Some of the VOXUS crew had a chance to participate last night in a midnight promo for Amazon, Microsoft and the huge launch of Halo 3. The setup: our friend and former co-worker Kevin Pedraja of Sterling Communications was selected for hand delivery of the new third edition of the hit Halo game for Xbox 360 as part of an Amazon launch campaign. The kicker: Halo's own Master Chief made the delivery. The Associated Press covered the event (pics not posted yet). Check the video below for more. Music by Edgen.

Halo Unbox

-posted by Paul

While I am still waiting for someone to invent the flying car that I was promised in the '60s, it looks like rayguns are coming every closer to delivery.

Off-the-shelf combinable fibre laser amplifiers are currently limited to 200 watts each, according to DARPA: and it wants to push this up to 1kW to start with, then to 3KW in the next phase. That would mean a Raytheon/Sandia style bundle would scale up to 100kW or even 300kW, well into the proper-deathray range. The DARPA chaps, though - perhaps upset by people calling them mad scientists - try to avoid talking about blaster guns too much.

I can't wait, although if we're having trouble as a society figuring out how to regulate a .22 cal pistol, I'd hate to see what happens if we ever get blasters that can vaporize a building.

-posted by Paul

Entrepreneurs in the area that hail from India are planning a dynamite program for the next meeting of TIE. On Thursday, October 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bellevue Courtyard by Marriott, panelists will debate the huge opportunity presented by social networking, talking about what it takes to build a successful startup in the space, what VCs are most looking to fund, etc. Moderated by John Cook of the Seattle P-I, the panel includes Brian Goffman of Madrona Venture Group, SnapVine founder Joe Heitzeberg, Jordan Mitchell of OthersOnline and stealthy startup LiveMocha's founder Shirish Nadkarni. Registration for the event is required.

-posted by Rachel

WIth all the hoopla surrounding Bellevue-based InfoSpace's decision to sell its online directory business Switchboard.com for $225 Million in cash (!) to Idearc Inc., it's easy to see why its secondary announcement might have gotten overlooked. Dogpile.com, the company's meta search engine, is going to bat for The Humane Society's Rural Area Veterinary Services Program. The Dogpile.com mascot, Arfie, has invited Leona Helmsley's $12 Million dollar dog, Trouble, to match donations in a fundraising campaign. Arfie might also want to contact Oprah, since rumors are swirling that she's establishing a $30 Million trust fund for her dogs in case of her early demise. You can learn more about the fundraiser at www.supportarfie.com.

-posted by Rachel

Our friends at Portland-based Healthnotes announced its newest customer this week: Publix supermarkets. Growing up in the south, I have fond memories of the Piggly Wiggly and Publix, and was surprised to see that Publix is entering a new market with its GreenWise Market stores. GreenWise is a concept store that targets consumers looking for high quality and convenient foods. It looks to be a perfect match for Healthnotes, as the company delivers interactive "Fresh Ideas" kiosks that offer recipes, healthy living tips and more...in this case, right in the produce section and health-related products aisles.

-posted by Rachel

In his blog, Seattle PI columnist John Cook talks about the increasing number of startups spinning out of technology being developed at the University of Washington. One we find interesting is ImageSpace 4D, Inc., a company that plans to develop a medical imaging software that makes 3D imaging with interaction and movement, or 4D, easy to use. One of John's commentors suggested that it might be worthwhile to see how many companies have spun out of UW over time, and how many are still in operation. We agree that it could be the basis for a good story.

-posted by Rachel

A new Seattle-based startup, TrustedWord is looking for a few good beta testers. Co-founder Karson Clancy sent out the call a few weeks back, so if you're interested in helping a new local services review site get its feet on the ground, send him an email at beta(at)trustedword.com.

-posted by Rachel

The Ergo Bike Premium 8i has finally arrived. Germany's Daum Electronics has started to ship to the U.S. - 20 have come so far - the most high tech and interactive stationary exercise bike ever. The Ergo Bike allows riders to virtually compete with other riders around the world, via an internet connection, webcam, VOIP-enabled headsets, and brute strength. Groups choose a time and a course and go head-to-head in hardcore competition, with some courses comparable to Ironman Triathlon segments. The onboard computer also keeps track of each riders vital statistics (speed, pulse, distance, etc.) and has tons of other built in features. This fancy workout is priced at $3,500.

Article from CNET.

-posted by Stephanie

When I heard Nick Lachey (singer, reality star and Jessica Simpson's ex) was coming to Tacoma the other weekend, I couldn't resist hatching a plan to get my photos and experience posted on perezhilton.com, a celebrity gossip blog that gets more than a million hits per day. My task was fairly simple: get good photos, draft a compelling story and send to Mario Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton) in a timely manner. With my mission laid out, I thought in advance about potential subject lines, strategized about what pictures would be most valuable and prayed that it was going to be a slow Hollywood news weekend.

Despite a busy weekend of celebrity gossip and disaster, my story made it onto perezhilton.com in less than 48 hours. To date, more than 170 comments have been posted. While I somewhat expected to get my story posted via Perez, I did not know that this experience was going to go full circle. By that I mean, I did not anticipate hearing about my blog success on a local radio station twice -- once WHILE Nick Lachey was a phone guest.

Below is a timeline of my incredibly exciting blogging adventure:

Friday, August 24
8:00 PM: Charged camera batteries

Saturday, August 25
10:30 AM: Arrived at Richard Karn Celebrity Softball game at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, WA
10:35 AM - 12:30 PM: Snapped photos of Nick Lachey and surrounding celebrities, including his girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo
12:45 PM: Met Nick Lachey, received autographed picture
11:40 PM: Sent 3 color photos of Nick Lachey and quick write-up of experience to famed gossip blogger Perez Hilton

Sunday, August 26
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM PT: Checked perezhilton.com incessantly
7:55 PM PT: Received a "thank you" note from Perez himself!

Monday, August 27
11:28 AM PT: Perez posts my three photos and an excerpt from my email in his blog entitled, "They're On the C-List Now"
11:29 AM PT: Started bragging about my success to friends, family and co-workers

Tuesday, August 28
7:32 AM PT: Seattle radio hosts Jackie and Bender of Kiss 106.1 discuss the celebrity softball game and mention photos of the event made it to the infamous perezhilton.com
8:37 AM PT: Jackie and Bender speak to Nick Lachey via telephone about the charity softball game and briefly chat about Perez' coverage of the event

-posted by Lindsay

Best wishes to our friends and longtime client, AccessLine Communications. The Bellevue-based VoIP for business company was acquired Tuesday by San Diego-based Telanetix. Telanetix, which is traded OTB, integrates audio, video, and data from multiple locations into a single environment regardless of geographic boundaries. AccessLine will eventually be a wholly-owned subsidiary and, for now, plans to remain in Bellevue.

-posted by Rachel

One of our newest clients, CozyBug, this week joined the growing crowd of Facebook application providers. With CozyBug's new app, Facebook users can post rich classified ads and garage sale listings on their personal profiles. Read more about it on Mashable, the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on social networks.

-posted by Adrienne

Like the bird flu going from those with wings to those with legs, the concept of "bigger is better" has jumped species...from fast food to online portals. Amazon is challenging Yahoo! with the beta launch of Askville, defined as a fun place to meet others, exchange information and ask questions. It's almost exactly like Yahoo! Answers, something the search engine established for its member community last year. It's either a genius move by Amazon to make visitors to its retail area stay on the site longer (and therefore be more attractive to outside advertisers using sponsored links), or it's a back-end way for the site to morph into an actual search engine tied to its merchandise. Either way, it'll be interesting to see what happens next.

-posted by Rachel