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Would you wear these headphones? Would you buy them for $399? Those are the big questions as Seattle startup Human releases its long-awaited wireless headphones, looking to rival Apple, Bose and other big audio brands. They’re packed with features, but what stands out is the unique form factor, featuring two wireless cups designed to wrap snugly around individual ears. GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper has been trying them, and seeing how people react.

HQ2 is hot. Amazon’s future stomping grounds, Alexandria and Arlington in Northern Virginia, have become the most competitive cities in the country for home buyers. Meanwhile, the housing market in Seattle, aka HQ1, is cooling after years as the nation’s hottest.

Simulated rainstorms, forceful impacts and extreme heat. It may sound like what T-Mobile has been through in its attempts to merge with Sprint, but in reality those are some of the tests that the wireless company is conducting on devices at a new Seattle-area lab — laying the groundwork for the coming era of super-fast 5G wireless technology. GeekWire reporter Nat Levy got a sneak peek inside.

PTO shouldn’t be a PITA. We’d like to suggest that tag line for PTO Exchange, a Seattle startup that works with companies to helps employees monetize their unused paid time off. The 11-person startup, founded in 2013, just raised $3 million in its first major funding round.

See more recent Seattle and Pacific NW startup fundings.

What goes on inside Bill Gates’ brain? That’s the subject of a three-part Netflix docuseries about the tech mogul and philanthropist, promising “unprecedented access to Gates as he pursues unique solutions to some of the world’s most complex problems with the same level of optimism, curiosity, and fervor that inspired his original vision for Microsoft.” Directed by Academy Award-winner Davis Guggenheim, it’s set to debut Sept. 20.

Get ready by listening to our latest conversation with Gates on the GeekWire Podcast.

Random Channel: Microsoft shareholders will have Pete Carroll to thank if the company meets its 2020 sales goals. The Seattle Seahawks head coach sits down with Microsoft US President Kate Johnson in this LinkedIn video to offer some motivational words of wisdom for her team.

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