GeekWire

It was a big year for Microsoft as the tech giant found a new footing under CEO Satya Nadella, completed the largest acquisition in its history (the $26B purchase of LinkedIn), gained traction in the cloud, created a new AI division on par with Windows, Office and Xbox, and saw a double-digit percentage increase in its share price. GeekWire's news team sat down recently for a conversation about the past year in technology, and what to expect in 2017. This week we're presenting the discussion in a series of podcast episodes. Today's topic: Microsoft.

The rise and expansion of Amazon Prime, the continued dominance of Amazon Web Services, the surprise emergence of Amazon Alexa, the first official Prime Air drones deliveries, an Amazon Boeing cargo plane, and of course, the Amazon Go grocery store. Those are just a sampling of the Amazon stories that dominated the headlines in 2016. This is the latest in a series of shows this week featuring the GeekWire news team looking back at 2016 and ahead to the next year in technology.  

It was a big year for Seattle-area tech giants Microsoft and Amazon, but what about the region's startup scene? On this episode of GeekWire, we talk about the state the Pacific Northwest technology startup community at the end of 2016, the biggest IPOs and startup fundings of the year, and the impact of Seattle and Silicon Valley tech giants on smaller tech companies.

This week on GearedUp, the new weekly show from GeekWire and Andru Edwards, we go hands on with Apple's new $159 AirPods, the wireless earbuds that sync across your Apple devices via iCloud. Plus, the week's top consumer technology news: Pokemon Go on Apple Watch, iPhone 7S and 8 rumors, and an update on Super Mario Run.  

Major rocket launches by Blue Origin and SpaceX, a moment of reckoning for Google's Lunar X Prize, and a rare total solar eclipse. Those are just a few of the developments to expect in 2017 in space and science. GeekWire's aerospace and science editor Alan Boyle joins us in this episode to recap the past year and look ahead.

In this year-long series, GeekWire is chronicling GeekWire Chief Business Officer Daniel Rossi’s quest to transform his health using the latest in science and technology. It’s now month two, and the first big moment has arrived: Daniel’s initial genetic results are helping to adjust his approach and confirm the importance of the changes he had already started to make through the Arivale scientific wellness program. We’ll explore and explain some of his key genetic results in this installment.

Joe Wallin, a longtime startup attorney in the Seattle region, was recently floated as a potential nominee for the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Angel Capital Association in a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, as reported by The Washington Post. So who is Joe Wallin, and what would be his philosophy on federal securities laws, particularly as they relate to startup investing? We caught up with Wallin this week for the GeekWire Podcast, talking about his moment in the national spotlight, how he views the regulatory climate for startups under the Trump administration, and what he would change in the (admittedly unlikely) event he's tapped for the role.

Nintendo released its first Mario game for smartphones and tablets today, Super Mario Run, available for $9.99 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. But what's it like to play? Andru Edwards joined us to play the game live today on the show we're now calling Geared Up, a weekly podcast and Facebook Live show from GeekWire and GearLive, featuring the latest news in consumer electronics and video games, plus hands-on time with the hottest tech gadgets and gear.

President-elect Donald Trump met with some of the biggest leaders in technology on Wednesday in New York. Apple's Tim Cook, Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Brad Smith, Google's Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, SpaceX's Elon Musk and more were around the table. GeekWire's Monica Nickelsburg and Kurt Schlosser join Todd Bishop to recap and analyze what went down.

Can Google Home take on Amazon Echo? Can Snapchat get you to wear a pair of goofy glasses? We ponder both of those questions this week, as we go hand-on with two of the most interesting devices to hit the market in recent weeks. Plus, our take on the upcoming Nintendo Switch after it was featured on The Tonight Show. Andru Edwards of Gear Live is back for this regular episode, featuring the latest news in consumer electronics and video games, plus hands-on time with the hottest tech gadgets and gear.

The new Amazon Go store in Seattle was the buzz of the tech world this week, promising extreme convenience at the potential expense of some personal privacy. It's part of a broader move by the online retail giant into the world of brick-and-mortar retail, and we dive into the topic on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. Plus, we discuss what's on top of Microsoft's to-do list following its acquisition of LinkedIn, Nat explains what T-Mobile is doing with a new technology called Digits, and John gives an update on our Geeks Give Back campaign to raise $1M for the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship.

It's a situation many of us have faced: leaving a ball game or a crowded movie theater and facing a swarm of Ubers and Lyfts that are all trying to pick up different passengers. Our guests this week helped come up with a solution. Sean Murphy and Aren Kaser are co-founders of Igor Institute, a Seattle-based hardware consultancy that worked with Lyft and Ammunition Group on the new Lyft Amp dashboard device.

Howard Schultz will be replaced as Starbucks CEO by longtime technology executive Kevin Johnson, a veteran of Microsoft and other tech companies. We discuss the implications of that change, plus Seattle's new status as the nation's hottest housing market, Netflix finally allowing downloads, the new streaming service from DirecTV, and the giant semi truck that Amazon brought on stage in Las Vegas this week.

Did you score some deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Andru Edwards of Gear Live is back for his regular weekly episode with some tech tips for the rest of your holiday shopping, plus some of his favorite products and video games.