Amazon (AMZN) News

Amazon and Google sued by reps of legendary songwriters over pirated music on their platforms

by Nat Levy on January 28, 2020January 28, 2020 at 8:46 amComment

Amazon and Google failed to police their music marketplaces and allowed pirated recordings to proliferate, according to a series of lawsuits filed last week by organizations representing top songwriters. GeekWire… Read More

Video

Take cover: Amazon’s big umbrellas renew a stormy old debate about Seattle culture

by Kurt Schlosser on January 27, 2020January 27, 2020 at 3:13 pm 20 Comments

In a steady downpour around Amazon’s downtown Seattle headquarters buildings, the march of the umbrellas is like a well-choreographed dance. Right up until someone gets bonked in the face. The… Read More

News Brief

MacKenzie Bezos, Amazon CEO’s ex-wife, sells $400M in stock after pledge to give away billions

Hundreds of Amazon employees protest company PR policy by speaking out about climate change

by Monica Nickelsburg on January 26, 2020January 27, 2020 at 11:02 am 16 Comments

Amazon employees are responding to threats of termination for their climate advocacy by intentionally violating the company’s corporate communications policy. More than 350 workers criticized Amazon’s contribution to climate change… Read More

Decoding the Jeff Bezos phone hack: What the rest of us can learn from the forensic report

by Christopher Budd on January 23, 2020January 23, 2020 at 10:55 am 3 Comments

Jeff Bezos’ smartphone is back in the news. After days of second-hand reports that the Amazon founder and Washington Post owner’s phone was hacked by none other than Saudi Crown… Read More

Amazon asks judge to block Microsoft from working on JEDI cloud contract while court considers bias question

by Monica Nickelsburg on January 23, 2020January 23, 2020 at 9:28 am1 Comment

Amazon’s crusade to overturn the Department of Defense’s award of a lucrative cloud contract to rival Microsoft inched forward this week with a new court filing. What’s new: Amazon filed a… Read More

Senator probes Jeff Bezos on alleged hack by Saudi crown prince

by Monica Nickelsburg on January 22, 2020January 22, 2020 at 3:16 pm 2 Comments

A U.S. Senator is asking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for more information about an alleged hack, citing a “growing trend” of illicit surveillance by the Saudi government. Sen. Ron Wyden,… Read More

Jeff Bezos’ phone reportedly hacked in 2018 by Saudi crown prince via WhatsApp

by Taylor Soper on January 21, 2020January 21, 2020 at 9:29 pmComment

The Guardian published an extraordinary report Tuesday that details how Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman personally hacked the phone of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2018. The hacking reportedly… Read More

Video

Amazon wins patent for robots that drop off bunches of items on delivery routes

by Alan Boyle on January 21, 2020January 21, 2020 at 10:31 pmComment

Amazon is already testing robots that deliver packages, but a newly issued patent covers a far more ambitious scheme, involving storage compartment vehicles that can roam the sidewalks to make… Read More

Lawsuit claims Amazon and freight partner worked truck driver ‘into the ground,’ causing him to crash

by Nat Levy on January 21, 2020January 22, 2020 at 1:15 pm 4 Comments

A truck driver sued Amazon and one of its freight partners, alleging the companies “worked (him) into the ground,” for several weeks, eventually causing him to fall asleep at the… Read More

Here’s how Amazon’s rumored pay-by-hand tech could work

by Nat Levy on January 20, 2020January 20, 2020 at 6:12 amComment

A new report sheds light on Amazon’s thinking about the rumored plan to let customers pay for purchases by scanning their palms. The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon may… Read More

Video

Jeff Bezos’ India trip features an electric delivery rickshaw — along with protests and controversy

by Taylor Soper on January 19, 2020January 19, 2020 at 8:54 pm 2 Comments

Jeff Bezos is having quite a trip in India — but not everyone is pleased with his first visit in more than five years. The Amazon CEO is hanging out… Read More

Podcast

GeekWire Podcast: Apple acquires Xnor.ai; Microsoft’s bold climate plan; Seattle startup trivia

by Todd Bishop on January 18, 2020January 18, 2020 at 10:22 amComment

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Apple doubled down on artificial intelligence and boosted its presence in Seattle with the acquisition of Xnor.ai, an Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence spinout… Read More

Video

Amazon Web Services enlists AI to help NASA get ahead of solar superstorms

by Alan Boyle on January 17, 2020January 17, 2020 at 2:30 pmComment

If the sun throws out a radiation blast of satellite-killing proportions someday, Amazon Web Services may well play a role in heading off a technological doomsday. That’s the upshot of… Read More

Amazon to open new ‘themed’ pop-up store at Seattle HQ in latest physical retail expansion

by Nat Levy on January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 at 5:22 am1 Comment

Amazon is opening another retail store at its Seattle headquarters, an expansion of a new concept that has flown under the radar compared to some of the tech giant’s other… Read More

News Brief

Amazon removes FedEx Ground ban for third-party sellers

Microsoft and Amazon rise in patent rankings; Ford lands in top 10; Samsung and IBM take top spots

by Todd Bishop on January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 at 11:19 amComment

Two new rankings show Microsoft rising up the list of companies that won U.S. patents in 2019, based on the total number of patents issued for the year. The Redmond… Read More

Amazon seeks to block Microsoft from working on JEDI contract as legal battle continues

by Nat Levy on January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 at 6:35 am1 Comment

Amazon’s legal quest to overturn the decision to award the coveted JEDI cloud contract to rival Microsoft could be a long, drawn-out process. While the court battle plays out, Amazon… Read More

Amazon fires employees for leaking customer data days after disclosing Ring dismissals

by Nat Levy on January 13, 2020January 13, 2020 at 7:09 amComment

For the second time in a week, Amazon disclosed employee firings for improper access to customer data. TechCrunch obtained an email sent Friday to customers noting that an Amazon employee… Read More

Podcast

A glimpse of the future at CES: Celebs, parallel reality, and next-gen toilets at the big tech show

by Todd Bishop on January 11, 2020January 11, 2020 at 10:30 amComment

CES is becoming less of a place where companies unveil game-changing products, and more where they show attention-grabbing ideas. That’s one of the takeaways from GeekWire’s CES 2020 coverage team,… Read More

Emboldened by election day victory, new Seattle City Council launches next challenge to Amazon

by Monica Nickelsburg on January 10, 2020January 13, 2020 at 3:53 pm 6 Comments

Just two weeks into 2020, the new Seattle City Council is already making good on its promise to take on Amazon, following an election battle between the tech giant and… Read More

Amazon signals big ambitions for automobiles with expanded presence at CES

by Kevin Lisota on January 10, 2020January 10, 2020 at 9:52 amComment

LAS VEGAS — Amazon’s consumer electronics ambitions have grown over the years at CES, the giant consumer technology show in Las Vegas, but this year the Seattle company reached new… Read More

News Brief

Amazon confirms Ring fired employees for attempting to access customer video data

In just 3 years, Amazon has amassed nearly 3M square feet of real estate in this Seattle-area city

by Nat Levy on January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 at 9:20 amComment

Amazon opened its first office in Bellevue, Wash., a little more than two years ago. A dizzying expansion followed, multiplying the tech giant’s presence in Bellevue and changing the face… Read More

Game streaming report: ‘Just Chatting’ category takes over Twitch; Facebook Gaming sees growth

by Thomas Wilde on January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 at 9:24 am1 Comment

The quickly-growing audience for streaming sites has continued to embrace the “Just Chatting” category, which overtook more games-oriented programming on Twitch for the first time last month. This continues an… Read More

Amazon devices chief on Sonos accusations: ‘We have tried to be a great partner to them’

by Monica Nickelsburg on January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 at 2:00 pmComment

Amazon’s head of devices is maintaining an amicable tone toward Sonos despite accusations of stolen technology and bullying from the speaker company. In an interview with GeekWire at the Consumer… Read More

Bernie Sanders enlists Amazon employee activists in climate change campaign

by Monica Nickelsburg on January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 at 11:31 amComment

Sen. Bernie Sanders and employee activists have been thorns in Amazon’s side over the past year as they repeatedly call out the company on climate change and other issues. Now… Read More

Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff on ‘productizing’ privacy and staying the course amid controversy

by Monica Nickelsburg on January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 at 10:21 am1 Comment

Jamie Siminoff won’t be deterred. The Ring CEO told GeekWire as much at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Siminoff said he is determined to “stay the… Read More

Video

Inside Amazon’s CES media event: Shaq shows up, touts Ring, makes drinks with celeb chef Guy Fieri

by Taylor Soper on January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 at 10:01 am1 Comment

LAS VEGAS — The celebs were out in full force at Amazon’s happy hour media event at CES on Tuesday. The Seattle tech giant has a large presence at the… Read More

Video

Sonos vs. Google: Amazon won patent for ‘distributed speaker synchronization’ four years ago

by Todd Bishop on January 7, 2020January 7, 2020 at 6:11 pm 2 Comments

Is this why Sonos decided to sue Google rather than going after Amazon? Our search of U.S. patent records this afternoon, following news that the high-tech speaker maker is suing… Read More

Amazon

Amazon and Google sued by reps of legendary songwriters over pirated music on their platforms

Take cover: Amazon’s big umbrellas renew a stormy old debate about Seattle culture

MacKenzie Bezos, Amazon CEO’s ex-wife, sells $400M in stock after pledge to give away billions

Hundreds of Amazon employees protest company PR policy by speaking out about climate change

Decoding the Jeff Bezos phone hack: What the rest of us can learn from the forensic report

Senator probes Jeff Bezos on alleged hack by Saudi crown prince

Jeff Bezos’ phone reportedly hacked in 2018 by Saudi crown prince via WhatsApp

Amazon wins patent for robots that drop off bunches of items on delivery routes

Lawsuit claims Amazon and freight partner worked truck driver ‘into the ground,’ causing him to crash

Here’s how Amazon’s rumored pay-by-hand tech could work

Jeff Bezos’ India trip features an electric delivery rickshaw — along with protests and controversy

GeekWire Podcast: Apple acquires Xnor.ai; Microsoft’s bold climate plan; Seattle startup trivia

Amazon Web Services enlists AI to help NASA get ahead of solar superstorms

Amazon to open new ‘themed’ pop-up store at Seattle HQ in latest physical retail expansion

Amazon removes FedEx Ground ban for third-party sellers

Microsoft and Amazon rise in patent rankings; Ford lands in top 10; Samsung and IBM take top spots

Amazon seeks to block Microsoft from working on JEDI contract as legal battle continues

Amazon fires employees for leaking customer data days after disclosing Ring dismissals

A glimpse of the future at CES: Celebs, parallel reality, and next-gen toilets at the big tech show

Emboldened by election day victory, new Seattle City Council launches next challenge to Amazon

Amazon signals big ambitions for automobiles with expanded presence at CES

Amazon confirms Ring fired employees for attempting to access customer video data

In just 3 years, Amazon has amassed nearly 3M square feet of real estate in this Seattle-area city

Game streaming report: ‘Just Chatting’ category takes over Twitch; Facebook Gaming sees growth

Amazon devices chief on Sonos accusations: ‘We have tried to be a great partner to them’

Bernie Sanders enlists Amazon employee activists in climate change campaign

Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff on ‘productizing’ privacy and staying the course amid controversy

Inside Amazon’s CES media event: Shaq shows up, touts Ring, makes drinks with celeb chef Guy Fieri

Sonos vs. Google: Amazon won patent for ‘distributed speaker synchronization’ four years ago

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