This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Newly unsealed court documents reveal the behind-the-scenes history of Microsoft and OpenAI, including a surprise: Amazon Web Services was OpenAI’s original partner. We tell the story behind the story, explaining how it all came to light.
Someone listening to last week’s GeekWire Podcast caught something we missed: a misleading comment by Alexa during our voice ordering demo — illustrating the challenges of ordering by voice vs. screen. We followed up with Amazon, which says it has fixed the underlying bug.
On this week’s show, we play the audio of the order again. Can you catch it?
Plus, Microsoft announces a “community first” approach to AI data centers after backlash over power and water usage — and President Trump scooped us on the story. We discuss the larger issues and play a highlight from our interview with Microsoft President Brad Smith.
Lumen Field in Seattle, home of the Seahawks. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser)
It’ll surely be rocking at Lumen Field in Seattle on Saturday when the Seahawks take on the San Francisco 49ers in an NFL playoff matchup. But will it be “Beast Quake” rocking?
Seismic sensors installed at the stadium this week will determine whether the 12s — the Seahawks’ energetic fan base — can move the earth while cheering for the team.
It’s the latest scientific study with a sports tie-in from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN), an organization that monitors earthquakes and volcanoes in Washington and Oregon.
On Monday, a PNSN field operations team installed six stations throughout Lumen Field to capture seismic energy produced by the collective movement of fans.
“With these six seismometers, we have Lumen Field ‘wired up’ and we can record exactly how the excitement of the crowd leads to shaking of the ground, much like an earthquake does,” PNSN Director Harold Tobin at the University of Washington said in a news release. “We expect the massive crowd of 12s to generate measurable seismic energy. It’s a fun way to show the world exactly how much, in a scientific way, and to learn something about the seismic waves in the process.”
The location of stations that will record seismic activity at Lumen Field. (PNSN Graphic)
The project builds on previous in-stadium deployments during Seahawks playoff games in 2014, 2015, and 2017. Marshawn Lynch’s legendary Beast Quake run against the New Orleans Saints was recorded in 2011.
Last fall, PNSN recorded the shaking down the street at T-Mobile Park during the Mariners’ historic playoff run. Seismic activity was recorded when Jorge Polanco hit a game-winning single to win a 15-inning marathon against the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the American League Division Series and when Geno Suárez hit a grand slam in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Based at the UW within the College of the Environment, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network operates over 700 seismic stations across Washington and Oregon.
PNSN will stream results Saturday through real-time seismograms available on pnsn.org during the Seahawks game. PNSN’s social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, X, and Bluesky will also share updates.
In an image captured by Momento, fans react in the stands at Lumen Field in Seattle as the Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 18. (Momento Photo)
For every action during Saturday’s Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers NFL playoff game, there will hopefully be an equal and positive reaction from fans at Lumen Field. And it will all be caught on camera.
Whether or not there’s another dramatic tip to send the Niners packing, more than 68,000 fans in the stands will be captured in their seats by a multicamera system from Momento.
Chicago-based Momento first partnered with the Seahawks in October 2023. The company also captures images during Seattle Mariners and Kraken games.
There are 16 cameras positioned around Lumen Field, snapped by an operator during big plays when fans get to their feet and show excitement. Fans can search the Seahawks/Momento website for their section, row and seat number and see and download a variety of photos.
For the Seahawks vs. Rams “Thursday Night Football” game on Dec. 18, fans could search a drop-down menu for several big plays such as “JSN in in!” and “O-M-G Shaheed!”
The Seattle Times reported that Seahawks fans have downloaded 48,000 images so far this season, according to Momento founder and CEO Austin Fletcher. Mariners fans downloaded 100,000 images during the team’s postseason run, he added.
In a post on Facebook three years ago, Fletcher likened the technology to roller coaster ride photos, but for sports fans. The company partners with teams to drive increased fan engagement and revenue opportunities by selling photo prints and commemorative physical tickets featuring captured images.
Momento expanded its NFL partner roster in 2025 with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, and Washington Commanders.
Fans worried about privacy or how their likeness is being used give up some of those rights based on the NFL’s and Lumen Field’s terms of use agreement for ticket holders. The Times noted that Momento does honor opt-out requests for fans who don’t want their images shown.
In an appearance on FOX 13 Seattle a few weeks ago, Momento COO Todd Albright said website visitors looking for images are only allowed to enter a couple of seat locations rather than being able to search endlessly for faces in the crowd.
The Seahawks and the 49ers play in an NFC divisional round playoff game Saturday in Seattle at 5 p.m. on FOX.
A fan uses a OneCourt device while watching the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. (Seahawks Photo)
The Seattle Seahawks gave blind and low-vision fans a new way to follow game action this season as one of several teams testing a device from Seattle startup OneCourt.
OneCourt’s laptop device uses generative audio and haptics to translate live gameplay into trackable vibrations, so fans can follow the action with their fingertips. The users hear the team’s radio broadcast that is synced with the device with almost little to no time delay, according to the Seahawks.
Testers at Lumen Field in Seattle used the devices at games, including against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 14, as part of the NFL’s pilot program exploring such accessibility. The Jaguars, Vikings and Falcons were the other teams in the pilot.
Participants shared feedback with the league and the Seahawks about how the device performed and takeaways will be analyzed and applied to an in-stadium accessibility strategy.
A OneCourt device is use during a Seahawks game. (Seahawks Photo)
“Football is at its best when every fan can be part of the moment,” said Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, in a statement. “The OneCourt pilot showed how innovative technology can bring fans who are blind or have low vision even closer to the game, and the response was incredibly powerful.”
OneCourt was co-founded by a group of University of Washington graduates, including CEO Jerred Mace.
The NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers were the first professional sports team to provide OneCourt devices at every home game.
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