GeekWire's Most-Read Stories of the Week

Catch up on the top tech stories from this past week. Here are the headlines that people have been reading on GeekWire. ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: GeekWire's Rooftop BBQ + Mariners Day returns on Wednesday, August 9th: [Register today for Seattle's party of the summer.]( THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES [‘Tears in my eyes’: Seattle startups sound off on Apple’s Vision Pro headset]( Entrepreneurs developing augmented and virtual reality apps and games are optimistic that Apple’s new headset will turbocharge adoption of the technology, much like the iPhone did for mobile computing in 2007. [Apple vs. Microsoft: Vision Pro, HoloLens, and a familiar pattern in a classic tech rivalry]( Some of Microsoft’s biggest missteps over the years have come not from being too late but rather too early, leaving the door open for competitors — especially Apple, it seems — to popularize a product category years later, when the technology and the market are ready. [Google’s search for top doodle ends with sixth grader’s artwork inspired by life with her sisters]( Like a lot of kids, Rebecca Wu has been doodling for quite some time. SPONSOR MESSAGE [GeekWire Rooftop BBQ + Mariners Day is August 9th, tickets on sale now]( Celebrate summer, baseball and sensational views at GeekWire’s festive rooftop BBQ, taking place Wednesday, August 9th before the Seattle Mariners face the San Diego Padres. Don’t miss the party of the summer! [Register now!]( [Seattle startup Flyhomes lays off employees for third time amid real estate headwinds]( Real estate startup Flyhomes is laying off employees for the third time in a year, citing an effort to focus on profitability amid the broader housing market downturn. [Seattle studio debuts game ‘Pacific Drive’ in a post-apocalyptic Pacific Northwest]( In Ironwood Studios’ debut video game Pacific Drive, an unknown phenomena has transformed a big part of the Pacific Northwest into what’s now known as the Olympic Exclusion Zone. [Seattle councilmember targets ‘top 1%’ with capital gains tax proposal mimicking new state law]( Washington state’s controversial capital gains tax went into effect earlier this year. [Sales software startup Highspot lays off 15% of staff, its second cut this year]( Highspot is trimming headcount again. The Seattle-based sales software company confirmed that it laid off 15% of its workforce. [Inside Amazon’s Spheres: After five years, the plants and employees are living well together]( When the Spheres first opened on Amazon’s headquarters campus in Seattle, Jeff Bezos said the 40,000 plants inside the glass domes looked “happy.” Five years later, the employees using the unique office space look equally pleased. [Grocery industry vet brings fresh take on the corner store to Seattle neighborhoods]( Stephanie King spent about 20 years helping build private label programs with some of the biggest grocery retailers in the country, from Whole Foods to Kroger to Costco. [Seattle mayor reveals top ideas in potential plan to convert some downtown office space to housing]( Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s desire to potentially convert some of the city’s downtown office space into housing and other commercial uses moved a step forward with the selection of three top proposals from a call for ideas. [Downtown Seattle activity hits new high since pandemic, buoyed by Amazon office mandate]( Foot traffic in downtown Seattle and around Amazon’s headquarters hit record highs in May, as measured since March 2020 when the pandemic began. [Tech Moves: Ex-Philips CEO joins Absci board; AWS exec departs; and more]( — Vancouver, Wash.-based AI drug design and development company Absci named Frans van Houten to its board of directors. [WebMD will pay $75M to acquire employee experience company Limeade]( Limeade, the employee experience software company based in Bellevue, Wash., agreed to be acquired by WebMD Health Services, part of digital health giant WebMD Health Corp. [Generative AI hackathon in Seattle encourages entrepreneurs to tinker with ‘magic wand’]( Generative AI is taking the tech world by storm and has already developed to the point that a full stack ecosystem exists, allowing for the rapid prototyping and development of a new generation of applications and innovations. [Rivian joining other electric vehicle makers with pop-up showroom at Seattle shopping mall]( Seattle’s University Village shopping center is turning into an auto row of sorts for electric vehicle makers. 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