TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News

Could Amazon.com's fight over sales taxes in California come to an amicable end?

The online retailer is reportedly in talks with state legislators and independent retailers to cut a deal that would give it a two-year reprieve from collecting sales taxes in exchange for support to change federal sales tax laws, and possibly add distribution centers in California.

The negotiations between Amazon lobbyists, brick-and-mortar retailers and California lawmakers took place Tuesday night in the Capitol, according the Contra Costa Times.

Senate Minority Leader Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) is pushing for Amazon and California retailers to find a "win-win" solution to the fight.

To maintain his control over Libyan citizens, Moammar Gadhafi used tech tools supplied by outside companies to monitor online calls made through Skype, to sensor YouTube videos and do prevent Libyans from hiding their online activities.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) takes readers inside the room on a government building in Tripoli where Gadhafi agents spied on emails and chat messages in an internet crackdown aided by Western companies, such as Amesys, a subsidiary of the French technology firm Bull SA.

T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm

T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm issued an internal memo today, looking to rally T-Mobile employees after the unexpected news that the Department of Justice is looking to block its merger with AT&T.

Both AT&T and T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, have expressed surprise and displeasure over the news, and vowed to fight the lawsuit in court. Humm alludes to the disappointment in his company-wide memo, but encourages employees to stay focused on "strengthening our business and offering world class customer service."

The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday morning, seeking to prevent the $39 billion merger on the grounds that it will reduce innovation, lessen competition, create higher prices for consumers and result in a decline in service quality.

Here's the full text of Humm's e-mail:

The ZINO Society announced its list of companies eligible for a five-minute presentation at the ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum on Sept. 13 at the Museum of History and Industry. More information on the forum is here.

In filing a federal antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T’s $39 billion takeover of rival T-Mobile, attorneys with the U.S. Justice Department paint a picture of AT&T seeking to remove a major competitor, one known for innovation and providing good value to consumers.

Justice attorneys argue that the takeover -- creating the nation’s largest wireless carrier -- would reduce innovation, lessen competition, create higher prices for consumers and result in a decline in the quality of service because there would be less incentive to invest in capacity and technology improvements.

In internal AT&T documents, obtained by the Justice Department, government lawyers say in the lawsuit that AT&T felt competitive pressure from T-Mobile’s innovation. One January 2010 AT&T document focused on the roll-out of new broadband networks by T-Mobile and other competitors:

AT&T vows to fight. So does T-Mobile USA parent Deutsche Telekom. AT&T rival Sprint, meanwhile, is pleased.

Those are just some of the reactions Wednesday to the Justice Department’s lawsuit to block the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger.

The merger would combine the No. 2 and No. 4 wireless carriers to create the nation’s largest network. AT&T wants T-Mobile’s wireless spectrum and 4G network in the $39 billion deal, but the Justice Department’s suit claims the combined company would stifle innovation and competition and lead to higher rates for consumers.

The Federal Communications Commission has also raised questions on the merger, especially after a document was leaked showing AT&T could greatly expand its 4G network for only $3.8 billion.

But the Justice Department’s blocking of the deal could have larger implications for future mergers. The Obama administration blocked a merger between NASDAQ and NYSE Euronext, and the administration has generally taken a tougher stance on anti-trust laws than the Bush administration.

The anticipation is building behind an Amazon tablet, but you might just have to wait a little longer.

DigiTimes, a Chinese blog focusing on the supply side of the tech industry, reports that mass production of the 10.1-inch tablet won’t begin until the first quarter of 2012. The supplier is Foxconn Electronics, which also manufactures components for Apple’s iPad.

Another supplier will supply a 7-inch tablet for Amazon. Those units are expected to begin shipping in October. Both models are widely believed to run on Android, which isn't doing so bad.

Daily deals have had a big impact on online shopping. Industry leader Groupon has raised nearly $1 billion and has high-powered backers such as Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Groupon has said it hopes to raise another $750 million by going public.

Amazon launched AmazonLocal in June, as the Seattle ecommerce site seeks to keep up with competitors including Google. Amazon also has backed daily deals startup LivingSocial.

But apparently daily deals are not for everyone. Social media giant Facebook has decided to end its daily deal offerings -- at least for the time being -- and Yelp has followed suit.

Portfolio.com wonders if Facebook decided to get out of daily deals because it did not want to go up against Groupon, which is an important source of advertising for Facebook.

This post has been updated

The Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T's proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile.

DOJ believes an acquisition of the country's fourth largest wireless carrier by AT&T, the second largest wireless carrier, would reduce competition and raise prices.

In a complaint (pdf, 25 pages) filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., the U.S. government said the merger would violate U.S. antitrust laws and is requesting a court order to block the deal.

AT&T says that its merger with Bellevue-based T-Mobile USA will bring 5,000 jobs back to the U.S.

The merger was already under review by the FCC, but has faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks. Last week, it was discovered that AT&T could have expanded its 4G LTE wireless network to 97 percent of the country for a fraction of the $39 billion it will spend to acquire T-Mobile. At the time, the FCC asked the telecom company for more information on how the proposed merger will benefit the country.

Urbanspoon will start using reviews and ratings from Zagat on the Seattle online restaurant guide’s website.

With a content partnership, Urbanspoon, known for its slot-machine style apps, will get more than 25,000 reviews and diner comments from one of the most recognized names in the restaurant rating game.

Zagat, in return, will get exposure on a popular online restaurant site run by a company that has an app that has been “shaken” a billion times to help diners find a restaurant.

A Kirkland startup working on technology to prevent credit card fraud in restaurants and bars has raised $1 million in equity funds from angel investors.

Viableware designs hardware and software products to eliminate credit and debit card information theft with its product called Rail, which lets restaurant customers self-swipe credit or debit cards at the table, protecting their accounts from theft.

Viableware reported raising $1 million in equity money, according to a filing with the SEC. The funds are from angel investors, said co-founder and CEO Joseph Snell.

Hewlett-Packard said Tuesday it will produce one last run of TouchPads, but didn't say how many or what they would cost.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) said on Tuesday it will make a limited run of TouchPads to satisfy "stunning" demand after it pulled the plug on sales of the tablets earlier this month.

"Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand," HP spokesman Mark Budgell wrote on a company blog.

Retail giant Wal-Mart, which has led the opposition Amazon's fight against a new California sales tax law, is also facing some questions about company sales tax practices.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the company doesn't require CSN Stores, a Boston-based retailer that sells merchandise on Walmart.com, to collect sales tax from California customers.

Google and Apple have widened their lead in smartphone platform race in the U.S. over rivals Microsoft and Research In Motion, according to the latest comScore report.

Google Android was once again ranked as the top smartphone platform with a 41.8 percent market share over a three-month period that ended in July. That was up 5.4 percentage points from the previous three-month period, according to comScore.