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Amazon: No, we won’t release entire TV seasons all at once like Netflix
Netflix has recently been dropping entire season's worth of episodes all at once — Arrested Development, House of Cards — allowing people to engage in "binge viewing." Amazon isn't following suit. While the Seattle online giant released all 14 pilots of its original comedy and children’s series at the same time when seeking customer feedback, the company … Read More...
Google asks court to allow FISA disclosures, citing First Amendment
As pressure on the federal government continues to mount over requests for user data from major technology companies, Google has decided to swipe back at the government. The search giant has submitted a motion to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, asking it to lift a gag order that prohibits Google from disclosing the number of requests the company receives … Read More...
Digital Content And The People Who Create It!
Wondering exactly how Filter “fights for the users” and “de-rezzes overhead”? Fellow geek and celebrity tech vlogger Chris Pirillo dared to enter the Filter circuitry to find the answers! Here’s what he discovered in our core programming:
Shadowrun Returns release delayed to July, will allow for create-your-own-adventure campaigns
It’s been more than one year since veteran game designer Jordan Weisman and his company, Harebrained Schemes, raised more than $1.8 million on Kickstarter to develop new versions of Shadowrun Returns for tablets and PCs, which blew past the original goal of $400,000. And now we know when gamers can finally start playing. Originally slated for a June release, the … Read More...
Nintendo 3DS tops Xbox 360 in May, but Microsoft still rules home consoles
While the Xbox 360 continues to dominate the U.S. console industry inside the living room, Nintendo's handheld 3DS was actually the top-selling platform across hardware and portables for the first time ever last month. For the 29th consecutive month, the Xbox 360 was the top-selling at-home console in May, according to the latest numbers from NPD market research firm. … Read More...
LivingSocial closes Seattle office; employees told to work remotely
Amazon.com-backed LivingSocial, the Washington D.C.-based daily deals site, has shut down its Seattle office. The news was first reported by Forbes and we've reached out to the company for confirmation. Less than 40 employees who worked at the office were not let go, but rather told to work from home, Forbes reported. The company is still hiring for three positions … Read More...
Q&A: Rich Barton and Nick Hanauer on why Seattle is a great ‘startup cake’ (and NYC has a ‘sell out’ culture)
We had a blast catching up with Seattle technology entrepreneurs and investors Rich Barton and Nick Hanauer on last weekend's GeekWire podcast and radio show. Barton, the former CEO of Expedia and co-founder of Zillow, and Hanauer, an early investor in Amazon.com and aQuantive, like to think big as they look at ways to be provocateurs in business. We talked about a … Read More...
Ballmer, Myhrvold make Top 100 list recognizing CEOs impacting science, tech education
Two Washington CEOs — and former Microsoft colleagues — made a Top 100 CEO list for executives that were recognized for making a difference in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) industries and education. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Intellectual Ventures CEO Nathan Myrhvold made the list, which was compiled by STEMconnector "to salute and … Read More...
15 hours on a single charge? New MacBook Air’s battery life gets rave reviews
While it certainly wasn't the biggest story out of WWDC, Apple's new MacBook Air notebooks are garnering rave reviews. On the surface, not much has changed with Apple's line of ultraportables. The Air still sports the same display, ports and form factor. According to Macworld's benchmarking, the computer's new Intel HD 5000 integrated graphics card brings a performance … Read More...
Amazon debuts group gift cards for birthdays on Facebook
Facebook already makes it easy to remember the birthdays of your friends. Now, with a little help from Amazon, you can send group-based gift cards, too. Amazon Birthday Gift debuted today as an easy way for anyone to start an Amazon gift card, and then recruit mutual friends on Facebook to add $1-to-$25 to the card. The end result is one big "social" gift card with a … Read More...
This startup mines your Twitter stream to tell you what books to read
Struggling to figure out what books to take to the lake house this summer? Well, you might want to consider BookVibe. The service, a product of San Francisco startup Parakweet, mines your Twitter feed to discover the most appropriate books that your friends are recommending or chatting about. Here's a look at my BookVibe, which couldn't have picked a better title for … Read More...
Microsoft updates ‘Socl’ network with new photo and video creation tools
Microsoft is rolling out a new set of features for "Socl," the social network from its Future Social Experiences (FUSE) Labs, saying it wants to give users new ways to express themselves by collecting, combining and putting their own spin on photos and videos. The tools include PicoTale (pictured above) which lets people create Cheezburger-style captioned images by … Read More...
‘TrailView’ 2.0? Google patents image-capturing walking stick
Google has already started to expand its StreetView system beyond roads, capturing 360-degree images of trails in North America using gigantic backpack contraptions such as the one above. But a new patent received by the company points to a far more elegant solution. It's a walking stick with embedded cameras and location sensors, and a switch at the bottom that causes … Read More...
Microsoft Courier vets score $15M from Andreessen Horowitz to expand beyond blockbuster iPad app Paper
FiftyThree, maker of the sketching and illustration app Paper, the Apple 2012 iPad App of the Year, has scored $15 million in fresh funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Highline Ventures, Thrive Capital, SV Angels and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. The company has offices in New York and Seattle, and the new funds will be used to make a big push into collaboration tools … Read More...
Big data startup SpaceCurve lands $10 million
SpaceCurve, which is developing a big data platform that it says provides "instantaneous intelligence" for location-based services, commodities and other markets, today is announcing that it has raised $10 million in venture funding. Investors in the deal include Triage Ventures, Reed Elsevier Ventures and Divergent Ventures. The money will be used to fund the Seattle … Read More...
Report: Microsoft heavily discounts Surface RT for schools
School's out, and that means it's the perfect time to start thinking about back to school sales, especially if you're budgeting for a school district. According to a report by Mary Jo Foley over at ZDNet, the Surface RT, Microsoft's lower-end ARM-based tablet, will be heavily discounted for K12 schools, as well as colleges and universities. This comes on top of the 10 … Read More...
Sprint launches legal attack, says Dish attempted to ‘fool’ Clearwire shareholders in ‘bad faith’ bid
Well, nearly everyone saw this coming. Sprint has turned to the courts to try to stop Dish Network's purchase of Clearwire, the Bellevue-broadband wireless company that's highly coveted for its wireless spectrum. In a lawsuit filed today against Dish and Clearwire, Sprint argues in the 45-page document that Dish's proposed buyout violates Delaware Corporate Law and the … Read More...
Game over? Heavily-funded iPad device maker Discovery Bay Games vanishes without explanation
It looks like time has run out on Discovery Bay Games, a Seattle-based maker of gaming accessories and add-ons for tablet computers. Sources tell GeekWire that the company closed its doors in May. We contacted Bob Belknap, VP of Finance at Discovery Bay Games, but he would neither confirm nor deny the closure. Belknap said he "couldn't go into it right now" and … Read More...
Microsoft SkyDrive manager Mike Torres leaving for mystery job at Amazon
Mike Torres, who helped to build and lead Microsoft's SkyDrive consumer cloud and file storage service, is leaving to join Amazon as a director in the Seattle company's digital group — the area of Amazon responsible for the Kindle product lineup. Torres, who was a group program manager for SkyDrive, confirmed the move this afternoon in response to an inquiry from … Read More...
Q&A: Instacart CEO on competing with Amazon Fresh and the future of grocery shopping
While Amazon Fresh has been dominating the headlines lately, a San Francisco-based startup led by a former Amazon employee is looking to revolutionize the way people get groceries. We've all had those days: you meant to go out and get groceries, but something came up, and there just wasn't any time. Grocery delivery is supposed to be the way forward: instead of going … Read More...
Microsoft: Bing voice search now faster, more accurate
Thanks to some new technology, Windows Phone 8 is getting a better pair of ears. According to a new blog post from the Windows Phone team, Microsoft is using Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to improve the speed and accuracy of its Bing voice search and voice-to-text features. They claim the new technology makes voice search on WP8 up to twice as fast and 15 percent more … Read More...
Microsoft says you can tether your phone for Xbox One check-ins
Here's a solution for those wanting to play games on the Xbox One without an Internet connection at home: Your smartphone. Microsoft's newest console requires you to connect to the Internet at least once every 24 hours for games to work, so if you don't have Internet at home, you're basically screwed. But you may be in the clear if you have a mobile device that can … Read More...
Google calls veiled national security disclosures ‘a step back’
Facebook and Microsoft on Friday evening published new statistics about the data they provide to governmental agencies. The stats included national security requests for the first time, after the companies persuaded federal officials to loosen restrictions on public reporting. Apple followed suit on Sunday. The companies are aiming to alleviate concern over reports … Read More...
Yabbly raises cash to help consumers get product advice, names Ben Huh and Andy Liu to advisory board
Yabbly, the Seattle startup that's looking to help consumers get solid advice on consumer products, everything from smartphones to baby strollers, has raised an additional $500,000 in angel financing from a group of a dozen investors. Total funding now stands at $1.3 million, with investors such as former Facebook general counsel Rudy Gadre; former Qpass CEO Chase … Read More...
Early Amazon investor Nick Hanauer disappointed Amazon isn’t more civically engaged
Is Amazon.com doing enough to support its hometown? That question has been raised many times over the years, with local publications like The Stranger and The Seattle Times ripping the online retailer for essentially being a scrooge when it comes to corporate giving and engagement in Seattle. In a poll last year following The Seattle Times' four-part series, 45 … Read More...
Steve Jobs bio goes paperback, with new picture and afterword
The landmark biography of Steve Jobs is getting a younger look — but keeping the same pose — for its paperback debut. Simon & Schuster announced today that Walter Isaacson's best-selling biography of Jobs will be released in paperback this fall, nearly two years after the book's original hardcover publication, complete with a new cover featuring a far younger … Read More...
Thomas Penfield Jackson, 1937-2013: What if his Microsoft breakup order had been upheld?
Thomas Penfield Jackson — the federal judge who declared Microsoft a monopoly and ordered a breakup of the company— died this weekend at the age of 76 from complications of transitional cell cancer, according to a New York Times report. Jackson's landmark breakup order, issued on June 7, 2000, was later overturned by an appeals court, after his colorful … Read More...
Skype video messaging now available for free on every platform except Windows Phone
Skype's free video messaging feature is fully out of beta today and everyone can now send as many three-minute moving messages to your Skype contacts — whether or not they're online — as desired. Well, just about everyone. The feature is available on essentially every platform (Windows desktop, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, BlackBerry) except Windows Phone, … Read More...
Zillow rolls out new TV ad, plans to spend $20M to $30M in big marketing push
Zillow may be one of the leading online real estate companies in the U.S. But even so, most Americans still don't know anything about it. The Seattle company is hoping to change that perception this year, embarking on a huge $20 million to $30 million advertising campaign that's designed to position Zillow as the No. 1 brand in the category. Today, Zillow is taking … Read More...
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9Mile Labs – Pacific Northwest’s B2B startup accelerator.
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