GeekWire

Getting a doctor's appointment can be a pain. It's why people often put them off for far longer than they should, sometimes making their health much worse. Mark Long is trying to fix that. He's the VP of digital innovation at Providence St. Joseph Health, and he's developing technology like virtual doctor's visits and house calls that are as easy as calling an Uber. We speak to Mark on this episode of GeekWire's Health Tech podcast. Thank you to our sponsor, Providence St. Joseph Health’s Digital and Innovation Group. Follow them at twitter.com/provinnovation

Seattle's Hail Mary for Amazon HQ2

First take on the Google Pixel 2

Why this techie is selling his Essential Phone on eBay

We all love pop culture artifacts: the guitar used by a favorite artist or costumes from a blockbuster sci-fi series. Melinda Simms and Brooks Peck have the undeniably awesome job of preserving and displaying those artifacts. We go behind the scenes of Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture with Simms and Peck on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. Follow all our coverage and see more on geek culture at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department -- learn more at hcde.washington.edu; Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle -- learn more at hughesmarino.com; and Kinects, Seattle’s iconic new high-rise apartment tower -- learn more at kinectstower.com.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gives the public a peek inside his life and his role at the company in his new book, Reply All. So what did it teach us about Microsoft and where the company is heading? Plus, we recount our scouting mission to Microsoft's secretive office in the small town of Silverdale, Wash., and Bill Gates' comments this week on the state of foreign aid, global health and skepticism towards science. Plus, Twitter gives us twice as much tweet. Follow all our coverage and read the stories we talked about this week at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department -- learn more at hcde.washington.edu; Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle -- learn more at hughesmarino.com; and Kinects, Seattle’s iconic new high-rise apartment tower -- learn more at kinectstower.com.  

Yes -- several, in fact! In a classic surprise move, Amazon announced half-dozen new Echo devices on Wednesday. Some of them seem useful, inexpensive and impressively designed, but some just seem silly. We break it all down on this episode of Geared Up. Follow all our tech coverage at GeekWire.com and subscribe to our live behind-the-scenes videos on GearLive, youtube.com/gearlive Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department -- learn more at hcde.washington.edu; Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle -- learn more at hughesmarino.com; and Kinects, Seattle’s iconic new high-rise apartment tower -- learn more at kinectstower.com.

Personal data used to be something we could control easily -- but now digital services, websites and even the government are collecting our personal data at an unprecedented rate. How can we protect it? And what rules should be in place to keep personal data private? We discuss with Washington State Chief Privacy Officer Alex Alben on this episode of the GeekWire podcast. Follow all our tech coverage, including coverage of privacy and cybersecurity, at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department -- learn more at hcde.washington.edu; Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle -- learn more at hughesmarino.com; and Kinects, Seattle’s iconic new high-rise apartment tower -- learn more at kinectstower.com.

What’s the best way to beat the nightmarish traffic in Seattle? We decided to find out. GeekWire reporters raced a car, ride shares, a bike, a high-tech skateboard and the good old bus system to find the most effective way through rush-hour traffic, and share our take-aways on this episode of the Week In Geek. Also on this episode: A new biotech HQ built to destroy cancer, the Seattle Sounders ditch Ticketmaster, and Microsoft opens a mysterious office in a town outside Seattle. Follow all our coverage and read the stories we talked about this week at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department -- learn more at hcde.washington.edu; Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle -- learn more at hughesmarino.com; and Kinects, Seattle’s iconic new high-rise apartment tower -- learn more at kinectstower.com.

Nest, a Google-owned smart device company, announced tons of new products this week and when you put them all together, you can make a smart home security system. Plus, Google’s weird $1 billion deal with HTC, a new lamp that comes with Alexa inside and upset over the new Apple Watch 3. Follow all our tech coverage at GeekWire.com and subscribe to our live behind-the-scenes videos on GearLive, youtube.com/gearlive Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department -- learn more at hcde.washington.edu; Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle -- learn more at hughesmarino.com; and Kinects, Seattle’s iconic new high-rise apartment tower -- learn more at kinectstower.com.

Want to know something about anything? Follow the money, and see where it goes. That's what we do on this episode of the GeekWire podcast with Pitchbook founder and CEO John Gabbert, who is elbow-deep in the finances that fuel the tech world. We'll dive into venture funding, unicorns, IPOs and much more. Read more and follow all our tech coverage at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department -- learn more at hcde.washington.edu; Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle -- learn more at hughesmarino.com; and Kinects, Seattle’s iconic new high-rise apartment tower -- learn more at kinectstower.com.

Amazon's "one-click patent" is about to expire -- it's a classic example of why the U.S. patenting process doesn't mesh with tech. We discuss on this episode of the Week In Geek. Plus: What we know so far about the huge Equifax hack, Seattle's proposed Air BnB tax and we dive into the world of Kubernetes, the hottest thing in cloud tech. Follow all our coverage and read the stories we talked about this week at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle. Learn more: hughesmarino.com

Dr. Tony Blau saw a big problem with cancer treatment: we can’t make sense of all the data we can gather. So he founded a startup that connects experts, doctors and patients to sort through their data and build an ever-smarter cancer database. We speak with Blau on this episode of GeekWire’s Health Tech podcast. For more Health Tech stories visit GeekWire.com/healthtech. Thank you to our sponsor, Providence St. Joseph Health’s Digital and Innovation Group. Follow them at twitter.com/provinnovation

Two years ago, the University of Washington and China's premier tech school, Tsinghua University, announced a first-of-its kind project: The Global Innovation Exchange. It's an innovative new approach to teaching entrepreneurship and it's approaching its official launch. On this episode of the GeekWire podcast, we speak with GIX Co-Director and UW's VP of innovation strategy Vikram Jandhyala about the new project and how it's setting out to disrupt the innovation economy. Follow all our coverage and learn more about GIX at GeekWire.com  Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle. Learn more: hughesmarino.com

Apple *finally* revealed its new iPhone lineup, after what feels like a year of hype, leaks and rumors. It's premium device: The iPhone X (as in the roman numeral ten, not the letter "x"). We geek out on all the new tech packed into the phone and break down what sets it apart from the iPhone 8 and 8 plus, also announced today. Plus, a new Apple Watch and upgrades to Apple TV. Follow all our tech coverage at GeekWire.com and subscribe to our live behind-the-scenes videos on GearLive, youtube.com/gearlive Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle. Learn more: hughesmarino.com

Amazon surprised everyone Thursday morning when it announced it is looking to build a second headquarters in a city in North America. The news has big implications for Seattle, Amazon’s home, as well as cities around the country that are already lining up to woo the tech giant. We break down the news, what it means for Seattle and where we think Amazon will go next on this episode. Follow all our coverage and read the stories we talked about this week at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle. Learn more: hughesmarino.com

Amazon made a surprise announcement Thursday morning: The tech giant is seeking a new city to build a second headquarters that will cost roughly $5 billion and employ 50,000 people. GeekWire editor John Cook joined KIRO's Seattle Morning News to discuss the announcement, what it means for Seattle and where the second headquarters could go. We'll do an in-depth analysis of the news on our Week In Geek podcast on Friday, and also read our coverage of the news at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle. Learn more: hughesmarino.com

Ina Fried is a veteran tech journalist, having served stints at outlets including Re/code, CNET and All Things Digital. She's now the chief technology correspondent for a new news organization, Axios. On this episode of the GeekWire podcast, we sit down with Ina to discuss the future of tech, the divide between Seattle and Silicon Valley and how journalism is adapting to a new digital landscape. Follow all our coverage and analysis of the tech world at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle. Learn more: hughesmarino.com  

When we think of old-school science fiction, novels about aliens and ray guns are top of mind. But these days, what counts as SciFi is rapidly changing. From more diverse creators to mediums including video games, there's more SciFi around now than ever before. On this episode of our special SciFi and arts series, we hear from noted author and president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Cat Rambo about the state of science fiction. Follow all our coverage and see more on geek culture at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington's Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle. Learn more: hughesmarino.com

Surprise! Uber's new CEO is none other than GeekWire regular Dara Khosrowshahi. He's well known in Seattle as the longtime CEO of Expedia, and on this episode we talk about how he'll fit in at the embattled ride-hailing company he now leads. Plus, major steps in the fight against cancer, an inspiring bike ride and the mess of Seattle's sloppy intersections. Follow all our coverage and read the stories we talked about this week at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company now expanding to Seattle. Learn more: hughesmarino.com