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TechFlash
09/08/2010
Secretive Intersect emerges with Web storytelling service
Intersect, the stealthy Seattle startup led by award-winning journalist and former Microsoft vice president Peter Rinearson, is opening the doors today on a new service which is attempting to reinvent the way people share personal stories online. A mix between Facebook, Yelp, Classmates.com and personal blogging, Intersect hopes to become the central gathering place where individuals chronicle their daily lives and share stories with friends.
09/08/2010
ZymoGenetics the latest in long line of Seattle biotech sell-outs
Seattle's biotech industry has long been marked -- some might say marred -- by big acquisitions. It happened to Icos. It happened to Immunex. And it happened again today when ZymoGenetics -- the 29-year-old granddaddy of Seattle biotech -- entered into an agreement to be sold to Bristol-Myers Squibb for $885 million. The deal appears to be a good one for shareholders, with the stock jumping 85 percent in after hours trading to $9.80. (ZGEN)
09/08/2010
Seattle's ZymoGenetics sold to Bristol-Myers for $885 million
ZymoGenetics, one of Seattle's biggest biotech companies, is being acquired by pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb for approximately $885 million, the companies announced this afternoon.
09/08/2010
Windows Phone No. 5 in 2014, right behind Apple, predicts IDC
Research firm IDC went out on a limb today with some highly specific predictions for the worldwide smartphone market, releasing projections that show Microsoft's Windows Phone rising to 9.8 percent market share by 2014, up from 6.8 percent this year. That would put Microsoft hot on the heels of Apple's iPhone, which the firm sees declining from 14.7 percent to 10.9 percent market share over the same time period.
09/08/2010
Stratos Genomics scores $4M
Stratos Genomics, a Seattle startup developing new genome sequencing technologies, has raised a $4 million series-A financing round led by Fisk Ventures. The three-year-old company is a spin off from the Stratos Group, a Seattle product development shop.
09/08/2010
Amazon plans open house for techies at new HQ campus
Amazon.com is inviting the local tech community to its new South Lake Union headquarters campus for an open house on Sept. 28.
09/08/2010
Univar cancels IPO plans, sells stake to private equity firm
The market for initial public offerings continue to look pretty bleak for Washington companies. In the latest sign, Redmond-based chemical distributor Univar has canceled plans for an initial public offering and chosen instead to sell a 42.5 percent stake in the company to the London and New York-based private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice. The deal values Univar at $4.2 billion.
09/08/2010
Redbox tongue-twister hints at Apple movie streaming talks
We've seen plenty of linguistic jousting from corporate executives over the years, but Coinstar CEO Paul Davis has taken things to a whole new level in comments reported by Bloomberg News about the possibility of the Bellevue company's Redbox movie-rental unit striking some sort of online streaming deal with Apple.
09/08/2010
Onvia hires new CEO
Dot-com survivor Onvia today announced that Henry Riner will take over the reins from long-time CEO Mike Pickett on October 4. The 14-year-old Seattle company, which has morphed into an online directory for government contracts, posted revenue of $13.8 million for the first six months of the year. (ONVI)
09/08/2010
Microsoft games veteran jumps to Amazon in new defection
A Microsoft games veteran is making the leap to Amazon.com, sparking speculation about a new Amazon games initiative. Andre Vrignaud, Microsoft Director of Game Platform Strategy, announced on his personal blog that he is leaving Microsoft to take a unnamed position at Amazon.
09/08/2010
Amazon.com, Expedia among top spenders on Google search ads
Amazon.com and Expedia were among the biggest spenders on Google search ads during the month of June, according to a report by Advertising Age. Bellevue-based Expedia, which spent $5.9 million, and Seattle-based Amazon.com, which spent $5.8 million, were only surpassed by AT&T Mobility and Apollo Group (the operator of University of Phoenix).
09/08/2010
Report: Microsoft, Expedia raise concerns about Google's ITA deal
Microsoft and Expedia are among the companies raising preliminary concerns about Google's proposed acquisition of ITA Software, worried that the purchase of the top flight-information software company could give the search giant an unfair advantage, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
09/07/2010
Q&A: PopCap's Dave Roberts on Zynga, iPhone games and more
We popped by PopCap Games last week to tour the company's slick new office space [See video here] and to chat with CEO Dave Roberts about how the casual gaming business is evolving as new mobile and social media platforms emerge. Celebrating its tenth year, PopCap has ridden wave after wave of success with blockbuster hits such as Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies. In our interview, Roberts talked about PopCap's development process and noted how the 350-person company is taking a different approach from overnight sensation Zynga. Here are excerpts:
09/07/2010
Doggie doors and Bejeweled: A video tour of PopCap Games
Video game developers are a creative lot. So, you'd expect them to work in an environment which mirrors that creativity, right? Well, PopCap Games' new office space on fourth avenue in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood doesn't disappoint. Visitors who step into modern third floor lobby are greeted with a massive flat screen featuring the company's blockbuster puzzle game: Bejeweled. It's an appropriate introduction to the 10-year-old company, and just one of the highlights on a recent tour of its new office space.
09/06/2010
Wetpaint's latest palette: A range of entertainment Web sites
Wetpaint is putting on a new coat, transforming itself once again as the heavily-funded Seattle Internet company looks to become the premier destination on the Web for entertainment news. The new direction -- which includes a revamped logo, an editorial staff of 30 writers, editors and freelancers and 15 micro sites built around TV shows like Glee and Gossip Girl-- puts Wetpaint squarely in competition with giant publishers like Entertainment Weekly as well as online brands like Seattle's BuddyTV.
09/05/2010
PAX 'Pitch Your Game Idea': Video highlights, 2010 edition
09/05/2010
Comcast, please turn off the auto correct fast-foward for DVR users
I love college football. But I hate the timeouts, the penalties. Lou Holtz' half-time chatter and the other constant time wasters which tend to turn an hour-long game into a four-hour marathon.
09/05/2010
Podcast: Clearwire, Paul Allen, AT&T and a Startup Day preview
09/05/2010
Trivia: Win a Startup Day ticket
Aspiring entrepreneurs in the audience will want to pay close attention to this week's TechFlash Trivia contest, because it comes with a special prize, courtesy Marcelo Calbucci, our guest on the latest TechFlash Podcast. Submit the correct answer to the question below for a chance to win a ticket to Startup Day on Saturday, Sept. 25, in Bellevue. We'll pick two winners at random from the pool of correct answers.
09/05/2010
PAX 2010: Videos, notes, links
Video-game revivals were a central theme on the first day of the Penny Arcade Expo 2010 in downtown Seattle, but the two best examples of the trend were at completely opposite ends of the spectrum.