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. ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Become a GeekWire member: [Support independent journalism and join today!]( THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES [Seattle business leaders ask city to reconsider tax after Amazon polls employees about relocation]( The Downtown Seattle Association is asking the Seattle City Council to reconsider a new payroll tax following a news report that Amazon polled employees about which communities they’d prefer to work from elsewhere in the region. [REI looks to sell brand new Seattle-area HQ as pandemic forces retailer to rethink remote work]( REI was set to move more than 1,000 employees into a brand new headquarters complex this summer, built on an 8-acre site surrounded by parks and wilderness just east of Seattle in Bellevue, Wash. [Filing shows where Microsoft is really making its money; reveals M&A spending; adds Netflix, Hulu, Tencent to list of rivals]( Microsoft may be toying with the idea of buying Tik-Tok, but more than ever, its bread-and-butter is basic cloud services and server software for businesses. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Become a member, support independent journalism!]( GeekWire members support independent journalism at a time when trusted storytelling and community engagement is more important than ever. [Join today!Â]( [Brad Porter, longtime Amazon Robotics leader and distinguished engineer, reportedly resigns]( Amazon’s longtime robotics leader Brad Porter has left the company, according to a report from Business Insider. [Oracle names new cloud infrastructure leader, signals broader ambitions to challenge Amazon]( Oracle wasn’t the first big tech company to offer public cloud computing infrastructure, or the second, or the third. [Uber and Lyft push back on Seattle mayor’s plan to pay drivers more money]( Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan unveiled a new proposal to increase pay for Uber and Lyft drivers and cover expenses such as gas. SPONSORED: GEEK HOME OF THE DAY [Buy with Confidence at Gridiron Condominiums]( [Amazon reveals ‘confidential’ podcast plan in mass email; shows must agree not to disparage Amazon]( Amazon Music and the tech giant’s Audible subsidiary plan to offer podcasts from third-party content providers directly on their platforms, significantly expanding their audio offerings and going head-to-head with Apple, Google, Spotify and others major podcast distribution platforms. [Seattle Seahawks become first NFL team to use CLEAR’s COVID-19 screening tool]( The Seattle Seahawks are turning to technology to help keep players and personnel safe as a season unlike any other kicks off next month. [Super spreaders drive COVID-19: 80% of those infected likely don’t spread disease, Fred Hutch study finds]( About 80% of people infected with the novel coronavirus don’t spread the infection to anyone else, leaving the so-called super spreaders as the drivers of the global pandemic that has infected more than 5 million Americans alone, killing 162,000 people. [Seattle startup led by former K2 exec raises $950K to help you sleep better while camping]( Aaron Ambuske was tired of getting poor sleep while camping. [Amazon rebrands Twitch Prime to Prime Gaming as part of video game perk for Prime members]( Amazon rebranded a video game-related benefit for Prime members on Monday, renaming Twitch Prime to Prime Gaming. [Microsoft’s new foldable Android-based Surface Duo goes on sale Sept. 10 for $1,399]( Microsoft unveiled a release date and more details about the Surface Duo, its new dual-screen Android phone that the company says represents a “major new form factor” and “the next wave of mobile productivity.” The Surface Duo will go on sale Sept. [Halo Infinite delayed to 2021 due to development challenges]( Halo fans will have to wait until next year to play the latest installment in the storied franchise. [Atomo Coffee raises $9M and will build a Seattle roastery for its molecular brew near Starbucks HQ]( That’s a lot of beans. Or, lack of beans. [Founded in Seattle, fintech startup Routable raises $12M to streamline business payments]( Routable, a fintech startup with Seattle roots, came out of stealth mode this week and announced a $12 million Series A funding round. GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [Stratify: Chief Technology Officer (CTO)]( - [Avvo: Director of Sales Acquisition]( - [INRIX: Senior Software Development Engineer]( - [Icertis: Senior Software Engineer]( - [INRIX: Backend Developer/Analyst]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2020 GeekWire LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted to receive emails from GeekWire LLC.  Our mailing address is: GeekWire LLC 123 NW 36th St, Suite 203 Seattle, WA 98107  [change email frequency or address]( | [unsubscribe](