Articles by Kevin Lisota

Kevin Lisota is a web developer, photographer and videographer. He was also product manager at Microsoft back when smartphones and tablet computers were new concepts.

Photos: Drones light up the Seattle sky for annual Space Needle New Year’s show

Photos: Stunning Northern Lights dance over Seattle — here are tips for catching the next one
How I got this photo of the Perseids meteor shower over Mount Rainier — and tips for watching more
Closer than humanly possible: New launch pad photos capture historic SpaceX liftoff in all its glory

Latest from Kevin Lisota

Removing default category in WordPress automatically at time of publishing

by Kevin Lisota on January 28, 2015January 28, 2015 at 3:10 pm

When you author a post in WordPress, it will automatically assign the post to your default category. This is determined by navigating to Settings > Writing and looking for Default… Read More

Controlling WordPress excerpts and generating Read More links

by Kevin Lisota on January 27, 2015January 27, 2015 at 12:37 pm

Many WordPress sites take advantage of post excerpts to display snippets of posts on the home page or archive pages of their site, often followed by a “Read More” or… Read More

Excluding certain posts from WordPress search results based on custom field values

by Kevin Lisota on January 24, 2015January 24, 2015 at 12:13 pm

We recently came across a need to exclude a set of custom posts from our WordPress search results page, based on a value set in the custom fields of those… Read More

Book Review: ‘Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate’

by Kevin Lisota on January 23, 2015February 14, 2015 at 10:08 am

Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries and CEO Spencer Rascoff have published a new book, Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate, that points their massive data trove at common real estate topics, sometimes debunking common myths or shedding light on economic realities that aren’t readily apparent.… Read More

Using the Transients API to improve WordPress site performance

by Kevin Lisota on January 17, 2015January 17, 2015 at 9:24 pm

I first encountered the WordPress Transients API a couple of years back. I was reviewing the database tables on one of my blogs, and found that my wp_options table was… Read More

Welcome to the GeekWire Dev Blog!

by Kevin Lisota on January 17, 2015January 17, 2015 at 7:40 pm

GeekWire has been cranking out loads of technology news and analysis since it launched back in 2011. While we love writing about other companies’ technology and innovation, we actually haven’t… Read More

Google Domains: Useful for some small business owners, but useless in many cases

by Kevin Lisota on January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 at 10:48 am

As an active owner of a considerable number of domain names, I was excited to learn that both Google and Amazon were entering the domain-name registrar business. I’ve long wanted… Read More

Should Sonos be worried? Big electronics makers are gunning for the networked speaker market

by Kevin Lisota on January 10, 2015February 28, 2015 at 9:18 pm

Sonos pioneered the networked, multi-room home audio market 10 years ago. After nearly $400M in venture funding in the past few years, they’ve made big steps to enter the mainstream with a… Read More

Next-gen TV’s: What’s coming to your living room in 2015 and beyond

by Kevin Lisota on January 9, 2015November 17, 2015 at 7:51 am

LAS VEGAS – CES is the birthplace and deathbed of new TV technology. This year’s show proved no different, with all of the big manufacturers pushing the latest in television… Read More

CES is crazy: Here are 15 great examples from 2015’s big show

by Taylor Soper & Kevin Lisota on January 9, 2015January 10, 2015 at 7:30 am

LAS VEGAS — Craziness and hype were everywhere at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, where more than 160,000 gathered in Vegas for a glimpse at the future. Here is a rundown of… Read More

Would you wear these high-fashion outfits on display at CES?

by Kevin Lisota on January 8, 2015January 8, 2015 at 10:44 am

LAS VEGAS – With the boom in wearable technology, there are an increasing number of fashion designers showing off their vision for clothing of the future at CES. We came… Read More

Guess who’s exhibiting at CES for the first time – the Girl Scouts

by Kevin Lisota on January 7, 2015July 30, 2016 at 1:08 pm

LAS VEGAS – This year’s most unlikely new exhibitor at this year’s CES isn’t an electronics company at all. It is the Girl Scouts of the USA, attending CES for… Read More

This crazy wearable promises to grow this bald geek’s hair back

by Kevin Lisota on January 7, 2015January 9, 2015 at 9:38 pm

LAS VEGAS – The aisles of CES are filled with publicity stunts and hype, and some of the craziest things you see at the show are hawkers wandering the aisles.… Read More

The connected baby – gadgets for the little ones

by Kevin Lisota on January 7, 2015January 7, 2015 at 3:31 pm

LAS VEGAS – CES is bursting at the seams with wearable and health-tracking technology for adults, but a couple of companies we came across are bringing wearable technology to babies… Read More

3D-printed cookies: Would you eat these high tech sweets?

by Kevin Lisota on January 6, 2015January 6, 2015 at 4:06 pm

LAS VEGAS – You’ve probably seen a variety of 3D-printed objects and prototypes made of plastic, but what if these new-fangled printers could print your next dessert or meal? XYZprinting is… Read More

Extravagant or convenient? LG introduces Twin Wash clothes washer

by Kevin Lisota on January 6, 2015January 7, 2015 at 9:26 am

LAS VEGAS – Many folks are accustomed to double-drawer dishwashers, allowing you to easily wash smaller loads of dishes. LG took that concept to the clothes washer at this year’s… Read More

USAID Chief Innovation Officer Steven VanRoekel outlines progress on Ebola protective suit

by Kevin Lisota on January 6, 2015January 8, 2015 at 3:26 pm

LAS VEGAS – Steven VanRoekel, the Chief Innovation Officer for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), shared progress on the fight against Ebola at the CES Government session today,… Read More

Another CES, another HDTV buzzword: Samsung announces SUHD TVs

by Kevin Lisota on January 5, 2015January 5, 2015 at 3:47 pm

LAS VEGAS – Samsung took to the press conference stage today at CES to announce their latest 4k TV’s, coining a new moniker where there is alreadya confusing array of… Read More

Netflix announces Netflix Recommended TV program to bring better UI to viewers

by Kevin Lisota on January 5, 2015January 5, 2015 at 10:09 am

LAS VEGAS – Netflix and LG Electronics introduced a new TV certification program at CES this morning called the Netflix Recommended TV program, aiming to help consumers pick TV’s with… Read More

Zillow chairman Rich Barton: How transparency is catalyzing revolution

by Kevin Lisota on October 19, 2014October 26, 2014 at 9:37 am

Zillow co-founder Rich Barton shared his business creation and investment philosophy this past week at the Zillow Premier Agent Forum, calling out the need for audacious goals and business ideas that… Read More

Zillow hosts first national conference: CEO Rascoff calls it the most important day in company history

by Kevin Lisota on October 16, 2014April 3, 2015 at 3:41 pm

Zillow kicked off its first-ever national conference in Las Vegas today, dubbed the Zillow Premier Agent Forum, bringing an enthusiastic nationwide audience of the company’s real estate agents together for… Read More

Zillow buying Trulia: An industry perspective

by Kevin Lisota on July 28, 2014December 8, 2014 at 7:59 am

Zillow announced that it plans to buy Trulia today for $3.5 billion, positioning the combined company as the unquestioned leader in the online real estate space. What does this deal mean… Read More

Buying a new gTLD domain name? The process .sucks

by Kevin Lisota on June 7, 2014April 11, 2017 at 7:38 am

Up until this year, buying a domain name was pretty straightforward. With one or two accounts at registrars like GoDaddy or namecheap, you could buy just about any domain extension.… Read More

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