mails, on the other hand, are friendly, fast and seemingly innocuous. Many of us shoot off dozens…

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Shrinking neighborhood in path of Lilly’s progress: Drugmaker offers to buy rest of Little Valley homes

It’s called Lilly Valley for a reason. The official name of the modest neighborhood on the near-southwest side is Little Valley, but many people call it by the name of the pharmaceutical giant looming nearby. Eli Lilly and Co. has been gnawing away at the neighborhood south of Morris Street for several years to accommodate expansion at Lilly Technology Center just to the west along Kentucky Avenue. Now, Lilly is seeking city approval to take over more of the neighborhood,…

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Indiana to alter Web site: Small IT firms aren’t thrilled with contract requirements

For the first time in more than a decade, Indiana is shopping for a Web portal manager. Indiana Office of Technology CIO Karl Browning is attempting to make the state’s award-winning Internet gateway even better. The hunt will also test Gov. Mitch Daniels’ “Buy Indiana” initiative, which aims to give local companies a leg up in competition for state contracts. The larger players in Indiana’s IT community say they’re pleased with the new process. But some smaller firms complain it’s…

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New Rose-Hulman chief a contrast to predecessor: Arizona academic takes reins after Midgley ouster

If higher education were a business, graduates would be its core product. Economic development would be a promising second line. New Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology President Gerald Jakubowski wants to make sure he’s delivering exactly what the market demands. “At Rose-Hulman, we need to make sure we’re meeting the needs of business and industry,” Jakubowski said. “For a seamless transition into the work force, students must learn by doing.” Jakubowski, 56, could be describing his own path to the president’s…

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HMOs report steady profits, falling membership: Indiana insurers performed well overall in 2005

Most of Indiana’s largest HMOs managed to turn profits in 2005, even as other kinds of health insurance gained market share, sucking away 6 percent to 15 percent of their customers. Technology improvements and more efficient operations helped counter those losses, health maintenance organization executives said. However, annual reports filed with the state Department of Insurance show that profit for some of these managed care options slipped compared to 2004. Industry insiders say many companies are reluctant to offer HMOs…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Legislature wastes another session

The 150 men and women who make up the Indiana General Assembly have finished their annual freak show, folded their tents, and departed from Indianapolis. In their wake, they left some truly terrible legislation and another record of neglect for the interests of Indiana’s too-long-suffering population. What was wrong with this session of the General Assembly? Your local editor will not grant me the space to be either sufficiently complete or detailed. Let’s start with the governor’s Major Moves program….

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Schneider Corp. has designs on big growth in Lawrence: Long-time engineering firm gets boost from state as it plans to make $4.4 million investment, add 140 workers

The voluminous building the Schneider Corp. occupies on the former Fort Benjamin Harrison property was built as a barracks for enlisted men and later converted to a dormitory. So it’s fitting that the locally based engineering firm has a vision to create a university-type setting on its nearly fouracre campus where employees can receive training without stepping foot off the property. “We’ve worked on a strategic plan for the last couple of years, and Schneider University is part of that…

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