Atlantic City, New Jersey (Photo credit: Dougtone)

In the wake of the passing of the online gambling bill in New Jersey,  online gambling company Pokerstars is seeking to purchase the Atlantic Club Casino in Atlantic City.

This proposal would be the first time that an online company would join the physical gambling world in Atlantic City, according to Mashable. But the company has had previous run-ins with the U.S Department of Justice that will have to be cleared before they can proceed with their plans.

Mashable

Vote (Photo credit: Vaguely Artistic)

After Hurricane Sandy, many New Jersey residents were left with a few days before the presidential election and unable to send in their votes. Governor Chris Christie issued an initiative that allowed citizens and responders to place their votes electronically.

According to GovTech, technology wasn’t a problem for New Jersey during the e-voting since methods for electronic votes already existed for oversees personnel. The difficulty was in preparing to receive the votes, sending out ballots, and qualifying people to vote electronically.

GovTech suggests that this method of electronic voting could work even in non-emergency situations in the future.

Government Technology

Tempranillo varietal wine bottle and glass. Shot with Nikon D70s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NY entrepreneurs Aaron Sherman and Gianfranco Verga partnered with Goldman Sachs analyst Neal Parikh to create an online database and resource for wine purchasers in the NY and NJ area. The site allows users to search all wines, beer, and liquor available by region, size, and price.

The Brooklyn-based site, SevenFifty, began when Sherman and Verga were frustrated by the shortcomings of the site Beverage Media, which previously was the only resource for industry news and information about distributors. They found it difficult to find many wines and also found smaller distributors that didn’t appear on it.

The Wall Street Journal

New Jersey (Photo credit: Martin Haesemeyer)

Although NY Tech is more often talked about than NJ, teams such as Princeton‘s TigerLabs and TechLaunch are still trying to help the state’s entrepreneurial efforts. Tech Launch is looking for 10-12 early stage startups to participate in a 16-week LaunchPad program which will offer space, legal and accounting information, and funding to help them get started.

TechLaunch

Atlantic City, NJ (Photo credit: omerka)

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has issued a conditional veto that, if approved by legislation, will allow online gambling as an effort to save Atlantic City, the New York Post reports. Christie initially vetoed the bill but then set forth certain conditions. One condition is that the tax on online gambling winnings will increased from ten percent to 15 percent.

With the bill, only New Jersey residents will be able to participate in online gambling, but they’ll be able to do so from anywhere in New Jersey. Christie feels this will increase revenue significantly in the 12 Atlantic City casinos that have seen falling revenue for six years straight.

The New York Post

Each team has at least one developer and one journalist. Projects have to be released under an open-source license so other hackers can develop the work. Meagher told The Star Ledger that the ultimate goal is usable tools and, “The best case is that some projects that get built have a shelf life beyond this.”

The Star-Ledger

(Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

By Julie DeVito

The NY Tristate Region is ranked relatively high for state broadband infrastructure and policies, as compared to other states across the USA.  According to the  recently-released  “2012 State Broadband Index” survey by TechNet, the bipartisan group says that states with high levels on investment in broadband infrastructure see more economic benefits, stronger communities, improved delivery of government services, and better educational systems.

New Jersey ranked sixth of the 50 states, while NY ranked tenth, and Connecticut ranked 17^th.  Of the three, New Jersey was the only state ranked above average on home adoption of broadband infrastructure. NY was at the national average but along with New Jersey has had slow growth rates recently.

The group encourages states to and ranked them on how they foster environments where there is executive and legislative leadership to ensure regulatory barriers in broadband. It also emphasizes the importance of state funding, cooperation about sectors, and planning.

“Simply put, broadband is the foundation for our nation’s continued technology and economic leadership,” said   TechNet president and CEO Rey Ramsey. “We applaud all the states at the top of this index for their leadership in building the broadband infrastructure that is helping deliver economic success and improved quality of life for millions of our fellow citizens.”

The full report is available at http://www.technet.org

Xconomy

Hack Jersey

Find out more information at hackjersey.com.

Long Island Rail Road (Photo credit: eugene)

Social media provided essential communication between NY area commuters and New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road during Hurricane Sandy

Without a phone signal or other ways of finding transportation updates, commuters turned to LIRR and NJ Transit’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, according to The New York Times.

Transit officials realized keeping customers informed was just as important as fixing tracks and trains. The LIRR uploaded photos and videos, posted updates and answered passenger questions, and became a source of shared pain for commuters and transit workers. NJ Transit also updated its page often but, according to the Times, provided confusing information and incorrect advice.

The New York Times

Whether traffic spikes translate into long-term gains is unclear. Baristanet founder Debbie Galant said to Advertising Age that six years ago local sites were the only place to find pictures of storms in progress. But with Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and even platforms like CoveritLive, Scribblelive and Storify, there is less advantage in being the sole purveyor of local news.

Advertising Age

NJ – Hoboken: Stevens Institute of Technology – Edwin A Stevens Hall (Photo credit: wallyg)

The Stevens Institute of Technology located in Hoboken, NJ is commencing a 10-year expansion plan that it expected to narrow the focus of the engineering school and increase its undergraduate student body by almost 60%. The proposal will be released this Friday and will include a focus on technology, according to Wall Street Journal. 100 professors will be hired and the undergraduate enrollment will be expanded from 2,500 to 4,000. The plan is expected to cost $400 million by its completion in 2022.

Nariman Farvardin, Stevens President, is expected to announce a $10 million gift from Greg Gianforte, software executive and Stevens alumnus, for a new academic building at the university. President Farvardin hopes to make Stevens better known for its technology and to make up for the 16 counts brought against the school by the state attorney general in 2009 for  improper borrowing. Both sides settled in 2010.

Farvardin noted that the school has been lacking a clear focus, and said, ”It was somewhat surprising. I would have thought the university would have a much more definitive plan for its future.” A big portion of the new plan is dedicated to focusing on technology in sectors such as health care, defense and finance. Farvardin also sees CornellNYC Tech as an opportunity, not a threat. The plan is expected to add 50 undergraduates a year and build several new buildings on the school’s campus.

The Wall Street Journal

English: , U.S. Attorney, Governor-elect of New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NJ Governor Chris Christie has recently launched Twitter and Tumblr accounts in order to provide information on his upcoming keynote address and his travels surrounding the Republican National Convention. Christie has already posted a clip of former NJ Gov. Tom Kean Sr. embracing Christie after he became the state’s chief executive in 2010, according to CBS NY. There is another picture of Christie practicing his keynote speech on his Tumblr page.

This is not the first time Governor Christie has used the Internet for political purposes. Christie and the Democratic-controlled legislature in NJ have been involved in an ongoing graphics war via email. The graphics from both parties have been distributed by email to a number of political insiders and reporters and are intended to subconsciously shape opinions.  According to the Wall Street Journal, these emails are an example of how both parties are using cheaper and low-tech strategies to deliver negative messages.

CBS NY

Wall Street Journal

Ajay Gupte, president of Linwood-based CLCD LLC, which makes children’s literature databases, told MENAFN.com that, “We see a lot of students coming out of local colleges, but the things they are trained in are not up to par with the technology needs of a small company like ours. We would have to train them and bring them up to speed just so they could work for us, but the cost to do that is difficult for us to bear.” However, Maxine Ballen, founder and CEO of the technology council argued otherwise. She claims that the issue is a lack of communication between the tech companies and higher education institutions.

Data released by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development in December suggested that NJ’s tech cluster accounted for 313,000 jobs, about 10% of the state’s workforce. However, these numbers are 9% lower than they were in 2007, when tech jobs peaked at 345,108. The average annual salary in this cluster was more than $100,000 in 2010.

MENAFN.com

Official seal of City of Newark (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Newark, NJ, though populated and culturally diverse, sometimes struggles with providing safe housing for low to middle-income families. However, the Newark Housing Authority (NHA), which operates about 87,000 housing units in 45 buildings, set out a few years ago to provide safer hosting and map fit easier for residents to communicate with one another. According to Broadband Communities Magazine, the NHA consulted with Millennium Communications Group (MCG), which provides fiber optic networks and advanced technology solutions for organizations and communities. MCG quickly realized that a high performance security solution was needed for the NHA residents and recommended connecting residents with a “fiber optic backbone,” which would be capable of handling high performance security camera solutions.

Before these fiber optic camera, the NHA had used low quality cameras that were often unmonitored. But, with the new fiber-based physical security cameras installed, the hosting authority could use crimes caught on tape to prosecute criminals. The quality of the footage was all due to having enough bandwidth to transport and store camera footage.

Broadband Communities Magazine Online 

GoCharge

The bars range anywhere from American Trash on the Upper East Side to Billy Hurricane’s on the Lower East Side. However, people low on power can locate all the kiosks with the goCharge iPhone app. Mr. Walke also plans to have kiosks in 150 bars in Boston and Miami by Labor Day, bringing the kiosk total to about 255-bars, which he will then pitch to advertisers.

Crain’s NY Business

Virtual-patient training technology at the Mitchells Plain lab (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A survey by the NJ Technology Council concluded that tech companies in NJ are struggling to find applicants with needed qualifications for many positions. According to NorthJersey.com, The council represents more than 1,000 tech companies around the state, and the survey they published concluded that the biggest employment-related obstacle (22%) is lack of company resources for IT and tech training. Next, coming in at 20%, was finding qualified talent, and 6% said tech grads lack skills needed for on the job training.

George Nikanorov, head of marketing for Data Inc. in Montvale, stated that his company normally uses a recruitment team and a database to find employees with one or two years of experience, instead of hiring recent grads. Data Inc. has 600 to 800 employees worldwide,  and works mostly with financial services firms, which requires a lot of technical experience. Nikanorov says that developers of all kinds are in highest demand for them.

NorthJersey.com

Cablevision will now require its NJ customers to get a cable box if they want access to the iO TV service. Currently, the monthly rental fee for a cable box and remote is $6.95, but Cablevision will now offer the equipment for free for one or two years for TVs without boxes. According to APP.com, this transistion period, which already took place in NY and Connecticut, will last through early October for NJ residents. Up until this point, Cablevision had offered customers without a box some channels and basic television.

Gerri Basile, Keyport resident and Cablevision customer, told APP.com that she was not looking forward to the change, and that, “I have certain TVs that even putting that little box (there) is really not convenient for me. Now that they’re forcing me they actually now… have pushed me to go to Verizon FiOS.” Basile said that she originally chose Cablevision because it did not require her to get a box on every set, but in light of the change she is switching to Verizon, even though it requires a converter box as well.

Cablevision made the all-digital conversion so that the company can offer more content, more hi-def programs, and interactive services. Over the past few years, Cablevision has gotten rid of various analog cables that took up more space on its network and were also available in digital format. The new changes will also make basic broadcast channels, from 2 to thirteen, only available in digital. Comcast completed its similar transition in 2011.

APP.com

Downtown New York (Photo credit: sreevishnu)

CNBC has released their “Top States for Business” study, which ranks the 50 U.S. states based on factors like access to capital, cost of living, economy, and more. NY was ranked first in the technology and innovation section, up from 2nd place in 2011.  The ranking takes into account the state’s “support for innovation, the number of patents issued to their residents, and the deployment of broadband services.” While NY held the top spot, NJ ranked 13th (down from 8th in 2011) and Connecticut ranked 18th (up from 19th in 2011).

In education, NY also came in first with Connecticut right behind it in second place. Meanwhile, NJ was not far behind with the 4th place position. The education rankings were determined by, “traditional measures of K-12 education including test scores, class size and spending,” and the number of higher institutions in each state. NY’s education ranking remained the same as last year, while NJ dropped from its #2 position from last year, and Connecticut rose from its #3 position in 2011.

Despite the positive results in these categories, NY, NJ, and Connecticut still face challenges in the overall business climate rankings, in which they were ranked 34, 41, and 44, respectively. In addition, NY was at the bottom of the list for both its business friendliness ranking, 50th, and its cost of living ranking, 47th. 

CNBC conducted the study using 51 different measures of competitiveness with input from organizations like The National Association of Manufacturers, and The Council on Competitiveness. Additionally, a new socially interactive component is being introduced this year with CNBC‘s “Top States Twitter Battle.” The governors of each state submitted a video to explain why their state should be ranked top for business. Currently, the videos are available to watch on CNBC‘s website. Participants can watch these videos and then vote using their state-specific hashtag (such as #TopStatesNY) for the state that they think ranks top in business. The results of this twitter battle will be announced on July 12th.

CNBC

Image via CrunchBase

Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark and prolific Twitter-user, has decided to team up with Google‘s executive chairman Eric Schmidt to create a new social media site. According to The Huffington Post, the site will be called Waywire, will be openin later this summer, and its mission is to offer a social video platform for philanthropists and “do-gooders.” It is now accepting email registrations for its beta launch.

Booker told HuffPost that , “I’ve always been fascinated and compelled by how media combined with activism can really drive social change, from my earliest days as a city councilman.” In order to get the site up and running, investors like First Round Capital and Troy Carter are gathering $1.75 million.

On the site, users will be able to comment on and share videos, most of which will be user-generated anyways. Additionally, the site hopes to produce about 170 hours of video a year, according to the founders. Though Booker will remain listed as a co-founder, he will not be involved with the day-to-day of the site. Screen shots of the site have not yet been released, so there is no way to say for certain what Waywire will look like and how it will set itself apart from other sites.

The Hffington Post

Image via CrunchBase

The New Jersey Tech Meetup, held in Hoboken, has proved that startup success can be independent of location. Jeff Hoffman, founder and former CEO of Priceline.com announced that, “A good idea is a good idea, and it doesn’t care where it came from. Entrepreneurship can pop up any time, anywhere,” as reported by Fast Company. New Jersey’s startup revolution began with Newark-based, Audible.com, which sold to Amazon in 2008 for $300 million. In Montclair, just two years later, startup Diapers.com was also sold to Amazon, this time for $550 million. Now, two years later, the New Jersey Tech Meetup has 1,972 members and a wait list of startups that want to demo their projects.

Though Northern New Jersey benefits from its proximity to NY’s startup community, the Jersey startups do not identify with the city.  90% of attendees at the meetup said they live and work in New Jersey. This is probably due to the more suburban and residential lifestyle that New Jersey offers. Additionally, the types business that are found in New Jersey are different from those in New York- pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and manufacturing versus media, fashion, and finance.

Though the tech industry in New Jersey has its positives, it will not be competing with NY or Silicon Valley anytime soon. It lacks in talent from schools like Stanford or Columbia or MIT or NYU. Aaron Price, the NJ meetup organizer, Entrepreneur for DFJ Gotham, and founder of CrafterMania.com told Fast Company that, “When companies get outside of TechCrunch and into the New York Times and New Jersey Star Ledger, people get hungry. The community gets more accessible, and the idea that the barriers to entry to start a really profitable company are becoming really low.” Though New Jersey may not have the vibrancy of NY or Silicon Valley, its community of entrepreneurs is still tight-knit and creative.

Fast Company

Garden State Parkway - New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Startup Inrix Inc. has created supercomputers that analyze cellphone and GPS signals, and then translate this data into maps of traffic conditions along New Jersey’s roads. According to the Wall Street Journal, the system helps the New Jersey Department of Transportation identify accidents and regions of stopped traffic. Before the Inrix computer systems were installed, NJ relied on traffic cameras and $20,000 roadside sensors for accident information, which only covered about 5% of the state roads. Dhanesh Motiani, executive director of transportation systems management at the state transportation department, told the Journal  that, “Data like this is helping us move forward and make decisions we couldn’t make before.” The Inrix system costs New Jersey about $450,000 a year.

This start up signifies only a small look at the power that Big Data systems are estimated to have. the rapid expansion of mobile phones and wireless devices has allowed Big Data programs like Inrix to develop, and store and analyze data with more ease. Other companies like Google, Apple and Uber Technologies are also using Big Data to address transportation issues. These advancements in big data for traffic information will help cities and agencies save money and make smarter decisions about transportation projects.

However, there is a serious concern about how to analyze the data in the correct way. Companies may have all the information needed, but do not always know the right way to sift through it. Another concern with Big Data is privacy issues of consumers who worry about constant data transmission from cell phones and other devices.

The Wall Street Journal

Image via CrunchBase

Gov. Chris Christie  announced recently that Amazon will be building two warehouses in New Jersey and will start collecting state sales tax next summer. According to The New York Times, the warehouses will be around a million square feet each, and will provide 1,500 full-time jobs. Amazon, which is based in Seattle, made an agreement with New Jersey to collect seven percent sales tax on orders from state residents by July of 2013.

Online retailers located in-state feel as though they are at a disadvantage because out-of-state retailers do not have to charge sales tax. Christie estimated that the revenue for the state would amount to an additional $30 to $40 million a year. The location for the warehouses has not yet been decided on, though their estimated cost is around $130 million.

John Holub, president of New Jersey Retailers Association told the NYTimes that, “We’re very pleased with the deal. We now have a definite date when Amazon will begin to collect tax.”

The New York Times

English: Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak proposed Internet gambling bill was not voted on this Thursday in the State Senate, as he had hoped. The bill, which would support Internet gambling, will not likely be voted on until the fall of this year according to Poker News. Governor Chris Christie  vetoed a similar law that Lesniak proposed last year, which proposed earmarking internet gambling to supplement New Jersey’s horse racing industry. Christie supported this new bill after the racing stipulation was removed.

Lesniak told Poker News in a phone interview that, “Because of Gov. Christie’s ambivalence on it and him sending messages that he doesn’t want it to go through until the fall, we’re having trouble getting enough Democratic votes to pass it because of opposition from the racing industry. We’re going to work on it until the end of June and see if we can get it done by getting the governor’s support or getting the Democratic votes.”

Lesniak has cited Christie’s national political ambitions as a reason or his aversion tot he bill. There have been speculations about Christie running with Mitt Romney in the presidential election, which has Lesniak skeptical about the bill being passed at all.

Poker News

English: JFK International Airport Español: Vista del Aeropuerto Internacional John F. Kennedy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This summer, The Port Authority will be using NY area airports as a testing ground for the introduction of avatars.  Newark, JFK and La Guardia airports will be renting devices that produce digital avatars to help travelers. According to The Associated Press, the NY area airports are the first in North America to be receiving the avatar devices

Patrick Foye, Port Authority executive director, tells AP, “In addition to the electronic help, the flesh-and-blood customer service staff, currently at about 350 for the three airports, will increase by 20 percent.” These decisions to increase staff were due to a recent customer survey that called for more human interaction at the airports.

The Port Authority has also decided to add another 100 power poles in airports so more travelers can charge their mobile devices on the go.

Associated Press

Image via CrunchBase

BetaBeat recently looked into the world of purchasing “friends” for their Facebook profile, finding companies such as Bulkfans.com which provide various consumer facing entities this service, generating revenue for companies such as NJ-based SocialJump.

The practice of buying friends on social networks is not illegal, but to many it seems unethical.  SocialJump claims that it does not violate any of the social networks’ terms of service, as Matthew Prepis, director of client management, says to BetaBeat that those who pay for the service are “people looking to do anything for a little bit of money.  There are proprietary networks where you can subscribe to do this for a living. It’s a lot of just random people.”  Alex Melen, CEO, of the friend finder, said, “they’re kind of the wholesale suppliers, and we pay them. It’s not that the people are forced to like or subscribe.”

According to Melen, most of the subscribers which let the company use their names, are musicians and artists looking to build a following on their Facebook page or other social networking applications. In addition to SocialJump, other companies are feeding off people’s desire to be “liked.”  FansGalore, SocialKik and Bulkfans.com all promise Facebook friends at a price.  As for the friends BetaBeat purchased, the site found that reports that they many had stock photos, weird  names and “suspiciously similar backstories.”

BetaBeat

main street of Fort Lee in NJ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Police in Fort Lee, NJ  have announced an initiative which will see $85 fines being issued to jaywalkers who are using their devices to text, according to ABC News.

Thomas Ripoli, Fort Lee’s chief of police, said, “it’s a big distraction. Pedestrians aren’t watching where they are going and they are not aware.”  He mentioned that there has been three fatal pedestrian accidents in his borough, home to 35,000 people, and believes the fines will make the streets safer.

To advertise the fine-to-be, police officers handed out pamphlets during a short grace period in March.  According to a Stony Brook University cited by ABC News study, texters were 60 percent more likely to veer off their paths than non-texters.  Eric Lamberg, co-author of the study, said, “we want to raise awareness that a real disruption occurs because of texting.  Texting disrupts your ability much more than does talking.”

ABC News

Official logo of Atlantic City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New Jersey is looking to become the first state to legalize online gambling after a State Assembly panel yesterday approved a bill allowing Internet wagers despite Governor Christie’s veto of a similar bill sometime last year. NJ Senator Raymond Lesniak has expressed interest in legalizing online betting before the state of Nevada does..

According to supporters, the final passage of this bill would bring in $300-$400 million in additional revenue to the state, much of which would come from licenses that cost about $200,000 for casinos. A portion of this would go towards programs to aid problem gamblers. This is similar to legislation that passed last month in the NJ Senate.

The Press of Atlantic City notes, however, that even once the bill is passed, participants would have to wait another nine months before they can begin placing bets.  Also, licenses are limited to only casinos whose servers are located in Atlantic City. One of the other main concerns is that the growth in casino gambling will be offset by a decline in horse race bets, thus producing little benefit.

Press of Atlantic City

The logo of Montclair State University (Wikipedia)

TechLaunch, a new tech accelerator funded by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, is looking to keep New Jersey tech talent within state confines.  According to BetaBeat, entrepreneurs can receive between an $18-20 thousand seed investment at a chance to stay at Montclair State University, following a selection process for 10 to 12 startups. 

According to their press release, “TechLaunch provides a select group of emerging portfolio companies early seed-stage funding, mentorship, key services and exposure to qualified investors.”

BetaBeat

Screenshot of open-source Poker Online table (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Senate Bill 1565, known as New Jersey’s Internet gambling bill, is scheduled to go up for a vote in the NJ Senate on May 31, later than sponsor NJ Senator Raymond Lesniak had hoped. According to Pokernews, the delay will push back his predicted Sept. 1 start date for online poker in the Garden State. Lesniak still says he expects online poker to be up and running “sometime in the fall.”

Lesniak had predicted last month that the bill would pass through both houses in mid-April. The bill was passed by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on April 3 and according to Lesniak, the delay is the result of his colleagues in the legislature going on vacation over the next month.

“We have to make sure we have all the Democratic votes there, so we have to schedule around people’s vacations,” Lesniak told Pokernews. “Things like this happen. A year ago, the governor vetoed the first attempt. This time, it looks like we’re going to reach the finish line. It’s just taking longer than I hoped for.”

Pokernews