Brier Dudley offers a critical look at technology and business issues affecting the Northwest in a weekly Seattle Times column published on Mondays and a blog appearing throughout the week at www.seattletimes.com.

Brier previously covered Microsoft for five years. A third-generation Seattleite, he received a BA in English from Whitman College and studied film production in Italy before starting a career in newspapers. He has won numerous journalism awards and several oyster-eating competitions. You can see his columns at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/ and his blog at http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/.