Amazon reigns, Apple slips in customer ratings for online holiday shopping

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For the eighth consecutive year, Amazon.com has come out on top in the Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction Index from research firm ForeSee, holding steady with a customer satisfaction score of 88 out of 100. The numbers, released overnight, show Apple’s online store slipping 4 points to a score of 80, falling out of the top 5…. Read More…

Fast-growing Avalara opens new Seattle office at Pier 55

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Avalara appears to be cornering the market on office space near the ferry terminals in the Puget Sound region. The maker of sales tax automation technologies, which recently moved into a new 17,500-square foot headquarters building on Bainbridge Island, is expanding along Seattle’s waterfront with new offices at Pier 55. It is the company’s second… Read More…

MOD Systems founder wins reversal on mail fraud conviction, loses in other areas

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The continuing saga of MOD Systems co-founder Mark E. Phillips, who was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2011 on fraud and money laundering charges, has taken another unusual turn. According to court documents released this week, Phillips has won a reversal of the mail fraud charge that he was originally convicted on…. Read More…

POLL: Help this 22-year-old find his next smartphone

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UPDATE, Jan. 10: Click here to find out what smartphone I decided on ——————— I’ve arrived at the biggest dilemma known to humankind: Apple or Samsung? OK, maybe not humankind. But it’s certainly a raging debate in the smartphone world (in the courtroom, too, but we’ll save that for another day). My two-year-old HTC G2 seems ancient now… Read More…

Looking for a job at Google? Better know Microsoft Office

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Google’s momentum vs. Microsoft Office is in the news today: The New York Times reports that Google has scored “an impressive string of wins” during the past year with big companies opting for Google Apps and ditching Microsoft Office. The story highlights problems for Microsoft including higher prices and complex licensing. IDC analyst Melissa Webster tells the… Read More…

Why did Amazon Instant Video keep going, while Netflix sputtered?

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Last month, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings separately took the stage at the Re:Invent conference in Las Vegas and touted the significance of Netflix as a proud customer of Amazon Web Services. Both suggested that the alliance symbolized the importance of how two companies — which compete head-to-head in streaming of… Read More…

Mark Cuban: Nokia’s Windows Phone ‘crushes’ iPhone 5

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High-profile investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban gave Microsoft and Nokia a nice little holiday gift in the form of a plug for the new Nokia Windows Phone during an “Ask Me Anything” Q&A on Reddit on Christmas Eve. The Nokia phone “crushes the IPhone 5. not even close,” wrote Cuban. His answer came in response… Read More…

Startups 101: Advice from 63 entrepreneurs in the trenches

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Sometimes when you’re running a startup, it can feel like the world is stacked against you, with nowhere to turn and no one to talk to. Well, at the very least, you know others are experiencing the same thing. That’s one of the reasons we love putting together the regular Startup Spotlight feature on GeekWire…. Read More…

Microsoft announces its first six retail stores of 2013

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer opens the company's Bellevue Square store in November, 2011.

With the holiday shopping season wrapped up, Microsoft this morning announced six locations in the U.S. where the company plans to open its first retail stores of 2013. It’s part of a broader effort by the company to increase its retail footprint as a marketing and distribution strategy, to have more direct interaction with consumers…. Read More…

Merry Christmas to me: I just got to inbox zero!

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I just gave myself a wonderful Christmas gift, one that I never thought I’d ever achieve. As of 9 a.m. today, I officially got my GeekWire email account — john@geekwire.com — down to zero email messages. That’s no small achievement given the daily barrage of email that hits technology journalists like us. On any given day,… Read More…