TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News

Windows Mobile 6.5 Home Screen

Microsoft and its industry partners will try to make a big splash on Tuesday as they release the first mobile phones with Windows Mobile 6.5 -- complete with a mobile application store, a mobile synchronization service, a new look and features designed to streamline the process of accessing information on a device.

However, Microsoft executives acknowledge behind the scenes that they wish their mobile operating system was further along. Perhaps most noticeably, the new Windows Mobile supports single-finger touch input but not native multi-touch, the ability to interact with the screen using multiple fingers at once -- to pinch or expand a Web page, for example.

Can a new-and-improved Mario and an elite squad of “Halo” troopers lead a successful battle against the recession? The video-game industry is about to find out.

After initially proving resilient to the economic downturn, sales of video game hardware, software and accessories have suffered six straight monthly declines in the U.S. — pointing to a difficult struggle ahead as game companies prepare for the critical holiday shopping season.

Keith Vernon didn’t know he was planting the seeds of a software company in 1999 when he founded Bristlecone Advisors, a Seattle firm that manages and coordinates everything from finances and philanthropy to taxes and jet planes for wealthy families.

But the “family office” profession, as it’s known, turned out to be more complex and specialized than any software package Vernon could find. So Bristlecone brought in software specialist Kris Ryden to build one.

The latest report from Dow Jones VentureSource provides a bit of mixed message on venture-backed exits during the third quarter. First, the good news: The amount of capital raised through initial public offerings increased to $451 million -- the highest amount since 2007.

Now, the bad news: The capital raised came through only two venture-backed IPOs, with the vast majority via A123 Systems' $371 million offering.

Meanwhile, the M&A market remains relatively weak.

During the third quarter, VentureSource recorded 71 venture-backed M&A deals for a total value of $2.25 billion. That compares to 84 deals at 5.2 billion for the same period last year. The median amount paid for companies also has dropped to $22 million, down 52 percent compared to the third quarter last year.

Bellevue-based people search engine Intelius was flying high last week after winning a DEMOgod award and receiving tons of press attention for its DateCheck iPhone app.

This week, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington -- an old nemesis of Intelius -- came after the Naveen Jain-led company with a sharply-worded story that called into question the company's business practices and a recent partnership with Friendster.

But what caught my eye was a press release issued today by the law firm of Finkelstein & Krinsk, citing a class action lawsuit against Intelius.

Amazon.com caused a stir a few months ago when it remotely deleted copies of George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" from people's Kindles. A Michigan high school student, Justin Gawronski, was so incensed that he sued the online retailer, alleging that Amazon essentially ate his homework when it removed his copy of "1984" and caused his "copious notes" to disappear. Now Amazon has settled the lawsuit with Gawronski and a co-plaintiff. As part of the deal, which awaits court approval, Amazon said it "will not remotely delete or modify" works on Kindles, with some exceptions.

Paul Allen

Health concerns last year sidelined billionaire Paul Allen, who was forced to skip the Seattle King County Realtors' First Citizen award due to a medical procedure.

But Allen -- sporting a new beard that's changed a little in color since this iconic 1978 photo -- is healthy again, according to John Canzano's column this week in The Oregonian.

"I'm fine, finally," Allen told Canzano. "I'm much, much better. I hit a few bumps in the road. Your health ... is the most important thing in the world, isn't it?"

A few weeks ago, we reported that former aQuantive executive Brent Turner was leaving Microsoft to join Marchex. Turns out that Turner is going to have a pretty easy time recognizing faces around the office.

The Seattle company recently formed its first advisory board, a panel of online advertising experts which includes three former heavyweights from the aQuantive consortium of companies.

They include Clark Kokich, the former president and CEO of aQuantive's Razorfish unit; Mike Galgon, a co-founder of aQuantive who most recently served as chief advertising strategist at Microsoft; and Jim Warner, the former executive vice president of Razorfish's east region.

What's going on over Marchex? Are they trying to recreate the good-old days of aQuantive?

Microsoft is discontinuing Recite, a Windows Mobile application that lets people record audio notes to themselves and search them later by voice, according to a notice today on the Microsoft Recite site. The app will no longer be offered as of Dec. 31, 2009, the company says.

The notice doesn't provide a reason for the discontinuation, but it suggests that Microsoft might revive the concept in some other form. "The ability to capture notes and reminders is an area we are still focused on and we will continue to consider your feedback to build out these rich experiences in upcoming product," it says.

Last spring, when we published our initial listing of notable women in Seattle technology, we received lots of feedback: First, many TechFlash readers wanted us to recognize more scientists, engineers and others in technical careers. And second, many of the women on the list suggested that we organize an event where they and others could meet.

So we're doing both. We've expanded the list to include many of your suggestions, and we're inviting all of the women on the list, along with the rest of the Seattle tech community, to register and join us for the upcoming TechFlash Live: Women in Technology event -- to be held the evening of Oct. 28 at the W Hotel in downtown Seattle.

See the expanded list, get details and register for the event here.

Since the launch of its first Kindle reader in 2007, Amazon.com has focused on nurturing the U.S. market for electronic books and reading devices. But the Kindle may be poised to go international, at least according a report coming out of the U.K. Bookseller.com reports that Amazon is gearing up for a Kindle launch in Britain as early as next week.

Amazon.com's strategy of putting new release books on Kindle on the same day they release in hardcover has met with mixed reaction from publishers. Random House agreed to Amazon's terms with Dan Brown's latest thriller, "The Lost Symbol," but the publisher of Ted Kennedy's memoir "True Compass" delayed the electronic version indefinitely. Now HarperCollins is delaying the e-book version of another buzzed-about title, Sarah Palin's memoir "Going Rogue." The Palin book is due to release on Nov. 17, but the digital edition won't be available until Dec. 26.

Sarah Carr

Earth Class Mail today promoted Sarah Carr to the position of CEO, a move that comes nearly four months after she assumed the role of president and a year after she joined the company as chief operating officer. Carr, who prior to joining Earth Class Mail served as an executive at Print Inc. and Bowne Global, has refocused the company's efforts on small businesses and expanded deals within the postal industry.

The new maneuvers coupled with cost cutting moves are expected to bring Earth Class Mail -- which allows customers to receive postal mail online -- to profitability in the fourth quarter, the company said today.

Last month, Microsoft unveiled a prototype for a keyboard that senses, with precision, the amount of pressure the user is putting on the keys. Next week, students will be unveiling their applications for the keyboard as part of a contest at the User Interface Software and Technology conference in Victoria, B.C.

During a visit to the Microsoft campus yesterday, Paul Dietz, a senior researcher in Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group, showed us the inner circuitry of the keyboard and demonstrated how it works.

Spiration has landed $7 million in convertible debt financing, money that the Redmond medical device maker will use to complete clinical studies for its new emphysema treatment. The money -- part of a $10 million round -- was provided by existing shareholder Olympus Medical Systems Corp., said Chief Operating Officer Gregory Sessler.

Olympus has secured exclusive distribution rights to Spiration's IBV Valve System in Europe and also has an agreement to develop the product for Japan. As you can see in this video, the IBV system includes small catheters that are inserted into the lungs in order to improve breathing and redirect airflow to healthy tissues.