TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News

Micron CEO Steve Appleton died in a plane crash in Idaho on Friday.

Micron Technology Inc. said its CEO Steve Appleton, 51, was killed in a small plane accident on Friday morning.

The Boise-based company (NASDAQ:MU) makes advanced semiconductor technology.

The company issue a statement: "Our hearts go out to his wife, Dalynn, his children and his family during this tragic time. Steve's passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large."

The company said it would provide additional information later Friday.

Microsoft photo

Microsoft’s Brad Smith (right), joined NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and other Seattle-area business leaders in a Friday forum organized by the Business Higher Education Forum

Microsoft’s chief council Brad Smith joined other local leaders from tech and venture capital Friday morning to talk with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden about how to better prepare students for careers in science, technology and engineering.

Smith has been the face of Microsoft’s efforts on education issues. In November, Smith called for state leaders to avoid more cuts to higher education funding.

Seattle online real estate site Zillow says it had nearly 32 million unique visitors in January, more than double the count from a year ago.

In a regulatory filing, Zillow said it ended January with 31.7 million unique users. Twelve months ago, the site had 15.7 million users, marking a 102 percent increase.

There is less than one week left to help the Puget Sound Business Journal identify the best in-house counsel in Washington state for the 2012 Corporate Counsel of the Year Awards. Nominations are due Feb. 8.

Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS both made gains in the number of mobile phones using the operating platforms in the U.S., while rivals Microsoft, RIM and Symbian slipped, according to comScore.

Overall, smartphone adoption exploded during the 2011 holiday shopping season, much of it driven by Apple’s sale of 37 million iPhones last quarter. Forty percent of all mobile subscribers now own smartphones in the U.S. That's 97.9 million people.

Travelers using Expedia’s online travel services will be able to book flights on China Southern Airlines, marking a partnership between the world’s largest online travel site and Asia’s largest airline.

Expedia said it is the first time that the Guangzhou-based airline has struck a partnership with a foreign online travel site. China Southern’s fares and inventory will be a available on all full-service Expedia websites in North America, Europe and Asia.

Amazon is joining other local tech companies in backing a proposed state law to legalize same-sex marriages.

In a statement, Seattle-based Amazon said the “spirit of these bills is consistent with our long-standing employment practices.”

The statement, reported by The Seattle Times, comes a couple of weeks after Microsoft, RealNetworks and Concur said they were endorsing a move to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington.

Craig McCaw

So far, Washington’s tech titans and other wealthy individuals are mostly sitting on the sidelines when it comes to contributing to the “Super PACs” that are playing such a major role in the presidential race.

But there are a few examples of big contributions coming from Washington donors, according to a TechFlash search of the top super political action committees supporting Republican presidential candidates, as well as PACs backing President Obama’s re-election efforts.

Wireless pioneer Craig McCaw and his wife, Susan, of Kirkland contributed a total of $75,000 to Our Destiny, a PAC that backed former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. before he dropped out of the GOP primary race.

Concur Technologies, which bought TripIt for up to $120 million last year, has now invested in Room 77, a hotel search and booking website.

Concur, the Redmond maker of travel and entertainment expense management software, did not disclose the amount it was investing in Room 77. Concur joins other investors, including Rich Barton, founder of Expedia and co-founder of Zillow.

Room 77 says travelers can go online and compare prices across major travel sites and shop a variety of room types at more than 120,000 hotels.

Amazon is buying TeachStreet, a Seattle startup that helps people find tutors and online classes in subjects ranging from cooking to guitar lessons to preparation for graduate school admissions examinations.

TeachStreet blogged about the move Thursday, saying the company was closing and that employees were joining the AmazonLocal team:

Amazon has gotten a toehold in India by beginning a shopping service called Junglee, which takes potential buyers to other sites that sell products.

The website has the look and feel of Amazon's site, with offerings for Kindle, books, electronics, video games, toys, and jewelry.

Robert Youngjohns

Microsoft is no slouch when it comes to cloud computing.

The company has a full suite of products and services to help businesses that want to store data and software applications offsite and access them through the Internet.

So it was a little surprising when Robert Youngjohns, president, Microsoft North America, told a room full of IT vendors that their corporate customers should take several factors into consideration before moving to the cloud.

Just on the eve of the Super Bowl, Amazon is launching an online store to sell collectable baseball and hockey cards and other sports collectables and memorabilia.

This autographed jersey that Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki wore in the 2001 All-Star Game is for sale on Amazon for $755.

With its Sports Collectibles Store, Amazon is promising a “broad selection from official licensees of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and International Federation of Association Football,” according to an announcement.

With the move, Amazon is seeking to tap into an online retail niche for signed sports jerseys, balls and trading cards. Amazon promises memorabilia from stars from the past, such as “a $4 Wayne Gretzky trading card or a $34,950 Babe Ruth autographed baseball -– as well as signed collectibles from today’s stars like Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Alexander Ovechkin or Lionel Messi.”

How important is Zynga to Facebook’s success as the social networking giant goes public? The developer behind blockbuster Facebook games like FarmVille accounted for 12 percent of Facebook’s revenue in 2011. That adds up to about $445 million of Facebook’s $3.7 billion in revenue in 2011.

The details of Zynga’s impact on Facebook’s business were buried in Facebook’s IPO plan filed with the SEC Wednesday.

Facebook image

Read Mark Zuckerberg’s IPO letter

Facebook filed for a $5 billion initial public offering Wednesday, saying it raked in $1 billion in profits in 2011.

The world's biggest social networking company said in the filing that its annual revenue in 2011 was $3.7 billion, its operating income was $1.8 billion and its net income was $1 billion, according to a filing with the SEC.

It said it has a total of 845 million users, 483 million of them who come to the site daily.

The Menlo Park-based company said it would trade on either the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ. Facebook said it plans to use the ticker symbol FB.

Morgan Stanley was chosen as the banking lead on the offering, expected to happen as early as May.