As a species, we don’t seem to get any smarter about rumors and misinformation – even if our technology evolves. Take Ebola and compare its scares to those of another… Read More
How much perceived privacy are you willing to give up to reduce pain? That’s one of the questions Alaska Airlines is wrestling with when it comes to bringing biometrics –… Read More
Time travel is nothing but talk. But there sure has been a lot of it. “We as human beings are obsessed with time in general,” said Gisella Bustillos. We plan.… Read More
It was going to be a quick trip to the Eastside on a weekend. Then traffic stopped, my husband scowled, and I looked at my phone, sitting idle in the… Read More
At times, the coolest technology isn’t the bright-shiny object that glares at you demanding recognition of its awesomeness. It’s the type that quietly and discreetly makes your life easier. Even… Read More
You haven’t shared anything really secret on Secret, right? Good. Because a Seattle hacker has outed the popular anonymous social media app as one lousy confidante. Ben Caudill and Bryan… Read More
It was like witnessing the creation of a “generation ship” — a vessel that requires multiple human lifespans to reach its destination. Fifteen of us were gathered in the room.… Read More
The people have spoken, and the people love the ducks. “It’s a pleasing painting, but it’s just a group of ducks,” the Frye Art Museum’s Chelsea Werner-Jatzke said about the… Read More
Dear Seattle Times executives, I’m writing you in the traditional letter-to-the-editor format because it’s one with which I’m certain you’re familiar. After all, you recently used it in your “Dear… Read More
An early and persistent myth of the web is that the Internet levels the playing field for commerce and content. Does the Internet democratize access? Yes. But does it guarantee attention?… Read More
Take the elevator to the top and enjoy the view. That’s been the main attraction at Seattle’s iconic Space Needle for pretty much all of its 52-year history. The Needle hopes to change that starting this… Read More
Everyone can write and no one can stay focused on writing. It’s a quirk of our connected universe that drives me nuts. Set out to compose anything longer than a… Read More
Glenn Greenwald doesn’t mince words. The government is “truly devoted to the elimination of privacy in the digital age,” the lawyer and journalist told a sold-out crowd of 850 at… Read More
There are words that are dead. They just don’t know it yet. The advance of technology has left, in its wake, zombie terminology. It’s the verbal equivalent of junk DNA, inserted… Read More
It started at that stage in a relationship where the exhilaration and newness wears off. After eight months, I could no longer ignore worrisome behaviors. They’d become patterns. I finally had to… Read More
The New York Times ran a fantastic story last week about the struggles companies face in a digital world. Its own. Someone from the world’s most powerful news organization leaked… Read More
In three months, my son turns 2. That’s going to bring some fun new parenting challenges. Potty training. Those “terrible twos.” And tough decisions about how much time he’s going… Read More
Last week I did something I rarely do. I posted an angry tweet: “Everyone,” huh? Again, TV people, would it be so bad to put just one serious woman in… Read More
This is a tale of two keynotes. One, by a working scientist explaining the work being done in her field. The other, by a recycling expert dropping an inexcusable f-bomb:… Read More
In this corner: We have a young, innovative company that says it’s changing the playing field, and making life better for everyone through innovation. This company’s opponents say it isn’t playing… Read More
There are many things that seem stubbornly cyclical in their refusal to be resolved in the tech industry. Password management. Bubble valuations. Sexism. I’ve addressed the first two elsewhere. I’ve… Read More
March 7, 2013, was a tough day for Kushal Chakrabarti. That was the day he announced he was stepping down as CEO of Vittana, the Seattle-based nonprofit he founded and… Read More
It began as a dare: Take an entire business trip without touching a piece of paper. I nearly choked on my half-finished beer, wondering if I’d been poured malt liquor… Read More
Sometimes I just want to tell lawmakers to shut up and host a hackathon. You can almost see it: Legislators, business leaders and consumers huddled over laptops, not one in… Read More
The “learn to code” movement may be about to run afoul of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Few (least of all nerdy me) will argue that learning a computer language… Read More
Happy Data Privacy Day! The first round of credit card numbers is on me! Yes, this Tuesday, Jan. 28 really is Data Privacy Day in the U.S. and Canada, commemorating… Read More
Three-and-a-half months after the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, Washington’s Healthplanfinder website remains one of the better-performing health care exchanges in the country. Relative to other exchanges and taking into… Read More
Nearly four years after it launched in private beta in March 2010, Pinterest is a powerhouse. Twenty-one percent of online adults use the tiled bookmarking service, according to a 2013… Read More
It’s 2014, and time to ring in the new and throw out the old. Old tech terms, that is: those made meaningless in 2013 by media and marketers. I occasionally… Read More
It’s a double date in a park, or so we’re told. A man, a woman, another man, and his operating system. Her name is Samantha, and she peeks out of… Read More