GeekWire

Here's what we're talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast:

As protests over police violence continue across the country, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft all announce they won’t sell their controversial facial recognition software to law enforcement. But Amazon says it will only stop for a year. That earned the company some good will, but racial justice and civil rights groups called it a trivial concession.

• Is Amazon’s facial recognition moratorium a victory for police reformers or just good PR?
• Microsoft promises not to sell facial recognition tech to police before Congress passes regulations
• Amazon bans police use of its Rekognition facial recognition software for one year amid protests

Non-compete agreements are back in the news as Amazon sues one of its former executives for taking a job at Google Cloud. We take a look at what's behind this always-controversial contract provision and whether its days may be numbered.

• Amazon is worried that Brian Hall, a former Amazon Web Services marketing vice president, might spill secrets to his new employer, Google Cloud.
• The company is in court trying to prevent Hall from working on speeches and slides for the upcoming Google Cloud Next event.

And the return of the Random Channel!

• GeekWire Producer Curt Milton gets his first haircut in months as COVID-19 restrictions begin to life in Seattle, but finds things are far from back to normal.
• Monica Nickelsburg weighs in on a new startup that lets you rent a piece of an indoor, vertical farm. It's a cool idea but a pricey way to get your salad.
• And GeekWire Editor Todd Bishop talks about the life affirming nature of researching and writing obituaries, including a recent one on a towering figure in Seattle tech, Manny Vellon.

Listen above, and subscribe in any podcast app.

With GeekWire’s Todd Bishop and Monica Nickelsburg. Produced by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

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A special GeekWire Podcast discussion hosted by Marilyn Strickland, former CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; with Dave Cotter, Leafly chief product officer; Remitly CEO Matt Oppenheimer; and Adriane Brown, Flying Fish Partners venture partner, Axon and eBay board member and former Intellectual Ventures president. Read more: ‘It’s on us to dismantle racism.’ 10 steps tech and business leaders can take toward equity

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As thousands of Americans protest police aggression night after night, technology is giving millions at home their first window into scenes that are all too familiar to people of color. On this week's episode of GeekWire, civic editor Monica Nickelsburg explains how the cameras in our pockets are shaping the revolution in the streets.

• Although the demonstrations this week are rooted in history, technology sets this moment apart from civil rights movements of the past.
• Recording has become a powerful tool in the debate over racial justice and law enforcement, but its impact depends on who wields the camera.
• The ability to record and share what’s happening on the ground with a largely captive audience due to the pandemic allows the experience of black Americans to be witnessed more broadly than ever before.

Hosted by Todd Bishop, produced by Curt Milton, with music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

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Dr. Cheryl Ingram has seen the statements from tech companies this week, expressing outrage over the death of George Floyd and speaking out against the racial inequities in our society.

Now is the time for leaders to go beyond talk and take action, she says. Actually, the time was long ago. But now would work.

"Tech has a huge responsibility," Ingram says, not only due to the prevalence of bias in the industry against women, people of color and people with disabilities, but because of the potential for tech companies to have a positive impact. "If the tech industry comes together and really starts to fight for change, we're going to see change happen much faster in our country."

Ingram is the CEO and founder of consulting firm Diverse City and tech startup Inclusology, which is developing a tech platform for diversity, equity and inclusion assessments inside companies. Ingram shifted Diverse City's operations to LA in 2018 but remains engaged with the Seattle community.

We're featuring her story on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, including a conversation from last fall and a follow-up discussion this week in which she addressed the tech industry's role in the racial inequities in society. As part of our discussion, Ingram presented several concrete steps for tech leaders to take to start to solve the problem.

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Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast.

Amazon and critics wage a PR war in the company’s first virtual annual meeting. One employee said working at an Amazon warehouse is like getting the "golden ticket," but a former employee and critic talked of "toxicity" in the company's culture. We watched, and cringed, and we’ll tell you all about it.

• Former employee and activist Maren Costa said: “Toxicity is embedded in our operations as pollution causes stunted lung development, asthma, and higher death rates from COVID-19 concentrated in black and brown communities. This is environmental racism.”
• The meeting started with vignettes from front-line workers highlighting the company’s investment in fighting COVID-19, expected to cost $4 billion this quarter alone.

HBO Max, the new streaming service engineered in Seattle, launches without support from its tech neighbor, Amazon -- and there’s an interesting backstory.

• The service costs $14.99 a month and includes access to 10,000 hours of content, including original HBO shows, popular movies and classic television.
• But you won't find it on Amazon's Fire TV. The company contends HBO Max should be part of the current HBO subscription service it offers through Prime.

And some iconic entertainment and tech destinations in Seattle -- the Cinerama and Living Computers Museum -- suddenly face an uncertain future and possible demise. We’ll explain why. And we'll discuss why it might make good business sense for Amazon to buy the Cinerama.

• Vulcan plans to close Vulcan Arts + Entertainment and Vulcan Productions by the end of the year, calling into question whether some of its organizations will ever return.

With GeekWire’s Todd Bishop, Monica Nickelsburg and John Cook. Produced by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

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NASA and SpaceX are keeping a close eye on the weather in Florida and beyond as they get set for a second attempt to launch two NASA astronauts in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule this weekend. Read more on GeekWire. 

What’s the significance of this launch? What does it mean for the commercial space race and the future of space exploration? On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we’ll do a deep this historic mission with GeekWire photographer Kevin Lisota on the scene in Florida, and aerospace and science editor, Alan Boyle.

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"Virtual-Classes Trend Alarms Professors." That was the headline on a 1998 New York Times story about an open letter to then-Gov. Gary Locke from University of Washington professors “worried about the enthusiasm he and one of his advisers are showing for instruction via CD-ROM's and the Internet.” More than 20 years later, with the pandemic making distance education an unavoidable reality, we revisit the topic with Locke and one of those professors on this special episode.

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Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast.

Word leaked out this week that Uber is considering buying food-delivery service Grubhub, and it turns out there are many Seattle connections behind the possible deal, including links to Expedia and several other companies.

Food delivery is a tough market to make a buck in, for companies and their drivers, so what's in the deal for Uber?

• Uber Eats is #2 and Grubhub is #3 in food delivery services, behind leader DoorDash. DoorDash grew its market share 42% in March while Grubhub stayed flat. Uber Eats grew 20% (it has a Starbucks contract).
• Seattle connections: Brian McAndrews, Grubhub board chair, is the former CEO of aQuantive and also served as a managing director at Seattle venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group. Zillow Group co-founder Lloyd Frink is also on Grubhub’s board. Frink had executive roles at Expedia where Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi cut his teeth.
• Australian hedge fund Caledonia Investments owns 16% of Grubhub and has large ownership in Zillow.

Thousands of Jump ride-share bicycles vanished from Seattle streets recently in the latest shakeup in the troubled mobility service field. The pandemic isn't making it easy for bike- and scooter-share companies. Will their rides return to Seattle once the pandemic is over?

• Thousands of brightly colored ride-share bikes have disappeared from Seattle streets as companies post losses and lay off staff.
• Not sure when they’ll be back but industry will look very different on other side of COVID-19 crisis: Industry will become more consolidated. Not clear if demand will return to pre-pandemic levels. Micro-mobility companies will focus on profitability.
• There were more than 2.2 million bike-share rides in Seattle last year, averaging more than 6,000 per day, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation.
• Last week, Uber invested $170 million in Lime and said it would hand its bike-share program off to Lime.
• Before the pandemic, Uber, Lyft, Lime, Spin, Bird, Ojo, and a handful of other companies were interested in launching electric scooter services in Seattle and elsewhere but now those plans are in limbo.

Amazon unveiled a virus-zapping robot on "60 Minutes" last Sunday, but it's possible they were just trying to distract from the rest of the report, which focused on working conditions in the company's warehouses during the pandemic.

We get our first look at Microsoft's new $199 Surface Earbuds and their appearance provokes some interesting reactions. Did someone say "Frankenstein's bolts?" Plus, we raise a toast to Seattle allowing restaurants to sell takeout cocktails during the pandemic.

With GeekWire’s Todd Bishop, Monica Nickelsburg, Taylor Soper and John Cook. Produced by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COVID-19 has upended the tech startup hiring market: There used to be more jobs than talent, but the situation has flipped in the face of business challenges from COVID-19. Tech giants and startups who are hiring now find they can pick from the cream of the crop. We've been looking into who's hiring, and what it's like to hire and onboard new employees remotely. Plus, how Silicon Valley's cutbacks could impact the Seattle tech market.

They’re almost here! The much-anticipated Microsoft Surface Earbuds have a release date. Were they worth the wait? Someone on our podcast is hoping the $199 earbuds will be a game changer. Microsoft has a very good reason for making flashy new hardware like the earbuds.

Mark Suzman, the new Gates Foundation CEO, discusses the foundation’s efforts to fight COVID-19, whether we’ll see a vaccine and when. In a highlight from his exclusive conversation with GeekWire members this week, he talks about how the quest for a COVID-19 vaccine compares to HIV/AIDS and the challenges the Gates Foundation faces in dealing with the virus. Read more.

GeekWire’s next members-only virtual event, focusing on the future of the workplace, is scheduled for May 14. For more information about the exclusive event and other benefits and perks, sign up for a pass via GeekWire’s membership webpage.

With GeekWire’s Todd Bishop and John Cook. Our podcast producer is Curt Milton. Our theme music is by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast:

Amazon's sales rose 26% in the first quarter as the COVID-19 crisis made the online retailer an even bigger part of many lives, but profits were down 30% due to expenses from dealing with the virus. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos gave a clear message to shareholders, saying they "may want to take a seat," because there are big challenges ahead and they won't be easy or cheap to overcome. The company says it will spend $4 billion this quarter on initiatives related to the pandemic.

With Amazon bigger and more powerful than ever, federal lawmakers want Bezos himself to testify before Congress.

Pressure is mounting from Amazon warehouse workers who fear for their safety and are unhappy with how the retailer is responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Protecting workers from COVID-19 will be one of the biggest challenges for Bezos and Amazon in the months and year ahead.

People will eventually return to their offices to work, but how will they do that safely? Madrona Venture Group compiled a "toolkit" with input from 15 major employers in the Seattle region, including Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks. One big finding: Communication is key to making employees feel safe at work.

Meanwhile, funding for startups in the Pacific Northwest is taking a hit from the COVID-19 crisis, which may be bad news for young companies that don't have money in the bank. 

With GeekWire's Todd Bishop, Monica Nickelsburg and John Cook. Our podcast producer is Curt Milton. Our theme music is by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.