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Humor: Leveraging the 'social isolation' space

Posted Sun, Nov 15, 6:15 p.m.

In a world where "friend" is a verb, what the Internet needed was a quick way to say "get lost!"

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Making the best of a bust

Posted Fri, Jul 3, 6 a.m.

Even in hard times, there are signs that livable Seattle can still make progress despite, or even because of, the challenges of the economy

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A tale of three companies

Posted Wed, Apr 29, 9:50 a.m.

Stories of WaMu, Boeing, and Microsoft reflect the character of the people at the top

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The Cascadian Dream

Posted Thu, Apr 9, 6 a.m.

Can a Pacific Northwest utopia be shaped on the shared belief that nature is sacred? This latest installment in a series on regional identity looks at the patron saint of the environmental movement, John Muir, and how his thinking informs the desire for a new, greener, and elusive entity some call Cascadia.

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Muddy waters of the Salish Sea

Posted Fri, Mar 27, 6 a.m.

A new name for the Northwest waters could be a setback for those charged with cleaning up Puget Sound. On the other hand, maybe a fresh start is what's needed.

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Can Locke save the world's fair?

Posted Thu, Mar 26, 6 a.m.

Eyes turn to new Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as U.S. expo boosters look for someone to prevent China's "humiliation" over America's possible no-show at Shanghai's Expo 2010.

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A week of weakonomics

Posted Wed, Jun 25, 9 a.m.

If you look away from the Sonics trial for a moment, you can see warning signs that the seemingly immune local economy is actually pretty precarious.

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Fired up and ready to go — home

Posted Tue, Jun 17, 7 p.m.

The state Democratic convention in Spokane was both inspiring and stultifying. Among the delegates who bothered to show up, there was passion, tedium, booze, sunshine, and a desire for change.

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Outsourcing is so yesterday, or last night, or whatever time it is in Bangalore

Posted Mon, May 26, 8 p.m.

Nonsourcing is the way to go. And to ensure quality service, this article may be monitored for quality control or training purposes.

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Educated abroad, they are France's new foreign legion

Posted Tue, May 6, 2 p.m.

Seattle's French Underground: Today's graduates are more likely to have studied abroad, and they're more open to leaving France for career opportunities – glamorous and humble. Many of them are settling in metro Puget Sound. Part 3

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Parlez-vous a software language?

Posted Mon, May 5, midnight

Seattle's French Underground: Thousands have invaded metro Puget Sound, many of them in search of opportunities and attitudes in technology that simply don't exist at home in France. Part 1

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What made the Seattle style of business a success

Posted Thu, Apr 24, 2 p.m.

As civic icons like Safeco drift away from their Puget Sound roots, here's a look at the components of a Seattle way of doing business that built up such brands. The key was motivated employees. The poison was rapid growth.

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Shanghai Surprise

Posted Tue, Apr 22, 5 a.m.

A group with Northwest ties is aced out of a pavilion bid for Expo 2010 in China. Instead, the U.S. State Department has given the go-ahead to a team with connections to Warner Brothers and a major D.C. law firm. Now all they have to do is raise $80 million.

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Conspicuous Seattle

Posted Wed, Apr 2, 5 a.m.

A town of modest pleasures has become a city of cringe-inducing excess, even in the little things like coffee, booze, and movie tickets.

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Jean Godden on Seattle: My, how you've changed!

Posted Thu, Mar 27, 5 a.m.

The longtime columnist for Seattle's dailies casts an affectionate eye over the many sweeping transformations of the city, and wonders if all the newcomers will learn to cherish the uniqueness of the place.

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We are not 'the next Silicon Valley'

Posted Mon, Feb 18, midnight

Nor should we be. An expert on the original high-tech nexus explains why all these technology clusters are unique and not able to be imitated. Instead, Seattle should build on its local strengths while remaining a key part of the global network of technology industries.

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Microsoft, Yahoo, and betrayal in China

Posted Tue, Feb 5, 5 a.m.

The two companies have been walking a not-so-fine line as they tap into an enormous but ethically challenged mainland Internet market. Yahoo, especially, has been deferential. Maybe their merger should have conditions.

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Hey, Yahoo: Looking for a white knight? How about Exxon?

Posted Sat, Feb 2, 11 a.m.

As Microsoft gears up for a takeover battle with Yahoo, there could be an Exx factor.

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Microsoft's $528 million Washington tax break

Posted Sat, Feb 2, 5 a.m.

The Redmond company makes products here but records software sales to PC makers and high-volume customers through an operation in Nevada, where there is no corporate tax. So Washington is missing out on revenue it could use for badly needed infrastructure needs – like replacement of the 520 bridge.

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Inside the minds of Microsoft's libertarians

Posted Thu, Jan 10, 5 a.m.

The appeal of Ron Paul sheds some light on why techies are attracted to minimal government. It's like smart software.

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Other media

Microsoft's Office has commanded the market, now faces web competition As Office 2010 nears release, there's an ominous question: It is probably still a great product, but fewer may need it.

Jon Talton: Is local leadership heeding the economic wake-up calls? The columnist is worried: "Unfortunately, I'm not hearing a call to action, particularly from political leaders. We're cutting university funding; China isn't. The mayoral election centered on a tunnel that was going to happen anyway, rather than taking a hard look at the best practices of our high-performance peers. Gov. Chris Gregoire has yet to show that she realizes how much the game has changed, that prosperity won't automatically come our way."

Critics raise concern that top trade adviser to Gary Locke is too closely tied to Microsoft Marc Berejka worked for 8 years as a lobbyist for Microsoft before joining Locke's new team at Department of Commerce.

Jon Talton: A lot is riding on Microsoft's Windows 7 As Boeing migrates and other local corporate giants implode, Puget Sound has more economic dependency on Microsoft. The success of Bing and Windows 7 indicates that the post Bill Gates Microsoft is adapting well to the new normal.

A Microsoft solution for sleepy pilots Program a few critical gauges to occasionally default to a "blue screen of death." That should keep the flight crew awake.

Blog posts

Microsoft to XP Crowd: 'And we'll be honest, it could take you a couple of hours'

Posted Thu, Oct 15, 6 a.m.

Upgrading to Windows 7? Redmond's video guide, while helpful, seems almost like an Apple-produced parody.

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The Google-Microsoft slugfest

Posted Wed, Jul 8, 4:28 p.m.

It's Bing versus Chrome in the endless cycle of capitalist vengeance

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Bill Gates edges out Obama in public trust

Posted Tue, Apr 14, 2 p.m.

What do they have in common? Credibility.

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Upside of the downturn

Posted Mon, Mar 9, 9:37 p.m.

Conspicuous consumption is going out of fashion.

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Microsoft stock: a bad investment?

Posted Thu, Feb 26, 11:02 a.m.

An analysis suggests that if you bought your Microsoft 10 year ago, you're not happy today despite the company's impressive record of profits.

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Adding insult to injury

Posted Fri, Jan 30, noon

Not only are jobs getting scarcer, but costs are still rising. What is it about recessions that the government doesn't understand?

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Let the infrastructure roll!

Posted Sun, Nov 9, 12:10 p.m. 2008

It's time to prime the economic pump, and local infrastructure needs are acute. But will the politics enable us to emulate China?

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A new site uncovers Bill Gates' new company

Posted Wed, Oct 22, 12:51 p.m. 2008

TechFlash launches as part of Puget Sound Business Journal, with two respected technology reporters who jumped from

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Putting science back in the White House

Posted Tue, Oct 21, 11:29 a.m. 2008

Two local luminaries join a forum proposing ways to turn around the Bush administration's neglect of the nation's technological competitiveness.

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Is the local sky falling, or just getting grey?

Posted Sun, Oct 12, 1:20 p.m. 2008

The gloom may be overstated, but that's no reason for the business leadership of this region to keep abdicating from civic leadership.

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