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: A GeekWire Studios virtual event: A panel discussion with Microsoft, One Medical, and Pioneer Square Labs, sponsored by Providence’s Digital Innovation Group - Enabling Digital Health at Scale Post-COVID-19: [Register today]( THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES [Ex-Microsoft engineer gets 9 years in prison after using digital currency scheme to buy $1.6M lakefront home, $160K Tesla]( An ex-Microsoft engineer was sentenced to nine years in prison for 18 federal felonies after he stole more than $10 million worth of digital currency from his ex-employer and used the funds to finance purchases including a $1.6 million lakefront home and $160,000 Tesla vehicle. [Wyze releasing a $199 ‘Robot Vacuum’ to clean up on competitors in the evolving smart home]( Wyze Labs’ vision of a smarter home, full of its cameras and other products, is also going to be a cleaner place. [Smart camera founder gets Wyze to car prowler and uses his own tech to catch criminal in action]( When Dave Crosby, one of the co-founders of Seattle-based Wyze Labs, was the victim of a robbery this summer, he turned to his own company’s technology for help in solving the crime. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Introducing Google Cloud VMware Engine: Accelerating your cloud journey.]( Join specialist speakers from Google Cloud, Intel, VMware and CloudPhysics to find out how GCVE provides the fastest on-ramp to Google Cloud and access to cloud native services. All attendees of this webinar will receive a no-obligation invitation for a free assessment and review session with a CloudPhysics expert to compare your current on-premise VMware costs to GCVE. [Register now]( [‘Simply put, people want to move’: Zillow and Redfin rebound as U.S. housing market surges again]( The U.S. housing market is making a comeback — and that’s good news for online real estate giants Zillow Group and Redfin. [Science-fiction master Ted Chiang explores the rights and wrongs of AI]( Ted Chiang, a science-fiction author of growing renown with long-lasting connections to Seattle's tech community, doesn't back away from deep questions. [Series X launch is ‘largest in Xbox history’ as Microsoft tries to meet demand]( Microsoft this week had its largest Xbox launch ever. SPONSORED: GEEK HOME OF THE DAY [True North: Shilshole Bay Waterfront]( [Pfizer’s promising COVID-19 vaccine is good news for Moderna’s trials, Fauci says]( Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Monday announced promising results from its COVID-19 vaccine trials, showing that it was more than 90% effective in preventing the disease. [How Tom Alberg bet on Seattle and Amazon, shaping the region’s tech industry and building a legacy of understated influence]( It was the mid 1990s, and Tom Alberg had a decision to make. [Tech Moves: Foursquare CEO David Shim resigns; Halo Infinite leader steps down; and more]( — David Shim, founder of Seattle startup Placed, is stepping down as CEO of Foursquare after about a year in the role. [Amid ‘alarming rise’ of COVID-19, Fred Hutch tightens restrictions, and Inslee makes new appeal]( Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has its finger on the pulse of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the home of top researchers in the field of infectious disease — which makes its decision to return to stricter restrictions on its own campus a possible sign of things to come for the broader region. [Ring recalls 350,000 video doorbells after reports of security devices catching fire]( Ring, the Amazon-owned maker of smart home security equipment, is recalling 350,000 of its video doorbells after reports of the devices catching fire. [Bill Gates teaming with actor and activist Rashida Jones for new podcast, ‘Ask Big Questions’]( Bill Gates has more to say about COVID-19, climate change, inequality, and conspiracy theories and he’s teaming up with actor, writer, and activist Rashida Jones on a new podcast to find answers to tough questions. [Poppy founder creates ‘Milo,’ a new software tool to help manage ‘the most important team’ — family]( Two years after shutting down her technology-powered child care startup Poppy, Avni Patel Thompson is still on a mission to develop the tools and software to help families. [Madrona leads $2.6M round for OthersideAI, a startup using GPT-3 tech to write automated emails]( The average U.S. worker spends more than five hours per day checking email. [Vape news: Microsoft forced to respond to viral videos of smoke billowing out of Xbox Series X]( Anytime a company has to start a tweet with “We can’t believe we have to say this,” you just know you’re in for some real 2020-level nonsense. GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [INRIX: Senior Front-End UI Developer]( - [Flyhomes: Senior Front End Engineer]( - [INRIX: Senior Software Development Engineer]( - [INRIX: Chief Product Officer]( - [GeekWire: GeekWire Technology and Business Reporter, Full Time]( - [Phase Genomics: SENIOR DATA SCIENTIST/ MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER]( [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. 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