TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News

This week on the TechFlash Podcast we immerse ourselves in real technology, "not all this consumer Internet crap we talk about all the time," as John jokes at the outset of the show.

Just kidding, of course, but it is refreshing to delve into something as scientific and potentially game-changing as the ability to transmit power via lasers -- which is the technology being developed by LaserMotive, a Seattle-area startup whose president, Tom Nugent, is our guest.

We start with our weekly news roundup, including Microsoft's latest financial results, the rise of the next-generation barcode, and the latest stealthy startup from Seattle entrepreneur Dan Shapiro. And in our final segment we bring back our popular Name that Tech Tune trivia contest. Click here to submit your answer.

Listen above or subscribe to the podcast using this RSS feed (http://feeds.feedburner.com/techflashpodcast), or via iTunes or Zune. Call 206-876-5465 to leave a message for our next show, and continue reading for links related to this week's episode. Here's the MP3 file.

David Truong

David Truong, a 21-year-old University of Washington student from Kirkland, faces an uncertain future as he looks ahead to entering the work force, hoping to remain in the region where he grew up. His biggest challenge: Choosing among the multiple companies interested in hiring him.

“The job market seems really great,” he says.

That might sound nuts, with Washington state’s unemployment rate hovering around 9 percent. But Truong is a computer science major who has already started making his mark with internships at Intel, Lockheed Martin and Microsoft. And the competition for people like him is only becoming more fierce.

Ari Steinberg, head of Facebook’s Seattle engineering office, in the social-networking company’s new digs near Pike Place Market. (Photo by Julie Franz, PSBJ)

Grappling with a talent crunch in Silicon Valley, California-based tech companies including Facebook, social gaming firm Zynga, web-based software provider Salesforce.com, and internet TV service Hulu are establishing a new wave of engineering branches in the Seattle region. Their arrival promises to boost wages and create more opportunities for software developers and others with coveted technology skills — while causing headaches for some of the region’s established companies and spotlighting limits on computer science and engineering education.

As the number of people using smartphones and tablet computers grows, Seattle-area retailers are boosting their efforts to attract mobile shoppers ahead of the holiday season.

A broad range of companies, from technology-savvy e-commerce companies to traditional brick-and-mortar stores, are scrambling to make it easier for people to browse and purchase items on their mobile devices.

Costco Wholesale Corp. is the latest to join the fray. The Issaquah-based discount warehouse chain didn’t do much with mobile initially, but is now working on on a mobile website designed for smaller smartphone screens and plans to release shopping apps for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Google Android devices in the next six months.

Amazon.com is heavily promoting its Kindle readers, but it's also making Kindle content available on as many mobile devices as possible. Today, the company advanced that strategy a step further, announcing that it will release a Kindle app for the new Windows Phone 7 later this year.

People can already read Kindle books on the iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Macs, PCs, BlackBerrys, and Android-based devices (and sync their place in a book across the multiple gadgets).

Amazon said the Kindle for Windows Phone 7 will have some new features, including personalized book recommendations and the ability to send an "e-mail to a friend with a link to the book you're reading or to any book in your library without leaving the app."

The intense debate over Initiative 1098 -- which would impose a state income tax on wealthy individuals in order to help bankroll education -- has polarized the Seattle technology community. Supporters (like philanthropist Bill Gates Sr.) say that the tax is the best way to inject funds into an undercapitalized public education system. But opponents (including venture capitalist Matt McIlwain) have argued that a state income tax would hurt the state's competitiveness and eventually filter down to everyone.

It's been fascinating to watch the debate unfold, especially as one time allies come down on different sides of the issue. (Bill Gates supports the measure, while Steve Ballmer opposes it. Early Amazon.com backer Nick Hanauer supports it, while Jeff Bezos opposes it). We've been covering the income tax debate in some detail here on TechFlash, but have yet to ask our readers how they voted (or plan to vote) on it. So, we've put together the poll above to get a sense of where the technology community stands on the issue.

Cast your vote, and let us know why you are supporting or opposing the measure.

Barnes & Noble this afternoon threw a new twist into the market for dedicated digital reading devices, unveiling a new version of its Nook that comes with a backlit, 7-inch color touchscreen, not the black-and-white E Ink technology used in earlier versions of the product.

The strategy puts the new device somewhere between Amazon's black-and-white Kindle, which uses E Ink technology to more closely replicate traditional ink on paper; and Apple's iPad, a multifunction device that comes with a color screen.

Amazon.com just scored a legal victory in its dispute with North Carolina over customer data. U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman on Monday ruled that the state's request for customer names, addresses and other personal information violates the First Amendment.

North Carolina, which is conducting a sales tax audit of Amazon, lashed out at the online retailer, saying "This case has been twisted into something it is not."

Despite adding a net total more than 500 jobs in the Seattle region in the September quarter, Microsoft's overall worldwide employment dipped slightly, to 88,414 people, according to the latest numbers from the company -- reflecting its ongoing efforts to control costs in the face of an uncertain economy.

The numbers provide a glimpse into Microsoft's mindset, which will become more clear when the company reports earnings later this week. Its brake-tapping contrasts with some of its counterparts in the tech industry, including Amazon.com and Google, whose latest employment numbers show that they're hitting the accelerator again.

As we reported last week, Amazon's headcount has grown a remarkable 44 percent over the past year, to 31,200 employees. Google, which was faster than Microsoft to pull back on hiring during the recession, also has returned to growth mode, expanding its workforce by 18 percent over the past year, to 23,331 employees.

Just in time for the holidays, Amazon.com is trying to make it easier for iPad users to do a little shopping. The online retailer just launched a new free shopping app called Windowshop for iPad. The app takes full advantage of iPad's touch screen capabilities, letting people swipe their finger to scroll through high-resolution product images and tap to zoom in on items and get product information.

Amazon first introduced Windowshop in October 2008 as an experimental feature, and hasn't talked about it much since then, but this new integration with touch-screen tablets makes a lot of sense.

Amazon.com is at it again: touting the sales success of its Kindle reader without actually saying how many Kindles it's sold.

"The new generation Kindle devices are the fastest-selling Kindles of all time and the bestselling products on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk," the company says in a new press release. "Today, Amazon.com announced that sales of the new generation Kindle devices since their introduction have already surpassed total Kindle device sales from October through December 2009."

We're looking forward to seeing many of you this Wednesday starting at 5 p.m. for the TechFlash Meetup at the Spitfire Grill in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, 2219 4th Avenue. The free meetup is exclusive to TechFlash Fans on Facebook, but it's not too late to follow us on Facebook and RSVP.

As part of the festivities, you’ll have the chance to compete for prizes in a TechFlash technology trivia contest — testing your knowledge of topics including Seattle tech history, recent news events, famous geeks and notable high-tech locations.

Come with a team of up to five, or join a team at the event.

We've been having fun putting the questions together, and we're looking forward to seeing how everyone does. If you and your team members follow TechFlash or know a few things about technology and popular culture, you'll have a leg up.

Even if trivia isn't your thing, the event is an opportunity to network with startup entrepreneurs, developers and other TechFlash readers, whether you’re in the technology industry or just looking to plug into the Seattle tech community. It’s a free networking event with a no-host bar and food, and special deals courtesy of Spitfire.

Thanks to our sponsors for this meetup, Nology Media and Filter, for helping to make the event possible. An inside hint for people planning to compete in the trivia: Visit the websites of Nology Media and Filter in advance to study up on the companies for an edge on a couple of the trivia questions.

To reserve your spot for this first-of-its-kind event, make sure you’re a TechFlash Fan on Facebook by clicking “like” on the TechFlash Facebook page and then RSVP for the event on this Facebook page.

Amazon.com is moving thousands of employees to a new campus in Seattle's South Lake Union. In the process, the online retail giant will leave the iconic 16-story tower in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood that has been its home, and public face, for years. Now comes word that Amazon's soon-to-be-former headquarters is among a group of "troubled" Seattle properties at risk of default. The Seattle Times reports on Seattle developer Wright Runstad's so far fruitless search for a new occupant for the tower.

Amazon.com is adding an interesting new function to its Kindle reader: the ability to lend electronic books. The company, in an announcement on its Kindle Community page, says Kindle users will be able to lend e-books for a period of 14 days to other people who own Kindles or are using Kindle apps on devices like the iPhone and iPad.

One big caveat, though: publishers will determine which titles can be lent digitally — meaning not all Kindle books will be part of the new program. It's not clear if publishers will go for the lending concept because it essentially provides temporary access to e-books for free. The loan function will be introduced later this year, according to Amazon.

Amazon also indicated that newspapers and magazines will soon be readable on Kindle apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, and other devices.

Amazon.com disclosed in January 2009 that it was the subject of a mysterious investigation by the U.S. Postal Service. Neither Amazon nor the Postal Service said what the investigation was about, though some interesting theories popped up.

Now Amazon in its latest quarterly financial filing with the SEC says the investigation was closed last month and the company "settled for a nominal amount." The amount wasn't specified. I'm asking Amazon and the Postal Service for comment.

The U.S. Postal Service has reduced staff, sought higher stamp prices, and suggested cutting Saturday mail delivery as it grapples with a large budget deficit. (The Postal Service is part of the federal government but receives no tax dollars.) Amazon, the nation's biggest online retailer, is obviously a big customer for the Postal Service, so the stakes were high in this standoff.

I'm taking a closer look at Amazon.com's SEC filing on its third-quarter financial results, and just noticed an interesting development under "Other Contingencies." According to Amazon, last month the state of Texas issued the company an assessment of $269 million for uncollected sales taxes for a four year period from Dec. 2005 to Dec. 2009. Amazon says the assessment is "without merit" and says it intends to "vigorously defend" itself in the matter.

I'm reaching out to Texas regulators to see if I can learn more. For the past couple years, Amazon has been engaged in a tussle with various states that want the online retailer to collect sales tax on online purchases. (Amazon currently collects sales tax in only a handful of states where it deems itself to have a physical presence.)