TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News

Daptiv, the Seattle online project management company, laid off an undisclosed number of staffers today. A spokeswoman confirmed the cuts in an email, but didn't provide details on the number of jobs lost or why the company was trimming its staff again.

T-Mobile USA announced solid fourth quarter results, with the Bellevue wireless carrier posting double digit increases in operating income and service revenue. The unit of Deutsche Telekom reported operating income of $1.5 billion, up 18 percent over the same period in 2007. Meanwhile, service revenue increased 12 percent to $4.9 billion, a significant increase even though new customer additions are slowing.

The Kindle

Publishing giant Hearst -- which has announced plans to sell or close the Seattle P-I and the San Francisco Chronicle -- has developed a new electronic reading device that is expected to debut later this year, reports Fortune.  The new device is interesting for Seattle readers, not only because of its implications for the future of the Seattle P-I but also because the device could compete with Amazon.com's Kindle. The Kindle already offers electronic versions of some of the top newspapers in the country, including The New York Times, LA Times and The Seattle Times.

Despite the struggles in the economy in the latter half of 2008, members of the Alliance of Angels still invested near record totals last year. The Seattle angel group said today that its members invested $6.4 million last year, a 64 percent increase over 2007 and the second highest investment total since the organization was founded 11 years ago.

Newspapers are going down the tubes fast, but some enterprising journalists in San Francisco are turning to a new technology to try to come with with ideas to help save the industry. Following the news this week that Hearst may shut down the San Francisco Chronicle, Sarah Rich and Alexis Madrigal set up a wiki on Seattle's Wetpaint called The San Francisco Post-Chronicle that makes pleas for suggestions to save the city's largest daily newspaper.

The writers from Dwell and Wired.com are asking designers to submit mock ups on what a new-and-improved Chronicle Web site could look like as well as possible distribution methods for the content. And then, of course, there's the tricky question of the business model.

Pre-money valuations in millions (Source: Cooley Godward)

It's getting ugly out there. Two surveys released by law firms this week show that venture capitalists are demanding strict terms before they part with any money.

Expedia laid off an undisclosed number of employees today as part of a corporate reorganization. The online travel giant released a  short statement after TechFlash learned of the layoffs, with company spokeswoman Katie Deines confirming that some of the cuts occurred at the Bellevue headquarters.

"Expedia made organizational changes in some business units today in order to reduce duplication of efforts and build a more efficient company structure," the statement said. "Some positions have been relocated elsewhere within the company, and other positions have been eliminated. We are providing resources to assist those employees who were not placed in different positions within the company to aid them in their search for new employment."

The world's largest movie studios are accusing RealNetworks of destroying and losing key documents in a legal case involving the company's DVD copying software, RealDVD.

In a heavily-redacted legal filing from Wednesday, Sony Pictures, Disney, Paramount Pictures and other large studios allege that RealNetworks "failed to take adequate steps to preserve evidence and, in fact, spoliated evidence." The studios claim that their attempts to address the issue with RealNetworks have been "repeatedly met by stonewalling." And they allege that RealNetworks executives and legal counsel took "active steps to sanitize the discovery record."

In a statement, RealNetworks disputed the claims and said they plan to "contest them vigorously." The studios not only claim that RealNetworks destroyed evidence, but go so far as to allege that RealNetworks executives were involved in the plot.

Spend $5 to fund a startup? That's how it worked with a speaker event in Seattle last night featuring Brad Feld, the well-known blogger, entrepreneur and venture capitalist. It cost between $5 and $20 to attend the event, and the proceeds (which, according to a preliminary count, total $1,250) are going to Vittana, a new early-stage nonprofit founded by a pair of ex-Amazon.com engineers.

Market Leader, the online real estate company formerly known as HouseValues, reported a sharp drop in revenue last year as the company suffered from the slump in the housing market. The Kirkland company posted revenue of $38.4 million, down from $59.8 million in 2007. Market Leader''s net loss grew slightly to $13.1 million for the year.

A crowd of current and would-be entrepreneurs turned out last night in Seattle to hear Brad Feld, the well-known blogger, entrepreneur, and investor talk about his career, his Boulder-based startup program TechStars, and the state of venture capital and technology industry today. Feld knows a thing or two about the Seattle tech scene, having invested over the years in local companies AdReady, Shelfari and Judy's Book (he's also a board member at Impinj). And he had some interesting things to say about the viability of the venture capital model and the resources needed to get startups up and running these days.

Now you can do more than just yell at the TV. You can send text messages to it. Mobui today introduced a new service called "Audience Chat," which allows TV broadcasters to select and display certain viewer-submitted text messages at the bottom of the screen. It also allows viewers to ask questions of a celebrity or TV host.

You may have seen a similar service on CNN, which has been posting Twitter messages from viewers on some programs. Redmond-based Mobui is rolling out its service in partnership with VH1, which will select some viewer's messages to appear on the show "I Love Money 2."

Matt Horton

Propel Fuels has named a new chief executive officer and moved its headquarters to Sacramento, a blow to Seattle's clean tech industry. The 5-year-old operator of biofuel stations in Washington and California has tapped venture capitalist Matt Horton (pictured) as CEO, replacing founder Rob Elam who is continuing as president.

Elam -- who along with other employees has moved to California as part of the headquarters shift -- has been critical of Washington state's commitment to the clean tech industry. 

This should be popular for all of those techies traveling between Seattle and Silicon Valley. Alaska Airlines today started testing an in-flight wireless Internet system, allowing passengers to send and receive email, browse the Internet and watch online video.

Alaska is introducing the service on a Boeing 737-700 flight between Seattle and San Jose this afternoon. It is free during the 60-day trial, with the airline asking travelers for help in determining a pricing plan. So, here's your chance to weigh in: How much would you pay? 

Anytime I see the words "corporate reorganization" I immediately think layoffs. And that was the case this morning when I came across a release from Vertafore, one of the Seattle area's largest software companies. The maker of software products for the insurance industry announced efforts to reorganize around three units: Vertafore Agency Markets, Vertafore Carrier & MGA Markets and Sircon.

But no jobs are being cut at the company, which employs more than 1,100 workers. In fact, the Bothell company lists 25 job openings on its Web site.