How Amazon’s success fuels Blue Origin | Comcast unveils ‘Xfinity Mobile’ wireless plan | What a return of the Sonics could mean for tech

Read the latest tech headlines from GeekWire [View this email in your browser](. April 6, 2017 [Top Stories]( [Find a Job]( [GeekWire Events]( [GeekWire 200]( [Become a Member]( Love GeekWire? Join the club! [Support independent journalism, enjoy exclusive benefits and access to GeekWire’s signature events]( Today's top stories [How IBM is using its Watson AI platform to automatically generate Masters highlight reels]( By Taylor Soper IBM is using new technology to help speed up the highlight reel production process at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga. [Hold on tight and hold it: Jeff Bezos says no potty breaks on Blue Origin space trips]( By Alan Boyle Are you worried about having to pee while you're flying on Blue Origin's spaceship? Billionaire founder Jeff Bezos has a word of advice: Fuhgeddaboudit. Sponsored Post [Innovating the next small thing for users is the next big thing for productivity]( Innovation is vital if you want to stay competitive in the market. However, innovation is not just about developing new technology. Engineers need to take ownership of customer experiences and look for ways to make them better. Too often new technology creates a burden on users by forcing them to spend… [Seattle mayor explains why he abandoned the property tax levy to fight homelessness championed by investor Nick Hanauer]( By Monica Nickelsburg Earlier this week, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced he was pulling the plug on a proposed property tax levy that would raise $275 million to alleviate Seattle’s homelessness problem. [Microsoft reveals hardware specs for new Xbox ‘Project Scorpio,’ the ‘most powerful console ever built’]( By Taylor Soper Microsoft today revealed more details about its new Xbox that will debut later this year. Home of the Week - Sponsored Post [NEXUS Two-Story SkyLofts]( Unique to NEXUS, two-story SkyLofts are the epitome of design within Seattle’s most iconic high-rise tower. Upon entry, the owner and guests are welcomed to a voluminous interior with two-stories and walls of glass revealing panoramic views of the city and beyond. In addition to generous entertaining… [Amazon creating 5,000 part-time, work-from-home jobs in its Virtual Customer Service program]( By Kurt Schlosser Amazon may be hiring thousands of people to fill jobs on its Seattle campus or at fulfillment centers around the country, but jobs in the tech giant’s Virtual Customer Service program — which allow for the option of working from home — are growing, too. [Amazon’s real estate chief: ‘What we’re trying to do the most is be good neighbors’]( By Monica Nickelsburg Between the thousands of jobs Amazon adds each year and its insatiable appetite for office space in Seattle’s urban core, the company has come to symbolize the city’s radical and rapid growth and transformation. [Sonic Boom? Why the tech industry should care about Seattle’s efforts to revive its NBA team]( By Jeff Shulman Editor’s Note: Jeff Shulman, a University of Washington Foster School of Business marketing professor, hosts Seattle Growth Podcast. [2017 GeekWire Awards: Voting begins today for the Next Tech Titan]( By John Cook We’re back with another round of voting in the GeekWire Awards, and today’s category is a biggie, literally. [Meet your new wireless option: Comcast unveils ‘Xfinity Mobile’ smartphone plans and X1 bundles]( By Todd Bishop Comcast this morning unveiled its new Xfinity Mobile wireless service for smartphones — making a pitch to its customers to ditch their existing carriers and double-down with the cable giant, saving money by bundling a cellular plan with other Xfinity services. [Tableau unveils new subscription pricing model for data visualization products]( By Nat Levy Tableau Software has completed a plan first disclosed last year to pivot its pricing model from perpetual licenses to a monthly subscriptions. [Tech Moves: Ex-Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews joins Placed board; Moovel names CTO; and more]( By Clare McGrane Location-based data startup Placed is having a good year. [Wave scoops up Seattle internet service provider Cascadelink, its 22nd acquisition in 14 years]( By Nat Levy Wave Broadband has acquired Cascadelink, a Seattle-based gigabit internet service provider for apartment, condo and office buildings. [Video: Here’s what it’s like to sit inside Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship]( By Alan Boyle The seats in Blue Origin's suborbital spaceship are like a dentist's chair that's fully extended, with a big difference: You can float out of it in zero-G. [How Jeff Bezos is using Amazon’s success to fuel Blue Origin’s space effort, a billion dollars at a time]( By Alan Boyle Billionaire Jeff Bezos says he's willing to cash in billions of dollars of his Amazon stock to fuel his Blue Origin space venture. [Video: Watch Jeff Bezos lounge in a spaceship and take questions about Blue Origin’s future]( By Kurt Schlosser Jeff Bezos showed off a mocked-up version of a crew capsule that he says fits into a space-flight dream that he has lived with since he was a little kid. [SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell says rockets should fly almost as often as airplanes]( By Alan Boyle SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell isn't satisfied with last week's history-making relaunch and landing of a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket. [Blue Origin space venture slips in a sneak peek at design of Blue Moon lunar lander]( By Alan Boyle Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin venture is providing a first look at the design for the lander it wants to use for deliveries to the lunar surface in the 2020s. [Help wanted: Sea lion scientists call on software engineers to help count the marine behemoths, offer $25,000 in prize money]( By Lisa Stiffler Sea lion scientists need your help. Each summer, researchers from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries in Seattle trek to Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands. [Dating app Siren, which empowered women, shuts down after running out of money]( By Taylor Soper Sound the alarm for women looking for something other than traditional dating apps: Siren is shutting down. [GeekWire Calendar Picks: Seattle’s giant VR Hackathon; an anime extravaganza; and more]( By Clare McGrane Spring is in the air, the weather in Seattle is finally improving and techies across the Northwest are gearing up for the spring Seattle Virtual Reality Hackathon. [GeekWire Deals: Become a certified Microsoft Excel pro and advance your work presentations]( By Christie Brydon Even as offices introduce new features like open floor plans, on-site baristas, and aromatherapy nap rooms, some constants will never change. [Read more of today's news on GeekWire >]( [] Today's top jobs - [Privacy Labs: Senior Mobile Engineer]( - [OfferUp: Software Development Engineer – Android]( - [OfferUp: Sr. Software Development Engineer – Backend]( - [Code.org: Software Engineer]( - [OfferUp: Software Development Engineer – Front End Web]( - [OfferUp: Senior Site Reliability Engineer]( - [Vulcan Inc.: Executive Desktop Support Engineer/Sr. Systems Engineer (Executive)]( - [AnswerDash: Marketing Manager]( - [OfferUp: Sr. Software Development Engineer – Backend]( - [Resin.io: IoT Solution Architect]( [Hiring? 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