To say Steve Largent has kept busy after an illustrious 14-year NFL career would be an understatement. The former Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver, one of three players to have his number retired by the franchise, was elected into Congress just five years after retiring in 1989. He spent the next eight years in office before losing the governor race in Oklahoma. That’s when Largent left politics and went tech, becoming the president and CEO of CTIA, a trade association representing the U.S. wireless communications industry. Now the 62-year-old is living the retired life in Oklahoma, spending time with his family… Read More
The art of cycling took on a whole new meaning during last month’s Amgen Tour of California, thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and Volvox Labs which used Kinect technology to create motion-activated images of riders participating in the race. Called “The Ride by Microsoft,” the contemporary endeavor is a “one-of-a-kind art installation” that relied on a custom-built rigs using Kinect gaming technology to capture the 3D motion of passing cyclists. The result is a unique art form that produces futuristic-looking renderings of the athletes and the surrounding terrain. The ultimate goal was to provide fans of the sport with a new artistic… Read More
Our second annual GeekWire Sports Tech Summit on June 21-22 in Seattle is shaping up to be another action-packed event featuring top leaders — NFL COO Tod Leiweke; Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto; WNBA legend Sue Bird; Bleacher Report CEO Dave Finocchio; and others — along with hundreds of attendees who are excited to talk about the future of sports technology. Early bird rates end Friday — yes, tomorrow! — so it’s best to grab your tickets now for this unique event before prices go up. Get your tickets today at the registration page, or below: TICKETS Co-hosted with the Seattle Sounders FC and Eiger… Read More
You can now watch MLB games in virtual reality. Starting June 6, MLB will launch a VR livestream of one out-of-market game each Tuesday in June. It’s part of a new 3-year deal with Intel, which is helping power the experience via its Intel True VR app and 4K-resolution camera pods set up at various stadiums around the league. The feed, which is free to access and available on Samsung Gear VR headsets, will let viewers select from five camera angles — home plate, first base, third base, center field, and a special pitcher-batter view — that offer 360-degree views of the live action. Or,… Read More
The San Francisco 49ers president. A virtual reality guru helping Intel. And the executive heading up U.S. operations for sports data giant Sportradar. We’ve just added more fantastic speakers to our second annual Sports Tech Summit on June 21-22 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. You can buy tickets here — remember to use the discount code GEEKWIRE15, which will knock off 15% from early bird rates that end this week. Get your tickets today at the registration page. TICKETS Learn about our recently-added speakers: Dr. Uma Jayaram is the co-founder of VOKE, a virtual reality startup that Intel acquired in 2016… Read More
