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 [Bill Gates Sr., 1925-2020: Microsoft co-founder’s father made his own mark on Seattle and the world]( Bill Gates Sr., a respected lawyer, devoted civic leader, trusted mentor, and influential philanthropist who helped to shape Seattle’s tech industry even before his son co-founded Microsoft, died Monday of Alzheimer’s disease. [Snowflake stock soars in largest software IPO ever; Madrona among earlier venture investors]( Snowflake came out with a bang in its public debut, raising $3.4 billion in the largest software IPO ever. [Facebook buys REI’s new HQ for $367M, expanding Seattle-area footprint beyond 3M square feet]( Facebook is yet again expanding in the Seattle region, its largest engineering hub outside of Silicon Valley. SPONSOR MESSAGE [7 Actions Businesses Need to Take Now: Your Playbook as the Economy Reopens]( As our world opens back up and we begin the next phase in our current climate, businesses are needing to reassess their strategy and operations. To assist in this journey, NetSuite has aggregated the [7 actions that businesses need to take]( (including checklists) in order for SMB’s to successfully transition into the reopening of the U.S. Economy. [Click here to download the entire White Paper]( [A question for the City of Seattle: Why are you fighting your partners?]( Guest Commentary: Seattle, like much of the world today, is reeling. [‘He has no clue’: Elon Musk offers blunt criticism of Bill Gates’ take on electric trucks]( While Elon Musk plans to keep on (electric) truckin’, don’t expect him to pick up a hitchhiking Bill Gates. [Internal documents say U.S. Postal Service made $1.6B profit on Amazon deliveries in FY2019]( The U.S. Postal Service generated $1.6 billion in profit from Amazon in its 2019 fiscal year, on $3.9 billion in revenue from its business with the e-commerce giant. SPONSORED: GEEK HOME OF THE DAY [Superior Quality in the Beautiful Laurel Hill Community]( [Why smoke, why? What happened to the promise of clearer skies in Seattle come Monday]( Waking up Saturday morning, my window blinds glowed with a ghoulish yellow thanks to the blanket of wildfire smoke that was smothering Washington, Oregon and California. [Microsoft pulls underwater data center back to the surface to assess benefits of deep-sea cloud]( Two years after deploying a shipping-container-size data center to the depths off Scotland’s Orkney Islands, Microsoft has reeled it back in, scrubbed off algae and barnacles and assessed the findings of the unique underwater project. [Interview: How Penny Arcade took PAX online, and what it means for the future of the popular event]( The Penny Arcade Expo, better known as PAX, has become a major fan convention and games industry event since starting in the Seattle area in 2004, spawning sister events around the country and on the other side of the world. [How Bill Gates Sr., late father of the Microsoft co-founder, helped Howard Schultz buy Starbucks]( For all the remembrances tied to the passing of Bill Gates Sr., who died Monday at age 94, perhaps no story is more surprising or entertaining than one told over the years by Howard Schultz, former chairman and CEO of Starbucks. [What Microsoft wanted from a TikTok deal, and why its bid for the hit social video app didn’t pan out]( Microsoft’s bid for TikTok fell through after the tech giant insisted on acquiring full control of the social video app’s U.S. [Bill and Melinda Gates: Here’s what it will take for the world to escape COVID-19 ‘catastrophes’]( Bill and Melinda Gates paint a stark picture of COVID-19’s impact on the world in a new report, saying the pandemic is undermining efforts to reduce poverty, hunger and illness, while setting back initiatives to improve education, economies and equity around the word. [Testing Amazon Kitchen: Here’s our hot take on the tech giant’s first hot food bar at Amazon Go Grocery]( Amazon does deliveries, cloud computing, voice technology, and e-readers pretty damn well. [Tech Moves: AWS names first head of space policy; WeWork Labs leader joins Alexa Fund; Moz co-founder leaves board]( — Peter Marquez has joined Amazon Web Services as the first head of space policy. [No, Microsoft is not ‘still involved’ in TikTok discussions, despite President Trump’s statement]( Microsoft is not back in the running to acquire TikTok, a source familiar with the situation said Friday morning, refuting a statement made by President Trump to reporters on Thursday evening. GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [INRIX: Strategy Analyst]( - [INRIX: Senior Software Development Engineer]( - [Libro.fm: Senior iOS Developer]( - [INRIX: Senior Java Data Engineer]( - [Libro.fm: Senior Android Developer]( - [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](