Poll: Should Microsoft buy Barnes & Noble?

The Barnes & Noble in Bellevue, just a few miles from Microsoft's HQ

Barnes & Noble is struggling. Could Microsoft, which invested $300 million in the company’s Nook digital reader business last year, be the bookseller’s savior? Barron’s got the rumor mill going over the weekend when it wrote that Microsoft’s ownership of the nation’s largest bookseller would “jump start” the company’s retail efforts by giving it 677… Read More…

Poll: Would you buy a Microsoft Surface tablet?

surfacenew22

GeekWire’s Todd Bishop just made the leap. Will you? Microsoft is turning on the marketing engines for its new tablet computer, the Surface, which is set to debut October 26th. It also just released pricing information for the first time, with the device ranging between $499 (32GB without Touch Cover) and $699 (64GB with Touch… Read More…

Good times vs. bad times: What’s the mood of the tech industry in wake of Facebook’s IPO?

taleoftwo-book

On the surface, things look pretty good in the tech industry. Amazon.com has openings for 1,000 positions in Seattle, and companies such as Twitter, Facebook, Zynga and others are establishing engineering offices here. Venture capital is flowing, as evidenced by the more than $100 million that just arrived at the doorstep of Bellevue-based Donuts Inc…. Read More…

Poll: Are you Good to Go? Most drivers aren’t ready for new 520 bridge tolls

tollcollections

It is going to get a lot more costly to cross the 520 floating bridge next week — one of the main corridors that technology workers in the state travel each day. Electronic tolling will take effect on the bridge on December 29th, with rates varying depending upon the time of crossing and whether drivers… Read More…

Should startup scribe Michael Arrington invest in startups?

Arrington (Randy Stewart photo)

Michael Arrington, the flame-throwing founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, is starting his own venture capital fund. The $20 million CrunchFund includes backing from AOL — which purchased TechCrunch last year — as well as venture capitalists at firms such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital and Greylock Partners. TechCrunch covers many of those… Read More…