GeekWire

This week on GeekWire: Breaking down T-Mobile's "Binge On" video streaming news; Seattle considers a municipal broadband pilot program; an app that will track your kid's school bus, and tidbits about Amazon's second season of "Transparent." Plus, an interview with the new CEO of Groupon. And a conversation with Jason Zander, the executive in charge of Microsoft Azure engineering, about the company's competition with Amazon and its efforts to make peace with other longtime tech rivals

we’re excited to announce a new member of the GeekWire team who will boost our coverage not only of commercial space but also airplanes, drones, artificial intelligence, scientific discoveries, and much more. Alan Boyle, one of the most respected science and space journalists in the country, has officially joined GeekWire as our new aerospace and science editor.

GeekWire reporter Taylor Soper departed Seattle on his way to China earlier today, preparing to spend the next 10 days reporting from Shanghai and Beijing. Before Taylor left the office last week, GeekWire's John Cook and I sat down with him to talk about his plans for the trip, the challenges he'll face, the people he'll be meeting, the companies he'll be visiting the stories he'll be covering, and what we hope to accomplish through this adventure.

This week on the GeekWire radio show: A report from inside Amazon's first-ever bricks-and-mortar bookstore in Seattle; details on Expedia's $3.9 billion acquisition of HomeAway; an App of the Week that will keep those email newsletters under control; and what it's like to use Amazon's $50 Fire tablet. Plus, highlights from our conversation with Vijaye Raji, one of the leaders of Facebook's fast-growing Seattle engineering office, the company's largest outside of Silicon Valley.

This week on the GeekWire radio show: Amazon is bringing e-commerce to your television set, GeekWire reporter Taylor Soper tests - and models! - a new fashion line for fashion-clueless geeks, our App of the Week, Fantastical, fills a void in the calendar market, and product reviewer James Risley has courtside seats for an NBA game, in virtual reality. Plus, highlights from our discussion about tech, politics and the future of Seattle with entrepreneur Heather Redman and journalist Erica C. Barnett.

Amazon posts record job growth, and bites back at the New York Times. GeekWire finds Snapchat's secret Seattle engineering office, using Snapchat. Our App of the Week saves you a trip to the eye doctor. Hands-on with Microsoft's new Xbox Elite game controller. What science fiction says about the future. Seattle's next billion-dollar company is challenging Craigslist. And a new startup saves you a trip to the gas station by bringing the gas station to you.

This week on GeekWire, we get the inside scoop on UberEats, the new food delivery service from the popular ride-hailing app. Also, an update on Amazon's rumored bookstore in Seattle, and more of the best moments from our recent GeekWire Summit, featuring neurobiology student and Washington State Opportunity scholar Mahdi Ramadan, and early Amazon investor Nick Hanauer. Plus, our App of the Week, NetNewsWire, brings a favorite newsreader back to life for iOS and Mac.

Is Amazon opening a bookstore in Seattle? We provide the clues and let you decide. Plus, two interesting acquisitions in the Seattle startup world, hands-on with Microsoft's new Surface Book laptop; and a glimpse of the future of shoes with Nike COO Eric Sprunk.

With NFL training camps in full swing, GeekWire reporter Taylor Soper talks about the latest football technology news, including Microsoft’s use of next-generation stats from RFID chips embedded in the shoulder pads of NFL players.

This week on GeekWire: Xbox unveils plans for a DVR for the Xbox One, Microsoft and Netflix up the ante for employee benefits, where Seattle ranks in the world's top 20 startup ecosystems, and why you might want to consider playing video games as a profession after all. Plus one app that will help you make a meal from your leftover ingredients, and another that will keep you from getting ripped off by your rental car company.

You may know Thomas Middleditch for his character Richard Hendricks, the CEO of Pied Piper on the hit HBO show 'Silicon Valley.' But you probably didn't know that Middleditch, in real life, has a passion for video games and game design, and is working to get his own game project off the ground. That's one of the details we picked up in our behind-the-scenes conversation at Microsoft's Imagine Cup. We talked about startup lessons from "Silicon Valley," his own technology usage, and more.

Windows 10 is finally here, and we talk about our favorite and least-favorite aspects of the new Microsoft operating system. Amazon wants you to pay for a button that will help you pay for more stuff on Amazon. Plus, a discussion about the future of education, innovation and cities with Vikram Jandhyala, Vice Provost for Innovation at the University of Washington; and Thaisa Way, director of the new Urban@UW center.

Apple makes a big move into Seattle, Starbucks and Lyft strike a major partnership, and Amazon posts the biggest employee growth in its history - yes, even more. And what the heck was the Rolling Stones airplane doing in town? We'll answer that question and much more this week on GeekWire.

We’ve been thrilled to have longtime space and science reporter Alan Boyle covering two big stories for GeekWire today: Stephen Hawking’s announcement of a $100 million initiative to find alien life, and Elon Musk’s news conference about a preliminary finding in the recent SpaceX Falcon 9 explosion.

An Amazon Prime Day post mortem, a big milestone for asteroid mining, tech moguls Steve Ballmer and Mark Cuban make nice over an NBA deal gone bad, and the Seattle tech community starts to influence local politics. Plus, an App of the Week that will help you keep track of your greatest meals.