Our picks: GeekWire’s favorite stories (and people) of 2011

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Earlier this week, we listed your favorite stories of 2011 — the 100 most-popular news items, columns and features on GeekWire this year, based on your clicks. Now we’d like to share a list of our favorites, along with some behind-the-scenes details. Here are the stories, and the characters, that stand out most in our… Read More…

Geeks Who Give Back: Brady Forrest, Ignite and O’Reilly

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A tech evangelist for O’Reilly Media, Brady Forrest is the driving force behind Ignite, a popular series of fast-paced, five-minute talks that started in Seattle and quickly spread around the globe — providing geeks the world over a stage for sharing their knowledge and, yes, even entertaining each other. (Pictured here with ‘Wolfbrella,’ retrieved at… Read More…

Most important technology of 2011? The geeks weigh in

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What was the most important technology of 2011? It’s an interesting question to ask as the year winds down, but we’ve actually been asking it throughout the year, as one of the questions for the people featured in our Geek of the Week profiles. Taken together, the consistencies and differences in their answers provide a great… Read More…

Geeks Who Give Back: Nadia Mahmud, Jolkona Foundation

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Jolkona is a Bengali word that means “drop of water.” For Nadia Mahmud, co-founder of the Jolkona Foundation, it’s a fitting metaphor given that she believes every small drop counts when it comes to changing lives of people across the globe. For less than $60, users of the Jolkona web site can support everything from science… Read More…

Facebook releases standalone Messenger app for Windows 7

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The messaging function built into Facebook has already replaced established IM programs for some computer users. Facebook overnight released a test version of a standalone Windows app that could give the social network an even larger presence in instant messaging. Facebook Messenger for Windows is available for public download via this Facebook help page. Facebook… Read More…

Bidding heats up for AllRecipes: Are Amazon, AOL and Random House stirring in the kitchen?

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It’s no secret that AllRecipes.com — the wildly popular online recipe site — is on the auction block. In fact, Reader’s Digest — which gobbled up AllRecipes for $66 million in 2006 — has publicly said that it plans to unload the property. The auction process is now coming to an end, and The New… Read More…

Verizon backtracks on $2 fee, won’t make people pay to pay

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Verizon Wireless sparked outrage this week with a plan to charge customers $2 when they pay their bills by credit card via phone or online each month, rather than setting up automated monthly billing. There was so much outrage, in fact, that the company has now changed its mind. Here’s the full statement, released a… Read More…

15 New Year Resolutions for Entrepreneurs

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I’m sure by now your 2012 plan, budget and professional objectives are baked and ready to go. Ideally, some of those objectives are reflected in your personal goals and New Year Resolutions as well. But for those still writing goals and resolutions, as well as the rest of you, here are several collected from business… Read More…

Seattle mobile app developer Ubermind finds a buyer

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Ubermind’s growth over the past year has been nothing short of astonishing. The Seattle maker of mobile applications for Target, AllRecipes and others added more than 50 workers between June and November, and it now employs about 200 people at its new offices in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. Now, GeekWire has learned, that Ubermind is in the process of… Read More…

A message from Arfa: Remembering a remarkable girl who made a mark on Microsoft

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[Update Jan. 14: Arfa has passed away, according to reports from Pakistan. See our follow-up story: Arfa Karim Randhawa, 1995-2012: Hear her philosophy of life] Back in 2005, working for the Seattle P-I newspaper, I got a chance to meet and write a story about an incredible 10-year-old girl from Pakistan named Arfa Karim Randhawa, who was… Read More…