On this week’s The Drill Down podcast, new products from Amazon & Oculus, Google challenges Apple Arcade, WeWork loses its CEO, Boston Dynamics utility robots are now commercial ...and much, much more.

Headlines

• Google Play Pass bundles 350 Android games and apps for $4.99 per month

Oculus Connect 2019

• Everything announced at Oculus Connect 6
  • Oculus Link
  • Facebook Horizons
  • Hand Tracking
  • Oculus Go Apps on Quest
  • Facebook Building AR Glasses

Audible Book of the Week

• Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber by Mike Isaac
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Echoes by Pink Floyd

Hot Topic: Amazon Hardware Event 2019

• The top 8 Echo products Amazon announced today

• In the Home

• • Echo Studio
  • Echo Show 8
  • Echo (3rd gen)
  • Echo Dot (w/ Clock)
  • Echo Flex

• On the Go

• • Echo Buds
  • Echo Frames
  • Echo Loop
• The biggest announcements from Amazon’s fall 2019 hardware event
  • Alexa Communications for Kids
  • Echo Glow
  • Alexa Smart Oven
  • Home Mode
  • Ring indoor camera
  • All-New Eero
  • Celebrity Voices on Alexa

Music Break: Working Day and Night  by Michael Jackson

Final Word

• WeWork CEO Adam Neumann steps down
  • WeWork has become poster child for everything wrong with tech unicorns

The Drill Down Videos of the Week

• Boston Dynamics Spot launch

• More Atlas parkour

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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 Vudu product manager Tosin Onafowokan.

On this week’s The Drill Down podcast, news from Amazon & Facebook, a drone-silencing gun, Uber & Lyft contractor drivers may need to become employees, AI learns how to play hide & seek...and much, much more.

What We’re Playing With

Tosin: Echo Auto

Headlines

• Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products
• Amazon Music rolls out a lossless streaming tier that Spotify and Apple can’t match
• California Governor Signs Law Protecting Gig Economy Workers

Audible Book of the Week

• The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys

Hot Topics

• Facebook Expands Definition of Terrorist Organizations to Limit Extremism
• Facebook launches Portal TV, a $149 video chat set-top box
• Facebook’s second-generation Portal devices are cheaper, smaller, and support WhatsApp

Music Break: Nowhere to Run  by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

Final Word

• This 'Gun' Can Down Rogue Drones With the Pull of a Trigger

The Drill Down Video of the Week

• Emergent Tool Use from Multi-Agent Interaction
  • Open AI: Multi-Agent Hide-and-Seek

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The Drill Down on iTunes (Subscribe now!)

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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 Vudu product manager Tosin Onafowokan.

On this week’s The Drill Down podcast, Facebook & Google get hit with antitrust probes, vinyl beats CD sales, new iPhones, iPads, Apple watches ...and much, much more! 

What We’re Playing With

Dwayne & Tosin: Amazon Echo Auto

Headlines

• Attorneys General for 48 States Open Sweeping Anti-Trust Probe into Google
• Facebook is under investigation by state attorneys general for antitrust violations

• Facebook Dating launches in the US

Audible Book of the Week

• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: I Turn My Camera On by Spoon

Hot Topic: Apple Fall Event 2019

• The 5 biggest announcements from Apple’s September 2019 event
  • Apple TV+ One-year Trial Comes With Every Apple Device Purchase
    • AT&T anti-conglomerate share holders
  • The Upgraded Seventh-gen Ipad Has A 10.2-inch Display
  • Apple Watch Series 5 Has An Always-on Display
  • iPhone 11 Improves On The Xr In Every Way, Costs $699
  • iPhone 11 Pro And Iphone 11 Pro Max: They’re Here

Music Break: You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive

Final Word

• Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

The Drill Down Video of the Week

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 Vudu product manager Tosin Onafowokan.

On this week’s The Drill Down podcast, the Twitter CEO’s Twitter gets hacked, YouTube fined for violating child privacy laws, Apple finally lets you leave the Genius Bar, how do Hong Kong protestors organize when the State blocks texts? Highlights from PAX West...and much, much more.

What We’re Playing With

TOSIN: PAX West 2019

• Deleveled: 
  • Launch Date: Fall 2019, Windows, Linux, Switch, PS4, Xbox One
  • Cost: TBD

• The Devil’s Calculator: 
  • Launch Date: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Github
  • Cost: Free on some platforms, $2.99 on others

• Praey for the Gods: 
  • Launch Date: Available for early access: Windows, Mac, PS4, Xbox One
  • Cost: $29.99

• Creature in the Well: 
  • Launch Date: Sept 6th, Windows, Xbox, Switch
  • Cost: TBD

• Superliminal: (Best in Show - National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers)
  • Launch Date: Late 2019 Epic Game Store, then Consoles, then Steam in a year
  • Cost: TBD

Headlines

• Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account has been hacked
  • Twitter disables tweeting via SMS after CEO gets hacked
• Why Won’t Twitter Treat White Supremacy Like ISIS? Because It Would Mean Banning Some Republican Politicians Too
• YouTube will pay $170 million to settle claims it violated child privacy laws

Audible Book of the Week

• It by Stephen King
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: Send in the Clowns by Judy Collins

Hot Topics

• China reportedly made an app to show people if they're standing near someone in debt — a new part of its intrusive 'social credit' policy
• Hong Kong Protestors Using Mesh Messaging App China Can't Block: Usage Up 3685%
  • FireChat: The App That Fueled Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution
• Apple reverses stance on iPhone repairs and will supply parts to independent shops for the first time

Music Break: Light My Fire  by The Doors

Final Word

• Kiwibots win fans at UC Berkeley as they deliver fast food at slow speeds

The Drill Down Video of the Week

• BangBros bought a porn doxxing site just to literally set it on fire

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 Vudu product manager Tosin Onafowokan.