TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News

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It's been a busy month here at TechFlash HQ -- unusually so for August. We've tracked a number of venture deals and even published our own tourist guide for the Seattle tech community. We've got some exciting things planned for September, so stay tuned. But without further ado, here are the most viewed posts for the month of August.

1.) Pioneering Internet 'detox' center looks to cure online addicts (A link from The Drudge Report sent this story skyrocketing)

2.) Innovation: The lessons of Bob (Monica Harrington's nine lessons from the failure of MIcrosoft Bob sparked a great discussion)

3.) New Google is the old Microsoft (Galen Ward's insightful guest column took Google to task)

4.) Ben Huh of LOLcats fame is perplexed by company success (So are we)

5.) Grand Tour of the Zune HD, with glimpses of Bing and browser (The video struck a nerve with more than 107,000 views on YouTube and over 475 comments)

6.) Microsoft moving Azure from WA data center, citing state tax policy (Taxes and Microsoft: A hot topic for sure)

Learn That Name, a new iPhone app designed to help people remember the names of people they bump into at events, won the most votes at Startup Weekend even though the 54-hour coding marathon was held on Microsoft's campus. Attorney Eric Koester -- who came up with the idea because he forgot the name of one of the attendees -- said he's hopeful to have the $2.99 app approved in the Apple store in the coming weeks. Here's the 10-minute pitch.

Interestingly, 14 of the 15 teams at the event built their products on the Microsoft platform -- driven in part by the prize money offered by the BizSpark program.

But at the end of the day, it was a mobile app on a competing platform that won the most votes in Microsoft's backyard.

"Awkward," whispered Startup Weekend organizer Clint Nelsen into the microphone upon announcing the top voter getter.

Flickr photo via Aussiegall

In an op ed piece in The New York Times, venture capitalist Alan Patricof and finance professor Eric Dinallo slam the Obama administration's plan to regulate the venture capital industry. They also blame Sarbanes-Oxley legislation for the slump in IPOs, writing that additional regulation could hurt small, venture-backed companies.

"Because their business is contained within the ecosystem of limited partners, venture-capital funds and the companies in which they invest absorb all the risk: there can be no domino effect in the world financial system," they write.

Clearwire continues to overhaul its management team as newly-appointed Chief Executive William Morrow puts his stamp on the expanding broadband wireless carrier. In the latest move, Clearwire has named Erick Prusch -- the former CEO of Borland Software and a former executive at Intuit -- to the position of chief financial officer. The Kirkland company also has tapped Teresa Elder -- most recently the CEO of Vodafone, Ireland and a former exec at AT&T Broadband -- as president of strategic partnerships and wholesale.

Redfin has received approval for a free iPhone application that plots for-sale listings on a map -- the latest company looking to transform the way people buy and sell homes using mobile devices. Redfin's foray follows iPhone apps from Trulia and Zillow.com, the latter of which has recorded nearly 700,000 downloads since its app was introduced in April. Other iPhone apps in the real estate category include the Homes.com Real Estate Search and Home Finder Real Estate Tool. Meanwhile, earlier this month, Seattle's John L. Scott Real Estate unveiled an enhanced mobile service for the iPhone and other smartphones.

Despite the crowded field, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman believes his team has created a compelling offering that should resonate with both consumers and real estate professionals. Because Redfin operates as a broker, Kelman said the new app includes all of the for-sale listings moving through the multiple listing services.

Nearly 200 geeks -- divided into 15 teams --  gathered at Microsoft's Redmond campus this weekend to take part in Startup Weekend. The 54-hour coding marathon brought together a wide array of entrepreneurial types, some of whom had more polished ideas than others.  But everyone appeared to be having fun, watching and learning as new business concepts sprouted in hours.

"The last three days have been kind of grueling, especially when you have to get something online," said Junaid Ahmed, a Microsoft employee who led the AzureAlert team.

In the first tab below, we're tracking Seattle's Startup Weekend at Microsoft. In the second tab are notes and links from the TechFlash team. Use #techflash to see your message in the third tab. Add your images to the TechFlash Flickr Page to see them in the fourth tab.

This is a little creepy. The late, great Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain -- who shot himself at his Seattle home in 1994 -- will be featured in the upcoming release of Guitar Hero 5. Cobain, whose likeness has been recreated for the game, will be one of five featured in-game artists, according to Activision.

Here's a look at "Smells Like Teen Spirit" -- Guitar Hero style.

Cray Inc.  announced that it has acquired the PathScale Compiler Assets from SiCortex in a deal of undisclosed size. Cray CEO Peter Ungaro said the deal is "another indicative example of our strategy to acquire the key technology components necessary to building a productive, high performance user environment on our supercomputers."

Washington Post technology columnist Rob Pegoraro gives Microsoft's new Windows Live Movie Maker a mostly positive review. The program "represents a genuine advance," he writes. "The barely changed name understates how little this program ... shares with older Movie Maker releases."

Continuing to expand their use of social media, the Seattle Sounders have launched a Spanish language Web site at Espanol.SoundersFC.com where Latin American players plan to blog.

Looks like somebody's marketing budget is doing just fine. Microsoft has turned a 27-foot M820A2 military truck into a video-game haven, with eight Xbox 360 consoles inside, in anticipation of the upcoming launch of "Halo 3: ODST," according to the LAist blog.

Windows 7, like its predecessor, will get a big launch event in New York City, reports CNet News.com and ZDNet.com.

Plains All American Pipeline has purchased Vulcan Capital's 50 percent indirect interest in PAA Natural Gas Storage for $220 million.

Dell and Hewlett-Packard have filed legal briefs supporting Microsoft's position in its patent dispute with i4i Inc., reports SeattlePI.com. Microsoft is appealing a ruling in the case that would prevent the company from selling Word. A hearing is set for Sept. 23. 

DotNetNuke, which is developing a platform for interactive Web sites built on the Microsoft stack, has purchased Snowcovered.

AdMob estimates that there are about $200 million worth of iPhone applications sold each month, or about $2.4 billion a year, reports GigaOm.

Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn on Monday plan to announce a new Internet safety program that will be used in 70 Washington schools, The program, developed in conjunction with Web Wise Kids, uses video games to teach students how to avoid online predators, cyber bullies and scam artists.

VatorNews has an interesting analysis on why the iLike and FriendFeed founders sold out when they did.

Michael van Baker is stepping down as editor of the Seattle news blog Seattlest to start a new site called TheSunBreak.com. In an emai, van Baker said the new site will take a more "talkative, magazine-style approach to Seattle news & culture." The new editor of Seattlest is Regis Lacher.

A company called Denizen has sued Microsoft's Bing ad agency, JWT, for infringing on its patented technique of blending TV programming with advertising time, according to an AdAge report. JWT used the technique in a Bing ad that aired during -- and featured stars from -- NBC's "The Philanthropist." Here's the clip.

It's been a little while since we've heard anything about Qiming Venture Partners, the Chinese venture arm of Bellevue's Ignition Partners. But The Wall Street Journal's Venture Capital Dispatch blog reports today that the firm has added a new executive director and venture partner.

Can you hear me now? If you're a customer of AT&T and Sprint Nextel and live in the western U.S., the answer to that question may be a frustrating no.

The two wireless carriers ranked at the bottom in the western region of J.D. Power and Associates' 2009 Call Quality Performance Study, a semiannual study which tracks dropped calls, static, voice distortion, echoes and other common problem areas for cellular calls. 

Look for an unusual public art display to sprout in Seattle's Westlake Park this weekend. Dubbed "solar flowers," the 18-foot tall sculptures are part of a traveling exhibit to promote the upcoming launch of 2010 Toyota Prius.

But these aren't ordinary sculptures. With room to seat up to 10 people, the outdoor diplays are partially powered by solar power and include cell phone and laptop charging stations along with free Wi-Fi. (I guess it brings new meaning to the phrase flower power.)   

Shares of Trubion Pharmaceuticals soared more than 60 percent this morning after the Seattle biotech announced a partnership with Facet Biotech Corp. to develop and commercialize a treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. As part of the deal, Trubion is receiving an upfront payment of $20 million and could receive $176.5 million in additional payments if milestones are met.

In addition, Redwood City, Calif.-based Facet has agreed to buy 2.2 million shares of Trubion for $10 million. Trubion's stock shot up about 60 percent on the news this morning.

Mark Briggs

The newspaper industry may be crumbling. But Mark Briggs -- the former editor of interactive news at The Tacoma News Tribune -- sees opportunity in that disruption.

That's part of why he founded Serra Media, a Seattle startup that allows editors and readers to plot news stories and photos on neighborhood maps. The idea is part of a larger trend in the media business known as "hyperlocal news" -- a concept that has been getting a lot of attention in recent weeks as organizations such as Fisher Communications, Msnbc.com and The Seattle Times jump on board. 

Newsgarden, Serra Media's first product, has already been implemented at about 10 newspaper Web sites such as The Bellingham Herald, The Cedar Rapids Gazette and The Kitsap Sun. And Briggs -- a leading expert in new media who wrote the book Journalism 2.0 and plans to release a text book this fall called Journalism Next -- has other projects in the works such as a "hyperlocal" shopping site called TownLuxe. We caught up with Briggs to chat about the geo-targeted news, the future of journalism and what The Seattle Times and other newspapers need to do to take advantage of the next wave of innovation.