An iPhone butt-dial gone wrong | Is Elon Musk calculated or crazed?

An iPhone butt-dial gone wrong: The ability to send a text to search-and-rescue teams from beyond cellular range could be a life-saving feature — or a confusing and embarrassing episode, as GeekWire co-founder John Cook found out during a trip to the wilds of Utah. Despite a desire to disconnect and recharge, Cook was left frazzled by Apple’s SOS feature and the “rescue” that it somehow triggered. Read the story.

Is Elon Musk calculated or crazed? That’s the fundamental question at the heart of Walter Isaacson’s new biography, and of Musk’s career and life. It’s a key question for many of us, given Musk’s role as one of the most influential people in the world, and it’s our first topic on a special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, with Isaacson as our guest. Read more and listen.

• "Elon Musk has a talent for turning the impossible into the merely much later than he thought it would be,” Isaacson says, discussing Musk’s Mars ambitions.

• The book’s biggest LOL for anyone who has worked with Bill Gates is what the Microsoft founder told Isaacson about Musk: “[H]e was super mean to me, but he’s super mean to so many people, so you can’t take it too personally.”

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Tech Moves: Former Ada Developers Academy CEO Lauren Sato joins Seattle hardware startup studio Conduit Venture Labs as an entrepreneur-in-residence; Riveter co-CEO Heather Carter steps down; and Howard Schultz retires from the Starbucks board. Read about those changes and many others from Pacific Northwest business and tech.

Brad Smith joins Amazon board: No, not the Microsoft president. The former Intuit CEO and current president of Marshall University is the tech giant’s 12th board director. Read more.

Augmented-reality fighter pilot system aces flight tests: Boeing and AR company Red 6 have successfully flown and tested a virtual display system that lets pilots see and interact with virtual aircraft, targets and threats on the ground and in the air. Read more.

APImetrics merges with Contxt: The deal between the Seattle and London-based startups combines products for “end-to-end” API visibility, covering security, monitoring, and optimization. Read more.

New tech in the fold for tiny robotics: University of Washington researchers are using Origami on small microfliers to help control their descent as the devices float through the air and collect environmental data. Read more.

Hot Links:

• Microsoft is not renewing its office lease in the Bravern towers in downtown Bellevue, Wash., as the company continues its retreat in the city. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

• Best place to start a company? Seattle doesn’t even make the cut in this clip featuring VC investor Bill Gurley and Bloomberg’s Emily Chang. (Instagram)

• Amazon has added several new features to its mobile app, including product sales trend data and visual search enhancements. (About Amazon)