TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News

It's been a big month here at TechFlash HQ, the biggest on record in fact. July started with a bang -- or should we say with a spark -- when we learned of the Fisher Plaza data center fire in the early hours of July 3. It concluded with Microsoft joining forces with Yahoo, a significant move that CEO Steve Ballmer discussed in a TechFlash interview on Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone for reading and participating in the conversation. We've got some great stories and guest posts percolating for August, and we welcome your ideas too.

But without further ado, here are the most read stories for the month of July with a little bit of editorial commentary thrown in just for fun.  Enjoy Seafair weekend and try to stay cool.

Photo via Zillow.com

Seattle technology executive Martin Tobias has sold his Queen Anne home to a Florida biotech executive for $4.3 million, reports The Seattle Times.

Scott Rosenberg, journalist, author and co-founder of Salon.com, documents the rise of blogs in his new book, “Say Everything.” The book profiles the people and sites that fueled the blogging phenomenon, and explores the future of blogs amid the rise of Twitter and other social networking services. He spoke with TechFlash during a recent visit to Seattle. Read on for edited excerpts.

Delve Networks has sealed a strategic partnership with Akamai Technologies, a deal that allows the Seattle online video startup to offer enhanced video management, delivery and publishing technologies to customers.

Shortly after Amazon.com announced last week that it was acquiring online shoe retailer Zappos, an Amazon employee posted a message on Twitter that captured some of the company’s hopes for the deal.

“Dear Tony: Please teach Amazon about Twitter,” read the message, addressing Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. “And if you could help us get an 800 number on the home page that would be awesome.”

The tweet went to the heart of Amazon’s $900 million-plus gamble on Zappos — the largest acquisition in its history. Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. is getting not only a category leader in online shoe sales, but an innovative company known for its quirky culture, well-developed customer service, and heavy use of social-networking sites like Twitter and Facebook for marketing and brand development.

Inrix today introduced a new iPhone application that should resonate with Seattle drivers -- especially on days like today when the I-90 floating bridge will be closed. The free app predicts traffic conditions on more than 160,000 miles of roadways in North America.

The upcoming Windows 7 Family Pack will be priced at $149.99, and it will be available for purchase in stores upon the operating system's Oct. 22 launch, Microsoft said this morning.

The Family Pack, which will let PC users upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium on up to three existing Windows Vista or XP computers, represents a discount of more than $200 from buying the Windows 7 Home Premium upgrades individually.

It's one of a series of steps Microsoft is taking to make the new operating system more affordable. The company is trying to pull off a successful Windows 7 launch, reviving its flagship product, in the middle of the turbulent economy.

Kevin Lisota

KEVIN LISOTA: I have always been a bit of a gadget freak. My house and office are loaded with technology, including multiple PCs and home servers, camera equipment, home audio, home theater and mobile devices. Perhaps there was no better demonstration of my “gadget-nature” than when I was a product manager for Windows Mobile.

Windows Mobile evolved and improved rapidly and there are now many great Windows Mobile phones on the market. Given my history, I’ve been exceedingly loyal to my roots and continued to use a Windows Mobile device -- until last week. To my own surprise, I was lured to Apple’s iPhone.

Windows Marketplace for Mobile

Apple has boosted its iPhone through a thriving ecosystem of third-party software applications. Microsoft, which used a similar strategy to help make Windows the dominant PC operating system, is now playing catch-up on phones and preparing to launch its own mobile software store.

The long-term outcome will help determine Microsoft’s fate in the booming global market for smartphones, which analysts expect to nearly double by 2012, exceeding 300 million units.

One litmus test will be whether Microsoft can win back one of its own.

Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, discussed the future of the company's mobile-phone initiatives during one part of his presentation Thursday at Microsoft's annual meeting with financial analysts in Redmond. As noted by Mary Jo Foley, he didn't go into detail on long-term plans for Windows Mobile 7 or the long-rumored "Pink" project.

But he did provide a broad outline of the company's strategy as it tries to regain traction in the mobile phone business. Will it actually work? Read on for an extended excerpt from Bach's remarks, from the official transcript.

GENE STOUT: At Seattle's first "Battle of the Tech Bands," a hip-hop group with links to Boeing beat out bands representing Microsoft, Adobe, Hewlett-Packard and other high-tech companies for "most innovative band" -- at least in the judges' view.

As for the audience favorite, it was a Microsoft-Adobe alliance that won the day with its bluesy, classic rock. And in case you're wondering, yes, tech geeks can rock. And rock hard. And don't call them geeks, especially the hair-swinging dudes from metal power trio Juda's Wake.

The economic recession is not only having an impact on the ability of startup companies to raise venture capital financing, but also their desire to take on venture debt. A few years ago, many of the venture capital deals completed in the Seattle area included some form of debt financing. But that's changed in the past year, according to industry watchers.

Two Pacific Northwest companies are joining forces in a deal of undisclosed size. Portland-based Webtrends today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Seattle-based Widemile, a provider of Web site testing technologies.

This could be the ultimate excuse for missing a homework assignment. A Michigan high school student named Justin Gawronski is suing Amazon.com -- claiming that when the online retailer recently deleted the George Orwell novel "1984" from his Kindle reader, it also caused his "copious notes" to be "rendered useless." The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle (pdf, 18 pages), seeks class action status and unspecified damages.

Microsoft's total employment in sales, marketing, support, service and administrative roles ended up essentially flat in its recently completed fiscal year as the company cut back on hiring and cut jobs in the face of the tough economy.

The only categories showing an increase in the company's 10-K report, filed earlier today, were product research and development, which rose from 35,000 to 36,000 positions; and manufacturing and distribution, which rose from 4,000 to 5,000 people.