Vanity Fair got the first-excerpt scoop on Microsoft co-founder and Vulcan head honcho Paul Allen’s new book, “Idea Man,” and one element in particular is drawing most of the attention today: Allen’s depiction of a past rift with longtime friend and co-founder Bill Gates over Allen’s holdings in the company. The Wall Street Journal has … Continue reading “Paul Allen’s Book: Rich Guy Spats, Early Days with Gates, and Being OK as a Generalist”
Author: Curt Woodward
Curt covered technology and innovation in the Boston area for Xconomy. He previously worked in Xconomy’s Seattle bureau and continued some coverage of Seattle-area tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft.
Curt joined Xconomy in February 2011 after nearly nine years with The Associated Press, the world's largest news organization. He worked in three states and covered a wide variety of beats for the AP, including business, law, politics, government, and general mayhem.
A native Washingtonian, Curt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. As a past president of the state's Capitol Correspondents Association, he led efforts to expand statehouse press credentialing to online news outlets for the first time.
RIM, Intellectual Ventures Strike Deal
Intellectual Ventures, ex-Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold’s new-wave patent middleman business, has cut a new licensing deal with Research In Motion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RIMM]]), makers of the BlackBerry smartphone. As Intellectual Ventures’ senior VP of licensing Don Merino described in today’s in-depth Xconomy interview, licensing deals like this are an increasingly common way that IV is using … Continue reading “RIM, Intellectual Ventures Strike Deal”
Intellectual Ventures Creates a New Kind of Market from Scratch: Tales From the Wild West Era of Patents
[Updated at 9:35 a.m. with a correction, see Page 2.]Don Merino used to be the guy sitting across the table when someone went to Intel looking to sell a patent—sometimes he dealt with inventors, but a lot of times it was patent lawyers. Merino liked to say the job was about dealing with “random $40 … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures Creates a New Kind of Market from Scratch: Tales From the Wild West Era of Patents”
Cheezburger Hits the Big Apple, Zaarly’s Big Debut, Sizing Up the Talent Crunch & More in the Seattle-area Tech Roundup
The Cheezburger Network‘s bid to dominate meme-dom took another leap forward this week with the acquisition of Know Your Meme, a site that attempts to trace the histories of passed-around bits of Internet pop culture that are the fodder for Cheezburger’s humor sites. But the purchase of Know Your Meme, said to be in the … Continue reading “Cheezburger Hits the Big Apple, Zaarly’s Big Debut, Sizing Up the Talent Crunch & More in the Seattle-area Tech Roundup”
Bobber Lands $1.1M for Social Banking
Seattle-based Bobber Interactive, which makes a “gamified” software platform to help banks attract young people to money management, has raised about $1.1 million in Series A financing. That’s a bit more than half of the offering Bobber has in the market, according to an SEC filing today. Bobber says the round was led by PEAK6 … Continue reading “Bobber Lands $1.1M for Social Banking”
Amazon, Challenging Apple Head-On, Makes Move Into Cloud-Based Music Service
[Updated at 1:40 p.m. with more pricing info, see below] Apple’s iTunes has become the default music store, playback platform and digital locker for millions of consumers. But the market-owner certainly has limits—chief among them are terrestrial storage and a limited number of machines authorized to use a given account. Seattle’s Amazon.com (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) is … Continue reading “Amazon, Challenging Apple Head-On, Makes Move Into Cloud-Based Music Service”
RealNetworks CEO Bob Kimball Out, Presided Over Big Changes
More turbulence at Seattle’s RealNetworks: President and Chief Executive Bob Kimball has resigned, the company says today. Kimball had only been in the job since January 2010, although he’d been with RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]) for about a dozen years. Kimball replaced founder Rob Glaser as CEO and presided over a period of big change: The … Continue reading “RealNetworks CEO Bob Kimball Out, Presided Over Big Changes”
Cheezburger Snaps Up Know Your Meme, Planting a Foothold in New York City
Hey Big Apple: Ready for some Cheezburger? Seattle-based Cheezburger Network, the holding pen for online humor sites like I Can Has Cheezburger and Fail Blog, has acquired the Internet-culture trackback site Know Your Meme. It’s the first big acquisition move that we’ve seen Cheezburger make since securing $30 million round of venture financing early this … Continue reading “Cheezburger Snaps Up Know Your Meme, Planting a Foothold in New York City”
Seattle’s Tech Job Crunch: How Long Can the Valley Invaders Poach from Microsoft, Amazon Before the Talent Well Runs Low?
Another month gone by in Seattle, and another Silicon Valley company has moved in to establish a beachhead for recruiting tech workers. And they all seem to say the same thing: This area is rich with talent. That’s certainly true—not to mention cheaper, compared to the Bay Area. But all of those companies often wind … Continue reading “Seattle’s Tech Job Crunch: How Long Can the Valley Invaders Poach from Microsoft, Amazon Before the Talent Well Runs Low?”
Amazon: Feds OK Diapers.com Deal
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) said Thursday that government regulators have approved its purchase of New Jersey-based Quidsi, the parent company of Diapers.com and other online retail brands. Amazon announced last November that it would purchase Quidsi for $500 million in cash, along with assuming about $45 million in debt. The companies said at the time that … Continue reading “Amazon: Feds OK Diapers.com Deal”
Drugstore.com, Veteran of the Dot-Com Bust, Grabbed by Walgreens in $429M Deal
Bellevue, WA-based drugstore.com is being scooped up by Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, for $429 million in cash. Deerfield, IL-based Walgreens (NYSE: [[ticker:WAG]]) said it would maintain drugstore.com’s headquarters and a separately branded website. Drugstore.com (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DSCM]]) presently employs about 1,000 people in its offices, distribution centers and call center. The acquisition price of … Continue reading “Drugstore.com, Veteran of the Dot-Com Bust, Grabbed by Walgreens in $429M Deal”
Zaarly’s Wild Ride: Winning a Weekend, Quitting a Job, and the $100 Midnight Cheeseburger
People have paid good money to hear Eric Koester‘s advice about running a startup. One of his cardinal rules: Don’t go into business with people you don’t know very well. “Founders—it’s like marriage. You’re basically pinning your hopes on each other,” Koester says. So much for that bit of wisdom. This time Koester ignored his … Continue reading “Zaarly’s Wild Ride: Winning a Weekend, Quitting a Job, and the $100 Midnight Cheeseburger”
Cray Says Layoffs Make Room for Future Hires, Headcount to Stay Roughly Flat by Year’s End
Seattle supercomputing company Cray (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRAY]]) is cutting about 50 jobs as it reconfigures its employee mix, according to a regulatory filing. The company didn’t specify what types of jobs were being cut, or say where they were located, other than to indicate the losses aren’t concentrated in any particular place or category. Cray’s headquarters … Continue reading “Cray Says Layoffs Make Room for Future Hires, Headcount to Stay Roughly Flat by Year’s End”
Varolii’s new CEO: Ex-Microsoftie
Seattle-based business software company Varolii has a new president and chief executive: Former Microsoft general manager David McCann. He replaces Nicholas Tiliacos, who was with the company for 10 years. Varolii makes tools for text messaging, voicemail and email that help businesses reach customers and employees. It was founded under a different name by two … Continue reading “Varolii’s new CEO: Ex-Microsoftie”
Amazon Pushes Ahead with “Appstore” Despite Apple’s Lawsuit over “App Store” – a Trademark that Microsoft also Opposes
The Seattle area’s two tech giants, Amazon.com and Microsoft, find themselves on the same side today—battling a trademark claim by Apple. As expected, Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) said Tuesday that it was indeed opening its new Appstore for Android, despite a recent federal lawsuit by Apple (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AAPL]]) claiming trademark infringement of that company’s App Store … Continue reading “Amazon Pushes Ahead with “Appstore” Despite Apple’s Lawsuit over “App Store” – a Trademark that Microsoft also Opposes”
AT&T Grabs T-Mobile, Online Retail’s Tax Drain, Thoughts from “Chasm” Author Geoffrey Moore, & More in the Seattle-area Tech Roundup
The Seattle area’s longstanding prominence in the wireless carrier sector was thrown into question this weekend with AT&T’s announcement that it was purchasing Bellevue, WA-based T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. It will take months to see how the feds handle this proposed acquisition. But at least in the meantime, AT&T is saying all the right … Continue reading “AT&T Grabs T-Mobile, Online Retail’s Tax Drain, Thoughts from “Chasm” Author Geoffrey Moore, & More in the Seattle-area Tech Roundup”
Microsoft Sues Over Android on Nook
Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) announced Monday that it’s suing Barnes & Noble (NYSE: [[ticker:BKS]]) and the bookseller’s manufacturing partners over the Nook e-reader that runs on Google’s Android operating system. Here is a copy of the nine-page lawsuit filed Monday—I didn’t include the many pages of exhibits. It’s not the first time that Microsoft has asserted patent … Continue reading “Microsoft Sues Over Android on Nook”
OwnZones Gets $500K for Media Paywalls
Hot on the heels of The New York Times’ new metered-access pay plan for digital content, Remond, WA-based OwnZones Media Network is touting an initial $500,000 round of financing. The investors were not disclosed. The company says it’s building a digital content aggregation service based around charging consumers a monthly fee to access higher-quality material … Continue reading “OwnZones Gets $500K for Media Paywalls”
Doxo, Kashless, Physiosonic led WA’s Equity Financing Deals in February
Doxo’s bid to wipe out paper business correspondence attracted a $10 million round of venture financing last month, outpacing several others as the biggest single venture deal in Washington state last month, according to data compiled by CB Insights. Doxo‘s Series B investment was led new investor Sigma Partners, and included returning investors Mohr Davidow … Continue reading “Doxo, Kashless, Physiosonic led WA’s Equity Financing Deals in February”
T-Mobile’s Sale to AT&T: What They’re Saying, What it Means for the Northwest
The sale of Bellevue, WA-based T-Mobile USA to AT&T for $39 billion shook up the mobile world this weekend, both nationally and in the Seattle area. It’s unclear what the practical effects will be for T-Mobile employees in the Puget Sound region, and we might not know for some time: The companies say the acquisition … Continue reading “T-Mobile’s Sale to AT&T: What They’re Saying, What it Means for the Northwest”
Online Sales “Leakage” Costing WA About $740M Over Two Years—Even With Amazon Collecting Sales Taxes
[Updated at 4:10 p.m. with more statistics and a correction, see below] Washington is one of the few states where Amazon.com collects sales taxes and sends the money to the government. But Washington is still losing hundreds of millions of dollars each year to sales tax “leakage” from online retail sales. In Thursday’s forecast of … Continue reading “Online Sales “Leakage” Costing WA About $740M Over Two Years—Even With Amazon Collecting Sales Taxes”
Jawbone Opening Seattle Office
San Francisco-based Jawbone, which makes noise-canceling Bluetooth headsets, is the latest Bay Area tech company to move into the Seattle job market. This job ad, first reported by GeekWire, says Jawbone is looking for experienced engineers for its expansion into Seattle. The ad gives no timeline for when an office might be open. Facebook, Zynga, … Continue reading “Jawbone Opening Seattle Office”
Intellectual Ventures: Troubled Japan Plant’s Technology is Like a Model T Compared to TerraPower’s Next-Gen Nuclear Systems
Intellectual Ventures, the invention lab headed by former Microsoft technology chief Nathan Myhrvold, says the technology behind its nuclear-energy startup TerraPower is vastly more advanced than the earthquake-damaged nuclear reactors currently making dire headlines from Japan. In a blog post Wednesday, Intellectual Ventures said all of its employees based in the Tokyo office were safe, … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures: Troubled Japan Plant’s Technology is Like a Model T Compared to TerraPower’s Next-Gen Nuclear Systems”
Report: Zillow Hires Bankers Ahead of IPO
Seattle real-estate website Zillow.com has hired Citigroup to manage an initial public offering, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources. Bloomberg said its sources didn’t identify any timeline for a possible Zillow IPO. The company hasn’t yet filed an S-1 prospectus to declare its IPO plans, which would identify its underwriters, and reveal how much cash it … Continue reading “Report: Zillow Hires Bankers Ahead of IPO”
Geoffrey Moore: Why Middle Managers Are the New Kings, Stiff-arming Shortsightedness, & the Money “Chasm” in the Mobile-Social Sphere
Author, consultant, and venture capitalist Geoffrey Moore has written a half-dozen books—his latest comes out later this year—including the classic “Crossing the Chasm,” an analysis of how businesses can push through the deadly barriers to broad adoption. This Friday, he’ll be a keynote speaker at the Washington Innovation Summit sponsored by the Technology Alliance. Booking … Continue reading “Geoffrey Moore: Why Middle Managers Are the New Kings, Stiff-arming Shortsightedness, & the Money “Chasm” in the Mobile-Social Sphere”
Jeremy Jaech Leaves CEO Post at Seattle’s Verdiem
[Updated March 21 with comment from Jaech, see below] Longtime Northwest tech entrepreneur Jeremy Jaech has left the chief executive post at Seattle-based Verdiem, Xconomy has learned. Experienced tech entrepreneur and executive John Scumniotales, now heading the company as president and CEO, says the change was amicable and will allow Verdiem to move more aggressively … Continue reading “Jeremy Jaech Leaves CEO Post at Seattle’s Verdiem”
Headsprout Acquired by DYMO/Mimio
Seattle-based reading-education software company Headsprout, which has been around for about a dozen years, has been acquired by Cambridge, MA-based DYMO/Mimio. The deal closed earlier this month but was announced Tuesday. Terms weren’t disclosed. Headsprout’s management team, led by President and CEO Dave Anderson, is in line to continue overseeing Headsprout after the acquisition. DYMO/Mimio … Continue reading “Headsprout Acquired by DYMO/Mimio”
Tippr and BuyWithMe’s Round 2, Dissecting Amazon’s Sales Tax Skirmishes, Clearwire’s Shakeup, & More in Seattle-Area Tech News
Competition in the crowded daily-deals market got a little more pugnacious recently with an acquisition by group discount site BuyWithMe. The Boston- and New York-based company purchased LocalTwist, boosting BuyWithMe in San Diego and putting the company in a new market—Seattle. The latter city, of course, is the home base of competitor Tippr, the Martin … Continue reading “Tippr and BuyWithMe’s Round 2, Dissecting Amazon’s Sales Tax Skirmishes, Clearwire’s Shakeup, & More in Seattle-Area Tech News”
Amazon’s Multi-State Sales Tax Battles are a Sideshow to the Real National Solution, and the Politicians Know It
Revenue-hungry state governments are licking their chops. Stuck with declining tax collections and soaring costs for services, they’re chasing Amazon.com around the country in a series of attempts to make it collect sales taxes. That’s led some to wonder whether this high-tech round of whack-a-mole might be the front edge of a viral political movement … Continue reading “Amazon’s Multi-State Sales Tax Battles are a Sideshow to the Real National Solution, and the Politicians Know It”
Clearwire CEO Morrow Out, Stanton Named Interim Chief
Leadership shake-ups continue at Clearwire: the Kirkland, WA-based company said Thursday that CEO Bill Morrow and two other top officers are out. Board chairman John Stanton, one of Washington state’s wireless pioneers, is now interim chief executive. Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]) said Morrow is stepping down for personal reasons, and also is leaving as a director … Continue reading “Clearwire CEO Morrow Out, Stanton Named Interim Chief”
Hello Ambassador Locke, Can You Get Me On the Line With China, Inc.?
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke’s nomination as the U.S. ambassador to China puts someone the state’s business community knows very well at the forefront of one of the nation’s most important global relationships. That doesn’t mean every Seattle-area company can expect the red-carpet treatment in Beijing—after all, presuming he’s confirmed by the Senate (which seems … Continue reading “Hello Ambassador Locke, Can You Get Me On the Line With China, Inc.?”
White Pages’ Hiya Wants to Eat Plaxo’s Lunch by Blending Your Scattered E-Phone Books with Old-School Contact Info
Seattle-based online directory provider WhitePages is unveiling a networked address book application that it says can outperform Plaxo and other startups in the market for wrangling your various digital rolodexes. WhitePages has been testing its Hiya service since last fall, building up knowledge from a base of about 10,000 users. The public beta starts Thursday. … Continue reading “White Pages’ Hiya Wants to Eat Plaxo’s Lunch by Blending Your Scattered E-Phone Books with Old-School Contact Info”
Appature’s Koester Leaves for Zaarly
Well, that was quick. Seattle startup attorney Eric Koester is leaving Appature for an auction-type consumer buying startup with backing from Ashton Kutcher and others (yes, that Ashton Kutcher). Koester joined Appature in October to help the growing healthcare services company manage its operations. But, as GeekWire reports, he was part of a group that … Continue reading “Appature’s Koester Leaves for Zaarly”
King of the Web Lets More People in on the Secret: It’s a Video-Heavy Popularity Contest with Cash Prizes
King of the Web, the social gaming startup led by some big names in Seattle tech, is opening up the private beta I speculated about earlier this month. Passwords were doled out to Twitter and Facebook followers today, and I took a peek under the hood. From what I can see so far, King of … Continue reading “King of the Web Lets More People in on the Secret: It’s a Video-Heavy Popularity Contest with Cash Prizes”
Madrona and Ignition Invest $8.5M in Seattle Cloud-Computing Provider Tier 3
Seattle-based Tier 3, a cloud-computing service for businesses, said Wednesday that it has raised $8.5 million from Ignition Capital and Madrona Venture Group. This is the company’s first publicly announced round of financing. Tier 3 was founded in 2006 and counts Microsoft among its nearly 100 clients. In a release, Tier 3 said it plans … Continue reading “Madrona and Ignition Invest $8.5M in Seattle Cloud-Computing Provider Tier 3”
TechFest Pumps Up Microsoft Research, HomePipe Lands $1.1M, A New Fund for Science Education, & More NW Tech Tidbits
Microsoft Research is having its annual TechFest get-together across the lake, including some pretty cool-looking demonstrations and discussion of what Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) gets for its $9 billion in annual R&D spending. Of course, one of the biggest storylines out of the research shop lately is the popularity of the Kinect motion-sensor for more than … Continue reading “TechFest Pumps Up Microsoft Research, HomePipe Lands $1.1M, A New Fund for Science Education, & More NW Tech Tidbits”
Facebook and Salesforce Hunt for Talent, Bing Rolls Out New Features, UW’s Drone Races, & More in Seattle-Area Tech News
Visits with some of Seattle’s big-name Silicon Valley invaders, details from some emerging startups, and new features for Microsoft’s underdog search engine are among the highlights in this wrap-up of the past week in Xconomy’s Seattle tech coverage. —We stopped in for chats with leaders from both Facebook and Salesforce.com in the past week, checking … Continue reading “Facebook and Salesforce Hunt for Talent, Bing Rolls Out New Features, UW’s Drone Races, & More in Seattle-Area Tech News”
“Quadricopters” Take Over UW’s Allen Center Atrium for Electrical Engineering Class Demo
Students from the University of Washington’s electrical engineering program are showing off what looks like a very fun class project. The embedded microcomputer systems class led by professor Shwetak Patel built wireless controller systems for the Parrot AR Drone—a cool little “quadricopter” vehicle that really puts the radio-controlled stuff I remember to shame (and I’m … Continue reading ““Quadricopters” Take Over UW’s Allen Center Atrium for Electrical Engineering Class Demo”
ShipSweet Attempts to Stick It to the FedEx-UPS Duopoly with Cheap Shipping for Small Business
[Corrected 3/7/11 10:15 a.m.] Remember shelling out big shipping and handling charges for that rotisserie oven you just had to buy from some infomercial? Small retailers sure do—and they remember it fondly. In fact, when entrepreneurs Ron Wiener and Josh Leichtung were in the catalog business years ago, shipping and handling could actually account for your … Continue reading “ShipSweet Attempts to Stick It to the FedEx-UPS Duopoly with Cheap Shipping for Small Business”
Bing Tries to Make Sense of Rapidly Crowding Daily Deals Space
The huge proliferation of daily deal sites has been begging for more curation and aggregation. And while Google is still working on its Offers service, Microsoft’s search underdog Bing is trying to get ahead by doing the sorting. Bing’s partnering with The Dealmap to bring together a searchable list of bargains that can also populate … Continue reading “Bing Tries to Make Sense of Rapidly Crowding Daily Deals Space”
Facebook Seattle: Past 30 Hires and Growing, Adding Heft to Chat Overhaul, Running Out of Mob-Lunch Restaurant Space
An obvious sign your small office is growing fast: It’s getting harder to find a table for an all-hands meal. As workplace annoyances go, that’s a good one to have—especially if you’re leading Facebook’s first engineering hub outside the mothership in Palo Alto, CA. Xconomy chatted with Seattle’s office lead, Ari Steinberg, Wednesday evening as … Continue reading “Facebook Seattle: Past 30 Hires and Growing, Adding Heft to Chat Overhaul, Running Out of Mob-Lunch Restaurant Space”
MOD Systems co-founder Convicted of Fraud, Money Laundering in Federal Court
A co-founder and former chief executive of MOD Systems was convicted of federal fraud and money laundering charges today in federal court. The U.S. attorney’s office says Mark E. Phillips, 36, of Seattle, could get up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced in late May. Federal prosecutors say Phillips transferred $1.5 million from … Continue reading “MOD Systems co-founder Convicted of Fraud, Money Laundering in Federal Court”
Dealometry, a Men’s Daily Bargain Site with TechStars Roots, Unveils its First Deal
TechStars mentor Bob Crimmins is rolling out a new startup with heavy accelerator roots: Dealometry, a daily-deals site for men. Dealometry’s technology comes from Deal Co-op, a TechStars Seattle grad that says its main motivation in relocating from Birmingham, AL to Seattle was the mentoring opportunity. Dealometry’s first offer is a discount at ManPacks, an … Continue reading “Dealometry, a Men’s Daily Bargain Site with TechStars Roots, Unveils its First Deal”
Nick Hanauer and Rich Barton’s Stealth Startup “King of the Web” Inches Closer to Revealing What’s Under That Crown
From the drip-drip-drip department comes this little update on what some big names in Seattle tech are planning with their latest company. King of the Web, a stealth-mode social gaming startup led by aQuantive founder Nick Hanauer and former Expedia CEO Rich Barton, says it’s heading for a private beta this month. The company currently is … Continue reading “Nick Hanauer and Rich Barton’s Stealth Startup “King of the Web” Inches Closer to Revealing What’s Under That Crown”
Cheezburger Network’s Big Bite Easily Leads January’s Seattle-Area Venture Deals Roundup
Cheezburger Network’s decision to finally take some venture money was 2011’s first big deal for Seattle-area tech companies, and it easily dominated the roughly $55 million raised in 15 equity-based financing transactions recorded in January, according to data compiled by CB Insights FundingFlash. Ben Huh and his team over on Queen Anne have a growing … Continue reading “Cheezburger Network’s Big Bite Easily Leads January’s Seattle-Area Venture Deals Roundup”
Powerit Solutions Plugs Into $5M Financing, Names Former DocuSign Chief Matt Schiltz CEO
Seattle-based Powerit Solutions, which provides energy management and conservation for industry clients, is trumpeting a new boss and a fresh round of investment. Matthew Schiltz is Powerit’s new group CEO, handling both the North America and Northern Europe divisions. Schiltz was chief executive at Seattle-based DocuSign from 2007 to 2010. The company’s $5 million financing round was … Continue reading “Powerit Solutions Plugs Into $5M Financing, Names Former DocuSign Chief Matt Schiltz CEO”
Salesforce.com Officially Opens Bigger Seattle Office, Says Aggressive Hiring of Top Talent Will Continue
Salesforce.com, the cloud-computing provider that has been in an extended battle with Microsoft for market share and talent, plans to hire as aggressively as possible to fill its new 11,000 square-foot space in South Lake Union. And the pace apparently won’t be slowed by a recent court battle over Salesforce.com’s (NYSE: [[ticker:CRM]]) hiring of a … Continue reading “Salesforce.com Officially Opens Bigger Seattle Office, Says Aggressive Hiring of Top Talent Will Continue”
Tippr’s Legal Intrigue, PhotoRocket’s Debut, Untangling Earmarks, and More in the Seattle-Area Tech Roundup
It lives! Now that Xconomy Seattle has a full-time tech writer again (yours truly), we’re bringing back a weekly roundup to help our far-too-busy readers catch up with what’s been on our minds and percolating in the Seattle-area scene lately. Highlights from the past week or so: —Tippr, the Seattle-based group-deals site that emphasizes its … Continue reading “Tippr’s Legal Intrigue, PhotoRocket’s Debut, Untangling Earmarks, and More in the Seattle-Area Tech Roundup”
Former RealNetworks Leaders Jump Into Non-Creepy Video Chat Arena With SocialEyes
Another company trying to leapfrog the inappropriate-lurker element of online video chat is starting its public beta test today at the DEMO conference in Palm Desert, CA. SocialEyes, a new San Francisco-based startup, is led by a couple very familiar names here in Seattle’s tech scene. The chairman is Rob Glaser and the chief executive … Continue reading “Former RealNetworks Leaders Jump Into Non-Creepy Video Chat Arena With SocialEyes”
PhotoRocket, Led by Amazon and aQuantive Vet Scott Lipsky, Uncloaks its “Not Another Photo Sharing Service”
Sharing your latest digital snapshots with family, friends, coworkers and the rest of the world is nothing new. But Scott Lipsky, a veteran of some of Seattle’s biggest tech success stories, thinks it’s still way too annoying. His proposed cure is PhotoRocket, the startup photo-sharing utility that’s finally making its full public debut at Monday’s … Continue reading “PhotoRocket, Led by Amazon and aQuantive Vet Scott Lipsky, Uncloaks its “Not Another Photo Sharing Service””