Clearwire announces LTE rollout cities, including Seattle

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Clearwire says it will launch its new LTE 4G network in 31 cities in the first half of next year, including Seattle, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Bellevue-based wireless broadband provider says the network, which it calls TDD-LTE, will serve high-demand 4G “hot zones” in its markets. Initial launches are set… Read More…

Free Klout trips a success, says Seattle tourism bureau

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What’s the price of influence? It may just be a free trip to Seattle. While the digerati, including Wired in its May issue, debate the true influence of high-scorers on the social media ranking site Klout, the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau declares its Klout-centric experiment a rousing success. Early this year, the SCVB invited 30 individuals… Read More…

“Amazon tax” struck down in Illinois in boost for affiliates

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The state of Illinois has lost a lawsuit against the state’s attempt to collect sales tax from out-of-state, online retailers — a law often called the “Amazon tax.” The Performance Marketing Association, which represents affiliate marketers such as those working with Amazon, had challenged the 2011 law that created the  Illinois Affiliate Nexus Tax. A… Read More…

Walk Score reveals transit system rankings of 25 cities

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Walk Score, which has made a name for itself ranking neighborhoods by how easy it is to walk to amenities and transit, is now rolling out its first ratings of entire public transit systems. The new rankings leverage Walk Score‘s Transit Score index to evaluate residents’ access to public transportation, overall, in 25 cities. Perhaps not… Read More…

Those ear buds you’re wearing while driving? Probably illegal

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It’s a common sight on the road: the focused driver with white ear buds and trailing wires. But common or not, it may not be strictly, well, street legal. Lifehacker has teamed up with the American Automobile Association (AAA) to create a new interactive U.S. map breaking down the relevant laws on headphone use by drivers…. Read More…

Science fiction writers inspired as asteroid miners make fiction fact

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It was the very last question at the news conference announcing Planetary Resources’ plans to find mineral-rich asteroids, pull them into near-Earth orbit, and mine them. Did science fiction play a role? The response was an accurate, but unsatisfyingly vague, “Science fiction is fiction right up to the point that it’s science fact.” The Seattle area, which hosted… Read More…

Cray to sell hardware assets, shift employees to Intel

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Supercomputer giant Cray has announced it’s selling a hardware program and related intellectual property to Intel — and in the process, up to 74 Cray employees will join Intel and Cray will receive $140 million. Cray says that a definitive agreement has been reached to sell its interconnect hardware development program, technology which directs supercomputer… Read More…

Seattle most popular — and mail-efficient — U.S. city

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Consider it a boost for Seattle’s self-esteem as we enter the second rainy season. Two different rankings give Seattle top marks in the U.S.: one for popularity, the other for mail efficiency. A national telephone survey this month asking variations of a single question — “Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of [insert… Read More…

Google Drive takes on Microsoft SkyDrive, but at a higher price

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Google Drive is alive. The long-rumored online storage service was officially announced today, following an apparent attempt at pre-emption by Microsoft earlier in the week. But in both timing and the wallet, Microsoft SkyDrive may have the advantage. Not surprisingly, Google Drive is billed as “a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep… Read More…

Seattle design firm kicks off 999Bottles Kickstarter campaign

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Consider it a kind of milestone: the iPhone is so ubiquitous, it becomes an accessory for a water bottle. That, in essence, is the idea behind 999Bottles, a project of Seattle-based tech product design firm Artefact. Artefact this week is launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise (a seemingly appropriate) $99,999 for 999Bottles. That money, the company… Read More…

Netflix to Comcast: “Internet caps should apply equally”

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In a broadside aimed directly at Comcast, Netflix devoted a section of its quarterly shareholder letter on financial performance to call the cable provider out for exempting the Xfinity On Demand Xbox video streaming app from its own broadband usage caps. On page four of the letter under the bold headline “Internet Caps Should Apply… Read More…

Netflix gains subscribers, tracks Amazon “carefully”

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“Given Amazon’s size and ambitions, we continue to track their progress carefully as well.” With that brief statement, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings acknowledged one of the online streaming video service’s perceived competitors in its quarterly letter to shareholders as part of today’s first quarter 2012 earnings report: Amazon Prime Instant Video. Overall, Netflix came in… Read More…

NPD: 40% of freemium game players pay to play more

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Ever paid to extend or enhance a free-to-play digital game? A new study from market researcher NPD Group says you’re not alone. The NPD report, Insights into the Freemium Games Market, says four out of ten players have shelled out real cash if the game had additional features that could be purchased. Those most likely… Read More…

DreamBox re-positions itself for focus on K-12 market

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Digital education company DreamBox Learning has solidified its shift to emphasize the K-12 school market over the consumer market by unveiling a new logo and brand identity. Bellevue, WA-based DreamBox, founded in 2006 by Lou Gray and former Microsoft executive Ben Slivka, was acquired two years ago by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and the Charter School Growth Fund,… Read More…

Comedy superhero web series premieres at Seattle Comicon

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Super Friends meets The Office? That, in a nutshell, is how Seattle production company Moon Bullet Studios describes its new web series, The Collectibles. The ten-part series will officially debut on Sunday, April 1 as part of Emerald City Comicon in Seattle. It’s a bit hard to describe The Collectibles, even after viewing the trailer…. Read More…

Seattle’s Space Needle soon to be inside Angry Birds Space

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First, Angry Birds became part of the Space Needle. Now, the Space Needle is literally becoming part of Angry Birds. Developer Rovio has posted on its Angry Birds Facebook page that the forthcoming update of Angry Birds Space will include a level with the iconic Seattle attraction, noting, “In our first Angry Birds Space update,… Read More…

Seattle’s first Science Fiction Film Festival starts ticket sales

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With a kick-off Facebook post propelled by a tweet from major science-fiction fan Paul Allen, tickets have gone on sale for what’s being billed as Seattle’s first annual Science Fiction Film Festival at the Seattle Cinerama theater. The Festival, which runs April 19th through May 2nd, highlights a number of classic films. Among the titles… Read More…

City of Seattle ties for first in web, social media savvy study

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A study from the University of Illinois at Chicago is giving top marks to the City of Seattle for its use of the web for civic engagement — and calling it a tie for the top spot with New York City. The report from UIC’s College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs checked out local government… Read More…

Will a $199 Google tablet hurt or help the Kindle Fire?

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Next to politics, perhaps no industry loves speculation more than tech. We may couch it as “analysis” or — if we’re being especially honest with ourselves — as “commentary” or “opinion.” But at its best, even when fact-based, it’s informed guesswork. Which leads me to the latest rumor of a Google Nexus tablet. Digitimes was… Read More…