iPhone 3G network problems hit Seattle: Geek productivity drops

[Updated below with statement from AT&T, which blames a software upgrade and says the issue has been resolved.]

We've been experiencing ongoing problems trying to connect to the Internet using AT&T's 3G network via our iPhones over the past two days. As it turns out, we're not alone. iPhone users in Seattle report sporadic service, according to messages on Twitter.

"Experiencing ATT 3G suckage since yesterday. Only EDGE seems to be working all over Seattle," wrote one user about an hour ago.

I started experiencing problems Wednesday morning in the Greenwood neighborhood, and they continued into yesterday evening in downtown Seattle. (One of the reasons I was unable to post to Twitter from the TechFlash and Ignite events last night.)

As of noon today, I was having no problems accessing the Intenet or email on the iPhone.

But TechFlash managing editor Todd Bishop -- who has been in Seattle's Belltown, downtown and International District neighborhoods today -- reports ongoing problems getting onto the Internet. The issue was resolved temporarily when Todd switched off the 3G network, moving to AT&T's slower EDGE network.

We talked to an AT&T spokesperson this morning and they said they would get back to us with more information.

In the meantime, let us know if you are continuing to have problems and what impact this is having. Obviously, this comes at a bad time for AT&T amid chatter that a Verizon iPhone may be in the works.

Update, 3 p.m.: AT&T says the problem was caused by a software upgrade, and that the problem has been resolved.

"Some Seattle AT&T customers experienced an interruption of 3G data service yesterday evening and this afternoon," the company said in a statement. "All service has been restored. AT&T is continuously working to strengthen our network to ensure the best possible experience for our customers."

The company didn't provide details on software upgrade, or specifically how it caused the outage.

But in the absence of further information, the company's statement appears to throw cold water on the theory floated by Zillow.com CEO Rich Barton that usage of Zillow's new iPhone app caused the problem. Zillow experienced an intense surge of downloads and search queries after the app debuted in the late evening Tuesday, Barton said.

Since the launch, Zillow's new app has recorded 15,666 downloads and 414,249 searches, said Barton. (He didn't have the number of downloads in Seattle, but he suspects it's high given the "hometown effect.") The app could hog an inordinate amount of bandwidth, since it includes millions of photos of homes set on aerial maps.

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The Stranger unveils iPhone happy hour app, a rival to GoTime

The Stranger -- Seattle's alternative news weekly -- has launched a new iPhone application called Cocktail Compass to help thirsty Seattleites find nearby happy hours at local bars. That will be added competition for GoTime, which launched its hapy hour locator on the iPhone to much fanfare in February.

In a blog post, The Stranger says the free app will allow people to find nearby happy hours and search for bars with specific attributes such as patios, dancing and free wi-fi. It also has a taxi cab icon so people can easily get a ride home after a heavy night, or day, of drinking.

The Stranger's app was developed by Night and Day Studios.

I've downloaded both happy hour apps (now that my phone is working). While GoTime has cool icons for each bar, The Stranger's has a countdown clock telling drinkers how much time is left until happy hour expires.

GoTime's app also allows people to shake the device in order to produce a random happy hour in the city, a la Urbanspoon.

Let us know which one you like better.

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A high-tech mayor for Seattle?

Seattleites will have the chance to elect a mayor from the high-tech industry this November. T-Mobile USA executive Joe Mallahan, a 47-year-old Wallingford resident, has tossed his hat into the race to unseat longtime mayor Greg Nickles.

Mallahan has little political experience, having spent nearly 10 years at Bellevue-based T-Mobile. But the wireless executive does have money to spend, with Mallahan telling the P-I that he plans to be on par with Nickel's $318,000 in two weeks time.

"I assure you by the May 10th financial reporting deadline, I will be on par with the incumbent's war chest through grassroots fundraising, new social media and my own personal contribution to the campaign," Mallahan said in a statement to the P-I.

On Mallahan's Web site, he touts his career at T-Mobile as one of his primary qualifications for Seattle's top job.

I have helped T-Mobile become financially stable in challenging economic times while still maintaining our company’s reputation as a socially responsible business. My entire career has been about fixing broken systems, leading teams to uncover inefficiencies and developing systems that work. I believe I can do for the city of Seattle what I have done for T-Mobile: fix our broken processes, restore fiscal stability, and deliver basic services efficiently.

With rolled up sleeves and a “get it done” attitude, I have been able to build a successful career around delivering products on time and on budget. I want to take the lessons I have learned in business and make them work for the city we love as your next Mayor.

Mallahan's announcement follows news that State Rep. Ross Hunter, a former Microsoft manager, plans to run for King County Executive.  Yesterday, Todd Bishop got some interesting commentary after he asked whether Microsoft employees make for a good politicians.

So, taking that one step further, does high-tech experience help a candidate in politics?

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How 'I Can Has Cheezburger' plans to capitalize on swine flu

Here's a fun clip from last night's TechFlash Live, with John talking to I Can Has Cheezburger's Ben Huh about his company's concept for a new site that takes its inspiration from the swine flu. (This is the appropriately irreverent and profane address the company has acquired.) Also in the clip, Huh explains how to keep investors on their toes with some carefully-chosen LOLspeak.

From the TechFlash archives, also see this Q&A with Huh and a video tour of the I Can Has Cheezburger headquarters.

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Minecode CEO Samal gets home detention, 3 years of probation

Minecode CEO Pradyumna Samal was sentenced to 90 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring and three years' probation by a federal court judge in Seattle for his role in crippling the website of online wine business Vinado in 2006. He was also instructed to complete 288 hours of community service and "moral reconation therapy."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler also sentenced Samal's Bellevue web development company Minecode to three years' probation, and ordered it to pay a fine of $144,000 and restitution of $120,000. Theiler scheduled a hearing for May 27 to consider whether Minecode should pay additional restitution. Vinado, in a declaration filed Wednesday, said it seeks more than $289,000 in restitution.

Samal, who pleaded guilty to computer intrusion, could have faced up to one year in prison, but the U.S. Attorney's office recommended a combination of home detention, community service and probation. On Wednesday, Minecode project manager Sandeep Verma was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and sentenced to one year of probation for his role in the case.

The case revolved around a contract dispute between Minecode and Vinado. According to court filings, Verma, at Samal's direction, removed two programs from the Vinado website, and Samal later "knowingly caused the transmission of a command that deleted Vinado's website, e-mail server, and database."

At Thursday's sentencing hearing for Samal, U.S. Attorney Jim Lord told the court, "This is far from something that could be called a victimless offense," and called the computer intrusion "devastating to Vinado and its partners."

Lord said Samal "to this day appears to have not fully accepted responsibility for this conduct" and said he is "lacking a strong moral foundation.” He also noted that Samal has a net worth of $24 million.

Samal, dressed in a conservative gray suit, removed his glasses and wiped away tears as his attorney Irwin Schwartz defended his character and talked about his contributions to religious organizations and the help he's given to nonprofits and startups over the years.

Speaking of the Vinado dispute, Schwartz said Samal and his employees felt "dissed" and said the anger "boiled over to the point of doing something very, very dumb."

Seth Micarelli, a partner and chief operating officer at Vinado, also addressed the court, describing how the dispute with Minecode escalated. "I never thought a $2400 bill would result in this kind of retaliation," Micarelli said, later adding, "The site is broken, it’s inoperable, and it doesn’t work."

Following the hearing, Micarelli said Vinado is considering civil litigation, but said no decisions had been made yet. He said Vinado had closed down in 2007.

Samal mumbled a "no comment" when I approached him as he exited the courthouse. He walked away quickly, seeking refuge in a nearby Starbucks.

Earlier, as the court hearing wrapped up, Paul Owen, a spokesman for Minecode, handed me a prepared statement that had apparently been printed before the sentencing. It reads:

PK Samal accepted personal responsibility and accountability for this matter and has apologized to employees and customers. Mr. Samal wishes to thank those individuals and organizations that supported him through this difficult time. Both Mr. Samal and Minecode have taken proactive measures to ensure this never happens again. The company is satisfied with the sentencing outcome and is pleased to bring this matter to a close and shift the focus back to building and growing a successful IT and software development organization.

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New upstart Raveable follows long line of online travel startups

Ever since Microsoft incubated Expedia 15 years ago, Seattle's been a hotbed when it comes to online travel. There's Farecast, Yapta and Escapia to name just a few. Now, a new startup company called Raveable is emerging with a product that promises to help people make sense out of hotel reviews and recommendations.

Founded by former Microsofites Philip Vaughn and Rafik Robeal, Raveable was formed after Vaughn got frustrated spending hours trying to sift through hotel reviews.

"It was personally frustrating that I could research a car or a flat-panel television in half the time I could find a hotel in a major city," said Vaughn, the former group manager for Microsoft SQL. "...In the age of the Internet, access to information should lead to efficiency and improved decision making. The opposite is happening in travel."

In fact, Vaughn cites a Forrester study indicating that 51 percent of travelers are unhappy with the process of researching travel information online.

So what is Raveable building and how is it different from other online travel sites? 

Vaughn describes the service as the "Cliffs-Notes for hotel reviews," meaning that it provides abbreviated versions of reviews found on sites such as TripAdvisor and MyTravelGuide. It does this based on "semantic analysis," a natural language process that allows the company to read and analyze opinions found in millions of hotel reviews.

Vaughn doesn't view the big online travel search sites such as Kayak or Hotels.com as competition, saying Raveable is more similar to product review sites such as Buzzillions, Pluribo and Retrevo. None of those sites have a focus on travel or hotels, which could create an opening for Vaughn's new startup.

The 2-person upstart, which quietly unveiled a public beta this week, has been bootstrapped to date. But Vaughn plans to go out for a round of capital this summer.

The site plans to make money through referral fees, earning a commission when a user books a room through one of its partners. 

Obviously, the slumping economy is having an impact on travel budgets. But maybe -- just maybe -- people will spend more time doing research before spending their hard-earned dollars.

After all, there's nothing worse than arriving at a nasty hotel after a long day of travel.

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Cascadia Capital forms board

Cascadia Capital has formed a new board of directors to help the Seattle investment bank address some of the complex issues now arising in financial transactions. The board includes former Washington Mutual vice chair of corporate development Craig Tall; former Cybersafe and aQuantive board member Rick Fox and former Matthew G. Norton Co. COO Jim Doud.

Cascadia also named Ed Turley -- formerly of Morgan Stanley -- and Bob Jaffe -- special counsel to K&L Gates -- as advisers.

Since the board was formed in January, Cascadia's Michael Butler said they have offered compelling advice and governance.

"Increasingly, we find ourselves being called into larger and more complex situations and engagements," said Butler in an email newsletter. "As a result, we’ve been scaling up so we can meet these new opportunities with the appropriate amount of intellectual firepower and experienced investment banking capability."

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