On this week’s The Drill Down podcast, we put aside current news in order to review the year that was 2018. And this time around, as we did last year, instead of merely having a stack-ranked list of top news of the year, we’re going to 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!

Podcast

Music Break: Every 1s A Winner by Hot Chocolate

The Drill Bit Awards

CATEGORY		NOMINEE 1		NOMINEE 2		NOMINEE 3		WINNER
Wearables		Fitbit Versa Smartwatch		Fitbit Charge 3		Apple Watch Series 4		Apple
Smart Home		Amazon Ring Video Doorbell		TP-Link’s Kasa Cameras		Nest: Connect, Detect, and Nest Hello (doorbell)		Amazon Ring Video Doorbell
Best Voice Assistant Device		Samsung Bixby: Galaxy Home Speaker		Amazon Alexa 60k skills and all new hardware		Google Home: Hub and other screen device,partners		Amazon
Sharing/Gig Economy		Amazon Flex: Use your car to deliver packages		Caviar: Food Delivery from anywhere by regular people		Real Real: Sell Your designer stuff on consignment across the world		Amazon
Streaming Video Subscription Service		HBO: Sharp Objects, Barry, Succession, Westworld II		Amazon Prime: Homecoming, Jack Ryan		Netflix: Bandersnatch, Birdbox, & Roma		Netflix
Worst Cybersecurity(Biggest Hack)		India’s AADHAAR system 1.1 billion people exposed		Exactis Ad tracking platform. 340 mm people exposed		Under Armour 150 million people exposed		AADHAAR
Most Significant Hacks		Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica disclosure 87 million exposed | altered course of 2016 US Presidential Election		Strava’s Military Base Leak. No individuals exposed, but myriad countries experienced security leaks as the locations of their military facilities were unwittingly exposed.		My Heritage leak: Personal information, including passwords were taken and it remains unclear if users’s genetic information and/or medical histories were exposed.		Facebook: Cambridge Analytica
Most Significant Gaming Platform		Microsoft: XBox One		Nintendo: Switch		SONY: Playstation 4		SONY – Access to both popular and exclusive titles: Red Dead Redemption Spider Man God of War Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Most *Impactful* Video Game of the year		Epic Games for Fortnite		Rockstar for Red Dead Redemption 2		SONY Interactive Entertainment for Spider Man		Epic Games for Fortnite
AR & VR		Playstation VR: Affordable VR on an established platform		Facebook: Oculus GO: Affordable device that gets more people into VR		HTC Vive Pro		Playstation VR: Affordable VR on an established platform
Best New Innovation – Science (in the lab)		Scientists Have Created A Star Trek-Like Plane That Flies Using ‘Ion Thrusters’ And No Fuel		Scientists Developed a Way to Filter Lead Out of Water With Fruit Peels		Man paralysed from waist down makes history by walking again using mind-controlled implant to power his legs		Man paralysed from waist down makes history by walking again using mind-controlled implant to power his legs
Best Use of Social Media		Instagram: The World Record Egg		European Union: The GDPR		Facebook: The,Algorithmic Update		European Union: The GDPR
Worst Technology Fail		Facebook: Unsecure Unethical Unworthy		Google Project Dragonfly: Development of  a new, restricted, Chinese version of Google for renewed access to the Chinese market		Google Project Maven: Applying Google’s expertise to a DARPA AI autonomous drone capable of deadly strikes against enemies of the United States		Facebook: Unsecure Unethical Unworthy
Most Weird/ Creepy Technology Phenomenon		Instagram: The World Record Egg		Deep Fakes via products like Fake App		Clearing Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez with foot fetishists, and a site called Wikifeet		Deep Fakes via products like Fake App

Audible Book of the Week

• Raising Humans in a Digital World by Diana Graber
• Sign up at AudibleTrial.com/TheDrillDown

Music Break: I.G.Y. by Donald Fagen

Last Year’s Predictions (2018)

• DWAYNE: Twitter Goes into Acquisition Talks NOPE
• TOSIN: AR is going to blow up NOPE
• ANDY: Net Neutrality defenders strike back NOPE
• TOSIN: Disney will announce an Original, unEdited Star Wars trilogy NOPE
• ANDY: Model 3 *will* finish shipping in 2018 (all pre-ordered reservationists only) NOPE
• DWAYNE: Clean, green tech will go mainstream in building codes. NOPE
  • SCORE
  • Andy 0
  • Tosin 0
  • Dwayne 0

We all lose

Coming Year’s Predictions for 2019

• DWAYNE: Lots of integration into the smart home space w/ IOT encryption

• TOSIN: Major innovate tech from locations unknown (such as Africa), and we’ll see an explosion of embracing tech exploration in undeveloped regions

• ANDY: I will receive my standard battery Model 3 Tesla in 2019.

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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 product manager Tosin Onafowokan.