What we’re thankful for in tech, business, and science this year

We’re thankful for many tech advances this year, including automated scoring for sports pools; remote printing over the internet; natural language processing; mobile ticketing; and drone photography (like the photo of the Seattle sunrise above).

• Those are some of the items on our annual gratitude list — reminders of the ways that advances can become part of lives over time, to the point that we suddenly can't remember what we did without them. Listen for more, plus surprise twists, on the GeekWire Podcast. 

Black Friday online sales hit a record $9.12 billion amid ongoing inflation. 

• Categories such as electronics, toys, and exercise equipment posted strong numbers. Mobile transactions accounted for a record 48% of online sales, up from 44% last year. Read more. 

NASA’s uncrewed Orion capsule successfully executed an engine burn to enter an unusual type of orbit around the moon on the 10th day of the weeks-long Artemis 1 mission.

• During Friday’s course correction, the orbital maneuvering system engine on Orion’s European-built service module fired for 88 seconds as the capsule traveled more than 57,000 miles above the lunar surface. Read more and see the photos. 

  
A group of marketplace companies and payment platforms are pushing back against a revision to the tax code that was included in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

• Seattle-area companies BikeList and OfferUp are among the companies concerned about lowering the tax threshold for earnings from selling items on marketplaces. Read more. 

Hundreds of companies have laid off staff over the past two months as impacted tech workers deal with the psychological impacts of layoffs and enter a changing job market.

• The layoffs are suddenly transforming the job market into a condition that some in the industry haven’t experienced in their careers. 

• We put together a guide to help those affected by layoffs, including people who recently lost their job and employees who remain at a company that made cuts.  

GeekWire reporter Charlotte Schubert spoke with Greg Spotts, the new leader of Seattle’s Department of Transportation and the former executive officer and chief sustainability officer at the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services.

• "One of the reasons why I came here is that Seattle is growing and its growth is powered by innovation,” Spotts said. “I see so much excitement around innovation and transportation in this community. I think there’s a tremendous amount of potential to work together." Read the full interview.