2018 ends with a lot of grim dystopia type stuff involving social media services and the synergy power of media companies and internet providers. Meanwhile, Apple takes the lowers its ecosystem walls and adding Apple Music to Amazon Echo devices.

Google's CEO gets grilled by Congress; Instagram gets a new product leader; Apple does a bunch of stuff; and Supermicro defends itself against Bloomberg.

Qualcomm rolls out 5G cellular networking at a Hawaiian resort; Tumblr bans sexual imagery and nudity; Apple fails emoji biology; and streaming services consider inserting ads into paused video.

The App Store goes before the Supreme Court, Amazon embraces ARM servers, and we discuss the amazing life and business lessons of IDG founder Pat McGovern.

Amazon finishes its 'Bachelor'-style courting of US cities; Samsung makes us ponder whether foldable phones will ever be a thing; and YouTube decries the EU's new copyright declaration.

Samsung shows off a foldable phone, Apple grows its revenue and ships new products, Amazon gets into catalogs and embraces the east coast, Comcast builds a cable box for cord cutters, and we mourn a couple of casualties of the streaming-service wars.

This week it's all about Apple's event in New York. Is the iPad Pro's amazing hardware let down by software? The Mac elbows in for some stage time with the MacBook Air and Mac Mini. And the prices of Apple products keep cranking higher and higher...

Tim Cook speaks out in favor of tech regulations; Apple gets set for another product announcement next week; Tesla gets good news; and we question the future of VR as another executive departs Oculus.

Essential circles the drain; Palm climbs back out of the drain with a strange new accessory smartphone; Adobe embraces the iPad Pro; Amazon refreshes the Paperwhite; and the EU offers some new options for makers of Android phones.

This week Google unloaded a bunch of new hardware, including the Google Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL, the Pixel Slate, and the Home Hub; and in other Google news, the company found a major security flaw that ended up spelling the end for Google+.

This was a big week for Microsoft, with new Surface hardware and some big announcements about how Windows will work better with Android. There was also scary news about servers being infected by spy hardware that could compromise privacy and security.

Microsoft sets its eyes on the cloud and suddenly finds itself on the side of the angels; Instagram's founders leave their creation in Mark Zuckerberg's hands; and Oculus debuts a new standalone VR headset.

Apple updates most of its operating systems, and prepares to ship its new iPhones and Apple Watches; Elon Musk announces a trip around the moon while getting scrutinized by the government; and Amazon announces a slew of new Echo-powered products.

Apple releases new iPhones and a new Apple Watch; Google kills Inbox.

Apple's event nears, but the rumored names for its new iPhones are really weird; young people are abandoning Facebook in droves; social-media giants spend a day in the barrel on Capitol Hill; and Evernote may be circling the drain.

Apple rumor season is in full swing, Google brings "digital well-being" to YouTube viewing stats, Uber embraces scooters and ebikes, and conservatives complain about Google having a liberal bias.

This week graphics cards got way better; the App Store came under criticism; and Facebook did a bunch of controversial stuff... again.

Behavioral surveillance in apps; Alexa and Cortana shack up; a spaceship files toward the sun; Twitch backs up a truck full of money to the doors of star YouTubers; and Apple evangelizes the app subscription.

Tech giants move to ban a peddler of conspiracies and snake oil, but not Twitter; MoviePass nears death, but everything may still be a service; and Samsung rolls out a bunch of new products.

Google may be returning to the (censored) search business in China, YouTube Premium and Facebook Watch face the icy stares of skeptical TV critics; and Apple breaks a trillion but still has trouble with the Mac.

Apple's much-criticized MacBook Pro weathers a weeklong PR crisis; Google makes money but struggles with its identity; and Facebook continues to have a really bad year.

Google gets fined, swallows Nest whole, and plots its next-generation operating system. In other news, there are new moons and even newer emojis. 😎

Is Microsoft's new Surface a laptop or tablet, and what it does it mean for the future of computing? Also, HBO's new owner AT&T wants to make it more like Netflix, and we celebrate 10 years of the App Store.

Companies love buying other companies; Disney and Amazon are making big moves this week, while Apple is getting serious about midterm election news coverage and nerds get to play with beta software all summer.

Tech finds itself in the middle of a U.S.-China trade war and discovers that taking on governmental clients might make employees uncomfortable. Also, Instagram dives into longform video.