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Maria Semple’s best-selling 2012 novel “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” has been championed for its hilarious take on Seattle as well as its painstakingly accurate portrayal of Microsoft and the tech giant’s culture. So how does the new movie do on those fronts? GeekWire’s Kurt Schlosser caught a sneak preview of the film (starring Cate Blanchett) and offers this take.

For more than a year, Amazon has been marshaling an army of ambassadors to defend conditions inside its warehouses. Now the program is in the spotlight again, and not in a good way for the company. Read the story.

This week’s Startup Spotlight is on FlavorCloud, which helps e-commerce companies navigate the increasingly challenging and complex world of shipping across borders. Read the Q&A with CEO Rathna Sharad.

Burning Man’s innovators are preparing for one of their most ambitious projects yet, a massive solar power deployment. Black Rock Labs, based in Vancouver, B.C., dreams up clean power and sustainability solutions to test in the extreme conditions of the Nevada desert with the goal of scaling them beyond the Burning Man festival to the rest of the world. Read the story.

It has been a big week for tech exec exits and hires in the Seattle region, including the departure of RealSelf’s chief brand and communications officer Jani Strand, a new gig for former HaikuDeck CEO Adam Tratt, and the departure of Skytap CEO Thor Culverhouse.

Well, I did it. I pre-ordered a Galaxy Note10+, giving up my iPhone X as a trade-in, to experience first-hand Samsung’s new flagship device and its integration with Microsoft Windows. Wish me luck! And tune in to a new episode of the GeekWire Podcast on Saturday morning to hear tech reviewer Andru Edwards advise me on the decision. Subscribe to the GeekWire podcast.

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