Technology

Go to a box store, hold your phone up to an item, and – ding! – your phone tells you how much the same item would cost on Amazon Prime.

Last week, Microsoft began the biggest layoffs in the company’s history: 18,000 total expected in the next year. So far, about 1,300 local workers have been affected.

Jon Talton, business reporter for the Seattle Times, told KUOW’s Ross Reynolds on The Record that this event is a test for the local economy. He said the Seattle area is in the midst of an economic boom – driven by Amazon, Boeing’s 777X and 737, increased exports and low unemployment.

Jeannie Yandel talks with business writer and Page 2 Books co-owner Bill Virgin about Amazon's new unlimited book subscription service, Kindle Unlimited.

Ross Reynolds talks with Kevin Osborne, vice president of client services at Waldron, a human resources consulting firm based in Seattle, about how downsizing companies may provide for laid off employees.

Ross Reynolds talks to Todd Bishop, founder of Geekwire, about the announcement that Microsoft will be cutting 18,000 jobs over the next year, including 1,351 in the Seattle region.

Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is seeking permission to send unmanned aircraft into the skies. The company has asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to test its delivery-by-drone system.

The Seattle retailer has been testing drones indoors in Seattle, but it needs a federal exemption to test them outside. The company tells the FAA it wants to test drones on its own property “near Seattle.”

Ross Reynolds talks to Todd Bishop of Geekwire about Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's 3,200 word, company-wide memo.

Bishop picked out one key section of the missive: Nadella’s pursuit of streamlining the company’s engineering processes and being more responsive to the market and customers’ demands.

Marcie Sillman talks with Andy Sellars, assistant director of Harvard's Digital Media Law Project, about what you can and can't say online.

Marcie Sillman talks to Todd Bishop, tech writer and co-founder of Geekwire about the growing tech industry in the Northwest and Facebook's secret study into manipulating the emotions of its users.