There are a LOT of companies peddling products here at CES. We’ve got smart cameras that auto-send images to Facebook and double-washing machines that allow you to clean two separate loads of clothes at once without ruining them or taking up more space.

But among all of the keynotes, Bosch stuck out, as board member Werner Struth spoke about their plans for the future. The private company’s leader of North and South American operations managed to speak with certainty not about the next whizbang product or another device was going to be the next big thing, but rather about how combining two mundane technologies (home appliances and internet connectivity) and ending up with extraordinary products. He’s spent the last year “figuring out how technology can do better for all of us.”

In case you needed another reason to go Alexa rather than Google, the media gods have got one for you. The avalanche of CES 2017 press conferences hadn’t even begun when the news came in from Dish Network. In addition to their Sling Box and their 2014 breakthrough, no-contract live-streaming cable service, SlingTV, Dish decided to take another leap forward in delivering television entertainment to their consumers — support for Amazon‘s Alexa Voice Services or AVS.

Dish users with Hopper DRV devices of any generation will be able to control them using their voice through Amazon’s Echo or Echo Dot hardware.

This week, we put current news aside in order to review the annus horribilis that was 2016, and this year, we’re doing something a little different. 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!

On this week’s Drill Down podcast, driverless ride-sharing is emerging, Russia’s part in hacking the U.S. election, President-Elect Trump meets with tech leaders, Bill Gates leads a fight against climate change,  and much, much more.

Podcast

On this week’s Drill Down podcast, Pebble‘s dead, Google goes green, UK’s Snoopers Charter, Amazon Go, a DIY gif bot, some amazing game trailers, and much, much more.