Highlights from today’s top stories. Subscribe here to receive this rundown daily.
Amazon is thinking about equipping delivery agents with augmented reality headsets. A newly published patent outlines an idea to use AR headsets to alert a delivery agent about the best times to make a delivery, the best routes to take and even the best places for parking. No word on whether this will become a reality, but it’s a window into the company’s mindset. Read the story.
Speaking of Amazon deliveries, FedEx is ending a ground shipping deal with the e-commerce giant. FedEx Express, the company’s air cargo fleet, previously said it would no longer fly Amazon packages domestically. The development comes as Amazon shifts its core Prime benefit to one-day shipping, and expands its own delivery network. Read the story.
A Seattle-area web services provider is distancing itself from a controversial online forum connected to the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. Epik said Tuesday it would not provide web hosting services to 8chan “due to the concern of inadequate enforcement and the elevated possibility of violent radicalization on the platform.” Epik had initially provided a safe haven to the site and its far-right extremist forums. Read the story.
Interested in startup fundings in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest? We’ve updated GeekWire’s startup funding tracker with the latest deals based on our reporting, with more to come soon. The numbers were up significantly in the second quarter.
Adaptive Biotechnologies is planning a massive expansion of its Seattle headquarters following its recent $300 million initial public offering. The company signed a 100,000 square-foot lease, tripling its current footprint in the South Lake Union neighborhood. Read the story.
Microsoft contractors listen to certain types of Skype calls and Cortana recordings, Motherboard reported on Wednesday. The discovery adds to growing consumer unease about tech workers listening to conversations thought to be private. We’ve updated our story with Microsoft’s comment.
Amazon is giving Alexa users the ability to control how quickly the voice assistant speaks. We tested it, and it worked. If only we could do this with certain people in our lives!
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