Technology
Amazon supports Literacy Bridge
Amazon.com has been criticized in the past for its lack of charitable donations, but recently endowed a $25,000 grant to Literacy Bridge to assist the nonprofit’s Talking Book speech and reading comprehension program in Ghana. The program was launched in early 2009 and distributes $10 audio computers (Talking Books) to provide interactive lessons that focus…
A Window on the Future
Walk into the San Juan Island offices of Mark Anderson’s Strategic News Service (SNS) and you’re confronted with a panoramic view of Haro Strait, with Vancouver Island across the water. The scenic location fits one of the technology industry’s favorite prognosticators. Anderson’s predictions and perspectives-which tech titans around the globe pay handsomely for-can be as…
A Security Watershed
The internet used to be popularly considered a casual place to write e-mail to friends. Now, it runs complex systems like the nation’s power grid, international banking, trains and hydroelectric dams. But the same system keeping energy flowing and trains on time is becoming more vulnerable to attacks from hackers, whether they are individuals acting…
Cbeyond sets up regional office in King County
Atlanta-based Cbeyond Inc., a communications and IT consulting firm for small businesses, will establish its Pacific Northwest regional headquarters in Bellevue. The company plans to hire up to 100 employees over the next six months at the new location. EnterpriseSeattle conducted a year-long recruiting campaign to bring Cbeyond to the region.
Taking a Swipe at Touch Screens
If Swype has its way, hunt and peck is dead. Even on your remote control, and especially on your touch-screen mobile device. The 15-person Seattle company is certainly taking the touch screen to a new level. While Swype lives on your favorite touch screen device and looks like a traditional keypad. The only thing it…
Full Steam Ahead
For the first few decades of the video game industrys history, the Silicon Valley region reigned as the industrys nerve center in the United States. In recent years, however, the Bay Area has faced a serious challenge from the Puget Sound area as the true seat of power. While the pull of giants such as…
Realizing the Profits of Research
Linden Rhoads hasnt forgotten her unpleasant experience a decade ago with the University of Washingtons technology transfer office. A local company she had co-founded, Nimble Technology, wanted to license technology owned by the school. But the UW TechTransfer office, whose mandate is to commercialize research developed by UW personnel, dragged its feet. It took a…
Accelerator Floors it for Biotech
When Accelerator first opened its doors in 2003, the conventional wisdom held that incubators–investment firms that help bring young companies to market–would never work in the capital-intensive biotech sector. But don’t mistake Accelerator for an incubator. On the company’s website, the “I word” is nowhere to be found. The reason for the name has to…
Ben Wolff’s High-Wireless Act
The proposed $14.5 billion joint agreement between wireless internet provider Clearwire Corp. and cellular giant Sprint Nextel Corp. hasnt even closed yet. But that hasnt stopped Ben Wolff from dreaming about what the new company will look like in just a few years. Most importantly, it means not being tethered to your computer anymore, Wolff…
CEO of the Year: Traveling Man
Steve Singh remembers it as a moment of clarity when he decided to change the direction of his expanse management company. The CEO of Concur was sitting on a jet in the spring of 2000, next to his sleeping wife as the new couple flew off on their honeymoon. Not exactly the best timing to…
Impinj Tagged for Growth
When major retailer Wal-Mart announced in January 2008 that its suppliers to Sams Club could face fines of $2 to $3 for each pallet received without a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, officials at Seattles Impinj couldnt have been more pleased. The RFID firm in Fremont had already placed a large bet that the wireless product-identification…
Getting Formal About Casual Games
For those who like puzzle games like Tetris and Bejeweled, which require minimum neural processing but provide maximum stimulationnot to mention big revenues for game developersthings in Seattle may get a bit more interesting in the coming months. RealNetworks, one of the largest casual-game publishers and distributors in the world, announced plans last spring to…
Can the E-mailman Deliver?
Ron Wiener wants to open your mail. He doesnt want to read it, but hell scan it, track it, forward iteven shred it if you ask him to. As CEO of Seattle-based Earth Class Mail, Wiener has a vision to drag the worlds postal services into the 21st century by digitizing them. Trying to transform…