This week, The Drill Down crew looks back at the year in tech and the web for the year 2014. We’ll discuss our favorite tech events of the past year, and what we can expect in 2015.

Headline

• Project Goliath: Inside Hollywood's secret war against Google

Audible Book of the Week

• The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Hot Topic: Top Tech Stories of 2014

Dwayne:

1. Flappy Bird-- Surprises Everyone
2. ALS Icebucket Challenge used social and video in an entirely new way.
3. iPhone 6 & Watch-- Apple’s shown everyone that they can make compelling products even if they clearly follow the trends started by others.
4. Tesla-- The Gigafactory, the P85D cheap supercar, the Model III announcement
   1. Side note: America’s still got it. (ride share, air bnb, google news, tesla, etc.)
5. Net Neutrality

Tosin:

1. Alibaba IPO-- it was hugest tech IPO in history and didn’t have any crazy irregularities. aka there is still public appetite for tech stocks
2. the convergence of tech and law enforcement: legality of fingerprint unlocking devices, air and water drone usage, cameras on cops?
3. Netflix Agrees to Pay Comcast to End Web Traffic Jam
4. HBO Will Have a Standalone Streaming Video Service Next Year
5. Marvel can’t do anything wrong

Music Break: Pop Danthology 2014 by Daniel Kim

Andrew:

1. Rise of ridesharing
2. Apple Pay
3. New leadership at Microsoft
4. Sony Pictures hack
5. Obama urges FCC to classify Internet as utility

Biggest Fails of 2014

1. Corporate security compromises
2. Bitcoin hacks/Mt. Gox crash
3. Uber and
   1. Thailand
   2. Spain
   3. India
   4. France
4. Government: NSA/FBI/CIA -- All getting caught with their “law enforcement” measures
5. Gamergate - The Gaming industry’s failure to help women feel safe and accepted across the Internet.

Music Break: United State of Pop 2014 (Do What You Wanna Do) by DJ Earworm

Predictions for 2015

• The Year of Wearable & fitness (everything has a heart-rate monitor (“HRM”) in it)
  • Fitbit controls 69% of the 2014 market and has new devices coming out.
  • Apple’s watch will make a(n expensive) splash
  • Garmin is renewed with Vivofit
  • Jawbone Up even ties into iFTTT (so does Fitbit)
• Streaming over-coming broadcast for most users under 30 years of age
• Government and the clash with technology (a lot of things will need to be regulated and rules on the books will need to change. As well as internet control of ISPs vs distributors, etc)
• Rise of commercial drones?

The Drill Down Videos of the Week

• Embracing Disability with Viktoria Modesta

• Tesla P85D drag races a 691 HP Ferrari… and wins.

• The hoverboard is back!

• YouTube Rewind 2014

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Geeks Of Doom’s The Drill Down is a roundtable-style audio podcast where we discuss the most important issues of the week, in tech and on the web and how they affect us all. Hosts are Geeks of Doom contributor Andrew Sorcini (Mr. BabyMan), marketing research analyst Dwayne De Freitas, and Box tech consultant Tosin Onafowokan. Occasionally joining them is Startup Digest CTO Christopher Burnor.

This week, Apple ditches Russia, North Korea drops a bomb on Sony... and we sift through the fallout, and 3D printing goes into space. All this, and much much more on The Drill Down.

Headlines

• Apple Stops Online Sales in Russia Over Ruble Fluctuations
  • After ruble's plunge, Apple reopens Russian online store with big price hike
• Google Top Global Trends 2014

Audible Book of the Week

• Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking by Christopher Hadnagy
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Wrapped 2 from "Kreezus" by Local Business Comedy

Hot Topic: Sony Hack

• Obama says Sony made a mistake to pull The Interview
• Sony Announces Limited Release for 'The Interview'
• Sony Threatens to Sue Twitter Unless It Removes Tweets Containing Hacked Emails
• Attack Is Suspected as North Korean Internet Collapses
• Google & MPAA Publicly Slam Each Other Over Piracy

Music Break: New Sleighs from "Kreezus" by Local Business Comedy

Final Word: 3D Printing

• NASA just emailed a wrench to space

The Drill Down Video of the Week

Dog runs for the first time thanks to 3D-printed prosthetics Subscribe!

The Drill Down on iTunes (Subscribe now!)

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The Drill Down on Facebook

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Geeks Of Doom’s The Drill Down is a roundtable-style audio podcast where we discuss the most important issues of the week, in tech and on the web and how they affect us all. Hosts are Geeks of Doom contributor Andrew Sorcini (Mr. BabyMan), marketing research analyst Dwayne De Freitas, and Box tech consultant Tosin Onafowokan. Occasionally joining them is Startup Digest CTO Christopher Burnor.

This week, Apple deletes, AT&T throttles, the NSA hacks, HBO outsources, and Uber, well, what doesn’t Uber do? All this, and much much more.

What We're Playing With

Andy: Peter Pan Live!

Headlines

• Apple Deleted Rivals’ Songs from Users’ iPods from 2007-2009
  • Apple iPod trial will continue despite no plaintiff in case
• North Korea denies hacking Sony but calls the breach a ‘righteous deed’
• AT&T still throttles “unlimited data”—even when network not congested
• Operation AURORAGOLD: How the NSA Hacks Cellphone Networks Worldwide
• HBO to outsource streaming tech in blow to 'backstabbing' CTO
• Pirate Bay goes offline after Stockholm police raid

Audible Book of the Week

• Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Drive by The Cars

Hot Topic: Uber

• Uber raises another $1.2 billion, pledges to become 'more humble company'
• Delhi Government bans Uber, says it is misleading customers
• India Internet Taxi Ban Welcome, but provide more transport for women, say activists
• Portland sues Uber over its 'illegal' ridesharing service
• Uber bans spread to multiple countries
• San Francisco and L.A. sue Uber, claim misleading and illegal actions

Music Break: Video Games by Ronnie Jones

Final Word: Ralph Baer, 1922-2014

• Ralph Baer, inventor of first video game console, dies at 92

The Drill Down Video of the Week

• Launch of NASA's Orion deep-space capsule

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The Drill Down on Facebook

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Geeks Of Doom’s The Drill Down is a roundtable-style audio podcast where we discuss the most important issues of the week, in tech and on the web and how they affect us all. Hosts are Geeks of Doom contributor Andrew Sorcini (Mr. BabyMan), marketing research analyst Dwayne De Freitas, and Box tech consultant Tosin Onafowokan. Occasionally joining them is Startup Digest CTO Christopher Burnor.

This week, Black Friday sales are up, body cams for cops, more cellphone spying, Sony gets hacked (again), a monumental change for music charts, and Daleks are alive and well-- and we’re building them. The Force is strong with this week’s show... 

What We're Playing With Andy, Dwayne & Tosin: Black Friday finds

Headlines

• U.S. Thanksgiving, Black Friday Sales Break $1B; Total Holiday Spend Online Will Be $89B
• Netflix CEO Predicts Broadcast TV Will Die By 2030
• FAA to propose rules on commercial drones
• Obama announces funding for 50,000 police body cameras
  • Will they change anything?

Audible Book of the Week

• How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise by Chris Taylor
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: The Princess Appears from Star Wars by John Williams

Hot Topics:

• Americans’ Cellphones Targeted in Secret U.S. Spy Program
• Sony Pictures Hacked, All Computers Reportedly Unusable
  • Unreleased Sony movies leak after hack; Sony may suspect North Korea
  • Here’s What We Know About North Korea’s Cyberwar Army
  • FBI warns of 'destructive' malware in wake of Sony attack
• Billboard Music Chart Marks First Major Change In 20 Years

Music Break: The Emperor Confronts Luke/The Duel by John Williams

Final Word

• Knightscope’s Autonomous Robots Will Take on Security Jobs Normally Held by Humans
• South Korea bans Selfie sticks!

The Drill Down Video of the Week

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Teaser

Subscribe!

The Drill Down on iTunes (Subscribe now!)

Add us on Stitcher!

The Drill Down on Facebook

The Drill Down on Twitter

Geeks Of Doom’s The Drill Down is a roundtable-style audio podcast where we discuss the most important issues of the week, in tech and on the web and how they affect us all. Hosts are Geeks of Doom contributor Andrew Sorcini (Mr. BabyMan), marketing research analyst Dwayne De Freitas, and Box tech consultant Tosin Onafowokan. Occasionally joining them is Startup Digest CTO Christopher Burnor.