New Trailer for Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings' series offers epic views of the return to Middle Earth - GeekWire

Today, Panzer was shaken from his nap in his kitty bed by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, our traveling kitty boy followed all the noise to the GeekWire site. There he found a post about Amazon's just released trailer for their new "Lord of the Rings" series.

 

It looks exciting.

According to the post by Kurt Schlosser, the series is titled "Lord of the Rings:The Rings of Power." The new series happens in the centuries before J.R.R. Tolkien's books. The post contains a link to the trailer. The end of the trailer announces the series begins September 2 on Amazon Prime Video.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty is ready to watch the series. Are you?"

 

Note: This a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of iced tea for your reading and a chocolate brownie for your watching pleasure.

 

To read the post tootle over to Lord of the Rings series trailer

California eclipses Washington as Amazon's biggest state for jobs, with 153k employees and counting - GeekWire

 Panzer stopped in at GeekWire today. While digging in the posts, our inquisitive kitty found one about Amazon.

 

Maybe a new headquarters in California?

According to the post by Todd Bishop,  while Amazon's employment figures grew in Washington state, California's employment figures is growing even more significantly. The post attributes the increase to the larger number of inhabitants and shoppers in California. Employee numbers are also increasing in other states. Amazon's employment figures increase frequently, so the figures in the post are most likely already inaccurate. Included in the post are charts and graphs of Amazon's employment figures in different U.S. states and globally.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... The post compares Amazon's employee figures with Walmart's. Walmart is still larger."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a thermos of cocoa and six muffins for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon California employees

NASA names Perseverance rover landing site on Mars after Seattle sci-fi pioneer Octavia E. Butler - GeekWire

On today's trip into the Catosphere Panzer made a quick stop at the GeekWire site. There our efficient kitty pilot found a post about the Perseverance Martian rover.

It's warm and sunny there.

According to the post by Alan Boyle, NASA has named the Perseverance Martian landing site after science fiction author Octavia E. Butler. The site's name now is Octavia E. Butler Landing. The post also lists other sites NASA has named after authors.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... If I start writing science fiction, would they name a landing site after me?"

To read the post tootle over to Octavia E. Butler Landing

Amazon's new CEO, Andy Jassy, is a music-loving, wing-eating, hard-charging disciple of Jeff Bezos - GeekWire

Today Panzer was digging around in the glove box of the Panzermobile when he found a wadded up post. Flattening it out, our fastidious kitty boy discovered it was a GeekWire post about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' soon to-be CEO replacement Andy Jassy. In case you haven't heard, Jeff Bezos is moving from chief executive officer to executive chairman.

 

He's been there a long time.

According to GeekWire's Todd Bishop, Amazon's incoming CEO Andy Jassy is a multifaceted individual. He's a passionate music enthusiast. He's held employee chicken wing eating contests. He's been with Amazon almost since the beginning. And finally, he's described by colleagues as a passionate, hard-driving, results-oriented leader. There are several links included in the post to previous GeekWire posts.

 

Panzer says, "Sounds like there won't be any changes at Amazon."

 

Note: This is a very long post. Bring a large mug of cocoa and two muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring an extra thermos of cocoa, six muffins, three brownies and two cookies (biscuits).

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon's Andy Jassy

 To read the post about Jeff Bezos tootle over to Jeff Bezos

Amazon to host another COVID-19 vaccine clinic at its Seattle HQ campus on Sunday - GeekWire

 Here's news about another Amazon pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic Panzer found over at the GeekWire site. If you live in the Seattle Washington area, this is a chance to get your vaccination this coming Sunday, January 31.

 

According to Kurt Schlosser, Amazon will again host the pop-up vaccination clinic in the company headquarters with Virginia Mason volunteers. The post includes a link to the Washington state eligibility site and a link to the Virginia Mason's wait list.

 

Don't wait! Only 2,000.

Panzer says, "There are only 2,000 slots open, so you better hurry."

 

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon pop-up clinic

Photos: Inside Amazon's pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site in its Seattle headquarters - GeekWire

 This doesn't have anything to do with publishing, but Panzer thought you might be interested in what Amazon is doing in Seattle, Washington, to help with the COVID-19 pandemic vaccinations.

 

Vaccinated yet?

According to GeekWire's Taylor Soper, Amazon made a portion of the company's indoor headquarters available for people to receive COVID-19 vaccinations from Virginia Mason volunteers. Amazon says they plan to hold more pop-up vaccination sites in the future.

 

Note: This is a very long post with several photos taken inside the pop-up vaccination site.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Seattle

Podcast Wars: Amazon to acquire Wondery escalating competition with Spotify - GeekWire

Earlier this week Panzer made a trip to the GeekWire site. There he found a post about Amazon and podcasting.

 

According to the post by Todd Bishop, Amazon has announced their intended acquisition of Wondery. Wondery is a podcast production studio. Once the acquisition is complete Wondery will become part of Amazon Music. Amazon Music is already involved in the podcast market.  Amazon's announcement doesn't give any information on the financial terms of the acquisition. The post includes several links to other sources including Amazon's acquisition announcement.

 

Is it time for a kitty podcast?

Panzer says, "This could prove to be an interesting development for podcasters."

 

Note: This is a long-short length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow all the links in the post, bring a thermos of tea and two muffins, two cupcakes, and a brownie.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon

Amazon Sidewalk rollout shows the future of 'forced opt-in,' taking lessons from Xfinity Wifi - GeekWire

 Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was violently shaken and thrown about. Following all the chaos took our brave kitty boy to the GeekWire site. With no digging at all he discovered a post about Amazon's new Sidewalk offering. This doesn't have anything to do with publishing or books, but it is important.

According to the post by Christopher Budd, Amazon recently sent an email to Echo customers alerting them to the soon to be released Sidewalk. Amazon's Sidewalk uses a customer's Echo device for constant connectivity. Even if you (or your neighbor) lose your wifi connection, Sidewalk allows you (or your neighbor) to keep your wifi connection by using each other's Echo wifi. Don't want your neighbors to have access to your Echo wifi? You can follow the instructions in the email Amazon sent you to opt-out. Included in the post are links to other information about Amazon's Sidewalk, such as Amazon's own post that says your whole community will be connected with Sidewalk, and a link to another forced opt-in that was done (and is still going on) by Comcast.

This isn't what we pay for.

Panzer says, "Part of this post is about Comcast and their forced opt-in for Xfinity Wifi. Mom didn't have any idea they did that. Maybe that's what slows down her streaming sometimes."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of cocoa and two muffins. If you plan to follow the link in the post to turn off the Xfinity Wifi opt-in, add another muffin. If you plan to follow the other links, bring another cup of cocoa and three muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Sidewalk

 

 

Europe accuses Amazon of misusing third-party retail data, opens new 'Buy Box' investigation - GeekWire

 As Panzer was tootle around in the Catosphere today, he decided to make a stop at the GeekWire site. With a little digging in the posts our inquisitive kitty boy found one about Amazon and the company's European sales dealings.

 

According to the post by Todd Bishop, the EU's European Commission is investigating if Amazon gives itself or those who use its services an advantage with the company's 'Buy Box.' The Commission is also investigating Prime members' use of the 'Buy Box.' If the Commission determines Amazon is in the wrong, the company could be fined 10 percent of its global annual revenue. There are links to other information about the Commission's investigation included in the post.

 

 They decide if they get the money?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty is confused. ... Mom is an Amazon Prime member and she buys stuff on Amazon. Since she pays Amazon to be a Prime member, Amazon gives her special prices and special deals. Sometimes what she orders is shipped from Amazon fulfillment centers and sometimes it's shipped directly from the seller's company.  What is Amazon doing wrong with Prime memberships?"

Note: This is a short medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the included links, bring a thermos of cocoa, four muffins, four chocolate chip cookies (biscuits), and two brownies.

To read the post tootle over to Europe Commission vs Amazon

 

 

'MeowTalk,' an app that translates cat sounds, is a pet project for this former Alexa engineer - GeekWire

As Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he heard laughing and guffawing coming from outside. Following all the jocularity, took our adventuresome kitty to the GeekWire site. With a little digging in the posts he found one about a new app called MeowTalk (That's right, there's no space between the words.) was causing all the happiness.

 

According to Kurt Schlosser's post, Javier Sanchez has developed an app called MeowTalk which allows people to understand what a cat wants when it meows. Although the app comes with ten pre-loaded cat translations, you can make changes to them and, also, make additions. The post includes links to other posts/sites with information about the app.

It's easy: Feed me. Pet me. Mine.

Panzer says, " Why do you need an app? All you have to do is read Cat Wisdom for humans and you'll know exactly what we say and want." 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of cocoa and two muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links, bring a thermos of tea and six muffins.

To read the post tootle over to MeowTalk app

 

 

 

 

 

Amazon hires 248,500 people in Q3 as Jeff Bezos challenges large employers to raise minimum wage - GeekWire

 Panzer decided to make a stop at the GeekWire site today. With a little digging in the posts there, our inquisitive kitty found one about Amazon.

 

1.13 million?

According to Taylor Soper's post, Amazon has 1.13 million employees worldwide. 400,000 of those employees were hired this year. Now Amazon plans to hire another 100,000 seasonal workers for the company's distribution centers. Amazon pays its employees a minimum wage of $15.00 per hour and CEO Jeff Bezos challenged other large employers to raise their minimum hourly wage as well. The post contains several links to information about Amazon's previous hiring sprees, previous wage increases, letters to shareholders, and more.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Seasonal workers? ... They must be planning for a lot of online Christmas shoppers."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea, a cup of cocoa, three muffins and three cupcakes for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow all the links, bring a thermos of cocoa, twelve muffins, twelve cupcakes, and a blanket for a nap in the middle.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

Amazon streams Thursday Night Football again with new X-Ray feature audio feed, Twitch shows - GeekWire

Today Panzer made a stop at the GeekWire site. Although the post he found there doesn't have anything to do with publishing, our adventuresome kitty boy found it interesting. Amazon is live streaming the Thursday Night Football games for Prime members.

 

According to the post by Taylor Soper, Amazon just signed a new multi-year contract to stream the football games.  The post includes links to information about Amazon's added features of extra streamed programming for stats, audio and programming on Amazon's Twitch. The post also includes a schedule of all the Thursday night games which will be live streamed.

I'm ready for football.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... They sure like cats in football. There are teams called the Bengals, the Jaguars and the Panthers."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a thermos of tea and three muffins. If you plan to follow the links, bring an extra thermos of cocoa and another three muffins.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon football

 

 

 

 

Portland's Powell's Books says it 'must take a stand' and will stop selling books through Amazon - GeekWire

It's not easy owning an indie bookstore.

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the GeekWire site. With a little digging in the posts he found one about Powell's Books a well-known independent bookstore in Portland Oregon.

According to the post by Kurt Schlosser, Powell's Books has announced they will no longer sell books online through Amazon. Owner and CEO Emily Powell announced her decision in an August 26 letter/email sent to the store's customers. During the COVID-19 pandemic the stores have been closed.  Customers have been able to order books through the store's online sales portal Powells.com and through Amazon. Two of Powell's "satellite stores" have now re-opened part time for customers in-store shopping. There's a link included in the post to Emily Powell's customer letters/emails dating from March 17 to the present.

Panzer says, "Powell's is even known in Washington state where we live."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you follow the links in the email, bring an extra muffin.

To read the post tootle over to Portlands Powell's Books and Amazon

Walmart unveils Walmart+, its Amazon Prime competitor that costs $98/year and will launch Sept. 15 - GeekWire

Panzer made a quick trip to the GeekWire site today. There our speedy kitty found a post about Walmart's new membership program.

This might be interesting.

According to the post by Taylor Soper, Walmart has announced a new membership program called Walmart+. The new program is available for $98.00 per year or $12.95 per month. Walmart+ gives free delivery for your online purchases. There is a $35.00 minimum order requirement however. There is a 15 day free trial period available. The post contains a link to Walmart's post about the new program. Walmart's post has more information about the program benefits.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... If you really think about it you'll see it's not really a competition. Amazon Prime is a lot more than just free delivery."

Note: This is a long-short length post. Bring a half a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to read Walmart's post about the new program, bring another half a cup of tea.

To read the post tootle over to Walmart+

Judge issues preliminary injunction for Amazon and top authors in lawsuit against 'pirate' book site - GeekWire

Today as Panzer was sweeping out the Panzermobile, our illustrious kitty found a wadded up post under the pilot seat. Flattening the post out, he discovered it was from the GeekWire site and about the court case against the KISS Library site. In July Panzer told you about the lawsuit filed against KISS Library by Amazon, publisher Penguin Random House (PRH) and several individual authors.

Don't steal. You will get caught.

According to the post by GeekWire's Taylor Soper, the judge in the case has issued a preliminary injunction ordering KISS Library and all its assorted other sites to shut down. To accomplish the shutdown, the judge ordered domain registrars to de-activate the KISS-owned domain names. In the judge's opinion these are pirate sites and they distributed and sold copyrighted material without the copyright owners' permission.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders what these pirates will do now."

Note: This is a long-short length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to read Panzer's previous post and the link in it, bring another cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon
To read Panzer's previous post about the KISS Library tootle over to Amazon lawsuit

Trump throws Amazon under the delivery truck in debate over U.S. Postal Service econmics - GeekWire

Panzer was shaken out of his kitty bed this afternoon by thunder and lightning coming from the Catosphere. Jumping into the Panzermobile, our brave kitty pilot headed into the storm. Following all the noise took him to the GeekWire site. There he discovered a post about President Trump, the postal service and Amazon was causing all the ruckus.

The post by Todd Bishop says U.S. President Trump has stated again he wants the United States Postal Service (USPS) to start charging Amazon more money to deliver the company's packages. Amazon has a contract with USPS to deliver the company's packages. According to federal regulations, if the money collected from Amazon's contract doesn't cover USPS's costs for delivery, the contract will be cancelled. The contract hasn't been cancelled, so USPS must already be charging Amazon the correct amount to deliver the company's packages.

Can somebody explain it to me?

Panzer says, "It makes no sense to me."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of iced tea and some ice cream for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon delivery

Microsoft's new foldable Android-based Surface Duo goes on sale Sept. 10 $1,399 - GeekWire

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, the Panzermobile was suddenly shaken by oohing and aahing coming from outside. Following all the noise took our brave kitty boy to the GeekWire site. There he discovered a post about Microsoft's new Surface Duo was causing all the excitement.

Don't forget it costs $1,399.

According to the post by Taylor Soper, Microsoft has opened pre-orders for it's new Surface Duo. The phone will have dual screens which will fold closed. The two screens allow you to run two apps on the Surface at the same time. It comes with a camera and 15.5 hours of play time. You can also use it as an ereader for Kindle ebooks. The post explains all the uses and has screen shots and short promo videos of the uses.

Panzer says, "Oh yeah. It can be used as a phone too."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea, a muffin, a brownie and a macaroon for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Microsoft's Surface Duo

Microsoft to permanently close physical retail locations; will incur pre-tax charge of $450M - GeekWire

Nothing will ever be the same.

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, the Panzermobile was suddenly shaken by crying and gnashing of teeth outside. Following all the hubbub took our brave kitty boy to the GeekWire site. With no digging at all he found a post about Microsoft's bricks and mortar stores. While the post doesn't have anything to do with publishing, Panzer found it interesting and thought you might too.

According to the post by Taylor Soper, Microsoft is permanently closing all 79 of its retail outlets. The stores have been closed since March because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company announced today it won't re-open any of the stores.

Panzer says, "Well, they didn't really have that many stores, but now you can't "test drive" any of their hardware before you buy it."

Note: This is a long medium post. Bring a cup of iced tea and two chocolate chip cookies and a brownie for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Microsoft

Amazon upgrades Fire HD 8 lineup, adds USB-C charging, aiming to rebound in tablet market - GeekWire

I want one.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the noise took our inquisitive kitty to the GeekWire site. With no digging in the post pile, he found one about Amazon's Fire tablet.

According to Kurt Schlosser's post, Amazon has made upgrades to the Fire HD tablet. The post examines the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus for adults and the Fire HD 8 for Kids. Prices range from $89.00 to $159.00 depending on the different features and special offers you choose. You can use Zoom, Audible, Prime and more on the tablet. There are links included in the post to go to the Amazon store to check out the specifications and add-ons for each tablet.

Panzer says, "MeWow! I can Zoom with the new girl kitty down the street."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a small muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links, bring an extra muffin.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Fire Tablets

Amazon will hire 100k warehouse workers amid pandemic-driven surge in online shopping - GeekWire

You can never be too careful.

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere* he made a stop at the GeekWire site. There our brave kitty boy found a post about Amazon.

According to the GeekWire post by Monica Nickelsburg, Amazon is on a hiring spree. The coronavirus has caused a lot of people worldwide to do their shopping online at Amazon. The company wasn't prepared for the influx of shoppers and is now hiring employees to catch up.The company plans to hire 100,000 workers worldwide. The company is also giving warehouse workers a $2.00 an hour raise while the buying frenzy continues. They've instituted a grant program for sick workers with Covid-19 too.

Panzer says, "Mom ordered some ear thingies for What's His Name's Bose headphones and they got here on time. Then she tried to order something from the Amazon Pantry store and finally gave up because they were out."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon workers


*Don't worry about Panzer traveling outside and being exposed to Covid-19. There is no virus in the Catosphere, so travel there as much as you want.