GeekWire's Most-Read Stories of the Week

Catch up on the top tech stories from this past week. Here are the headlines that people have been reading on GeekWire. [GeekWire]( THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES [‘Spam’ bomb threats at schools and businesses nationwide demand Bitcoin ransom payments]( A series of what appear to be unfounded bomb threats were made via email to organizations and individuals across the nation Thursday, grinding businesses to a halt and forcing the evacuation of numerous buildings containing thousands of people. That morning, emails went out to schools and businesses demanding ransom payments in bitcoin. [NYC Council grills Amazon over HQ2: ‘You’re worth $1 trillion. Why do you need our $3 billion?’]( Amazon got a healthy dose of New York brashness Wednesday as city councilmembers grilled company executives and their economic development partners over the plan to build a 25,000-person office in Queens. [Watching the Seattle Seahawks win is fun again — especially with these viral videos on Twitter]( Update: Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. PT: What does the guy making viral videos about the Seattle Seahawks’ recent success think about his own success in attracting followers and a good deal of attention on social media? SPONSOR MESSAGE [Residential Real Estate: “Good Enough” Doesn’t cut it]( [Microsoft Teams usage passes Slack in new survey; IT pros expect its presence to double by 2020]( Microsoft Teams is now being used by more organizations than its rival Slack, according to a new survey that shows how far the Redmond tech giant's collaboration app has come in less than two years. [#SurfaceDrop: Seahawks star Russell Wilson births new celebration with Microsoft tablet during big win]( Russell Wilson may have inadvertently invented the geekiest touchdown celebration of the NFL season. [Retro software softwear: Microsoft shows off a Windows 95 ‘ugly sweater’ and fans want it now]( What if a so-called "ugly sweater" is actually just the type of throwback apparel that people would want to wear? Microsoft is finding that out after baiting followers with the giveaway of a Windows 95 sweater. SPONSORED: GEEK HOME OF THE WEEK [The Trento Grande: Inspired Living by JayMarc Homes]( [Microsoft tops Forbes ‘Just 100’ list of most responsible companies]( Microsoft unseated last year’s #1 pick, Intel, which landed in second place for 2018. Forbes and Just Capital ranked the companies based on values that citizens want to see in corporate America. [How this ex-Amazon manager turned $300 into a fast-growing startup without outside investment]( Michael Lagoni’s startup journey began five years ago with just $300 inside a tiny 400 square-foot Capitol Hill apartment. [Tech leaders denounce new ‘public charge’ policy limiting green card eligibility]( Leaders of more than 120 U.S. companies are speaking out against what they see as an effort to dramatically curb legal immigration into the United States without approval from Congress. At the request of Seattle startup Boundless Immigration, they submitted an open letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security opposing a policy change that could make it harder for immigrants to qualify for green cards and visas. [Amid reports of abandoned projects, Amazon says it’s still ‘excited’ about physical bookstores]( Amazon Books was the tech giant’s first take on brick-and-mortar retail, starting in Seattle in 2015 and setting off a new era for a company that made its name as the leader of the e-commerce revolution. [Seattle’s Pure Watercraft set to deliver on electric outboard motors, with a new boost in battery pack]( Pure Watercraft came on the boating scene in Seattle several years ago with a plan to revolutionize the way boats are powered by offering an electric motor alternative. [Concerned about cloud providers, Confluent becomes latest open-source company to set new restrictions on usage]( Another open-source enterprise technology company is walling off parts of its software from cloud infrastructure providers. [Compass hiring 100 engineers for West Coast hub in Seattle, invading Zillow and Redfin’s turf]( Compass, the high-tech brokerage based in New York, has chosen Seattle as the home for its West Coast engineering operations, further boosting the region's real estate tech cred. [Apple to top 1,000 employees in Seattle, add new site in city as part of broader national expansion]( Apple will expand its Seattle operations to more than 1,000 employees and establish a new site in the city, moving further into the backyards of hometown tech titans Microsoft and Amazon, and escalating the competition for technology talent in the region. [A baby dies, and a woman’s heartbreaking open letter implores tech companies to fix algorithms]( We’re all freaked out, too frequently it seems, by the realization that our movements online are being watched and used by the websites and tech companies we interact with. 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