POLL: Do you like Steve Ballmer’s new haircut?

Steve Ballmer

Breaking news: Steve Ballmer is bald. Just kidding about the breaking news part, unless you’re obsessed with keeping track of CEO’s and their haircuts. But for real, Microsoft’s CEO rocked a new haircut yesterday at the CES. In fact, he didn’t just get a haircut — he got all of his hairs cut. Linda Thomas… Read More…

Qliance raises $8M, opens new clinic on Expedia campus

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Qliance Medical, the Seattle health services startup backed by venture capitalist Nick Hanauer; Zillow Chairman Rich Barton; comedian Drew Carey; Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos; and others, has raised $8.6 million in venture capital financing, GeekWire has learned. Total funding in Qliance now stands at $27.6 million, with the 50-person company possibly raising a little more… Read More…

Billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos got a lot richer in 2012

Bill Gates

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is trying to give away his fortune. But he may have to try a little bit harder. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Gates added $7 billion to his net worth during 2012, making him the second richest person in the world and the richest American tech billionaire. The rise in Gates’… Read More…

Amazon bigger than Microsoft? What to watch in 2013 from Jeff Bezos & Co.

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How’s this for a milestone in the making? Amazon is on a trajectory to become larger than Microsoft in 2013, at least in terms of employees. Yes, their businesses are different. Amazon is an online retailer, at heart, and employs a lot of people in distribution centers. But even considering that, Amazon’s employee growth over… Read More…

Goodbye, cracked screens? Bezos, Amazon awarded patent for smartphone airbag

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Airbags aren’t just for cars anymore — they may be coming soon to a cell phone near you. We first reported the story about a patent for “a system and method for protecting devices from impact damage” invented by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Amazon VP Greg Hart last year. That patent was granted today. So what the… Read More…

Facebook is the best place to work; Steve Ballmer, Amazon enjoy better approval ratings

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The employees have spoken: Facebook is the best place to work. Glassdoor.com released its fifth annual “Employees’ Choice Awards” that are based on the input of nearly 500,000 company reviews during the past 12 months. Based on aspects like workplace factors, career opportunities, compensation, work/life balance and culture, Facebook was rated as the top rated… Read More…

From Boeing to Microsoft Bob: Innovation in the spotlight at Seattle’s new history museum

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Seattle’s history is very much tied to innovation, whether it’s Bill Boeing’s early aircraft or Bill Gates’ early software. And those breakthrough technologies — as well as dozens of others — are on full display at Seattle’s new Museum of History and Industry. After years in development and more than $90 million in renovation costs,… Read More…

Jeff Bezos: 7 gems from his Amazon Web Services talk

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Jeff Bezos spoke this afternoon at the Amazon Web Services re: Invent conference in Las Vegas, interviewed on stage by Amazon technology chief Werner Vogels. It was a wide-ranging talk, covering not just AWS but also Bezos’ entrepreneurial advice, the principles of Amazon’s business, and even two of Bezos’ side projects: the 10,000 year clock… Read More…

Veteran NASA astronaut Nicholas Patrick joins Blue Origin as human integration architect

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Nicholas Patrick, the fifth British astronaut to go to space and a NASA veteran, has joined the Blue Origin team to provide his expertise as a human integration architect. Blue Origin, the often-secretive commercial space venture started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is based south of Seattle and is one of the companies using funding from… Read More…

It’s holiday shopping season, and Jeff Bezos is everywhere

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It’s the equivalent of the groundhog coming out of his hole. For 12 months out of the year, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is a bit of a recluse, avoiding the spotlight at nearly every turn. But with the all-important holiday shopping season now upon us (yes, it has already started before this early Thanksgiving) Bezos… Read More…