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 April 15, 2018.
Sign up to receive these updates every Sunday in your inbox by subscribing to our GeekWire Weekly email newsletter.
Most popular stories on GeekWire
Three years later, Microsoft’s bet on Xbox One backward-compatible games is still paying off
It has been nearly three years since Microsoft announced plans to make older Xbox games playable on Xbox One, and if there’s one area in which the company has pulled ahead of its competition in the console wars, it’s in backward compatibility. … Read More
Microsoft, Amazon and Google jockey for title of 2nd most valuable company on the planet
Editor’s note: Market value numbers in this story have been updated Microsoft’s market value is around $745 billion Thursday morning, and it is in a tight battle with Google parent company Alphabet ($747 billion) and Amazon ($739 billion) for the title of the world’s second largest company by that measure, another sign of the Redmond, Wash. … Read More
Longtime Amazon Web Services customer Netflix said to be cozying up to Google
Netflix was arguably Amazon Web Services’ most important customer during its rise to the top of the public cloud market over the last decade, but it sounds like their special relationship is changing. … Read More
Amazon’s visas for foreign-born workers surge 78% as H-1B approvals shift from Indian IT firms to US tech companies
Amazon was approved for 2,515 visas for foreign-born workers in fiscal year 2017, outpaced by only one other company in the highly competitive H-1B lottery. … Read More
GeekWire Awards 2018: CEO of the Year candidates lead their companies to big growth
They run companies across various industries, from AI training to text analysis to wireless networks. … Read More
Apple expands again in Seattle as it aims to best rival tech giants in fierce battle for top talent
Apple is significantly expanding its downtown Seattle engineering center, giving itself enough capacity for potentially close to 500 people across five floors inside one of the city’s tallest skyscrapers, GeekWire has learned. … Read More
FoundationDB, a very interesting NoSQL database owned by Apple, is now an open-source project
Three years ago, database geeks were disappointed to learn that FoundationDB and its unique database product had been acquired by Apple. … Read More
100 Most Influential People, but just six covers: Microsoft’s Satya Nadella makes Time’s short list
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is among the artists, activists, leaders and visionaries (including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos) who made the cut for Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list this year. … Read More
Amazon, Netflix and major studios sue Set TV streaming service alleging ‘mass infringement’ of content
Oft-rivals Amazon and Netflix are teaming up with major movie and TV studios to go after streaming service Set TV, alleging in a lawsuit that the company is disguising piracy and “inducing mass infringement” of copyrighted material within an interface that looks just like any other online content provider. … Read More
Bill Gates, Airbus and SoftBank invest in satellite video startup that wants to help us ‘see and understand the Earth live and unfiltered’
The latest spinout from Intellectual Ventures, EarthNow, says it’s coming out of stealth mode with backing from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and other high-profile investors. … Read More