GeekWire – Breaking News in Technology & Business

Bill Gates-backed startup Sunlight Payments helps track grant money for philanthropic projects

Pacific Hyperloop keeps chugging along amid interest in ultra-high-speed transit

by Alan Boyle on November 19, 2017November 19, 2017 at 4:42 pmComment

Pacific Hyperloop is moving ahead with its concept for tube travel between Seattle and Portland, in hopes of riding in the slipstream of the Pacific Northwest’s growing interest in ultra-high-speed… Read More

Amazon marks 10th anniversary of original Kindle, the ’18-month project’ that took 3 1/2 years

by Todd Bishop on November 19, 2017November 19, 2017 at 10:00 amComment

Amazon launched the original Kindle a decade ago today — a move that not only got the company into e-readers but also marked its first step into what has become… Read More

Data integrity is important for customer loyalty; Here are 5 ways to ensure your data is secure

Irrespective of the size and the industry, for any business, data security and integrity should be a priority. However, when we talk about small businesses, the concern gets a bit more… Read More

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Nov. 12, 2017

by GeekWire on November 19, 2017November 19, 2017 at 8:01 amComment

See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of Nov. 12, 2017.… Read More

Tennis legend Billie Jean King on the 3 common traits that lead to greatness

by John Cook on November 18, 2017November 18, 2017 at 9:40 amComment

PALM DESERT, Calif.— Tennis legend Billie Jean King — who blazed a trail for equality and ushered in a new era for women’s sports in the 1970s — never perceived… Read More

Fun & Geeky

Navy admits its pilots are to blame for huge sky penis drawn over Washington town

Long-legged Teddy bear that creeped out the internet spotted in Seattle-area Goodwill — 88% off!

Cards Against Humanity’s latest holiday stunt: Stop Trump’s border wall and more surprises for $15

New York-based ping pong social club SPiN opening a giant location in downtown Seattle

For more fun & geeky stuff, check out Geek Life.

His company sells a giant Teddy bear that went viral for the wrong reasons: ‘It’s actually not a joke at all’

by Kurt Schlosser on November 18, 2017November 18, 2017 at 11:35 am1 Comment

Nikola Matic is serious about Teddy bears. While he may very well be a cuddly person in his private life, Matic was all business on the phone this week when… Read More

Video

Night launch sends next-gen JPSS-1 weather satellite (and more) into orbit

by Alan Boyle on November 18, 2017November 18, 2017 at 10:13 amComment

The first in a series of four next-generation weather satellites, known as the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 or JPSS-1, is in orbit after a twice-delayed liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force… Read More

425 Magazine’s Northwest Idea House 2017: Presented by JayMarc

Defined by clean lines, sophisticated amenities and stunning architectural details, the Stockholm design is a true contemporary masterpiece. This 5-bedroom, 5.5-bath home includes features ranging from elegant Kentwood flooring to…

See More Home Photos

Bill Gates-backed startup Sunlight Payments helps track grant money for philanthropic projects

by Nat Levy on November 18, 2017November 18, 2017 at 6:58 amComment

It can be a tough task to ensure that grants and charity funds get into the right hands, and show the path the money takes around the world. A Seattle… Read More

Podcast

After researchers foil Amazon Cloud Cam, just how secure are our ‘smart’ homes?

by Clare McGrane on November 18, 2017November 18, 2017 at 5:47 am1 Comment

Amazon’s Key service left some people unsettled when it was first announced, letting the company open a user’s front door remotely to give a delivery person access to drop off… Read More

Cloud Tech

Amazon Web Services backs deep-learning format introduced by Microsoft and Facebook

Seattle’s Algorithmia wants to help machine learning researchers get up and running in production

Slack’s Julia Grace on the lessons learned from downtime, and the responsibility to pay it forward

Google’s Urs Hölzle still thinks its cloud revenue will catch its ad revenue, but maybe not by 2020

Read more cloud and developer technology articles on Cloud Tech.

News Brief

Intellectual Ventures’ Global Good teams up with Motic on AI-powered microscope

‘Mr. Robot’ Rewind: Fighting over UPS firmware in Episode 6

by Corey Nachreiner on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 at 4:02 pmComment

[Spoiler Alert] You should watch Mr. Robot episode 6 (Eps3.5_kill-process.inc) before reading this article. Otherwise, it will spoil many of the show’s major hacks and technical details. Welcome to the… Read More

GeekWire Podcasts

After researchers foil Amazon Cloud Cam, just how secure are our ‘smart’ homes?

Week In Geek Podcast: Bots meddle in a pivotal election and Twitter finally goes to 280 characters

Podcast: Professional life can be a tough, lonely experience — but ‘The Grind’ aims to help

Tune In: GeekWire’s Health Tech Podcast live with startup vet Mike McSherry and Providence exec Mary Haggard

Listen to more GeekWire Podcasts.

LIGO gravitational-wave hunters get lucky and find smallest black hole merger

by Alan Boyle on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 at 2:43 pmComment

It took months to figure it out, but the scientists in charge of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO, have confirmed their observations of the most lightweight black hole… Read More

Geek of the Week: Tim Durkan photographs ‘the pretty and the gritty’ of his beloved Seattle

by Kurt Schlosser on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 at 1:19 pm 2 Comments

In this age of mobile photography, you no doubt see plenty of sunset and Space Needle and ferry photos in your social feeds from your Seattle friends. We live in… Read More

AI and jobs: Here’s what one of the leading minds in private equity thinks

by John Cook on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 at 12:44 pm 3 Comments

PALM DESERT, Calif. — There’s been a lot of chatter in recent months about the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning on jobs. And while automation may wipe out… Read More

Video

Aloha, Oumuamua! Interstellar asteroid gets a Hawaiian name as first of its kind

by Alan Boyle on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 at 11:44 am1 Comment

An interstellar asteroid has received a name that’s fitting to its status: Oumuamua (“Oh-moo-ah-moo-ah”), a Hawaiian word meaning “a messenger from afar arriving first.” The first-of-its-kind object forced the International… Read More

Inside Seattle Children’s landmark $1B campaign to cure childhood cancer and other diseases

by Clare McGrane on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 at 10:44 am 2 Comments

It’s an exciting time to be studying cures for cancer. New technology like cutting-edge immunotherapy treatments are opening doors to fight the disease, and the outlook for patients today is… Read More

Amazon launches Relay app to help truckers get into and out of its warehouses faster

by Nat Levy on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 at 9:45 amComment

Amazon is looking to speed up the process for trucks to get in and out of its massive warehouses with a new app called Relay. CNBC first spotted the app and… Read More

Video

Startup backed by ex-NBA players raises cash for real-time high school sports scoring app

by Taylor Soper on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 at 9:25 amComment

Real-time scoring is commonplace in pro and college sports. But many high school teams across the U.S. still rely on pen and paper to record game results and other statistics.… Read More

Video

Surprise! Elon Musk unveils Tesla Semi truck – plus a remade Roadster that’s beyond ludicrous

by Alan Boyle on November 16, 2017November 17, 2017 at 10:34 am 7 Comments

Tesla CEO Elon Musk rode in with revelations about his company’s all-electric Semi truck, but walked off with an even bigger surprise: a new version of the Tesla Roadster that… Read More

Amazon Web Services backs deep-learning format introduced by Microsoft and Facebook

by Tom Krazit on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 3:46 pmComment

The Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) deep-learning format, introduced in September by Microsoft and Facebook, has a new backer following Amazon Web Services’ decision to embrace the framework with a… Read More

Working Geek: Pogo Rides CEO Melissa Lehman aims to help working parents maintain their sanity

by Lisa Stiffler on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 3:07 pm1 Comment

A few years ago, when Melissa Lehman looked around at her fellow working parents she was astounded — and maybe a little troubled — by what she saw. Her parent… Read More

Video

Seattle’s Algorithmia wants to help machine learning researchers get up and running in production

by Tom Krazit on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 2:14 pmComment

Algorithmia is adding a new service alongside its marketplace for artificial intelligence algorithms that helps data scientists focus on their work, rather than infrastructure. The company’s new AI Layer product… Read More

Video

Don’t flip out, but even the robots are more athletic than you — watch the latest from Boston Dynamics

by Kurt Schlosser on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 2:05 pm1 Comment

I can’t even do jumping jacks without fear of pulling something. Now the robots do backflips?! In a new video posted on YouTube Thursday, Boston Dynamics further proved that the… Read More

Amazon rivals Walmart, Best Buy and Target boost spending on e-commerce and shipping to challenge Seattle tech giant

by Nat Levy on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 1:07 pmComment

As Amazon continues to loom over the retail industry, some of the biggest stores in the world are pouring money into online retail, shipping logistics and other new programs to… Read More

Video

Geared Up Podcast: First look at Amazon’s Cloud Cam smart home camera

by Clare McGrane on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 12:14 pmComment

Amazon is already doing well in the smart home world, with Echo devices dotting homes all over the country. But can the tech giant’s latest product, the Amazon Cloud Cam,… Read More

OfferUp tackles safety concerns with designated pick-up zones for exchanging items

by Monica Nickelsburg on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 11:50 am1 Comment

OfferUp has designated more than 450 meeting places for users to exchange goods, in an attempt to get ahead of the safety issues that plague its rival Craigslist. The Community… Read More

Video

University of Washington’s computer science clout on full display at annual student showcase event

by Taylor Soper on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 2:55 pmComment

The expertise and growth of University of Washington’s computer science department was on full display Wednesday evening on campus in Seattle. The Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and… Read More

Video

Researchers discover Amazon Key security flaw that could let drivers re-enter houses, company downplays issue but promises update

by Nat Levy on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 11:01 amComment

Security researchers say they have uncovered a flaw that could let couriers re-enter a home after making a delivery by disabling the Amazon Cloud Cam that is part of the… Read More

Video

Injured Seahawk Richard Sherman streams a live Q&A from his hospital bed — here are the takeaways

by Kurt Schlosser on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 2:49 pmComment

UPDATE, 2:50 p.m. PT: The video is now back up. UPDATE, 11:45 a.m. PT: Richard Sherman’s live stream Q&A video from his hospital bed disappeared from his YouTube channel about an… Read More

Slack’s Julia Grace on the lessons learned from downtime, and the responsibility to pay it forward

by Tom Krazit on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 10:38 amComment

It’s kind of amazing how reliable modern internet services have become over the last decade, which is why we freak out when they go down. But for Slack’s Julia Grace,… Read More

Pacific Hyperloop keeps chugging along amid interest in ultra-high-speed transit

Amazon marks 10th anniversary of original Kindle, the ’18-month project’ that took 3 1/2 years

Data integrity is important for customer loyalty; Here are 5 ways to ensure your data is secure

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Nov. 12, 2017

Tennis legend Billie Jean King on the 3 common traits that lead to greatness

Fun & Geeky

His company sells a giant Teddy bear that went viral for the wrong reasons: ‘It’s actually not a joke at all’

Night launch sends next-gen JPSS-1 weather satellite (and more) into orbit

425 Magazine’s Northwest Idea House 2017: Presented by JayMarc

Bill Gates-backed startup Sunlight Payments helps track grant money for philanthropic projects

After researchers foil Amazon Cloud Cam, just how secure are our ‘smart’ homes?

Cloud Tech

Intellectual Ventures’ Global Good teams up with Motic on AI-powered microscope

‘Mr. Robot’ Rewind: Fighting over UPS firmware in Episode 6

GeekWire Podcasts

LIGO gravitational-wave hunters get lucky and find smallest black hole merger

Geek of the Week: Tim Durkan photographs ‘the pretty and the gritty’ of his beloved Seattle

AI and jobs: Here’s what one of the leading minds in private equity thinks

Aloha, Oumuamua! Interstellar asteroid gets a Hawaiian name as first of its kind

Inside Seattle Children’s landmark $1B campaign to cure childhood cancer and other diseases

Amazon launches Relay app to help truckers get into and out of its warehouses faster

Startup backed by ex-NBA players raises cash for real-time high school sports scoring app

Surprise! Elon Musk unveils Tesla Semi truck – plus a remade Roadster that’s beyond ludicrous

Amazon Web Services backs deep-learning format introduced by Microsoft and Facebook

Working Geek: Pogo Rides CEO Melissa Lehman aims to help working parents maintain their sanity

Seattle’s Algorithmia wants to help machine learning researchers get up and running in production

Don’t flip out, but even the robots are more athletic than you — watch the latest from Boston Dynamics

Amazon rivals Walmart, Best Buy and Target boost spending on e-commerce and shipping to challenge Seattle tech giant

Geared Up Podcast: First look at Amazon’s Cloud Cam smart home camera

OfferUp tackles safety concerns with designated pick-up zones for exchanging items

University of Washington’s computer science clout on full display at annual student showcase event

Researchers discover Amazon Key security flaw that could let drivers re-enter houses, company downplays issue but promises update

Injured Seahawk Richard Sherman streams a live Q&A from his hospital bed — here are the takeaways

Slack’s Julia Grace on the lessons learned from downtime, and the responsibility to pay it forward

Techstars Startup Weekend EDU Seattle

AutoMobility LA

AWS re:Invent 2017