They made us smile; they made us think; they made us ponder what’s humanly possible.
We saw and shared hundreds of great images with you all this year, whether it was an outstanding photo of the lightning-laden Seattle skyline or outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer giving a passionate, emotional speech at his last company-wide meeting.
So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are our 10 favorite tech-related photos from 2013. From all of us at GeekWire, we wish you a happy and healthy 2014.
5-year-old son of Darrell Cavens introduces Zulily to Wall Street
We loved this awesome photo of Zulily CEO Darrell Cavens’ 5-year-old son pushing the button to begin trading on Nasdaq last month. That day, Zulily went public with a spectacular IPO that valued the company at about $4.5 billion.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen reprise classic Microsoft photo, three decades later
This one might be the best tech photo of the year, as Microsoft’s co-founders got together to reprise a photo taken 32 years ago. It is pretty freakin’ awesome: The computers are the same models, for the most part; Gates is in a pullover, Allen in a suit jacket. About the biggest difference, apart from the three decades, is that Allen is missing the beard and tie.
Steve Ballmer says goodbye in tearful farewell video: ‘I had the time of my life’
Not one to hold back emotions, outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer delivered a passionate speech at his final company-wide meeting in September. There were plenty of tears, a few high-fives with the crowd and even a bit of singing to the theme song from “Dirty Dancing.”
Amazon’s big surprise: Delivery drones
Jeff Bezos caused quite the stir when he unveiled Amazon.com’s big surprise on 60 Minutes earlier this month: Flying drones that will deliver packages to customer doorsteps as early as 2015.
Master Chief’s new job: Pizza Hut delivery man
This spring, we spotted Halo’s legendary Master Chief delivering pizzas and wandering around Microsoft’s campus in Redmond.
Bezos, we have Biodomes
The most eye-catching element of Amazon’s new Seattle campus is undoubtedly a three-sphere biodome, which is designed to create an environment where Amazon employees can “work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting.” It just received approval from the city’s Department of Planning and Development, clearing the way for Amazon to proceed with the project.
Bill Gates is an amazing Secret Santa, Reddit user discovers
This was one of our favorite stories from this year. A Reddit user participating in the annual redditgifts Secret Santa gift exchange got a major surprise earlier this month when she opened her card and package and belatedly came to the realization that “Bill,” her Secret Santa, was none other than Bill Gates.
The coolest photo ever of Seattle’s skyline
While many of us slept through a huge thunderstorm that rattled Seattle back in August, photographer Anthony May was wide awake and manage to capture one of the coolest photos of the city’s skyline from the fabulous vantage point of Kerry Park.
Lego Love: The greatest engagement photos ever
We got a kick out of these Lego engagement photos, spotted by GeekWire columnist Monica Guzman. Read more here about how and why Marika Burkhart and Justin Jensen decided to use Lego Minifigures in geeky settings ranging from “The Lord of the Rings” to “The Little Prince,” for their engagement pictures.
100 bad-ass costumes from Emerald City Comicon 2013
There are always great photo opportunities at the annual Emerald City Comicon, but we really loved these two shots of mini Raphael and mini Batman atop their parents shoulders. Too cute!
