This week, we put current news aside in order to review the year was 2017, and this year, as we did last year, Instead of merely having a stack-ranked list of top news of the year, we’re gonna make tech news compete for awards, affectionately called The Drill Bits. So put on your tuxes, get in the limo, and roll out the red carpet, ‘cause the show’s about to begin!

2016 Predictions for 2017

• • DWAYNE: Twitter Goes into Acquisition Talks (Incorrect)
  • TOSIN: Silicon Valley Vs Traditional Business (Incorrect)
  • ANDY: Model 3 Will Not Ship in 2017 (Somewhat Correct)
  • TOSIN: Nintendo Switch will bring the game company back from the brink (Correct)
  • ANDY: Net Neutrality Naysayers Strike Back (Correct)
  • DWAYNE: Bitcoin will be something to watch (Correct)

• Andy w/ 1.5 points
• Tosin w/ 1
• Dwayne w/ 1

The Drill Bit Awards 

Audible Book of the Week

• Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Take A Bow by Madonna

Music Break: I.G.Y. by Donald Fagen

Predictions for 2018

• DWAYNE: Twitter Goes into Acquisition Talks
• TOSIN: AR is going to blow up
• ANDY: Net Neutrality defenders strike back
• TOSIN: Disney will announce an Original, unEdited Star Wars trilogy
• ANDY: Model 3 *will* finish shipping in 2018 (all pre-ordered reservationists only)
• DWAYNE: Clean, green tech will go mainstream in building codes.

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 product manager Tosin Onafowokan.

This week, Net neutrality is down but perhaps not out yet; Disney buys Fox, Facebook admits it’s bad for you, gene therapy to restore sight and hearing... and much more.

What We're Playing With

Andy: Doki Doki Literature Club

Tosin: Amazon Cloud Cam

Dwayne: Beyond Meat debut’s their Fake Sausage. And it’s GOOD

Headlines

• Facebook just admitted that using Facebook can be bad for you
• How a Dorm Room Minecraft Scam Brought Down the Internet
• Apple admits slowing older iPhones, says it's to prevent battery issues

Audible Book of the Week

• The Peripheral by William Gibson
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: A Whole New World by Brad Kane & Lea Salonga

Hot Topics: Net Neutrality repeal & Disney/Fox

• F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules
  • The next front in the net neutrality war: Feds versus the states
  • Congress could bring net neutrality back, but it won’t be easy
  • Motherboard & VICE Are Building a Community Internet Network
• Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger
  • Everybody Should Be Very Afraid of the Disney Death Star
  • Congressional Democrats Call For Disney-Fox Hearings Amid Antitrust Concerns

Music Break: Listening To You ('See Me, Feel Me') by The Who

Final Word

• Gene therapy for rare form of blindness wins US approval
• This gene therapy stopped mice from going deaf — and could save some humans’ hearing too

The Drill Down Videos of the Week

• Doki Doki Literature Club trailer

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 product manager Tosin Onafowokan.

This week, Budweiser autopilots its way to you via Tesla, why we’re losing a class of potential Einsteins, How Facebook won the election...in the Philippines, drones to call quitting time and shoot ferrets with peanut butter ... and much more.

What We're Playing With

Andy: Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology (CAVE Lab)(Qlone 3D photogrammetry); Counterpart on Starz

Dwayne: Doona Stroller Carseat

Tosin: SNES Classic Headlines

• Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser) Pre-Orders 40 Tesla Semi Trucks
• Study: Rich kids 10 times as likely to become inventors, creating 'lost Einsteins'

Audible Book of the Week

• The City & The City by China Miéville
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Eddie's Dead from 'Kafka' by Cliff Martinez Hot Topics

• Rodrigo Duterte Turned Facebook Into a Weapon, With a Little Help From Facebook
• Apple confirms Shazam acquisition; Snap and Spotify also expressed interest

Music Break: Closing Time by Semisonic Final Word

• Firm to use drone on overtime workers
• Biologists With Drones And Peanut Butter Pellets Are On A Mission To Help Ferrets

The Drill Down Video of the Week

• reMarkable - The paper tablet (2017)

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 product manager Tosin Onafowokan.

This week, Net Neutrality may have a fighting chance, Facebook for kids, cryptocurrency in the news, Tesla powers Australia and goes to Mars... and much, much more.

What We're Playing With Andy: Photive Hydra bluetooth speaker Tosin: Fitbit Charge 2

Headlines

• Group of senators calls on FCC to delay net neutrality vote
• Facebook “Messenger Kids” lets under-13s chat with whom parents approve
• Tesla mega-battery in Australia activated
  • Hyundai is building a battery 50% larger than Tesla’s megabattery in South Australia

Audible Book of the Week

• Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made by Jason Schreier
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Cool For Cats by Squeeze

More Headlines

• More US Airlines Follow AA's Lead in Banning Smart Luggage
• People have spent over $1M buying virtual cats on the Ethereum blockchain
  • Steam drops Bitcoin support due to volatility and $20 transaction fees

Music Break: Radar Rider by Riggs

Final Word

• Elon Musk Isn’t Joking About Sending a Tesla to Mars
• 'Soft Landing' from "Heavy Metal" (1981)

The Drill Down Video of the Week

'Orbit Ever After'

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 product manager Tosin Onafowokan.

This week, is Tesla the greatest getaway car ever, The Force is not with EA, Fake comments flood the FCC, how wi-fi can read your lips, and much, much more.

What We're Playing With

Andy: iPhone X

Dwayne: Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War Official Trailer

Headlines

• Uber paid $100,000 to cover up the 2016 hack of 57 million customers
• Science Confirms: New Tesla Roadster Will Be the Greatest Getaway Car Ever
  • Tesla Is Reportedly Spending Almost $500,000 Every Hour, Could Go Broke Next Year
• EA’s day of reckoning is here after ‘Star Wars’ game uproar, $3 billion in stock value wiped out

Audible Book of the Week

• From a Certain Point of View (Star Wars) by 40 contributors
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Cantina Band #2 by John Williams

Hot Topic: FCC & Net Neutrality

• More than a Million Pro-Repeal Net Neutrality Comments were Likely Faked
  • FCC Got 444,938 Net-Neutrality Comments From Russian Email Addresses
  • The 265 members of Congress who sold you out to ISPs, and how much it cost to buy them
  • Why the Courts Will Have to Save Net Neutrality
  • Comcast deleted net neutrality pledge the same day FCC announced repeal

Music Break: 'Westworld' theme by Ramin Djiwadi

Final Word

• How Wi-Fi Lets People Read Your Lips, Identify You, and Read Your Writing
• Quantum encryption is now fast enough for voice calls

The Drill Down Videos of the Week

• Boston Dynamics Spot Mini

• What’s new, Atlas?

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 product manager Tosin Onafowokan.