The Blerg

Warning: this episode contains coarse language. It's the fourth annual "… of the year" extravaganza, in which Jesse Wilson and I each bestow 20 highly coveted and equally made up awards based on 2016's technology news. Some of the awards include classics like “moonwalk of the year” and “lipstick on a pig of the year”, as well as new entries like “you dropped the ball at the finish line of the year” and special one I felt obliged to add for myself titled “biggest personal egg on face moment of the year”. Follow Jesse on Twitter: @jessewilson. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy. Links: … of the year, 2013. … of the year, 2014. … of the year, 2015. The Bill Simmons Podcast Episode 101: Charity: Water's Scott Harrison. Trump, Putin and the Pipelines to Nowhere.  

Jesse Wilson returns to the show to chat all things Action Launcher with me. Topics include why there was more than 6 months between Action Launcher updates to start the year and what I learnt going so long between updates. I also discuss my pushing to release the Pixel Launcher inspired update so quickly after the leaks arrived, how the update was received by press and customers alike. Oh, and I both tease a major feature I withheld from a recent update and find a (valid!) excuse to talk about hidden menu items at In-N-Out Burger. Follow Jesse on Twitter: @JesseWilson. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy Links: Action Launcher on Google Play. Even if you've already bought Plus, I'd appreciate a review!   Note: this episode was recorded after early September's Action Launcher 3.9's update but before late September's 3.10 update.

So. Many. Hardware. Announcements.   Phil and I break down the Pixel phones, Daydream View, Google WiFi, Google Home and Chromecast 4k announcements. We also discuss whether the event lived up the hype Google set about creating, and chat about what we didn't see.   Follow Phil on Twitter: @philnickinson. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.

Ben Sandofsky and I break down all the announcements of Apple's September 2016 event. We of course discuss all the new hardware, as well as give our thoughts on: The loss of the headphone jack. The disparity between the cameras in the two iPhone modes. Apple's increasing trend of having features like AirPods, Portrait photo mode and Pencil miss launch windows. And of course I get my bitch on about a new Apple Watch model that doesn't have an always on display. Follow Ben on Twitter: @sandofsky. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.

Hot off the wires, Francisco Franco and I dig into WWDC 2016's watchOS, tvOS, macOS and iOS announcements. What did we like and dislike? What didn't we see that we were hoping for? What did we make of those crazy Music and iMessage announcements? Follow Francisco on Google+: +FranciscoFranco1990. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.   Check out Francisco's app 5217 in the Play Store.

  Jake Wharton and I conclude our post Google I/O 2016 chat by digging into the wealth of show's developer announcements including Android Studio 2.2, Firebase, Android Instant Apps and more. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeWharton. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.

What's it like to attend Google I/O? Was the venue switch away from San Francisco to an outdoor venue in Mountain View a good move? What quality level were the technical sessions this year? Why do Google keep making seemingly basic mistakes hosting I/O each year? Was the move to abandon the giveaways of previous years a good one? Jake Wharton and I discuss all this and more. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeWharton Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy

What's it like to attend Google I/O? Was the venue switch away from San Francisco to an outdoor venue in Mountain View a good move? What quality level were the technical sessions this year? Why do Google keep making seemingly basic mistakes hosting I/O each year? Was the move to abandon the giveaways of previous years a good one? Jake Wharton and I discuss all this and more. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeWharton Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy  

Note: the initial release of this episode had audio issues with voices at different levels. Fixed in this latest version. Sorry about that.     Many felt I was too negative in the previous episode, where Koush and I broke down Google I/O 2016's keynote. Previous guest of the show Karl Smith was one such person, so he and I decided to dig into some of the areas we disagreed with most in this impromptu follow up episode, and I also offer some further thoughts on what we saw given a few more days to process it.    Follow Karl on Twitter: @punyweakling. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy. Links: Karl's blog: punyweakling.com.      

Many felt I was too negative in the previous episode, where Koush and I broke down Google I/O 2016's keynote. Previous guest of the show Karl Smith was one such person, so he and I decided to dig into some of the areas we disagreed with most in this impromptu follow up episode, and I also offer some further thoughts on what we saw given a few more days to process it.    Follow Karl on Twitter: @punyweakling. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy. Links: Karl's blog: punyweakling.com.    

Google I/O is here! Koush and I break down all the big announcements such as Home, Allo, Duo and Daydream. We also discussed Google's advancements in AI, the Android Wear 2.0 release, Android Instant Apps and more. Follow Koush on Twitter: @koush. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.    

Turmoil, staff exodus and mud-slinging at Nest. Promising robotics unit Boston Dynamics reportedly up for sale, while the rest of the initiative is seemingly on notice. Reports of unrest at Verily Life Sciences. The other bets of Alphabet seem to be making quite a bit of news of late, and not in a good way.  Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo joins me to discuss all of this news, our feelings on what this might mean for future Alphabet bets, as well as rumors of Google's competitor to the Amazon Echo. Follow Ron on Twitter: @ronamadeo. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy. Links: The Information: Inside Tony Fadell’s Struggle to Build Nest. Dropcam founder Greg Duffy responds to Tony Fadell's statements. Bloomberg: Google Puts Boston Dynamics Up for Sale in Robotics Retreat. Stat: Google Life Sciences Exodus.

Fellow Android developer Annyce Davis joins me for a deep dive into all things Android TV! We dig into our experience with Google TV, the Nexus Player, Android TV built into a TV and more, as well as discussing our gripes with the platform, and how we'd like to see it improve going forward. Note: this episode was recorded in early March, before Android N was announced, so best keep that in mind when we discuss what we'd like to see in future versions of the platform. Follow Annyce on Twitter: @brwngrldev. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.

Well that came out of nowhere! Google surprised us all by announcing Android N. In this episode, Ty Smith and I dig into all the newly announced features, discuss our impressions of our time using the N Preview, chat about what features didn't make this release that we were hoping to see and more. Follow Ty on Twitter: @tsmith Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy Links Get 30% off your DroidCon SF ticket with the discount code "droidcon30"!   Note: Unfortunately due to a couple of issues on my end, this episode's audio quality is a little off. My apologies ????. 

Most device reviews happen at launch time, but often our impressions change as we spend significant time actually using the device. In this episode, fellow Android developer Brian Griffey and I discuss our wildly differing experience of actually using the Nexus 5X and 6P as a daily driver for the last three plus months. Follow Brian on Twitter: @briangriffey Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy  

Warning: this episode contains mild coarse language.  Jesse Wilson and I break down all of 2015's news and developments by doling out awards to the tech space's newsworthy people, products and companies. But some of the awards include: Haters gonna hate hate hate of the year… Lipstick on a pig of the year… Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to what you just said, and may God have mercy on your soul of the year… Also, the post-show sees an an Internet first, with two douchebags discuss Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Follow Jesse on Twitter: @jessewilson. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy. Links … of the year, 2014. … of the year, 2013. Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter "Douchebag": The White Racial Slur We’ve All Been Waiting For Scott Weiland's Family: 'Don't Glorify This Tragedy'  

This Nexus 6P is terrific. It's the best Nexus phone ever. Or is it? Well, yes it is. But fellow Android developer Jerrell Mardis still find much to talk about. We cover the good, the great, and even manage to find some things to complain about. Follow Jerrell on Twitter: @jerrellmardis Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy

Renowned Apple analyst and iMore.com Editor in Chief Rene Ritchie joins me in part 2 of my discussion about, as I see them, "worrying Apple trends". Rene brings his astute Apple insight to many of the previous episode's talking points including whether the base line of Apple's products is becoming a bit less appealing than they previously have been, a Magic Mouse that can't be used whilst being charged and much more.   Follow Rene on Twitter: @reneritchie. Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.

Guest Russell Ivanovic joins me to discuss a variety of Apple's not-so-great recent trends. We dig into a great many of the warts increasingly appearing around Apple's ecosystem, including the experience when first running a device, the less than universally acclaimed new Apple TV remote, the stagnant App Store and app review process, general product stability and more. We also chat about Apple's ever expanding and confusing product lines, Jony Ive's accountability, as well as discussing Apple's trend to make their cheapest product versions less appealing than was previously the case.   Follow Russel on Twitter: @rustyshelf Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy Listen to Russell every week on the Material Podcast on Relay FM.  

Guest Phil Nickinson and I chat about all of the announcements from Google's September '15 event. We break down all the new hardware announcements, Google's decision to target the 6P and 5X at different segments on the market and Google's confidence with the camera. We also discuss Nexus Protect, the new Chromecasts, what we didn't see that we were expecting to and more. This episode is brought to you by my app Action Launcher 3. Go on, leave me a nice review! Links Follow Phil on Twitter: @philnickinson Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy