Get caught up on the latest technology and startup news from the past week. Here are the most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of March 26, 2017.
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Most popular stories on GeekWire
Bezos family makes record-breaking $35M donation to Fred Hutch to fund cancer research
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center announced today that it has received a $35 million gift from the Bezos family, the largest single donation in the center’s 41 years of operation. … Read More
Amazon Web Services jumps into call-center market with new ‘Amazon Connect’ service
Amazon Web Services just unveiled a new service for running call centers, dubbed Amazon Connect, leveraging the same technology used by Amazon.com’s own customer service system to route and manage calls using automatic speech recognition and artificial intelligence. … Read More
Pam Edstrom, 1946-2017: Microsoft’s first PR director was a technology communications pioneer
Pam Edstrom, the sharp-witted communications pro who shaped the world’s impression of Microsoft for more than three decades as its first public relations director and then as a leader of its longtime PR agency, passed away Tuesday after a four-month battle with cancer. … Read More
Richard Branson has warm words for Seattle, cold criticism for Alaska Air
British billionaire Richard Branson kicked off Virgin Atlantic’s nonstop service from London to Seattle today with a rhetorical kiss for the Emerald City, but also a verbal kick at Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, which is absorbing another one of the airlines he founded. … Read More
‘I love you, robot’ — watch this little girl make friends with a broken hot water heater
See? The robots are our friends! Watching this viral video of a little girl hugging a discarded hot water heater that she thinks is a robot might be the sweetest thing we’ve seen since the Terminator came back to protect instead of kill Sarah Connor. … Read More
Samsung unveils Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones with redesigned screen, launch date April 21
Samsung debuted its newest flagship smartphone on Wednesday, revealing the highly-anticipated Galaxy S8 device as the tech giant tries to rebound from a disastrous Note 7 launch last fall. … Read More
Amazon finally unveils grocery pickup service — but it’s only for employees at first
Amazon this morning confirmed what we’ve been reporting since last year: The technology giant is opening grocery pickup locations starting at two Seattle sites, allowing shoppers to order items online for pickup at designated times at an Amazon facility. … Read More
Here’s what the new internet privacy bill could mean for consumers and the Seattle region
A Republican bill that significantly rolls back rules designed to prevent internet providers from selling consumer data has passed both houses of Congress and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law. … Read More
Study: Parents say Pokémon Go leads to more quality time with children, among other benefits
For many parents, the amount of time children spend immersed in video games can be a big concern. … Read More
Elon Musk reportedly backs Neuralink venture to connect brains with computers
Billionaire brainiac Elon Musk is following up on his interest in (and wariness about) artificial intelligence by backing Neuralink Corp., a company devoted to developing neural implants, The Wall Street Journal says. … Read More