Geek Life - GeekWire

There are 3,028 billionaires in the world — here are the ones who call Washington state home

Don’t tell Bernie Sanders, but Forbes’ latest World’s Billionaires list for 2025 contains 3,028 names — up 247 from a year ago. And they’re richer than ever, at $16.1 trillion in… Read More

Seattle engineer’s Ghibli-style image goes viral, and sparks some backlash over AI art

By the end of last week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was asking people to “please chill” on making images with his company’s updated AI image generator. “Our team needs sleep,”… Read More

Even VC firms are getting in on the viral hype around ChatGPT’s updated image generator

You might not remember seeing Matt McIlwain or S. “Soma” Somasegar in “Spirited Away,” but the managing directors of Seattle VC firm Madrona are among the latest “characters” to get the… Read More

Game on: Seattle Mariners add Nintendo patch to jerseys in new sponsorship deal

Are the Seattle Mariners poised to level up this season? Perhaps, if a jersey patch is the boost the team needs. The Mariners announced Thursday that Nintendo of America will… Read More

The surprising way Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella uses AI to consume podcasts on his commute

Satya Nadella is a fan of multimodal AI interfaces — the ability to interact with a chatbot not just through text but through voice, for example — so much so… Read More

Fireballs, foxholes, and cryogenic suspension: Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman’s greatest quips

We’re going to miss Glenn Kelman’s earnings calls. Redfin’s CEO, who last week announced a $1.75 billion deal to sell the tech-driven real estate company to Rocket Companies, has a… Read More

Amazon design vet can’t shake desire to create art and music, so he left to build a new VR experience

Grant Hinkson spent almost nine years at Amazon, leading design engineering within the company’s Devices and Services Design Group. He left a little over a year ago to launch his… Read More

Microsoft philanthropy leader will salsa her way to helping combat homelessness in ‘Seattle Dances’

The amateur highlight of Jane Broom‘s dancing past came while growing up in Spokane, Wash., as a member of the 1987 Lewis and Clark High School drill team. “We were… Read More

Oscars host Conan O’Brien delivers jokes about Amazon and Jeff Bezos

Academy Awards host Conan O’Brien took a couple shots at Amazon and founder Jeff Bezos during the opening monologue of Sunday night’s ceremony. O’Brien, the late-night TV vet and first-time… Read More

Amazon MGM Studios strikes deal for 007, takes over creative control of James Bond film franchise

Will James Bond finally return to action? The prospect for a new film in the long-running spy thriller series increased dramatically on Thursday with the announcement that Amazon MGM Studios… Read More

In chat with Bill Gates, Mark Cuban compares big NBA trade to Microsoft unloading Windows 11

Mark Cuban tapped Bill Gates for some perspective on a recent business decision that reshaped the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA team he used to own, and he used a Microsoft… Read More

Double Billing: Bill Gates and Bill Nye geek out on computers, science and changing human history

Talk about a double Billing. Bill Nye, the “Science Guy,” and Bill Gates, the software guy, came together on one stage Thursday night in Seattle for an epically geeky conversation.… Read More

Can a bear hug thaw the ‘Seattle Freeze’? Civic group tests theory in the wild around Amazon HQ

Whether or not you subscribe to the notion that the “Seattle Freeze” is definitely a real thing, there was no denying the realness of a giant bear hanging out near… Read More

Book lovers get a read on new Barnes & Noble as they flock to chain’s Bellevue, Wash., store opening

Barnes & Noble is back in downtown Bellevue, Wash., and book lovers turned out Wednesday for a grand opening to show their appreciation for the longtime chain’s return — and… Read More

Amazon’s new playbook? NFL player reading on sideline helps obscure title shoot to No. 1 seller

Forget spending money on ads during NFL games, Amazon should just hand out books to players as a marketing ploy. After Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown was spotted reading on… Read More

Can your dog keep up with Tyler Lockett? Seattle Seahawks great teams with Rover in new contest

Tyler Lockett has run plenty of routes in his 10-season career as a Seattle Seahawks wide receiver. Now he wants to just take a walk — and he’ll do it with… Read More

Google calls out Microsoft for trickery over Bing’s response to ‘Google’ search query

Searching for “Google” on Microsoft Bing right now (when logged out) brings up a search experience that looks a lot like Google, with a graphic akin to one of the… Read More

An artist-in-residence at every tech company? Seattle nonprofit sets ‘big, hairy, audacious goal’

Sounding like veterans of the tech industry that they are hoping to better collaborate with, the co-founders of Seattle-based Future Arts have their sights set on a “big, hairy, audacious… Read More

Amazon’s ‘Beast Games’ arrives on Prime Video, as 1,000 contestants compete for $5M

MrBeast is jumping from YouTube to Prime Video today as the new reality TV competition “Beast Games” premieres on Amazon’s streaming network. One thousand contestants will compete over 10 episodes… Read More

This is (not) bananas: Amazon devices chief gives free Kindles to people stopping by HQ fruit stand

Move over, Oprah. Panos Panay is the new king of daytime giveaways. “You get a Kindle, and you get a Kindle!” Panay should have barked from inside a banana stand… Read More

Mysterious drone flights have been in the news, but Seattle Seahawks show was planned tribute to fans

The drones arrived in Seattle over the Seahawks game at Lumen Field Sunday night — but they didn’t travel all the way from New Jersey. The light show at halftime… Read More

Now here’s a PC name for a snowplow in a tech town: Ctrl + Salt + Delete

Microsoft’s hometown is now home to an especially geeky snowplow. Residents of Redmond, Wash., chose “Ctrl + Salt + Delete” as the runaway favorite among monikers submitted for its fleet… Read More

Seattle sushi restaurant reopening after viral TikTok video forced review of food safety standards

FOB Sushi Bar is reopening its restaurant locations in Seattle and Bellevue, Wash., on Tuesday morning, two weeks after closing to review food safety standards after a popular food critic’s… Read More

Seattle sushi restaurant closes after popular TikTok food critic’s video sparks concerns of worm in fish

A TikTok star who reviews restaurants around the country did a swing through Seattle this month to critique a variety of food, and a popular sushi spot has closed in… Read More

The Buzz at Seattle Auto Show: Test driving VW’s new van, plus more cool EVs not made by Tesla

As I pulled away from the Seattle International Auto Show on Thursday during a test drive of the highly anticipated Volkswagen “ID. Buzz” electric van, a driver in a Tesla… Read More

An escape from reality: Go inside the new ‘Tomb Raider Experience’ in Seattle to relive video game

Film and video game fans looking for another escape from reality have a new option in downtown Seattle with the opening this week of the new “Tomb Raider Experience Seattle: Escape… Read More

Living Computers vet rescues 1986 Mac from thrift store and gets it to run ChatGPT and much more

Hunter Irving is like a tech time traveler. Or he’s just a guy who can’t shake the impact that working at Seattle’s former Living Computers: Museum + Labs had on… Read More

Remitly co-founder joins English soccer team’s ownership group, with plans to harness tech and AI

Shivaas Gulati needed a break. More than 11 years after helping to start Remitly, the Seattle digital remittance company, Gulati said building a tech company had taken its toll. In… Read More

Historic calculators invented in Nazi concentration camp will be on exhibit at Seattle Holocaust center

In an age when a smartphone or an AI voice assistant can provide the answer to nearly any math-related query, it’s fascinating to imagine using a hand-held calculator built from… Read More

Amazon’s new holiday ad featuring a singing janitor strikes similar tune to ‘America’s Got Talent’ winner

Dreams apparently do come true, for more than one singing janitor. Amazon’s new holiday ad, titled “Midnight Opus,” tells the story of a theater janitor whose vocal talent is discovered… Read More