The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 5

Zht Turlington Jfree press mum 2,455.92 "'fX 'JLI 12.800 12.600 12.400 12,200 12.000 For updated quotes, send text message with STOCKTICKER USINE (such as IBM) or FUND TICKER (such as AGTHX) to 44636 (4info) RID 1,435.04 11.800 Thursday, March 22, 2007 865-0942 or (800) 427-3124 business bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com Page 5A ITD Software group looks to boost tech image SHARE YOUR INSIGHT VtBizForum The Burington Free Press' fbrun for the business community, can be found by going to www.burtingtonfreepress.com j5 Son Ihe WEB Trade group ORGANIZATION: Vermont Software Developers Alliance FOUNDED: 2004 CHAIRMEN: Greg Brand, president, Blue-house Group, Richmond; David Parker, operations analyst, Dealer.com, Burlington MEMBERS: 41 MISSION: Trade association dedicated to fostering a healthy software industry in the state ON THE WEB: www.vtsda.org trade group, Vermont's image hinders companies, like his, trying to expand. Potential employees are reluctant to come here because they worry there won't be alternatives if they switch jobs. "Its image is, in my opinion, one of agriculture and tourism and high-quality food products ice cream, maple syrup, apples. It's a pretty big impediment, both trying to recruit people from here and out of state, because people don't see Vermont as a place for software development." In reality there were 251 software companies employing 2,759 people and with $335.9 million in sales in 2002, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics cited by the software alliance.

Getting that word out is the trade group's core mission, Parker said. Contact Leslie Wright at 660-1841 or lwrightbfp.burlingtonfreepress broadband service and spotty cell phone coverage as impediments to building a brand for the state like Silicon Valley has done for California or the Route 128 corridor has done for Massachusetts. During his comments to the group, Douglas noted that broadband is available in 87 percent of the state and that number should be 90 percent by the end of the year. One of the governor's goals is to make broadband, which allows high-speed access to the Internet, available throughout the state in three years. The governor in his third term has made high-tech business a focal point of economic development for the state.

Several attendees were skeptical. Pat Robins, co-founder of SymQuest Group Inc. of South Burlington, cast doubt on whether the state could hit 90 percent broadband coverage by the end of the year because he suspects coverage is less than By Leslie Wright Free Press Staff Writer SOUTH BURLINGTON Amid the Ben Jerry's, maple syrup and Holstein cows, Vermont's burgeoning software industry is looking to carve out an image of its own. The group wants the state to step up and do more to help with the effort. That was the message state officials heard at a luncheon meeting of the Vermont Software Developers Alliance at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center on Wednesday.

About 100 attended the event that included an appearance by Gov. Jim Douglas, who presented the group with $25,000 to help pay a salary for its first executive director. Another $50,000 has been included in the governor's proposed budget for fiscal year 2008, which begins July 1. Several in the audience focused on the state's gaps in claimed. He also noted that there is stiff competition from across Lake Champlain, where New York state officials have dubbed the stretch from New York City to Plattsburgh as the Tech Valley.

SymQuest recently opened an office in Plattsburgh. "It's a bigger problem than you guys think," Robins said. Economic Development Commissioner Mike Quinn responded that New York does represent a formidable challenge because of its size and ability to offer economic incentives that Vermont, because of its size, can't match. "We continue to reach into the same wallets more deeply. We need more wallets," Quinn said.

Jim Tobin, a software consultant from Lyndonville, said his cell phone is virtually useless in the Northeast Kingdom. He wondered why, if he could get cell coverage on a canyon floor in Zion National Park in Utah, he couldn't get coverage at his home. He, too, gauges the number without broadband to be higher, especially on the eastern side of the state. "That 87 percent number, I can't believe it. Maybe in the Burlington corridor but not in my half of the state," Tobin said.

To David Parker, operations analyst with Dealer in Burlington and co-chairman of the software Morgan Stanley the second-biggest investment bank on Wall Street, said Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter profit soared 69 percent on robust trading and strong advisory fees from stock and bond underwriting. FedEx reported a 2 percent drop in third-quarter earnings, blaming the decline largely on an economic slowdown that tested the shipping giant's ability to quickly' adjust costs. Long hours are the norm at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, but veteran workers for field operator BP PLC said a labor shortage has made conditions ripe for fatigue-related accidents similar to one that killed 15 employees in the company's Texas plant in 2005. Menu Foods, the pet food linked to the deaths of 16 animals, has shown no signs of contamination, the manufacturer says, and the company cannot explain why the cats and dogs developed acute kidney failure and died. -Ku 'M rL Comcast to offer Digital Voice service The Federal Reserve left a key interest rate unchanged while taking note of the recent weaker economic performance and higher inflation pressures.

Crude and gasoline prices edged higher after the U.S. government said gasoline inventories dropped for the sixth straight week, raising the possibility that supplies will, be tight going into the peak driving season. GLENN RUSSELL, Free Press DJ Mike Morris updates a WWPV playlist at St. Michael's College in Colchester on March 8. WWPV staying on the air By Dan McLean Free Press Staff Writer Comcast Corp.

is getting into the phone business in Vermont. Regionally, the cable giant offers Comcast Digital Voice in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. "We're focusing on Vermont," Dan Blake-man, Comcast's vice president for northern Massachusetts and Vermont, said during an interview at The Burlington Free Press on Wednesday. The service will be introduced this year, he said. Comcast Digital Voice is different from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services, which operate over the Internet, company spokesman Marc Goodman said.

Instead, he said, phone calls originate and travel over Comcast's privately managed network. The phone service will be available in all parts of Vermont where Comcast cable service is offered, Goodman said. Philadelphia-based Comcast, which has about 110,000 cable subscribers in Vermont, has owned Adelphia Communications Vermont operations since the end of July when Comcast joined with Time Warner Inc. to buy Adelphia's assets for $17 billion. In Vermont, the name officially changed from Adelphia to Comcast in November.

The Comcast officials also said Wednesday they had no major problems launching On Demand programming in Vermont. The service allows subscribers to watch programming when they choose, instead of when it is scheduled. The service was transferred from Adelphia to Comcast's platform Feb. 28. The formal announcement was delayed several weeks to ensure the transition went well.

There were a series of problems in mid-November when Comcast switched high-speed Internet subscribers from Adelphia to its own system. A different approach was used to launch the On Demand service. "I think we're learning," said Steve Hackley, senior vice president of the New England Region. On Demand was launched in "smaller chunks," he said. "We sequenced it a lot better." Contact Dan McLean at 651-4877 or IBM Corp.

says it has won a 10-year contract to manage the information technology infrastructure of Indian mobile company Idea Cellular in a deal valued between $600 million and $800 million. Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and SanDisk Corp. say they will share flash memory patents and have taken a step toward forming a joint venture. classical-music station serving Chittenden County that VPR hopes to set up within the next year.

VanderHeyden reported that VPR had inquired "whether some other model of cooperation with or outright sale of St. Michael's radio frequency could be discussed." "At that point, I indicated that I needed to speak to the Board of Trustees since they are the legal owners of the College's frequency, 88.7 FM," VanderHeyden wrote. "The Trustees emphasized that in conversations with VPR, we needed to keep the interests of and benefits to our students foremost in mind." He said it became clear, at a meeting he called with student managers of the station and their advisers, that the station had been an important student asset "for decades." "Hence, last week, I forwarded my recommendation to the Board that we should not sell WWPV's frequency to VPR. I also informed the VPR leader ship that, at this time, the college is not prepared to sell an asset that has proven valuable to generations of Saint Michael's students." The station offers an array of programs produced by students and community members. VanderHeyden could not be reached by phone Wednesday afternoon.

Mark Vogelzang, president and general manager of VPR, said VPR expects to maintain its current "longstanding" partnership with WWPV to air the BBC programs a partnership he called "fruitful for the community" and beneficial to all parties. He said VPR was looking at other options to acquire a standard FM frequency to air classical music. He added that VPR's classical programming already can be heard via the Internet and HD digital technology. What VPR hopes to add, for Chittenden County is a standard FM broadcast, he said. Contact Tim Johnson at 660-1808 or tjohnsonbfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

St. Michael's president rules out a sale to VPR By Tim Johnson Free Press Staff Writer Citing the campus radio station as "a tremendous asset to our students," St. Michael's College President Marc A. vander-Heyden has recommended against selling the station's FM frequency to Vermont Public Radio. VanderHeyden made clear his opinion in an e-mail to the college community Wednesday.

His announcement came amid concerns expressed by some students and alumni over the fate of the student-run station, WWPV, which has been operating since the 1950s. For the past eight years, VPR has worked with WWPV to transmit BBC broadcasts during overnight hours and other time slots when student shows aren't running. VPR invoked that partnership in approaching St. Michael's to broach discussions on the possibility of acquiring WWPV's frequency for an all- i i i i I Chinese stocks rose to a record, marking a complete recovery from their late February swoon that sparked a selloff in global financial markets. Airbus has used over $100 billion in European subsidies to capture longstanding Boeing customers and become the world's largest seller of civil aircraft, U.S.

officials told a WTO investigative panel. From wire reports Dollar and precious metals Key currency exchange rates Wednesday in New York. Exchange Dollar equals rate VERMONT BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS INCORPORATIONS CALENDAR PEOPLE Tristram J. Coffin has joined the Paul Frank Collins litigation team in Burlington as of counsel. Coffin was with the U.S.

Attorney's Office for Vermont for 12 years, most recently with the criminal division. Coffin received his degree from 'Columbia University School of Law in 1989 and his bachelor's de- Kiwanis Club of Chittenden County: 12:15 p.m., Ethan Allen Club, Burlington. $12 lunch. 660-2082, or www.kiwanisburling-tonvermont.org Buying a Home With an Affordable VHFA Mortgage: p.m., New England Federal Credit Union, Williston. Registration: 879-8790, or nefcu.com Vermont Venture Network: 8 to 9:30 a.m., Wyndham Burlington, Russell W.

Strong, Integrated Vision on alternative industrial design, TODAY Queen City BNI: 8 a.m., Ethan Allen Club, Burlington. 655-3787. Masters Chapter, BNI: a.m., Coaching ter of Vermont, Cham-plain Mill, Winooski. Joe Burkhard, 655-9000. Rotary Club of Colchester-Milton: noon, Hampton Inn, Colchester.

651-1690. Free Professional Development Opportunity to Learn "Business tools to save money and noon-1 p.m., Tuscan Kitchen, South Burlington. Presented by Vermont Business Builders. 310-1654, or all lawful activities, Winooski, Feb. 9.

Bagels Plus production and retail sales, Williston, Feb. 9. Brookfield Alternative Energy sales, installation and service, Gregg A. Despart, Brookfield, Feb. 9.

American Consultants outsource personnel, Feb. 9. Grateful Day Cafe operate a restaurant, Chester, Feb. 9. Mid Vermont Large Animal Veterinary Services PC, veterinary services, Barre, Feb.

9. Waterfalls Day Spa any lawful purpose, Mid-dlebury, Feb. 8. Nspire Health sales of medical device equipment, Michael S. Sims, Louisville, Feb.

8. Ahpla Solutions lawful act or activity, William Dillon, New York, N.Y., Feb. 8. Two Masters Automotive auto repair and service, Putney, Feb. 7.

Michael Mongulla CPA accounting services, Woodstock, Feb. 8. Monkeys and Footballs all lawful activities, Charlotte, Feb. 9. TTL Property Maintenance gree from Wesleyan University in 1985.

Yen 117.47 Euro 0.7474 Pound 0.5079 Canadian dollar 1.1541 Price Metal (troy oz.) NY Merc Gold $659.00 NY Merc Silver $13,237 Treasuries 30-year bond 4.72 To learn more about business Pe0Pe in the community" 6 to vvcu0 tQ www.burlingtonfreepress.com A.