We’ve got a lot to discuss on this week’s GeekWire radio show, starting with our thoughts on Amazon’s new Prime Music streaming service — the online retailer’s latest push into the world of digital media, and a prelude to its expected smartphone unveiling next week.
As detailed in this review by GeekWire’s Blair Hanley Frank, the new service is a nice perk for existing Prime subscribers, but not enough to satisfy avid music fans.
On the topic of music, the big shocker of the week was the sudden shutdown of Lively, the Seattle startup whose app offered an alternative to concert bootlegs by providing high-quality audio and video of live performances. GeekWire’s John Cook, who spoke with Lively CEO Dean Graziano when the news broke, offers his thoughts on the reasons for the surprise move.
After our news roundup, we dive into the world of technology design with Sarah Amos, a project manager at Blink, the user experience and research firm in Seattle; and Jody Rogers, principal program manager at JAMF Software. Both are speakers at the upcoming HIVE Conference, June 20 and 21 in Seattle.
Topics include the influence of Apple’s iOS and Microsoft’s Windows 8 on the broader world of technology design; the ways that mobile experiences are changing design; the latest trends in design software and tools; native mobile apps vs. responsive web design; and how enterprise apps and services are adjusting to rising standards of tech users, as consumer technologies set a higher bar for design and usability.
Listen to the show via this MP3 file or the audio player below.
App of the Week: Onefootball Brasil for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone.
Name that Tech Tune: The answer to last week’s challenge is … Tetris. Congrats to our winner, Rick Buenaventura, who gets a pair of tickets to the upcoming GeekWire Meetup and Tech Trivia Night on June 26.
Podcast Bonus: In the fifth segment of the show, which didn’t air on the radio, we talk more about the news of the week, starting with Priceline’s acquisition of Seattle hotel marketing technology startup Buuteeq. We have a unique perspective on Buuteeq, because GeekWire long ago sublet office space from the company, getting an inside view of how its leaders established their company culture.
We also discuss the national rollout of wireless charging in Starbucks stores; the new BallTune app for iPhone and Android, for detecting the inflation of soccer balls; the rollout of Comcast’s controversial Xfinity public WiFi for home wireless routers; and Seahawks star Richard Sherman’s appearance on the Madden NFL cover.
