Latest News from Geek Wire
Geek Wire
5 hours ago
- Business
- Geek Wire
GeekWire Podcast: Microsoft, Remitly, and the new shape of work — plus, Amazon's NYT AI deal
A playful nod to classic computing on Microsoft's new campus: A vintage computer mouse emerges from a faux mouse hole in the wall — a bit of tech humor tucked into the modern workspace. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we discuss Amazon's new licensing agreement with The New York Times to train its AI platforms, a notable move in the evolving relationship between media and tech. We also go behind the scenes at two very different office spaces that reflect changing approaches to the workplace: Microsoft's sprawling and still-developing Redmond campus, and Remitly's globally inspired new headquarters in downtown Seattle. We start the show on a lighter note, with a confession about computer mouse loyalty and a debate over whether a trackpad is good enough in a pinch. Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts. Related stories: With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop and reporter Kurt Schlosser. Subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Geek Wire
5 hours ago
- Science
- Geek Wire
‘We did it!' Globe-spanning travelers take a quick space trip on Blue Origin rocket ship
Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket ship rises spaceward from its Texas launch pad, as seen from a drone hovering above. (Blue Origin via YouTube) Six well-traveled adventurers rode Blue Origin's suborbital rocket ship to go where they've never gone before: the edge of space. The 10-minute mission lifted off from the Kent, Wash.-based company's Launch Site One in West Texas at 8:39 a.m. CT (6:39 a.m. PT) today. This was Blue Origin's 32nd New Shepard suborbital launch and its 12th crewed mission. New Shepard's booster sent the crew capsule to a height of about 104 kilometers (64.4 miles, or 339,800 feet) — just beyond the 100-kilometer (62-mile) altitude that marks the internationally accepted boundary of space. After separation, the reusable booster descended to a landing pad under autonomous control. Meanwhile, the spacefliers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and got an astronaut's-eye view of Earth beneath a black sky. At the end of the ride, the capsule made a parachute-aided descent to the rangeland surrounding the launch site. Since 2021, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture has flown 64 suborbital space travelers, including 'Star Trek' captain William Shatner and Bezos himself. A previous New Shepard flight in April sent up an all-female crew including pop superstar Katy Perry, CBS morning-show host Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and journalist who is Bezos' fiancée. That mission generated celebrity buzz as well as backlash. The lineup for the NS-32 mission included: Jaime Alemán , a Panamanian attorney, business executive and former ambassador to the U.S. Blue Origin says this flight will make Alemán the first person to travel to all 193 U.N.-recognized member states, the North and South Poles and outer space. , a Panamanian attorney, business executive and former ambassador to the U.S. Blue Origin says this flight will make Alemán the first person to travel to all 193 U.N.-recognized member states, the North and South Poles and outer space. Gretchen Green , a radiologist specializing in women's imaging with more than 20 years of clinical experience. She's an alumna of Space Camp and now serves on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board. , a radiologist specializing in women's imaging with more than 20 years of clinical experience. She's an alumna of Space Camp and now serves on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board. Paul Jeris , a real estate developer and entrepreneur based in Ohio. He has visited more than 149 countries so far and says he aims to see every nation. 'You guys, we did it!' he said after touchdown. , a real estate developer and entrepreneur based in Ohio. He has visited more than 149 countries so far and says he aims to see every nation. 'You guys, we did it!' he said after touchdown. Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge , a high-school and middle-school STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas. She has led more than 60 space experiments and zero-gravity projects. She was born in Puerto Rico, and her seat is sponsored by Farmacias Similares, a Mexican company that's committed to social impact and accessible health care across Latin America. , a high-school and middle-school STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas. She has led more than 60 space experiments and zero-gravity projects. She was born in Puerto Rico, and her seat is sponsored by Farmacias Similares, a Mexican company that's committed to social impact and accessible health care across Latin America. Mark Rocket , an entrepreneur and tech leader from New Zealand. He's the CEO of Kea Aerospace and the president of Aerospace New Zealand. He was a seed investor in Rocket Lab, where he served as co-director from 2007 to 2011. , an entrepreneur and tech leader from New Zealand. He's the CEO of Kea Aerospace and the president of Aerospace New Zealand. He was a seed investor in Rocket Lab, where he served as co-director from 2007 to 2011. Jesse Williams, a Canadian entrepreneur and adventurer who has reached the summits of six of the seven highest peaks on Earth, including Mount Everest and Antarctica's Mount Vinson. In addition to the travelers, Blue Origin's crew capsule carried more than 1,000 postcards that were sent in by students as part of an educational campaign organized by the Club for the Future, the company's nonprofit foundation.
Geek Wire
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Wire
With a great view of Mount Rainier and Sea-Tac Airport, a YouTuber's new livestream takes off
Geek Life: Fun stories, memes, humor and other random items at the intersection of tech, science, business and culture. SEE MORE An airplane takes off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday morning, with Mount Rainier as a backdrop, in a screenshot from the YouTube livestream 'Rainier Aviation.' (Photo via YouTube / Rainier Aviation) Mitch Sutton has always been into airplanes, but things really took off five years ago when he bought a house in Burien, Wash., with a great view of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Mount Rainier. The house to the northwest of the airport runway provides a unique vantage point, where Sutton can see planes taxiing as well as taking off and landing all day and night. 'I love airplanes, but it's different when you live under them,' Sutton said, recounting his reservations about buying the house. 'But the airport with the mountain behind it? I was just like, 'I can't pass up this view.'' Mitch Sutton, with Sea-Tac Airport and Mount Rainer over the shoulder, from his home in Burien, Wash. (Photo courtesy of Mitch Sutton) A month into the East Coast native's move, he didn't even hear the planes anymore. And now he's so soothed by flyovers that he leaves a bedroom sliding glass door open so he can hear them at night. To bring that joy to others in some form, Sutton is running a new project called Rainier Aviation which includes a 24/7 YouTube livestream so that other aviation geeks and plane spotters can marvel at aircraft and the mountain that provides Sea-Tac's quintessential Northwest backdrop. He pairs the video with real-time flight traffic control audio. 'Being an enthusiast, I do look for plane-spotting channels, and Sea-Tac just didn't have one,' Sutton said. 'It's something I see every day and appreciate every day, so I just felt like it was time to share that view with everybody else.' Sutton runs the livestream from equipment mounted on a 10-foot rooftop mast that's stabilized with guy wires. He uses two pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with 600mm zoom, complete with night vision. He's also a budding aviation still photographer, using a Sony DC-10 Mark IV for close-ups of planes taking off against Rainier, which he shares on his website and Instagram. In just a few weeks, Sutton's YouTube channel has attracted a little over 900 subscribers and 23,000 watch hours. The livestream audience peaked on one recent Saturday with about 1,300 people watching at one time. It has attracted some diehards to a live chat where they comment on types of planes, where they're headed, the view of the mountain and the weather. Sutton said people treat him like a forecaster, asking him when the sun is coming out. One of Mitch Sutton's livestream cameras tethered to roof of his house with Sea-Tac Airport in the distance. (Rainier Aviation Instagram) 'I'm learning a lot about lineups and the different runways, which I didn't know before I started the stream,' he said. 'Obviously, I see it every day, but I didn't know, 16 left, 16 right, 16 center. And if they're coming in from the south, it's 34.' Sutton has a day job as a human resources manager for a non-profit. Launching his livestream has been a heavy lift — waking up at 3:30 in the morning to work on equipment set-up and learn how everything works. He said it's been a ton of research. The payoff could be worth it. Other plane-spotting channels on YouTube have attracted sizable audiences, including Airline Videos, a channel that has more than 800,000 subscribers and includes a livestream from LAX. Creator Kevin Ray — and the worldwide fascination around such content — are the subject of a profile this week in The Hollywood Reporter. A 2024 list in Frommers rounded up 15 of the best airplane livestreams. Isaac Alexander, a chief content officer at Hype Aviation and editor of Jet City Star, said it's amazing to see the growth of plane-spotting channels, and that they're a great way to turn non-aviation people into enthusiasts. Along with passenger planes, people can watch cargo jets come and go and get a sense for how much commerce is operating out of the region. Alexander said there is a decent-sized plane-spotting community in the Seattle area, and multiple Facebook groups devoted to the hobby, with hundreds of members each. 'A great feature with this new livestream is that it's angled to have Mount Rainier center screen,' Alexander said. 'Not many airports globally have a mountain/volcano nearby. Something peaceful about seeing airplanes flying with a large mountain in the background.' Sutton didn't grow up in Seattle, but like a lot of transplants he fell in love with the beauty of the place, and the proximity of Mount Rainier. And he appreciates the 'Jet City' history with Boeing, the Museum of Flight and more. 'I don't think any of us see Rainier and aren't just inspired every time we see it, and feel incredibly lucky to have something like that,' he said. 'And I think it's cool that Seattle really is an aviation city. It's a great place to have a livestream that really represents that.'
Geek Wire
a day ago
- Science
- Geek Wire
Watch six globe-spanning travelers take a quick space trip on Blue Origin rocket ship
The lineup for Blue Origin's 12th crewed New Shepard suborbital space mission includes, from left, Paul Jeris, Jaime Alemán, Gretchen Green, Aymette Medina Jorge, Mark Rocket and Jesse Williams. (Blue Origin Photo) Six well-traveled adventurers are due to go where they've never gone before when Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture sends them on a suborbital space trip. The mission, expected to last about 10 minutes, is due for liftoff from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas as early as 8:30 a.m. CT (6:30 a.m. PT) Saturday. Blue Origin plans to stream coverage of the mission via its website, starting at T-minus-30 minutes. This will be Blue Origin's 32nd New Shepard suborbital launch, and its 12th crewed mission. The flight plan for the NS-32 mission calls for New Shepard's booster to send the crew capsule beyond the 100-kilometer (62-mile) altitude that marks the internationally accepted boundary of space. After separation, the reusable booster is designed to descend to a landing pad under autonomous control. Meanwhile, the spacefliers will experience a few minutes of weightlessness and get an astronaut's-eye view of Earth beneath a black sky. At the end of the ride, the capsule will make a parachute-aided descent to the rangeland surrounding the launch site. Since 2021, Blue Origin has flown 58 suborbital space travelers, including 'Star Trek' captain William Shatner and Jeff Bezos himself. The most recent New Shepard flight, in April, sent up an all-female crew including pop superstar Katy Perry, CBS morning-show host Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and journalist who is Bezos' fiancée. That mission generated celebrity buzz as well as backlash. The lineup for the NS-32 mission includes: Jaime Alemán , a Panamanian attorney, business executive and former ambassador to the U.S. Blue Origin says this flight will make Alemán the first person to travel to all 193 U.N.-recognized member states, the North and South Poles and outer space. , a Panamanian attorney, business executive and former ambassador to the U.S. Blue Origin says this flight will make Alemán the first person to travel to all 193 U.N.-recognized member states, the North and South Poles and outer space. Gretchen Green , a radiologist specializing in women's imaging with more than 20 years of clinical experience. She's an alumna of Space Camp and now serves on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board. , a radiologist specializing in women's imaging with more than 20 years of clinical experience. She's an alumna of Space Camp and now serves on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board. Paul Jeris , a real estate developer and entrepreneur based in Ohio. He has visited more than 149 countries so far and says he aims to see every nation. , a real estate developer and entrepreneur based in Ohio. He has visited more than 149 countries so far and says he aims to see every nation. Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge , a high-school and middle-school STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas. She has led more than 60 space experiments and zero-gravity projects. She was born in Puerto Rico, and her seat is sponsored by Farmacias Similares, a Mexican company that's committed to social impact and accessible health care across Latin America. , a high-school and middle-school STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas. She has led more than 60 space experiments and zero-gravity projects. She was born in Puerto Rico, and her seat is sponsored by Farmacias Similares, a Mexican company that's committed to social impact and accessible health care across Latin America. Mark Rocket , an entrepreneur and tech leader from New Zealand. He's the CEO of Kea Aerospace and the president of Aerospace New Zealand. He was a seed investor in Rocket Lab, where he served as co-director from 2007 to 2011. , an entrepreneur and tech leader from New Zealand. He's the CEO of Kea Aerospace and the president of Aerospace New Zealand. He was a seed investor in Rocket Lab, where he served as co-director from 2007 to 2011. Jesse Williams, a Canadian entrepreneur and adventurer who has reached the summits of six of the seven highest peaks on Earth, including Mount Everest and Antarctica's Mount Vinson. Saturday's scheduled launch could be delayed due to weather concerns or technical issues. We'll be updating this report with further developments. Blue Origin is also providing online updates
Geek Wire
a day ago
- Business
- Geek Wire
Seattle solar startup Omnidian names former Impinj leader as CFO after raising $87M
GeekWire's startup coverage documents the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial scene. Sign up for our weekly startup newsletter , and check out the GeekWire funding tracker and venture capital directory . Evan Fein, CFO of Omnidian. (LinkedIn Photo) Omnidian, a startup specializing in solar power performance management, has hired Evan Fein as its new chief financial officer as it seeks to expand into international markets and broaden its services to include new categories of renewable energy installations. Fein's appointment follows the Seattle-based company's recent announcement of $87 million in funding and its acquisition of Solar Service Guys, Australia's largest solar service network. Prior to this role, Fein spent nearly two decades at Impinj, a Seattle company specializing in high-tech RFID tags that connect billions of items to the internet. As Impinj's eighth employee, he played a key role in taking the company public in 2016. Two years later, he left to become CFO at Chef Software, which was acquired during his tenure, before moving on to TextNow. 'I really wanted to be in the clean tech space,' Fein said of his decision to join Omnidian. 'There is a lot of excitement around solar and other renewable energy methods.' While he hasn't previously worked in the energy sector, a late-stage private company that's ready to scale is his 'sweet spot,' Fein said, adding that Omnidian is 'a very good fit.' Omnidian launched in 2016, founded by CEO Mark Liffmann, Chief Strategy Officer Ray Szylko and Chief Operating Officer David Kenny, all of whom had experience in the renewable energy space. The company hired Cathy Hardin as chief revenue officer last year. The company has developed software that virtually monitors the output of solar power and battery installations in the commercial and residential spaces. Its technology looks at a system's energy production and analyzes weather conditions along with other data to assess whether it's performing optimally. If issues arise, Omnidian can provide remote support, or when physical repairs are needed, it can dispatch contracted energy technicians to service installations on-site. Omnidian reported that its revenue more than tripled from 2022 to 2024. It's ranked No. 49 on the GeekWire 200, our list of top tech startups across the Pacific Northwest. Total funding is estimated at $165 million. The company has 285 employees in the U.S., and about 90 in Australia. Potential new markets include countries in Europe and Latin America, and could involve additional acquisitions, Fein said. The company is also considering electric vehicle charging stations as an additional clean energy source for monitoring and output management. Fein said Omnidian is primed to unlock new services through AI, including creating tools that could guide field technicians in troubleshooting and repairs. 'There is so much that we can do in the future as we get more data and can harness more data,' he added. The backdrop to Omnidian's plans for growth includes a presidential administration that favors fossil fuels over solar and wind power. Add to that President Donal Trump's threat of high tariffs, which can create challenges for solar technology that's largely manufactured abroad. U.S. developers, however, had been stockpiling solar panels and are expected to add 54 gigawatts of solar capacity to the grid this year, according to BloombergNEF. Last year, solar was responsible for 81% of new energy capacity in the U.S., according to Ember. Solar accounts for more than 30% of the electricity mix for clean energy leaders California and Nevada. Despite the uncertainty currently created by U.S. leadership, Fein had a sunny outlook for solar's long-term potential given demands from data center growth and increased electrification of transportation and other sectors. Solar is the cheapest source of energy, he said, and 'our need for power is expected to grow enormously.'
